Welcome to
Gwenet’s
Organic
Garden
What are the benefits of growing your own and
how doing so will keep an eco-friendly envi-
ronment in your garden to keep you healthy.
hold much water. Make sure you add plenty of
compost. The other type of soil oftenfound-
ed in gardens is clay soil. The problem with
them is that they are heavy and wet. In order
Gwenet Van Niekerk studied Food Science and to break them, you can buy ‘horticultural grit’
worked on a farm when she was younger, she which will help with this problem.
realised how most of the crops were sprayed
with pesticides, insecticides and that the so- ‘’The best is to start with what you eat. I always
called fresh veggies were washed in chemicals, say if you have lettuce, spinach and radish in
wrapped,
transport-
your garden, you will
ed, packaged in plastic
‘‘
I always say my garden is my gym, always have something
and definitely not fresh
on your plate. Plant
my pharmacy, my grocery store and it what is in season and
when you buy them.
find out what grows
feeds my soul. ’’
‘’My garden gives us
well in your area. Start
access to real, unpro-
with good seedlings
cessed and more nutritious food. I love to be or transplants from your local nursery. Look
outdoors and interact/connect with nature and at how much sun your garden gets and make
living in harmony with nature and not against sure you have good soil. Healthy soil - healthy
it. I love how what I grow and harvest, dictates plants. If you have a small space or poor soil,
what we eat. I am continuously learning some- raised beds or containers are an excellent op-
thing new every day from insects to weath- tion. Plant flowers and herbs with your vegeta-
er patterns and how to use herbs to keep us bles to attract pollinators and
healthy. ‘’
beneficial bugs.’’
To grow your own veggies, you do not need a lot
to start with finding the right sun spot in your
garden. It is very important to have sunshine
over your veggie garden in order to keep the
process of growing. The chosen area needs to
be cleaned of any existing weeds and to be dug
well to break up the soil. Try and dig at least
20/30cm or further to make sure that any ex-
isting roots are removed to prevent them from
growing again. Spare some time to look into
what type of compost you have in your garden.
Sandy soils are very easy to dig but they don’t
The list of benefits is endless but Gwen shares
some of the benefits of growing your own veg-
gies.
‘’Fresher food that lasts longer. No packag-
ing or plastic. Smaller footprint. You learn to
live closer to nature. You eat healthier. Home-
grown is more nutritious. You get to plant
heirloom vegetables that are not available in
shops and you can grow indigenous fruit and
veggies, in other words, a variety of vegetables.
It keeps you fit and is good for your soul. You
connect with like-minded people and learn