companion planting - organic gardening

green finger tips - parsley

2012-02-06T09:46:00.017+02:00

Curly Leaf Parsley seedlings germinate

These parsley plants are just forming the first tiny true leaves after about two weeks since germination. You can see them just under the pea plant and to the far left of the picture. Parsley have tiny seeds that need to be planted in shallow drills. The parsley seed germinates readily.

First true Curly Leaf Parsley leaves

Eight days later, the plants are showing all their true leaves. Petroselinum crispum is parsley's botanical name. Parsley is full of nutritional goodness. I use it often on sandwiches, in salads and chopped fresh over almost all dishes. Parsley contains Iron and Vitamins A, B and C. It is useful for hair and skin problems. Parsley counteracts "garlic breath."

Flat leaf Parsley

Flat leaf Parsley has a different flavour to curly leaf. It is well worth growing both varieties.

Growing and picking parsley

I find that parsley likes to compete with itself so i sew a few seedlings next to each and they tend to do better than one seedling on its own. When picking parsley, ensure you snap the stem off at the base so it doesn't become moribund. Remove any growth that gets discoloured or old. Pick parsley often.

Parsley Companion Plants

The best companion plants for parsley are roses, chives, tomatoes and carrots.

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Salad Daze Market - every Friday

2012-01-28T22:36:00.015+02:00

We really had a great evening at Salad Daze on Friday. Jo of Salad Daze has organised organic meat, milk (bring your own container)and fresh vegetables and well as delicious cheese from Pickme Farm. You have simply got to taste the amazing wares from the Salad Daze kitchen.

Come along and choose a cut of meat to braai next week Friday at 4.30 at Salad Daze, Stewart Drive, Berea, East London (in the same road as Spur). Bring your paper, bottles and tins to recycle at Salad Daze recycling centre. Remember to bring your favourite sundowner too.

Bring the whole family along. There's a jumping castle and chalkboards to draw on for the 'kleinspan.' Jeannine is there with practice poi to learn to play. Practice poi helps with concentration and coordination. Jeannine has her book, the South African Planting and Companion Planting Guide available.

We were joined this week by Camile and Russell of Repello with their amazing range of neem based products.

Tammy and John of Freeman Elliot Designs brought a stunning collection of there recycled wooden work.

All the regulars should be coming along next week, including Hayleigh with her amazing recycled craft from Scruffy Loves, Sista with her recycled shopping baskets, Monica with her lovely suncatchers as well as a lot of new crafters and good food suppliers.

Salad Daze is offering Container Gardening workshops. If you are interested in learning how to set up your own container garden, please contact Jo on 074 852 8080. Jo is also offering cooking courses at Salad Daze.

Come and relax at Salad Daze Food Market on Friday evening from 4.30 till 8. There will be firedancing after dark.

green finger tips - growing chilli

2012-01-23T08:49:00.011+02:00

Chilli lovers can enjoy growing chilli bushes. Chilli belongs to the solanum family, which includes tomatoe and potato. This red hot chilli seedling was planted in September and is about 3 weeks old.

Two months later, the seedling is developing well and getting a lot taller. Chilli is relatively easy to grow, needing little attention and a little water. There are a great variety of chillies which vary in strength and size.

The first flowers appear on the chilli plants in January. This bush is standing about 65cm tall now. It is full of flowers and fruit.

The flowers are opening and the tiny chilli pods are forming.

Now the first handful of chilli pods are in the hand. The pods emerge green, turn black and then red.

The bush will last for a few seasons. It produces prolifically. The chilli bush dies back in the winter, but happily reestablishes itself in the spring. Chilli is a great insect repellent and is a great companion plant of herbs like basil and tarragon. The red chilli pods can be cut up and added to natural insect sprays.

Harvest your chillies and make chilli salt, chilli sauce and chilli jam. There are delicious chill recipes which will fulfill your desire for chilli dishes.

green finger tips - nipping basil

2012-01-07T00:54:00.008+02:00

The Basil Nip

Basil grows better if you nip the top two leaves from time to time. Start when the plants are about 8 to 10cm tall.

In these two photos you can see the first basil leaves have been nipped off the plants which are about 10cm tall.

The basil branches out and become bushy when you nip out the top two leaves.

In the second set of photos you can see the leaves which i nipped out of the growing basil bush. The basil bush is bushing out nicely because of the all the nipping i did.

Basil is a great culinary and medicinal herbs. It's sweet aroma is insect repellant and is a great companion plant in the organic garden.

green finger tips - beans developing

2011-12-28T21:32:00.009+02:00

The bean seed was planted on 14 November 2011 and germinated 6 days later.

