Did you know that all life on earth is sustained by only one percent of available water. Isn¹t that a miracle? While most of the earth¹s surface is covered in water, 97 percent is seawater. Most of the remaining three percent is locked up in ice caps and glaciers, deep underground or suspended as vapour in the air.
THE WATER CYCLE Water in the ground can do any one of the following things:
It can sink deeply into the soil and collect in the water table.
It can be taken into plants through their roots.
It can rise to the surface and evaporate (change into water vapour).
It can run off the surface of the soil into rivers and lakes or into drains.
If water is so good for plants, surely we should water them as much as we can?
No, it is possible to overwater plants. Healthy soil contains both air and water. The air is made up of many gases including oxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide. Plant roots and soil organisms need small amounts of oxygen in the soil to stay alive. Carbon dioxide dissolves in soil water and helps to dissolve plant nutrients for the roots to absorb. Nitrogen is converted into plant food by nitrogen-fixing bacteria that live in the roots of some plants.
If you overwater the soil around your plants, this essential air will be drowned out of the soil and the plant roots will rot, while the soil organisms will die.
PRACTICAL WAYS TO KEEP WATER IN THE GROUND
Build soil Add organic matter to soil, as it acts like a sponge, holding water near the plant roots.
Reduce drainage If you live in a dry region, trench beds may be a good idea.
Reduce evaporation Mulching the ground protects the soil from drying out.
Create wind barriers Strong wind dries leaves and soil out very quickly. Windbreaks help to protect both soil and plants from the wind¹s drying effects. Use indigenous trees or shrubs for your windbreaks.
Use indigenous plants These are plants that are already well adapted to your region, so they will need less added protection.
Water wisely Water deeply once or twice a week, rather than once a day. As the water sinks into the ground, the roots will grow deeper into the soil to chase the water.
PLANTING CALENDAR
So, what can we plant this month?
If you live in a summer rainfall area, August is a good month for planting bush beans, beetroot, cabbage, carrots, cucumber, eggplant, leeks, lettuce, onions, potatoes, radishes, spinach, tomatoes and turnips.
If you live in a winter rainfall area, August is a good time to plant bush beans, beetroot, cabbage, carrots, leeks, lettuce, onions, potatoes and spinach.
Flowers like Marigolds and Nasturtiums are easy, cheap and beautiful to plant in every corner and along the edges of the beds. They also help to control pests and disease!
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This information is brought to you courtesy of Jet Club Green Corner by Dave Golding, a founding member of Abalimi Bezekhaya. Abalimi Bezekhaya is a non-profit organisation focusing on urban agriculture and greening on the Cape Flats in Cape Town.
If you have any gardening questions, send them to Dave at: Jet Club Green Corner/Ask Dave, P O Box 16607, Vlaeberg 8018.
Cook the whole cauliflower in a little bit of water until it is just tender. Smother with the zesty tomato sauce, sprinkle with grated cheese and serve with crusty brown bread.
2 tablespoons Marmite, mixed with litres hot water
1 cup sunflower oil
6 large onions, chopped
6 cloves garlic, crushed
3 green peppers, seeded and diced
8 – 10 cups chopped greens (carrot tops, spinach stalks, and leaves, turnip leaves, lettuce, Lucerne, outer leaves of cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, pumpkin and squash leaves)
4 cups diced butternut, carrots, turnips, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and whatever else is available from the garden
1 tablespoon dried origanum
1 teaspoon dried thyme
3 kg chopped tomatoes
3 tins tomato puree
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 cup chopped parsley
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 cups grated Cheddar cheese
27 September 2006
Food from the home garden
Eat five servings of fruit and vegetables every day
Most of us know that to be healthy we must have a balanced diet. This means that we should eat something from each of the three food groups every day; body building foods (proteins), energy foods (carbohydrates, fats and oils) and protective foods (vegetables and fruits).
Climate change is arguably the most crucial issues of our time and is the biggest environmental challenge that we face. While many of us agree that we must do something, it seems too vast a problem for any one of us to tackle, until now.
The Carbon Standard Consortium has been formed to make it easy and affordable for government, individuals, corporations and communities, their office buildings, schools, homes, meetings, events, conferences, celebrations, a business unit, product or brand to offset carbon emissions by planting trees.
There's much more to gardening than just growing vegetables or pretty flowers. There are many benefits that come with growing a garden. What we are doing is bringing nature into our homes and lives. By creating a garden, we develop skills and gain knowledge. We also create a beautiful, peaceful and even productive environment that benefits the health and wellbeing of the whole family or community.
As part of an organic gardening practice, companion planting is used. This is the art of planting certain plants together – because they are good for one another, and avoiding planting certain other plants together, because they don’t grow well together. As with relationships between people, certain plants like and dislike one another, so we plant certain herbs with vegetables to improve their growth and flavour – and some of the herbs also have strong scents which repel harmful pests or may attract beneficial insects.
For very little money and effort, you can have the healthiest soil around. Here¹s how to make lovely compost that¹ll give you prize fruit and veggies. In our last article "Don't Panic - It's Organic" we gave you a taste of what materials should go into a good compost heap. Now here is the nitty gritty.
Plants get most of their nutrients (food) from the soil. With the help of microorganisms (tiny living particles in the soil), the mineral and organic matter in the soil is processed into a form that plants can use. These nutrients dissolve (break down) in the water in the soil and are taken into the plants through their roots.
Organic gardening is the best way to get the most out of your soil and crops after all, it¹s the way nature designed things! Dave Golding tells you how it works.
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