GROW

YOUR OWN
ORGANIC
FOOD
WHY GROW
SOMEWHERE TO GROW
ORGANIC?
Organic growing is gardening without You will need a sunny space with access to
the use of artificial fertilisers and chemical water. It could be a space amongst a flower
pesticides. It uses natural methods which border, some pots, a windowsill or balcony.
create a balance of wildlife to encourage Organic gardener John Leavon estimates
The Women’s healthy plant growth and control pests. that it is possible to grow enough fresh
Environmental Network Traditional small scale growing (often by produce for a small family, for one year, on
Trust is a registered charity women) has used these techniques 3.5m2 (the size of a double bed sheet).
informing, educating and successfully for thousands of years. Contact local growing groups: there may be
empowering women Women produce more than half the people who want to share an allotment or
who care about the world’s food and yet they own only 1% of garden.
environment. the world’s land . Ask your local council for a list of allotment
sites. Allotments are very cheap to rent and
WEN There are many reasons for deciding to often do not have waiting lists. Look
PO Box 30626 grow your own organic food. It saves around your area and talk to allotment
London E1 1TZ money; it tastes great; it helps to keep you holders to find a site that is secure, well kept
Tel:020 7481 9004 fit; you know that you are not eating and close to you, then contact the lettings
Fax: 020 7481 9144 genetically engineered foods or pesticides; officer – usually another allotment holder.
[email protected] it can be therapeutic and it saves on
www.wen.org.uk packaging. Fresh, organic vegetables are
often more nourishing than non-organic CHECKING
This briefing is part of the
“Marigold Information Pack“
ones. Organic carrots for example, have a
high concentration of nutrients in the skin
THE SOIL
and only need to be washed, but non- When you have a growing site, find out
organic carrots, which have been treated what the land has been used for before you
with organophosphates, must be peeled so start growing food in it – inner city areas
important nutrients are lost. may have been contaminated by industry in
Growing your own organic food means the past. Your local authority may be able to
that you have control over what you eat. tell you about the history of the land use.
You and your family and friends may
The marigold is the already have growing skills and Testing the soil for industrial contamination
symbol of the “Taste of a knowledge about methods like this. is very expensive. Alocal university may be
Better Future” campaign. It able to test the soil for free or for a small
represents sustainable charge. Otherwise you will have to contact
agriculture and shared CHEMICAL COCKTAILS
a private soil testing company.
knowledge. Pesticides kill all insects – including If there is any risk that the soil in your
‘gardener's friends’. These are insects growing space has been contaminated, it is
Taste of a Better Future such as ladybirds, lacewings and beetles, safer to grow vegetables in containers or
encourages growing that naturally control pests by eating raised beds. If your site is a patch of
groups especially those them. Pesticides poison birds and concrete, you could build raised beds on top
involving ethnic minority animals which eat insects and this affects of this or grow food in containers.
women. the balance of nature.
Nitrates from artificial fertilisers can Organisations such as Elm Farm Research
leach into water and poison rivers, killing Centre (see Useful Contacts) offer a soil
fish and other water life. analysis service for organic growers, to
detect any mineral deficiencies in the soil.
 WHAT DO
YOU NEED? WHEN CAN YOU START?
You will need some tools to start Any time is a good time to start setting up a growing space. You may have to wait for the
with. Get a fork and a spade first, soil to warm up before planting seeds outside, but there is always something to do if you
to dig the soil, then a watering can. want to start growing your own food.

JANUARY Make a plan of your growing site. Make a compost heap. Trim hedges
Atrowel or small fork is good for and trees. Dig over beds roughly.
planting things. Arake and a hoe FEBRUARY Sow broad beans and onion sets outside. To reuse plant pots, wash
are useful for sowing seeds the containers ready for planting later in the year.
and weeding. MARCH Sow early potatoes. Cover beds with compost or well rotted manure.
Prepare beds for sowing seeds.
APRIL Sow late potatoes. Sow tomatoes, aubergines and courgettes indoors in pots
or trays.
MAY Sow seeds outside. Plant out tender plants after danger of frost has passed.
You may be able to borrow tools or JUNE Sow salads and peas every week or so that they are not all ready at once.
buy them from car boot sales. Make some comfrey liquid fertiliser.
JULY Feed plants in containers with dilute comfrey liquid. Water your crops
You can collect seeds from shop- regularly.
bought vegetables. Easy seeds to AUGUST Sow winter salads such as oriental brassicas and rocket.
collect are peppers, squash, SEPTEMBER As you harvest crops, fill bare patches with fast-growing salad
aubergines, tomatoes, garlic bulbs. crops or ‘green manures’such as mustard or lupins.
Ask other gardeners or allotment OCTOBER Collect autumn leaves for a leaf mould heap. Leave it for two years to
groups if they can spare some break down into a humus-rich mulch.
seeds. You can buy seeds from NOVEMBER Plant trees and bushes. Store vegetables in boxes of sand in a cool
garden centres or organic seed dry place. Dig in manure. Sow early broad beans to avoid Spring blackfly attacks.
catalogues. Follow the sowing DECEMBER Order seeds. Sow onion sets and garlic. Check over and mend
instructions on the packet. tools.