The first true leaves of the beans appear, shiny and bright.

The first flowers of the beans appear on 20 December. The very first tiny baby beans are showing themselves 5 days later.

Beans are easy to grow and maintain. They need little attention, given the right amount of water, they produce plentifully.

This is the first handful of green beans harvested from the bushes. They are sweet, succulent and delicious when picked just at the right time. Pick the beans as they reach full length. If you leave them for longer, they will become less tender as the seed starts developing.

Living Seeds Competition

2011-12-20T12:48:00.006+02:00

The other day i entered the Living Seeds Harvest Photo Comp .

Here is one of my latest entries:

Here is the information from their newsletter:

Living Seeds Harvest Photo Comp

Summer is here, the first of your harvests should be coming into the home. This year we will be having two photo competitions. An early season and a late season. Have fun and best of luck.

We have two stunning prizes for the winner of this years early season Photo Comp.

1) A Limited Edition First Day Cover of the South African Green Garden Vegetable Stamp series including a recipe booklet for each of the 6 vegetables represented.

2) A R200-00 Livingseeds Gift voucher

Rules:

1) Original Photo's only by the grower.
2) Any homegrown vegetables / fruit can be represented.
3) Any number of submissions
4) All submissions must take place on the Livingseeds.co.za Facebook page.
5) The single picture with the most "FB Likes" wins.
6) Please label the pic's Early Photo Comp
7) Competition ends on the 31st December 2011

Get your pictures in to the competition.
Like the pictures on their Facebook Page Living Seeds Harvest Photo Comp if you are gardenless.

green finger tips - bush beans germinating

2011-12-09T20:13:00.009+02:00

I planted beans in my garden and want to share the beauty of the first appearance of the bean seedlings.

green finger tips - radish and carrot

2011-12-07T15:11:00.011+02:00

Carrot and Radish

Mix the seeds of radish and carrot together. Plant them in shallow drills and cover with soil. Ensure that the soil is moist when you plant so that the seeds don't get washed away.

Why plant Radish and Carrot together?

The carrot seeds are tiny and the radish seed are larger. The radish germinate readily and assist the carrots by protecting the seedlings and opening the ground for the carrots to penetrate more easily.

The radish seedlings germinated two days after planting. The carrots followed about 3 days later. The day the seeds were planted, there was a great rain which helped with the speedy germination.

Thirteen days later the seedlings have developed quite a lot and the first signs of the radish root are appearing.

On day seventeen, the first radishes are ready to be plucked, washed and eaten. There is nothing that beats the sharp taste of a freshy picked young radish.

Freshly picked radish is nutritious and delicious. This trio went into a salad roll...more please!

To ensure that I have a continous supply of radish and carrot, I have planted more carrot and radish seeds.

Salad Daze Food and Craft Market - Every Friday

2011-12-03T12:45:00.008+02:00

Friday evening fun at Salad Daze Deli

After a busy tiring week, come and enjoy a lovely afternoon and evening in the Salad Daze Deli yard. Kick back and braai...relax and have fun and support the work of the amazing crafters and gardeners at the market.

Salad Daze goal - 100% organic

The writing is on the wall. REDUCE REUSE RECYCLE. Jo of Salad Daze Deli is promoting a healthier lifestyle. She is aiming to get her restuarant serving 100% organically grown produce. Salad Daze Deli is encouraging the public to come and learn about growing food, recycling and reducing waste.

She has set up a recyling centre at the back of the Deli, she grows plants in a great variety of containers to make the place look comfortable and full of greenery and colour.

The sage and sacred basil and thriving in this pot in the yard.

So come home to Salad Daze every Friday evening and braai from 16h00. Everyone is welcome to stay till 20h00.

Hayleigh of REDUCE REPURPOSE came along with her lovely ideas and recycled repurposed goodies, including xmas socks, cat boxes and recycled jean handbags.

Monica brought sparkle into all our lives with her suncatchers.

I was there playing poi with the children and promoting the South African Planting and Companion Planting Guide , which helps gardeners to plan their gardens. currently earthworm prodcutions is holding a competition, giving away 4 signed copies of the book, 2 have been awarded already. Add your comment today by clicking this link Companion Planting Competition and stand a chance to win with earthworm production and sprig blog.

I have a collection of original artworks and practice poi. If you are looking for a uniques gift for someone, I have yoga gift vouchers available.

The children had loads of fun jumping on the jumping castle, learning to play poi and drawing on the walls! (well the chalk at least comes off!)

