HOME+GARDEN
YOUR GARDEN THIS MONTH:
MAY
Grow Your Own Special
NOT ONLY DO WE HAVE AN ABUNDANCE OF TIME AND SOME RARE BEAUTIFUL
WEATHER TO ENJOY AND WORK IN OUR GARDENS, NOW IS ALSO THE PERFECT TIME
TO DIVERSIFY OUR GREEN FINGERS BY PLANNING AND CREATING OUR OWN FRUIT
AND VEGETABLE GARDENS.
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Whether you are learning a new skill, incorporating
gardening into home-schooling, filling the isolation,
or are already an avid horticulturist; whether you
are utlising a window box, designating a flowerbed
or have embarked upon building your own garden
allotment; growing-your-own offers numerous
benefits; from mental wellbeing to vitamin D, to the
simple pleasure of your first harvest and of course
the positive impact of plenty of fresh organic fruit
and vegetables in your diet. with essential vitamins and minerals, a variety of
phytochemicals (naturally occurring plant
substances) and fibre that are vital for good health;
and consuming it from an organic source enhances
its goodness.”
According to Komal Kumar, senior specialist
dietitian at The Lister Hospital (part of HCA
Healthcare UK) “In the last decade, there has
been a 360 per cent increase in people following
plant-based diets. Not only are people consuming
more fruit and vegetables, but last year, the number
of packs of vegetable seeds far outsold those for
flowers in many garden centres. Good quality, organically-rich soil is crucial
for your vegetable plants to grow long and healthy
roots. Make sure to mix compost and natural
fertilisers to the soil to give your plants all the nutrients
they need to grow healthily. You can make an organic
compost yourself from home with uncooked vegetable
peel, used tea bags, weeds, dead leaves and cuttings
from the garden.
Growing your own veggies and consuming them
has a number of benefits, particularly for those
who wish to maintain a healthy, balanced lifestyle.
Fruit and vegetables are incredibly versatile, packed When choosing where and what you want to plant,
make sure you don’t try to plant too many
vegetables very close to each other. You want to
make sure all your crops have room to grow,
How to Grow Your Own:
Katie Myers from Mainland Aggregates offers
the following advice:
otherwise they won’t grow at all. If you buy
packets of seeds, make sure to follow the spacing
directions closely.
Controlling weeds is really important for
ensuring your vegetables can grow healthily. You
can control the growth of weeds by applying a layer
of mulch over the top of your soil to reduce the
growth of weeds.
If you’re new to starting a vegetable garden, some
of the best vegetables to start out with include
lettuce, tomatoes, carrots and beetroot. You could
also try propagating some of your vegetables from
cuttings, which is an easy way to start out with
growing vegetables, especially if you don’t have room
for a vegetable patch in your garden. Celery and
spring onions can both be grown from scraps. Simply
take a cutting about two inches from the bottom of
a vegetable and place in a cup of water. Try and
keep the cup in direct sunlight and it will start
sprouting within a few days.