Keep a journal of what you plant,

when, where – and if it was a
success. This WHAT TO GROW
will help you
learn what Older varieties of seeds are often hardier than modern hybrids and the vegetables often
grows best in have a better flavour. Agood diversity of plants encourages wildlife and does not exhaust
your plot or the soil. This gives more protection from diseases, pests and soil deficiencies. Grow food
containers. which is more expensive or hard to find in the shops. Pumpkins and squashes are available
in many different varieties as seeds and they keep well for the winter. Coriander is easy to
grow. Mooli (white radish) can be grown as easily as small red radishes. Chillies grow
SAVING WATER well on sunny windowsills inside or in a sheltered sunny place outside. Jerusalem
If your plot is near your home, try artichokes are easy to grow in shady areas and produce a large crop. Pink fir apple
to use your bath and washing up potatoes are a very tasty old variety of salad potato which stores well. Chard and rocket are
water for your plants. useful green vegetables for a late harvest.
Grow groundcover plants around
larger plants, and water in the
evening or early morning to cut
down on evaporation from the soil. Potatoes in an
old dustbin Runner
Collect rainwater beans in
in a waterbutt large pots
on the
ground
Trailing
tomatoes
in a bucket
 FEEDING THE SOIL
To keep plants supplied with food, you Tear up MULCHING
need to take care of the soil around them. egg boxes Mulching means putting a thick layer on
Composting and mulching are two to help top of the soil. You could use dry grass
methods that will help you build up a them cuttings, leaf mould or wood chippings.
fertile soil, even if the land hasn’t been break It doesn’t add nutrients to the soil, but
used for growing plants before. down prevents water evaporating and smothers
more weeds. Mulch slowly breaks down and
You can buy organic compost but it’s
quickly
cheaper to make it yourself. helps keep a good soil structure.
If you are starting a new garden from
MAKING COMPOST scratch, mulching is an easy way of
Compost adds nutrients to the soil as it clearing a new growing space of weeds.
breaks down and improves the soil Knock weeds down flat and cover with
structure. Make compost from virtually newspapers, cardboard or old carpet (don't
any organic matter – collecting kitchen Make compost in a shop-bought container, use carpet with a rubber underlay). Make
and garden waste is the easiest way to do an old dustbin or make one out of old sure there are no gaps and plenty of
this. You can add egg shells, tea bags, pallets. Just pile everything in. Successful overlap between pieces so that weeds
grass cuttings, screwed up or shredded composting needs moisture, air, and a cannot zig-zag between them.
paper and cardboard egg boxes to your mixture of organic materials. Peat is an endangered natural resource,
compost heap. Don't put animal bones or You may need to turn the compost heap often used as mulch or potting compost.
meat in it - they will attract rats. occasionally to speed it up. You can use coir or leaf mould instead.

GARDENING WITH THINGS YOU CAN MAKE

PERMACULTURE
The word permaculture comes from ‘permanent agriculture’ LIQUID PLANT FOOD
and is a garden design system that involves more than just Half fill a container with nettles or
growing food. Organic growing is a component of a comfrey leaves and top it up with
permaculture system. The aim is to produce a sustainable water. Cover it and leave it for about
environment based on natural cycles, where each element of one month, or until the leaves have
the design contributes to the whole system, rather than having broken down into a dark mess. Dilute
just one function. Permaculture encourages diversity of one part of the liquid with three parts
species, recycling and efficient use of space and materials. For water before using it. Comfrey liquid
more information see the Useful Contacts list at the end of this plant food is high in potassium and
briefing. nitrogen and has all the nutrients that
are in a shop-bought tomato feed.
GOOD COMPANIONS SEED TRAYS AND PLANTING POTS
Companion planting means grouping plants together to benefit Collect plastic trays from supermarket fruit and vegetables to use as
each other. Marigolds, fennel and nasturtiums are companion seed trays. Plant up young plants in cardboard toilet roll tubes and stack
plants which encourage ladybirds and hoverflies – both aphid- these in the trays. Cut off the bottoms of plastic drinks bottles and use
eating insects – to a garden. Onions, chives and garlic protect these as planting pots. You can use clear plastic bottles as miniature
against plant diseases and pests, but they can also suppress greenhouses for tender plants such as chillies or aubergines.
plant growth. Sweetcorn and beans are good companions;
sweetcorn provides beans with tall stalks to grow up.
For more information contact the Henry Doubleday Research Fill old tyres with
Association (see Useful Contacts). Use old yoghurt pots compost and grow
and soft drink bottles pumpkin plants in them
to grow young
vegetable plants

