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Vegetable Gardening—Getting started Essential soil improvers Welcoming wildlife

When you are starting to grow vegetables the If you have space either in the vegetable garden or Wildlife can help control pests and diseases.
area that you want to use might be covered in elsewhere in the school grounds set up a compost Create a few ‘habitats’ to welcome creatures
weeds. and a leafmould bin: into your garden.

The overgrown area Compost bins should measure about 1m³. • Perennials - ground cover, herbaceous
Leafmould bins should measure 1m³ or more. Make plants and small shrubs can provide food
Don’t rush this job. You need to clear the area a bin by wrapping chicken wire around four posts. and shelter for many creatures, but
really well. won’t take up too much space.
See: Making a compost bin • Annuals - these brighten up the vegetable
• Cut down all the tall growth. — Garden Organic factsheet garden and are food for insect eating
• Cover the ground with a mulch. This will Composting pests.
keep the light out and so kill the weeds. — Garden Organic factsheet • A pond - will attract frogs and other
This could be flattened cardboard kept in creatures that will help control pests.
place with straw, hay, bricks, grass clip- Permanent Crops
pings or black plastic. This will stop the
weeds from growing. Pumpkins and other • Why not try to grow fruit and other perennial
vigorous plants can be planted through the crops, that come back year after year? You will
mulch. need to plan where these will go.
• Think about how far apart the plants need to be
so that you have enough space.
• If you have a fence you can save space by
growing redcurrants and gooseberries as Useful techniques
espaliers, cordons and fans. (these are differ-
• You can then clear small areas of the gar- ent shapes. You will find information on them in • Plant vegetable seeds and start them off
den at a time. Clear the weeds using a gar- vegetable gardening books.) indoors. Plant out when they are bigger.
den fork. Remove all the roots. Then sow • Russian comfrey– grow three or more plants if This will help them to stand up to pest and
a green manure or cover with a mulch. you want to make your own liquid plant food. disease attack.
• Until the weeds are under control, grow • Protect new plants with plastic bottle
crops in wide rows. This means you can Vegetables cloches. (Plastic bottles with the lid taken
hoe between them easily to remove weeds. off and the bottom cut off)
• Divide the vegetable area into four plots that • Mark out straight drills for sowing by
Planning are all the same size so that you can rotate the standing on a rake handle or using a draw
crops. hoe along a straight edge. Water drill
To get the best from your garden you need to • Divide up the four plots into small beds about before sowing and cover seeds with dry
plan. 1 metre wide. soil.
Measure the area of your vegetable garden and • Remember when planning the crop rotation to • Before moving water plants and the plant-
draw an outline. Mark in any features that you include green manures to improve the soil. ing holes where they are to grow.
want to keep, like trees and then plan the rest of See Crop rotation - HDRA factsheet.
the area using the following ideas.
Vegetable Gardening—A Student’s Guide
• Cover vulnerable plants (those that are Spring
likely to be attacked) with fleece or mesh to


protect them from pests.
Grow pest and disease resistant varieties
of vegetables and fruit.


Dig in green manures
Put garden compost or ma-
nure on to the parts of the
Vegetable
gardening
• Label rows and keep a note of what grew crop rotation that need it,
where—it will make planning the area next where you are going to grow greedy crops for
year easier. example potatoes and cabbages.
• Remember to grow plants that will not need
care over the holidays (particularly summer) General hints and tips
unless you have a volunteer to go into
school and care for the plants. • Wooden boards can be laid down between
rows to stop the soil getting compacted.
Seasonal Hints • Make large cloches from four litre plastic
Late summer/early autumn bottles. Remove the lid and cut off the base.

• Sow green manures as you harvest crops Glossary


and clear the land.
• Collect autumn leaves to make leafmould. Annual—a plant that lasts for a year
Simply put them into a Cloche– a cover put over a plant to protect it.
container made of wire Compost—mixture of garden, kitchen and house
or an open black plastic hold waste that rots down and can be used
bag and leave them for a in the garden.
year to rot down. Compacted—when the air and water is squashed
• Plant autumn onion sets out of the soil.
and garlic. Crop Rotation—moving crops around to stop
pests and diseases building up.
Autumn/winter Green Manure—a plant grown to protect the soil
surface when nothing else is growing. Can
• Buy in strawy manure; cover with plastic
and leave to rot.
be dug in later to add nutrients (food) to the
soil
A student’s guide to
• Cover bare soil with year old leafmould, par- Habitat– a place where something lives. creating a vegetable
ticularly the areas where you are going to Leafmould—rotted leaves used to improve the
plant next years carrots and parsnips. soil. garden.
• Dig a trench and fill with kitchen waste over Mulch—a cover on the soil surface.
winter. Grow runner beans here next year. Perennial—a plant that comes back year after
year.
Transplanting—moving seedlings to a new pot or
outside. Garden Organic
Vigorous—fast growing and strong.
for Schools
Vegetable Gardening—Getting started Essential soil improvers Welcoming wildlife