Salad Daze Food and Craft Market on Friday's

2011-11-28T05:19:00.024+02:00

Salad Daze Deli is holding a weekly flea market on Friday evening from 16h00 to 20h00. The market is aimed at creating awareness around organic living and the recycling of household waste, so come along and join the fun.

Salad Daze are aiming to serve 100% organic meals and are looking for growers in the East London area who may have excess to share at the food market on Fridays. The braai was cooking and the food table was irresistible, with baked goods, preserves and organic eggs for sale.

They have a great variety of inventive seedling containers in which they are sprouting a selection of seedlings.

Salad Daze has a household waste recycling centre in the yard and encourage patrons to develop a new good habit, and they offer rewards to loyal clients for using the recycling station.

This past Friday we were blessed with a lovely evening, with a variety of recycled and crafts on display.

Sista has lovely shopping bags made of recycled packaging tape.

These amazing Christmas decorations were made using recycled stained glass offcuts stuck onto polystyrene balls.

Recycled glass bottles and tins decorated with polymer clay.

I was there with the South African Planting and Companion Planting guide, as well as original art and practice poi.

Amy had an absolute jol on the jumping castle. She is a very enterprising young lady, who helped out running the cool drink table. We spent an awesome time drawing together.

Come along and enjoy the fun! Tell everyone you know!

Congratulations to this weeks winners!!

2011-11-27T17:14:00.005+02:00

The winner for this week is Samantha Pickard. Earthworm Productions and Sprig blog would like to congratulate Samantha. Your signed copy will be on the way to you during the week. Follow this link to see the announcement Sprig Blog Winners

The Second lucky Winner is Nadia and the third is Julia.
Congratulations to Muffins who is the fourth and final winner of the competition.

Please contact earthworm productions to order your copies of the South African Planting and Companion Planting Guide

Win a signed copy of the South African Planting and Companion Planting Guide

2011-11-17T17:00:00.004+02:00

Comment on this link Sprig Blog Competition and stand to WIN

Sprig Blog, together with Earthworm Productions, would like to introduce you to the South African Planting and Companion Planting Guide and give four lucky gardeners a signed copy! Just in time for Christmas.

Companion Planting is the art and science of growing groups of vegetables, herbs and flowers, to create a diverse, flourishing vegetable garden that sustains without pesticides and chemicals to control pests. Do it all naturally with Companion Planting.

Companion planting gives you an understanding of each plant in the organic garden, including information on which plants can be grown together successfully and which do not thrive with each other. The guide is full of information about plant companions and antagonists, tips and uses for each plant, as well as nutritional and herbal uses as well as information on when to plant.

It includes 142 plant species and over a 100 illustrations of plants which include a variety of common food, herb, fruit, flowers and indigenous plants. Companion Planting is designed to guide you on your learning journey about organic gardening and companion planting. It is simply laid-out and easy-to-read and is always there as a quick reference.

Remember to purchase your copy by contacting earthwormpro@gmail.com

green finger tips - all about peas

2011-11-11T06:54:00.012+02:00

The pea seeds have germinated. In this photo you can see the two day old growth emerging next to the lettuce. The important thing about staking peas is that the stake must be branched. You will find that if you stake them on a straight pole they will not grip and you will have to tie them onto the stake.

After a few weeks the tendril begin to form and the pea looks for a stake to climb up. You can see the tendril realising that there is something to hold on to.

you can see the way the plant has moved towards the thinner part of the stake.

the pea finally found it's grip and is holding on. The first two photos of the pea taking hold were taken within an hour of each other. The third photo was taken the next morning.

Two days ago the peas started flowering. Waiting in anticipation now for the fruit to form.

UPDATE 20 November

Here is the first pea on the bush

the first pea in the hand

the first pea half eaten - so good!

on 6 dec - a handful of peas

green finger tips - october extension of the organic garden

2011-10-25T23:38:00.014+02:00

the next part of the bed

the next section of the organic garden is developing. the cardboard boxes have done the job of killing the grass. i pulled all the dead grass out and mulched it alongside the barrier of rocks. the boxes have moved the next section now. will soon have to get more rocks.

softening the soil

the soil was pretty hard, so i irrigated until it softened up and i could get the little fork to penetrate. as the soil softens, so it becomes easier to dig in and aerate the soil.

soil - minimal disturbance

i avoid turning the soil over. when the soil is turned the structure and order of the microscopic life is disturbed. when the soil is turned, the number of weeds that germinate increases significantly.