Lettuce in pots
and troughs on
windowsills
COMMON WEEDS USEFUL
Weeds are only plants growing in the wrong place - or those that you haven’t yet
found a use for. But even if you exclude them with a thick mulch, there will always CONTACTS
be some weeds to get rid of. Here are a few common ones: Elm Farm Research Centre
Deep rooted weeds such as dandelions, dock Hamstead Marshall, nr Newbury, Berks
and thistles will need to be dug out to prevent RG20 0HR
them from regrowing. Tel 01488 658 298
Soil testing service and research
Ground elder is a common weed whose brittle for organic growers.
roots quickly spread, particularly if they are
chopped up by a rotovator. The only sure way Henry Doubleday Research Association
to deal with it is by carefully digging up the Ryton Organic Gardens,
roots, however, it is also edible, along with Dunsmore, Coventry, CV8 32G
other native plants, chickweed and salad Tel. 024 76303517
burnett. By identifying your weeds you may Website: www.hdra.org.uk
find other uses for them as salad vegetables. Email: [email protected]
Promote organic gardening methods and
Horsetail (Equisetum arvense) is an ‘indicator run the Heritage Seed Library seed-
plant’. It shows that the soil is poorly drained. swapping scheme.
As well as weeding, add organic matter and
improve drainage to prevent regrowth. It is The Soil Association
poisonous. Bristol House, 40-56 Victoria St,
Bristol BS1 6BY
Tel 0117 929 0661
Website: www.soilassociation.org
ENCOURAGING WILDLIFE Email: [email protected]
Campaign for organic food and farming
Over time an organic garden develops a balance of wildlife which helps to control and sustainable forestry.
pests. Make wildlife welcome by providing food and shelter. Information on organic growing.

BEES AND BUTTERFLIES pollinate flowers so that plants produce fruit. Permaculture Association
Buddleia, rosemary and marigolds will draw them into your growing space. BCM London WC1 3XX
BIRDS add manure to the garden and eat a variety of pests including leatherjackets, Tel 07041 390 170
greenfly and snails. Leave seed heads in the winter for birds to feed on. Website: www.permaculture.org.uk
HOVERFLIES like bright, shallow flowers to feed on, such as convulvulus and Email:[email protected]
marigolds. They eat large quantities of greenfly and their eggs. Information on permaculture growing
FROGS AND TOADS eat slugs and snails. They like cool damp places. Any and local permaculture groups.
shady place can be a home for frogs and toads. Asmall pond will encourage
them to stay and breed. Royal Horticultural Society
HEDGEHOGS eat millipedes, cutworms and slugs, among other pests. If you are Wisley, Woking, Surrey GU23 6QB
lucky enough to have a hedgehog living nearby, a small dish of cat food left out at Tel. 01483 224 234
night will encourage it to stay. Education programmes, shows, gardening
information and training.
FURTHER READING SUSTAIN
Feeding The Soil The Organic Creative Vegetable Gardening 94 White Lion St, London N1 9PG
Way (HDRA) Joy Larkom (Mitchel Beazley) Tel 020 7837 1228
Gardening forWildlife Organic Gardening Website: www.sustainweb.org
Ron Wilson (Permanent Lawrence D. Hills (Penguin) Campaign for better food and farming.
Publications) The Permaculture Garden Organise food poverty network.
Permaculture in a Nutshell Patrick Graham Bell (HarperCollins)
Whitefield (Permanent Publ.) Grow Your Own Chinese Vegetables
Weeds: How to Control and Love Geri Harrington (Garden Ways Publishing)
Them Jo Readman (HDRA)
The Women’s Environmental Subscription rates Acknowledgements:
Network Trust is one of Britain’s Supporting £30 Ordinary £15 Researched and compiled by Caroline
leading environmental charities. Unwaged £10 Local Authority £100 Fernandez and Katherine Starke. Illustrations by
WEN is a non-profit making Voluntary organisations/Local Groups £35 Keir Wickenham.
organisation funded by grants and Taste of a Better Future is part-funded by the
donations. Our aim is to educate, Membership entitles you to receive our DETR Environmental Action Fund.
inform and empower women who quarterly newsletter and to be informed Printed on 100% recycled paper.
care about the environment. of all public meetings and events. WEN Trust April 2000