Organic.

[Daisy]

I can't imagine what soaking vegs in vinegar would do ! Pickle them ? I just give them a good rinse , in fact the more you wash and soak stuff the less vitamins and minerals are left . My DS1 the vet , says organic veg are grown in Sh.t !!! that put me off !

Elisi - I'd never heard of using vinegar to decontaminate veggies, but it's certainly worth looking into. Like MS, I don't know enough about the science, but there's a lot of empirical evidence that we absorb more pesticides than are good for us through food. The hugely powerful agri-chemical business has a lot to answer for.

MinnyString - Organic veg growing is all about balance. I have a lot of failures, but simple things (which farmers generally don't do) like crop-rotation help. I use a 4-year cycle, similar to this.

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=124

I have 2-3 beds for each class of veg, and try to leave one bed fallow each year. All this helps to prevent a build-up of nasties in the soil. I use barrier methods for brassicas - netting etc. Potatoes, I grow blight-resistant varieties like Sarpo Mira, and buy disease-resistant organic plug plant varieties where possible.

I pinch the tips out of broad bean plants to reduce aphids and let the ladybirds deal with the rest. If they get rust it's usually when cropping is nearly over. Other beans seem to survive ok with a few noise-producing things around them. I have to net things the pigeons would eat, and I don't grow salad veg on the allotment - it's easier to grow them in the garden/greenhouse.

I'm very interested in companion planting - like marigolds with tomatoes, summer savory with broad beans.

http://www.ghorganics.com/page2.html

The battle I always lose is the mice getting to the sweetcorn before me!!! I try and grow a few things to feed birds and encourage beneficial insects.

And, yes, Aggie's DS1 is quite right - living where we live we can get trailers full of well-rotted horse manure for free, and get a good cardio-vascular work-out barrowing it round the plot!


The definition of 'organic' for commercially-grown crops is very strict, for example the Soil Association has to certify the land as suitable. Home growers don't reach those dizzy heights, but using natural methods and no pesticides makes me feel happy that I'm growing with Nature, not against her.

[Plantaholic]

My OH used to garden like you Daisy, always rotated veg. plots. As you say you have to be used to failures. I really miss the fresh veg. and soft fruit.

[Bizzy Lizzy]

We did this too Plant when the kids were small. We had two allotments and used no chemicals at all just natural ways of keeping down pests and weeds. I remember applying mulch in various forms to stop the weeds. It did not look very glamorous but worked very well. The veg was lovely particularly the purple sprouting broccoli which doesn't taste half as good now I buy it from Waitrose.

[Plantaholic]

I agree there is nothing nicer than having veg straight from the garden. OH didn't have much luck with peas, the mice used to dig up the seeds.

[Avo]

Some of you might be surprised how some 'free range' chickens are kept http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2508173/16-000-free-range-chickens-crammed-shed-NEVER-daylight.html I don't bother to buy free range because sometimes caged birds actually have a better life! My eggs are our own from our chickens and we grow a lot of our own fruit and veg. I won't buy organic I think it is a waste of money.

[Elisi]

I only buy from friends we have about 10 miles away who have free range chickens which I have seen, and also hugged I have always hankered after haviong my own. A dear friend in Cambridge has them too and they are glorious creatures and somehow never have any trouble with foxs or any other predators!

[Shemadee]

Learnt something new today - I have never heard of a vinegar wash. Does it make the food taste of vinegar?

I read an article, which made a lot of sense. Local fruit and veg is best as the fresher you eat it the more vitamins etc. There is a stall at our market that buys locally so I use them when possible. We bought some Cox's recently and then spotted they were from New Zealand! Hard to believe this is financially viable. Generally buy loose carrots (grandsons have them after school and they do measure!!). Sometimes have organic cucumber as it tastes better though Lidls cucumbers are better than some others. So often we forget what things are supposed to taste of.

I've been using Nematodes for slugs for the last couple of years - you put it in the watering can when you are watering the garden. Need to time it right as they have a limited shelf life and they only last for six weeks. I buy one pack in Spring and another mid summer. OH messed my system up this year as he poured the whole can over the runner bean plants which left my corn plants with none. I tried slug pellets but the corn was decimated overnight.

[Elisi]

No Shemadee, the food doesn't taste anything except clean, you only have to put a spoon full in and then leave it for 10 minutes or so and wash it out.

[Libra Gran]

All our home grown veg is organic,hubs is totally against any pesticides in our garden. The only thing I do it give it all a good wash before cooking.