new seedlings in the organic garden

i planted some frilly lettuce and flat parsley seedlings. mustard, fennel and linseed seeds were sprinkled inbetween. everything has germinated and the seedlings transplanted well. lettuce and parsley are good companion plants. the mustard and linseed are soil conditioners. the next post will show how things have grown.

green finger tips - one months growth - before and after

2011-10-10T00:22:00.006+02:00

before and after

i took the second picture about a month after the first. the mustard went wild. it was swamping everything else. i had to thin it out. i laid the plants i pulled out on the ground as a green manure. green manuring is a process of growing green materials like mustard, clover, lucerne and linseed and pulling them out to use as soil improving materials.

i took the next photo a while later, after i had radically thinned the mustard and i took some of the fennel out. the mustards are starting to bolt.

green finger tips - the seedlings germinate

2011-09-13T22:11:00.010+02:00

placing the border

i went out and got some rocks from around the neighbourhood to create a border. they stop the weedeaters getting in (there are a troop of garden service men who come through with edge trimmers every so often and they trim everything in their path). I scattered mustard, fennel, linseed and mung bean seed. I added a few chilli seeds for a dash of spice. in a day or two the germination started.

mustard and fennel germinate

the mustard and fennel just after germination. there is a chilli skin lying in the soil. The mustard is a great soil improver. It gives nitrogen to the soil if pulled out before it goes to seed. although fennel is generally an antisocial plant, it has come up well, but i will thin the seedlings as there are too many for the space. young fennel salad coming up soon.

mustard and linseed

the mustard and linseed popped into existence next to each other. linseed improves the soil.

the next post will show how the the plants have developed since 28 august.

greenfinger tips - starting a new city organic garden

2011-08-22T22:30:00.005+02:00

gardening the lazy way

i have just started a new garden and being pushed for time am using the assistance of cardboard boxes. i leave the boxes standing on the grassy area for about 4 days. the grass yellows and it is easy to pull up the roots, especially if the soil is damp. i have not disturbed the soil at all. there is a delicate order of organisms that live in the soil. when you dig the soil over, that order is disturbed and can take a long time to restore.

seeds going into the soil

the first few mustard seeds have already germinated and i am waiting for the flax/linseed, fennel, mung beans and chillies to pop their sweet tender green leaves out of the soil. i am going to plant peas, parsley and lettuce in the next section.

fetching rocks

the garden service at the property is vicious. you have to protect your garden bed somehow. so on sunday, i went rocking in my neighbourhood. i looked for places where there were excavations going on and there they were, now nicely lined up. i hope they are adequate protection from the edge-trimming men.

the recycled doily

2011-08-17T19:17:00.005+02:00

i went to the cafe up the road and was served coffee (which was rather repugnant)but none-the-less when i looked at the doily and read what it said i was amazed, considering some of my latest posts about the situation with the litter in this country.

green finger tips - butter lettuce and oregano

2011-08-07T22:20:00.007+02:00

growing butter lettuce and oregano together

butter lettuce can be difficult to grow. snails and grasshoppers love to chomp on the lettuce you are growing. combining the butter lettuce into your oregano bed is a great help. the oregano keeps the insects away. this is great companion planting for your organic garden

butter lettuce germinate easily

butter lettuce seed will germinate in a day or two after planting, especially if you expose the seed to light before planting. generally lettuce seeds can be scattered where you want them to grow or in seed trays. if planting in seed trays, transplant when the seedlings are about 4 - 8 cm tall. a good dose of liquid fertilizer is helpful when transplanting seedlings.

oregano is a great ground cover

oregano grows wild and will cover up soil that is exposed. it can be grown from root stock and cutting. oregano is a valuable culinary and medicinal plant. you can open up little sections between your established oregano and plant butter lettuce seedlings into the oregano.

this is a winning companion planting combination

butter lettuce and oregano are great companion plants in the organic garden. the oregano will keep your butter lettuce healthy.

dustbin diggers - the price of dignity

2011-08-07T21:23:00.006+02:00

meeting belinda and sibongile

on thursday morning i met belinda and sibongile from amalinda squatter camp. they were in my road, digging through dustbins, finding bottles to recycle.

belinda and sibongile earn R15.00 per day digging in dustbins

they said that they can earn about R15.00 per day, (0.30c per bottle). they dig though the dustbins to earn a living. they are not alone. there are hundreds and thousands of people all over South Africa digging in dumps and dustbins to eke a small living by recycling waste.

the price of dignity

as the average consumer in south africa, we all throw away the rubbish. people are starting to think, talk and action recycling on a household level. each person can help the dustbin diggers by just keeping the 2 litre bottles aside, (and any other recyclables) for collection by these people. it would save their dignity, and yours, by not having people going through the litter you throw out.

