Tips to create a thriving vegetable garden
At our February monthly meeting, Bob Martin, General Manager of Martin Farms Ltd, gave a very informative, illustrated talk entitled, “The Path to a Green Friendly Garden”.
Bob, a third-generation greenhouse owner, spoke about the importance of the greenhouse industry in Niagara (the third largest in North America) and in particular the vegetable trade for the home garden (the flavour of the month as he called it).
He used pictures to show his own home garden with various raised beds to illustrate how much could be grown in a relatively small area. He also uses pots for growing herbs and vegetables and pointed out that any-one can have fresh vegetables even if they have only a patio space.
He pointed out that the growing season really begins in October when you should clean up your garden space and throw out old plants which may harbour disease and pests. He said that it is important to add organic matter in the fall and work it in so the soil is looser in the spring.
He said that although he is in the business of growing and selling plants there are many kinds that home gardeners can start from seed and transplant into their garden. Other early vegetables are more suited to been sown directly into the garden.
Bob said that Martin Farms have not pursued an Organic Grower designation. For one thing, he feels organic growing is not an exact science plus he feels what they grow is very safe. There are strict restrictions on chemical use in Ontario and Martin Farms makes use of bio-technology or the use of bugs to control certain pests.
He said that genetically-modified vegetables are not really an issue at this time. There are no GMO vegetables licensed for sale now although a couple types are in the experimental stage. Bob felt that certain GMOs could be very good especially in areas of the world where nutrition is a severe problem.