Edible Gardens

Edible Gardens and using edible plants

Edible gardens can be one of the most enjoyable forms of home gardening. Creating edible spaces near where we live and consume our food is very valuable for us on many levels. Not only are we generally eating healthier, fresher food, but we can control what goes into the food we grow.

Growing what we can eat helps us get in touch with our environment & the natural rhythms of life. We begin to understand the importance of predominantly seasonal cooking and food consumption. Of course we can all combine canned or frozen foods and imported foods with our local produce. Though, it is great to work towards a sustainable healthy diet with chemical free foods that benefit us and our local communities.

There is nothing more enjoyable to me than watching edible gardens and thrive; then being able to pick ripe beautiful produce. More and more people are embracing the philosophy of food growing for many reasons. Some of the main reasons are for health and increased nutritional benefits, as well as knowing what we are consuming, as well as supporting our local farmers and food growers.

Edible Gardens – Caution

It is important though that we follow a few guidelines when growing our own food. Try to use organic or chemical free options where possible in your edible gardens ie for solving fertilizer issues or dealing with pests and diseases.  Here is one example of using a healthy solution to solve a problem we may face while growing vegetables.  Sometimes certain vegetables may get Powdery Mildew(fungal condition) on foliage. We could use a foliar spray containing 10 parts water to 1 part milk. This organic solution can stop the ability of the fungal spores to breath & grow/spread.  The Powdery Mildew can be starved of what it needs, hence solving a simple problem or at least minimising its impact. If you find that an organic solution is not totally effective, you can choose a more powerful option. Try gentle approaches first, you have lost nothing in doing so.

Here is a Link to some natural Pesticide Recipes for your garden.

Edible Gardens – Food Miles

The idea of reducing ‘food miles’ is a really valuable concept for improving our environment and also helps to create a better local community. Food grown in our local communities has many benefits. Growing in our own backyards means we can share produce and eat healthier fresher food. Who really wants to eat food that has been in storage or shipped for many miles? Edible gardens can really cut down the amount of reliance we have on our major supermarket chains. Though we can also shop with our local fruit and veggie shops. Ask your local green grocer if they try to source some of their produce from local farmers and growers.

Here is a great article by Choice talking about food miles which is related to edible gardens.  Click Here  if you would like to read information from their site.

Edible Gardens – The War on Waste

A hot topic lately has been the War on Waste by the ABC crew. It is a very informative documentary about some of the issue surround our supply chain and large corporate food handling policies. Food waste is a very hot topic because of the extent and magnitude of the problem. As a society we have a long way to go in terms of solving these type of issues. Our convenience lifestyle certainly does have draw backs.

Check out more about the War on Waste by Craig Reucassel!

I would like to add another valuable resource to this post edible gardens.  Gardening Australia is a great organisation that promote many of the concepts I believe in.  Check them out if you have the time. They have a lot of great content which talks about the importance of edible gardens and how to improve your vegetable growing skills.

Gardening Australia also have a great page that talks in depth about issues concerning the  Edible Garden.  This will help you to understand some of the systems that can be employed by keen gardeners with enough space & planning.

If we all try to grow some of our own food we can save money, eat great healthy food, heap the sustainability of our planet. You too can get motivated to start working in your edible garden today!

Check out this:   Gardening Australia Veggie Guide

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