Ag! Rubbish Man

2011-06-28T02:24:00.008+02:00

i have this bug bear in my life.

it goes around the amount of waste that each individual generates daily and how much of it can actually be put to better use.

this plea goes to all my fellow South Africans.

the request that we consider everything we throw away.

what are we throwing away and how can we make it easier for these people to sustain themselves.

how easy would it be for you to start recycling?
please share your ideas with me.

here is to living in a cleaner greener environment

grapefruit for breakfast

2011-06-08T15:50:00.009+02:00

picking the first fruit off the grapefruit tree

what a treat to eat the freshest of the fresh - grapefruit straight off the tree. we waited about two weeks for them to ripen. thinking we would eat one each, we picked two and then had piles of fun photographing them.

grapefruit's botanical name

what better way to keep healthy in the winter, with citrus paradisi in hand, which is full of vitamin c and antioxidants. grapefruit contain a polyamine called spermadine (ref wikipedia) which is said to promote longevity...all the more reason to eat them. we were awed by the size and the taste.

consuming grapefruit nutrition

the amazing thing about eating citrus straight from the tree is that you can eat the skin and pith, and it is not bitter like fruit that has been chemically grown. we managed to consume one grapefruit between us and we were full. the other we ate on the following day. i think it may be one of the best breakfasts i have eaten in a long while.

Green finger tips - tomato, basil , rosemary and marigold

2011-05-25T21:43:00.004+02:00

Tomato pests in the organic garden

A gardener knows that tomatoes are prone to all sorts of attacks during the tomato growing season. They are vulnerable to blight and bottom end rot. Red spider mites also love to take advantage of tomato plants in your organic garden.

Grow tomato, basil, rosemary and marigold together in your garden

Create a terrific combination of companion plants in your organic garden tomato with basil rosemary and marigold. Basil and rosemary are both aromatic plants which are great insect repellents. The strong aromas of these herbs help the tomato plants to thrive, keeping the tomato plants healthy and virtually pest free. Adding the marigolds helps to keep the nematodes away and attracts hoverflies. Hoverflies pollinate plants and the larvae of some species eat pests like aphids.

Companion planting yield healthy tomatoes

Growing tomatoes can be easier and more rewarding when companion planting them in the garden. The other advantage of growing your basil and rosemary with the tomatoes is that when you come to cook the herbs with the tomatoes, you are in for a taste explosion. The combination of cooking with basil and tomato is superb. Any dish with tomato and rosemary is guaranteed to be a winner, especially when it is grown in your very own organic garden using companion planting.

Green finger tips – city organic garden bed developments

2011-05-15T18:11:00.012+02:00

The city organic garden bed is developing

The soil in the bed is still washing a little. The rain has been pouring for a few days and the drum gets full quickly. The excess water is washing the soil away. I need to get some more mulch and plants growing where the soil is washing.
The gas guy managed to crack the paving stone I put in place when he brought the new gas bottle, so now it looks like a mosaic.

Plants planted in the city organic garden

I have placed a potted fern next to the rainwater harvesting tank. I am going to leave it in the pot as otherwise it will get too large for the space. I have thrown a few mung beans and flax seed (linseed) into the bed. I am about to plant some mustard.

Volunteer plants in the city organic garden

There is a volunteer potato (which shouldn’t really be growing this close to winter, but let’s see what happens) I am debating about moving it as it is growing right in the pathway.

The “weeds” that are volunteering are mainly clover, dandelion and chickweed. All of them are soil improvers. It is amazing how the soil knows what is needed to balance and improve it. Clover and dandelion are well known for their nitrogen fixing qualities. Chickweed adds Potassium to the soil and is a great green manure crop.

Green finger tips - Rainwater harvesting

2011-05-09T23:15:00.004+02:00

Assessing what I have available for rainwater harvesting

One of the first things needed for a successful organic garden is water. I had a look around the little yard of my city organic garden and discovered this unused 20 litre drum standing in the corner of the courtyard.

Here is the downpipe throwing water onto the soil, which is washing away down the drain. So to stop the soil erosion and collect a little rainwater, I did the most obvious thing.

Rainwater for the city organic garden

I placed the drum under the down pipe and hey presto! Here is the first rainwater I have harvested from the roof. This simple action allows me to have water on hand for the first little bed of the tiny urban farm.