Exceprt from the book:

Your Own Organic Vegetable Garden

The vegetable garden is a very important link between us and the earth. As our garden grows we grow. When we grow our own food we know exactly what has been used to grow this food. We know that the fruit, the vegetables, the herbs that we grow are rich and full of nutrients necessary for our health. Our backyards can provide us with good homegrown food. Growing your own food i s a ver y important aspect of maintaining a healthy mind and body. Even more important is g r o w i n g o u r o w n f o o d organically without the use of chemicals that pollute ourselves and our environment. If our home grown food is to have good nutritional value it must be grown in healthy live soil. The fact is, to succeed growing organically, healthy soil is a necessity.

Steps to Creating your Garden Paradise

RAISED BEDS OR NOT. THE DECISION TO HAVE A RAISED BED OR TO GROW IN THE GROUND DEPENDS UPON: • condition of the soil • amount of space you have to work with • amount of time you have • amount of water you have available to use • amount of money you want to spend.

A FEW POINTS ABOUT RAISED BEDS:

1. Raised beds allow you to grow from 4 to 7 times more food in the same area then in the same ground. 2. Raised beds allow you greater control over watering costs, pests (from gophers to ants) and crops (especially extending harvest periods). 3. Raised beds allow you greater control of the soil being used. Raised Beds are easy to make and you can rec y c l e
(reuse) various materials in making the beds.