Design suggestions
A
food garden need not be a boring patch of land. Start small and simple.
Plan a mixture of food plants for variety on your plate. Keep your food
garden happy and thriving with a layer of mulch, supplemented with
organic fertilizers.
Bear in mind that an edible landscape needs care and maintenance in terms of regular mulching, watering, feeding, weeding and pruning. Harvesting and preserving surplus are other chores you have to take care of.
Before
setting out to design your edible landscape, consider aspects like
necessary growing conditions for the plants you pick, sunlight/part
sun/shade, soil drainage, size of the plant when it reaches its
maturity, the space it would take up, leaf size and color. Here is where
you can consult with landscape specialists for better understanding and
clear-cut designing.
Begin with herbs
To
grow herbs, you can either set aside a small patch of land in your
vegetable garden or fuse them into your landscape. Flowering perennials
and herbs like rosemary, sage, thyme, basil, and oregano are a great combo for a blended look. Herbs also keep pests away.
Go green
Salad
greens love cool and damp weather; so, spring is the right time for
growing them. Keep the bed moist and lightly fertilized.
Grow
baby greens, lettuce, spinach, chard or mustard. Intersperse them with
edible flowers for a visual feast and wellness in your salad.
Grow berries
Low-growing
Alpine strawberries provide a great groundcover. Besides, you welcome
wildlife into your yard. Strawberries grow best in full sun and in soil
that drains well. Fruit shrubs like blueberries and elderberries produce
delicious fruits. Blueberries flower in spring and bring on the
colorful show in fall, apart from yielding luscious fruits.
Raise fruit trees
Fruit
trees require only minimal care. Select dwarf varieties rather than
standard size. Choose varieties that grow well in your neighborhood, and
yield harvest through the year. Most fruit trees grow well in full sun
and love well-drained soil. Take care to deep soak them periodically to
produce fruits full of flavor.
Putting
up a show of beautiful yellow foliage in fall, pear and plum trees bear
fruits in summer. Cherry, apple and citrus fruits are among the easiest
to grow.
Benefits you reap
You dish out plates of wholesome nutrition to your family every day.
Save on greengrocery bills.
No squandering energy on mowing lawns.
No carbon emissions from your mower; you breathe in pure air.
If
you go in for drip irrigation, you cut down on water usage
considerably, and in turn do your bit to preserve natural resources.
Say
‘goodbye’ to days’ old supermarket produce – rich in all kinds of
preservatives and toxins – that travels 1500 miles on an average to
reach your food cupboard. Three cheers to your own organic food that you
eat fresh, grown in your own backyard!