When starting an organic vegetable garden first of If you have space either in the vegetable garden or Wildlife can help to keep pests and diseases in
all you may have to clear an overgrown area. elsewhere in the school grounds set up a compost check. Create a few ‘habitats’ to welcome
heap and a leafmould bin: creatures on to your plot.
The overgrown area
Compost bins should measure about 1m³. • Perennials - ground cover, herbaceous
Don’t rush this job. The area needs to cleared Leafmould bins should be 1m³ or more. Make a bin plants and small shrubs can provide food
really well. by wrapping chicken wire around four posts. and shelter, but won’t take up too much
space.
• Use a strimmer to cut down any tall growth. See Making a compost bin • Annuals - these brighten up the vegetable
• Cover the ground with a light excluding — Garden Organic factsheet garden and feed insect eating pests.
mulch. This could be flattened cardboard Composting • A pond - will attract frogs and other crea-
kept in place with straw, hay, bricks, grass — Garden Organic factsheet tures that will help
clippings or black plastic. This will stop the control pests.
weeds from re-growing. Pumpkins and Permanent crops
other vigorous crops can be planted through
the mulch. • Why not try growing fruit Useful techniques
and other perennial crops?
• Think about spacing for all these plants so that • Start plants off in
you know how much space you will need. modules, pots and
• If you have a fence you can save space by boxes and then plant out as sturdy trans-
growing redcurrants and gooseberries as plants (small plants).
espaliers, cordons and fans. (You’ll find infor- • Protect new plants with plastic bottle
mation on these in any vegetable gardening cloches. (Plastic bottles with the lid and
book.) bottom cut off)
• Taking a small area of the garden at a time, • Russian comfrey– grow three or more plants if • Mark out straight drills for sowing by
clear the weeds using a garden fork. Re- you want to make your own liquid plant food. standing on a rake handle or using a hoe
move all the roots. Then plant crops, sow a along a straight edge. Water drill before
green manure or mulch. Vegetables sowing and cover seeds with dry soil.
• Until the weeds are under control, grow • Water transplants and planting holes be-
crops in wide rows to allow easy hoeing. • Divide the vegetable area into four plots of fore transplanting.
equal • Cover vulnerable plants with fleece or
Planning size for effective crop rotation. mesh to protect them from pests. This is
• Subdivide the plots further if you are going to particularly useful on cabbage family
Measure the area of your vegetable garden and grow on a bed system. plants which seem to suffer the most.
draw an outline. Mark in any features that you • Remember when planning the crop rotation to • Grow pest and disease resistant varieties,
want to keep and then plan the rest of the area include green manures for soil improvement. especially blight resistant potatoes.
using the following suggestions. See Crop rotation - HDRA factsheet.

Vegetable Gardening—A Teacher’s Guide


• Label rows and keep a note of what grew Spring
where—it makes planning much easier for


next year.
Remember to grow plants that will not need
care over the holidays (particularly summer)


Dig in green manures
Apply garden compost and
manure on areas that need
Vegetable
gardening
unless you have a volunteer to go into it. This is where you are
school and care for the plants. going to grow greedy crops
such as potatoes and
Seasonal Hints cabbages.
Late summer/early autumn
General hints and tips
• Sow green manures as you harvest crops
and clear the ground. • Wooden boards can be laid between rows of
• Collect autumn leaves to make leafmould. vegetables to avoid soil compaction.
• Remember to plant autumn onion sets and • Make large cloches (covers) from four litre
garlic. plastic bottles. Remove the lid and cut off
the base.
• Make enquires about the availability of
municipal compost in your local area. This is
Autumn/winter compost made by the Local Authority

• Buy in strawy manure; cover with plastic Further Reading


and leave to rot.
• Cover empty beds with year old leafmould,
Green Manures for Organic Soil Improvement
particularly the area where you are going to
— Garden Organic Guide
plant next years carrots and parsnips.
• Dig a trench and fill with kitchen waste over
Grow your own organic vegetables-Getting started
winter. Grow runner beans here next year. — Garden Organic Guide

Beds—Labour-saving, space-saving, more produc- A teacher’s guide to


tive gardening
— Pauline Pears, (HDRA/Search Press creating a vegetable
1992)
garden.
Soil Care and Management
— Jo Readman, HDRA (Search Press
1991)

The Vegetable Garden Displayed


Garden Organic
—Joy Larkcom, (RHS 1992) for Schools

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