Hi, I’m Ed Bruske. We’re talking about how you can build your own vegetable garden and grow your own vegetables right outside your home. It’s not that hard. I just one to take a moment to talk about what I know you’re all thinking about. And that is all the pests and diseases and what not you’re bound to have if you’re using this organic system and not spraying everything with pesticides and herbicides and what if not.
Well, it’s just not true, if you look around here, you can see at this garden which has had no artificial fertilizers, no pesticides or herbicides or whatsoever. It’s in the peak of health. These are some very happy rhubarb plants and I’m just tossing a little bit more of compost or decomposed organic matter around the rhubarb plants to build a healthier soil which will build healthier plants. And that is really the difference, the major difference between a system of treating food crops with artificial pesticides and artificial fertilizer. And this organic system, artificial pesticides really only treat the symptoms of disease, the whole concept of organic gardening is to build a healthy garden, healthy garden soil, healthy plants that won’t become susceptible to diseases. Soil that will resist diseases and plants that will resist diseases.
And the organic system for dealing with pests is called Integrated Pest Management. And what’s that about is, you only intervene when absolutely necessary. You might have a few bugs here and there. They might be fearful to look at it at times. They may nibble a little bit on your plants. But the question you need to ask yourself, “Is that so bad that you need to go out and get a toxic spray to deal with?” Probably not.
Another important way to avoid problems of diseases which will include fungus and bacteria as well as insects is to rotate your crops. Don’t keep planting them in the same spot year after year. That just invites pests to take a foot hold in your soil and be there waiting when your plants come up. Finally, make sure you’re planting the appropriate plants for your location, plants that are going to thrive and do well and stay healthy. They will be the best choices to resist disease.
Well, I hope all of these information gets you started gardening, growing your own vegetables, eating your own vegetables. It’s really not hard to do as I think we’ve shown here. It may just be time for you to get out and start your own garden. So I say, happy gardening!
