Mulch your way to great soil and happy plants

If you have looked at what kind of soil you're working with, how to improve and feed the soil, transplanting young seedlings and watering, then the next thing to consider is how to keep the water in the soil, right where the plants need it.
I think the best way to prevent moisture loss is to mulch. There are so many materials that we can use as mulch, because essentially any material placed over the soil can be called a mulch.
But because we are gardening organically, it's important to make sure that the mulching material we choose is organic and if possible that it has been produced organically.
I like to use a combination of a layer of compost on the soil, covered with a layer of pea straw.

Some of the benefits of using an organic mulch such as pea straw are:

that it slows down evaporation from the soil
need to water less often
it prevents soil erosion
as it breaks down, it feeds the soil
it helps prevent weeds
keeps your plants cleaner
So you can see it really is worth the effort of mulching. I don't even find it that much effort. It kind of tidies up my vegetable garden as it's laid down.

You'll find more detailed information on watering and mulching in Julie's e-book "Organic Food Gardening Beginner's Manual" by clicking here

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Acid-Loving Plants

Mulch any acid-loving plants with a thick layer of pine needles each autumn (fall). As they break down the soil becomes more acidic.
Something to be aware of though: pine needles exude a substance that prevents many seeds from germinating. That's one reason why you don't usually see other plants growing under pine trees. For more tips, click here

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Help keep your plants happy and heathy!

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The 10 Easiest Vegetables To Start Growing With

Hey there,

By now I'm guessing you've done quite a bit of work setting up your vegetable garden... well, at least a little work???

Have you worked out what kind of soil you've got? Sorted out where your patch is going?

If you have, then I want to share with you my top 10 easiest vegetables to get started with. From my experiece anyway.

Here they are:

Radish
Silverbeet / Spinach
Capsicum (Peppers)
Cherry Tomatoes
Zucchini (Courgettes)
Pumpkin
Leeks & Spring Onions
Bush or Dwarf Beans
Peas
Beetroot

You need to plant them at the right time of year for your area, but they really are quite easy to grow and are good vegetables to get your kids to grow if you want to get them involved in organic gardening too.

You'll find detailed cultivating information for my top 10 vegetables in my e-manual to get you started. Click here Taken from Julie's 1 Stop Organic Gardening site.

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