Creating my veggie garden !

I started recycling! I know, I'm a bit late to the party but at least I am here. In my efforts to recycle plastic, paper and food waste I noticed how much food was being thrown in the bin, such as apple cores, cucumber ends, tomato stems, potato skins, etc. So we bought a worm farm!

How to use a worm farm:

1. Buy worms and have a home for them

2. Feed them

Benefits of a worm farm:

1. Worms reduce food waste

2. Worms produce "worm wee" which can be used as a natural and non-harmful insecticide which also benefits your plants

3. It doesn't smell

4. Worms produce "worm poop" which makes an amazing fertilizer

5. It can be inside or outside

6. It is cheap to begin

7. Low maintenance

Along with using the worm farm, we also created a compost heap with all the food the worms cannot eat like potato skins. But, I felt like there was still so much I could do to reduce, reuse and recycle, as well as even save money.

During lockdown I was inspired by family friends who had started their own veggie garden. I always thought it was a lot of maintenance and very hard to create, maintain and grow a veggie garden but I was willing to give it a go!

The next day I went out to our local Food Lovers' Market and I think I purchased every type of seedling they had, along with a few other plants for my collection. I picked up some seeds as well for all the other veggies that I couldn't get in seedlings. I also went and bought (what felt like) hundreds of little signs to show what is where, in case I forgot.

The seedlings I purchased:

2 x mixed lettuce

1 x cabbage

1 x broccoli

1 x cauliflower

1 x brinjal

1 x celery

1 x chives

1 x leeks

2 x spring onions

2 x thyme

1 x parsley

1 x spinach

1 x rocket

1 x tomato

1 x strawberries

1 x viola

The seeds I purchsed:

1 x brown onions

1 x radish

1 x napa cabbage

1 x coriander

1 x beans

1 x origanum

At R20 a seedling tray of 6 and R30 for a packet of seeds the whole shopping trip costed me: R560

And then the hard work began; I started to clear out the section of garden I needed. I pulled out all the plants, turned the soil, added compost from my compost heap and fertilizer, then I watered the ground and began to plant the seedlings in little rows.

After feeling very proud of myself and wanting to show EVERYONE who would look, I was told that I planted everything too close together and everything needed to move. So the hard work continues, I cleared out the more garden that I needed. I pulled out all the plants, turned the soil, added compost from my compost heap and fertilizer, then I watered the ground and began to plant the seedlings in long rows. Now my 'little' veggie garden is not so 'little' anymore.

Lesson learnt, distance to plant the seedlings apart:

• Lettuce - 25/30cm

• Broccoli - 50cm

• Cabbage - 50cm

• Cauliflower - 50cm

• Spring onions - 5cm

• Spinach - 20cm

• Tomato - 20/30cm

• Rocket - 5/10cm

• Celery - 20cm

• Brinjal - 50cm

• Leeks 10/15cm

And the process after the planting is quite simple, water the garden everyday. I like to water mine in the morning as it is relaxing and helps me clear my head before the rest of the day.

2 months and 10 days later:

So now that it is all growing, what have I done with my produce?

• I have used the rocket leaves in multiple different salads. (recipes coming soon).

• The radish has made a great addition to salads and roasted veg. (bonus- they grow the fastest)

• I have used all the types of lettuce leaves in different salads.

• Viola flowers are edible and look amazing on a plate.

• Parsley, thyme, coriander, chives and origanum chopped up or left whole adds flavour to many dishes

• The rest is still growing!

Have I saved money?

According to Woolworths (as of 20/06/2020) :

• 180g Italian Salad bag - R24.99

• 30g Parsley - R10.99

• 40g rocket leaves - R16.99

• 30g chives - R10.99

• 30g thyme - R10.99

• 30g coriander - R10.99

• 150g radish - R12.99

• 10g edible flowers - R19.99

TOTAL - R118,92

But, the real issue with buying from the store is the plastic waste, which all of these items can be purchased in.

By the time the garden has grown and all of the plants have been harvested the amount of money saved will succeed the money spent on buying the seedlings, seeds and maintenance. Along with money being saved, their other factors that are need to be taken into consideration; convenience of having the ingredients in your back garden, the fuel saved from not driving to the store, decreasing your carbon footprint, the element of relaxation from watering the garden, the feeling of success and joy when the plants start to grow and produce ,and most importantly zero plastic waste.

I do understand that not everyone has the space to create such a large veggie garden as you live in small homes with little to no garden, you rent and/or live in a flat but there are ways to create space-saving veggie gardens.

Here are some links to my favourite ideas:

I have loved my time with my garden and I have enjoyed every moment from shopping for the seedlings to harvesting and cooking with the veggies I have grown. I hope that my little adventure has encouraged you to start your own!

and remember to love yourself first,

Love Amber