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Why Organic Gardening? A Healthy Passion!
Starting Our Organic Garden
How I started my organic garden.
I have always wanted to have my organic garden. It is said that troubles in your life, if you can overcome them, will make you stronger and hopefully wiser. Well my troubles started when I found out my 3 year old son was allergic to almost everything. Because I had some allergies as well, I was able to recognize some symptoms my son had. So I had my son tested for allergies and my suspicions were confirmed. From then on I knew I was going to go thru a lot of learning; I started with food rotation diet, elimination diet, changing the way I cooked and bought food. I had trouble finding organic food at that time and did not completely trust it was organic even though the labels said it was. I grew what I could in my backyard and bought fruits from friends who had organic fruit trees. I knew how organic, fresh produce tastes like as I grew up on a farm in Poland where my parents grew everything organically.
I kept thinking about having my own forest and my own organic garden outside of Toronto.
I picked the location for my forest and garden in my mind and by browsing real estate sites on internet and with the help of my brother, real estate agent, I found my “Dream Forest” in April of 2006.
Clearing the land.
I was very excited. In the middle of our lot was about 2 acres of open land. There was no
road leading to the spot where I pictured my garden and there was no water. That did not scare me at all. The 2 acres field was covered with a tall, dry grass and milk weed everywhere we turned. We decided to go slowly, steady and have fun while creating our garden.
We started in the middle of May of 2006 as soon as the weather got nice. My husband, my aunt, my sister, our son and myself took on a task of clearing the whole 2 acres. Raking dead leaves, grass and milk weed took us the whole day. We got a fire permit so we could burn some of the dead grass and weeds. We were planning on using the ashes in my garden.
I have always wanted to have my organic garden. It is said that troubles in your life, if you can overcome them, will make you stronger and hopefully wiser. Well my troubles started when I found out my 3 year old son was allergic to almost everything. Because I had some allergies as well, I was able to recognize some symptoms my son had. So I had my son tested for allergies and my suspicions were confirmed. From then on I knew I was going to go thru a lot of learning; I started with food rotation diet, elimination diet, changing the way I cooked and bought food. I had trouble finding organic food at that time and did not completely trust it was organic even though the labels said it was. I grew what I could in my backyard and bought fruits from friends who had organic fruit trees. I knew how organic, fresh produce tastes like as I grew up on a farm in Poland where my parents grew everything organically.
I kept thinking about having my own forest and my own organic garden outside of Toronto.
I picked the location for my forest and garden in my mind and by browsing real estate sites on internet and with the help of my brother, real estate agent, I found my “Dream Forest” in April of 2006.
Clearing the land.
I was very excited. In the middle of our lot was about 2 acres of open land. There was no
road leading to the spot where I pictured my garden and there was no water. That did not scare me at all. The 2 acres field was covered with a tall, dry grass and milk weed everywhere we turned. We decided to go slowly, steady and have fun while creating our garden.
We started in the middle of May of 2006 as soon as the weather got nice. My husband, my aunt, my sister, our son and myself took on a task of clearing the whole 2 acres. Raking dead leaves, grass and milk weed took us the whole day. We got a fire permit so we could burn some of the dead grass and weeds. We were planning on using the ashes in my garden.
Preparing the soil for planting.
The following weekend, my husband borrowed a truck from a friend living in the area and also rented a big rotor-tiller. We started with few tools, and really needed help from our family members.
The amount of weeds was incredible as this land was left untouched for seventeen years (before, it was a farmland). It was a very hard, physical work but I was determined to have the soil ready for planting by the end of May. Raking weeds and pulling out debris took us two days. Kids helped a lot too.
Choosing and planting seeds.
We decided not to use fertilizer the first year because we were not sure what would grow well in our garden although the soil looked very good. My main objective for the first year was to spend every weekend outdoors to learn what I could grow in my garden. I knew there would be a lot of weeds to fight with throughout the year, so I decided to buy some seeds of pumpkin, squash, cucumbers, zucchini and beans because they are easy to plant, they grow fast and their large leaves cover the weeds and kill them. Not having water on the site was another test, as we had to rely on nature to provide enough rain to sustain the garden. This garden yielded more vegetables than I every expected in the first year of my gardening.
We decided not to use fertilizer the first year because we were not sure what would grow well in our garden although the soil looked very good. My main objective for the first year was to spend every weekend outdoors to learn what I could grow in my garden. I knew there would be a lot of weeds to fight with throughout the year, so I decided to buy some seeds of pumpkin, squash, cucumbers, zucchini and beans because they are easy to plant, they grow fast and their large leaves cover the weeds and kill them. Not having water on the site was another test, as we had to rely on nature to provide enough rain to sustain the garden. This garden yielded more vegetables than I every expected in the first year of my gardening.
Creating a forest path.
When the garden was done, we started to work on clearing paths in our forest. Every free weekend we would go there. Using long cutters, we would clear some dead branches to create nice alley. We had a great time with family and friends who came to help us
When the garden was done, we started to work on clearing paths in our forest. Every free weekend we would go there. Using long cutters, we would clear some dead branches to create nice alley. We had a great time with family and friends who came to help us
Walking through the forest and smelling the maple, pines and spruce is such a blessing for us now. Monarch butterflies were so friendly that they walked all over kids. That was incredible to see. We have decided not to remove all the milk weeds because Monarch butterflies feed on them.
Introduction
Starting Our Organic Garden
Discovering What to Grow
Winter Thought
Recipes
Photo Gallery
Healthy Links
Starting Our Organic Garden
Discovering What to Grow
Winter Thought
Recipes
Photo Gallery
Healthy Links