Vegetable
My vegetable garden is 240 m² and is divided into 6 rectangular beds. Every year I grow many types of vegetables on it, using crop rotation, crop rotation and intercropping.
In my vegetable garden, I completely gave up on artificial mineral fertilizers. I only use organic, i.e. manure, compost and green fertilizers. Sometimes I also use ready-made preparations with appropriate certificates.
Green fertilizers
I sow green fertilizers as catch crops. I do it every 6 years on one of the fields. Then, in half of the plot, I sow one of the papilionaceous plants (field plant or spring vetch), and on the other part, plants that prevent plant diseases - white buckwheat, phacelia or marigold.In professional literature I read that green fertilizers naturally enrich the soil with humus. Indeed, I can tell from experience that this is true.
Every three years, always in autumn, I feed the vegetable garden with 3-5 kg / m² of compost. I am trying to dig it thoroughly with the soil on the bed.
I usually start spring work at the end of March or at the beginning of April, as soon as the ground is frosty. Then I level and loosen the topsoil to avoid losing precious water. This treatment also destroys the weed seedlings, which usually already have time to germinate.
Planting
Immediately before sowing seeds or planting seedlings, I loosen the soil again (to a depth of about 5 cm) and mark the rows. Then I gradually sow the individual types of vegetables. I run an ecological garden, so I adapt all my work to the recommendations from the biodynamic calendar. If it is sunny and dry, I regularly water the seedlings and seedlings until the plants take root.During the season, I also try to water vegetables with bio-preparations.
Every year I check the pH of the soil. If the pH drops below 5.5, I sprinkle the soil with magnesium lime in the fall.
Krzysztof Grzmil
