Having your own veggie garden is extremely rewarding.  Not only do you have fresh veggies on hand, but you will also find the entire process relaxing and rewarding. 

The first step to take when toying with the idea of starting your own veggie garden is to plan your garden.  Where will you lay it out?  How big do you want it to be?  Which veggies do you want to grow? You need to do your research!

You should draw up a design for your veggie garden layout; preferably to scale.  When deciding on where to situate your veggie garden you should consider an area that receives 5 to 8 hours of direct sunlight and which is protected from frost and wind.  The soil should be fertile and have proper draining.  Furthermore, your veggie garden should be close to your home, for easy access, and it should be close to a water source, such as a tap or even an irrigation system.

Your veggie garden beds should be accessible from all sides, so it is advisable to plant in beds measuring 2 meters in length and 1 meter in width.

Finally, you should carefully select the types of veggies you would like to plant.  For a beginner, these veggies should be hardy and resistant to pests and diseases.  Therefore, it would be wise initially not to plant veggies such as peppers (capsicums), eggfruit, potatoes and tomatoes.  A safer choice would be radishes, spinach, beans, peas and beetroot. 

Make sure you research each species properly, so that you will know when to sow or plant, when to harvest, and the like.

When planting your vegetable plants, you should water them thoroughly while they are still in their nursery trays to ensure that the roots are entirely wet.  You should also gently loosen the roots to ensure optimum growth potential.  Another helpful tip is to our a little bone meal into the holes, before planting your veggies. 

Veggie gardens are not just functional, but can be decorative too and form part of your over-all garden design and lay-out.  You can demarcate the various areas of your little veggie garden with stepping stones, cobble edging and strips of pebbles, gravel of quartzite rocks.  You can border the entire veggie garden with neatly trimmed hedges – such as a viburnum or buxus hedge – and you can construct a pergola over the area, which will still allow enough sunlight and rain water through.

Once you have planted your veggie seedlings or sown your seeds, you should water them properly during the first week or so.  After that time, you should only water them when the top layer of about 3cm’s of soil is dried out.

Applying a layer of mulch over your veggie beds, will retain moisture in the soil and protect your veggies against weeds, pests and the harsher elements.

If you want your veggie garden to produce optimally, you should mix organic fertilizer into the soil, once a month during summer.  During winter 2 or 3 times will suffice.

Pruning away dead leaves and flowers regularly will also ensure the most favourable growth for your veggies.

The landscaping experts at Kingfisher Landscaping design and implement exceptional and beautiful gardens in a professional manner and can provide the home owner with any exterior decorative feature.  We pride ourselves in providing our clients with excellent, efficient and comprehensive service.  We offer all the products and services associated with creating a peaceful, and aesthetically pleasing outdoor living space which will complement the style of your home and in which you can relax.

Imagine popping out into your garden to pick a fresh sprig of rosemary, parsley or coriander, while preparing your family dinner…If you start growing a herb garden, this is possible.

By growing your own herb garden, you will ultimately save on your grocery bill and have a wide selection of your favourite fresh herbs on hand.

Firstly, you need to plan the lay-out of your herb garden.  Your herb garden should be close to your home – preferably close to your kitchen – and it should be small and manageable.  It should be laid out on fertile soil, with good drainage.  Should the soil not be fertile enough, you can always mix in compost and a little it of organic fertilizers.  You should also ensure that you remove all weeds – roots, seeds and all – and that you till the soil to loosen it up and aerate it properly.

Your herb garden should be laid out in a sheltered but sunny area and as far away from polluting factors such as road traffic, inorganic fertilizer sprays and pets.  Ideally, your herb garden should be exposed to direct sunlight for 6 hours.

When planting your herb plants, you should water them thoroughly while they are still in their nursery trays to ensure that the roots are entirely wet.  You should also gently loosen the roots to ensure optimum growth potential.  Another helpful tip is to our a little bone meal into the holes, before planting your herbs. 

Herb gardens are not just functional, but can be decorative too and form part of your over-all garden design and lay-out.  You can demarcate the various areas of your little herb garden with stepping stones, cobble edging and strips of pebbles, gravel of quartzite rocks.  You can border the entire herb garden with neatly trimmed hedges – such as a viburnum or buxus hedge – and you can construct a pergola over the area, which will still allow enough sunlight and rain water through.

Once you have planted your herb seedlings, you should water them properly during the first week or so.  After that time, you should only water them when the top layer of about 3cm’s of soil is dried out.

Applying a layer of mulch over your herb beds, will retain moisture in the soil and protect your herbs against weeds, pests and the harsher elements.

If you want your herb garden to produce optimal herbs, you should mix organic fertilizer into the soil, once a month during summer.  During winter 2 or 3 times will suffice.

Pruning away dead leaves and flowers regularly will also ensure the most favourable growth for your herbs.

Finally, you should harvest your herbs, using a sharp knife or a sharp pair of scissors.  Do not tear, bend or break the sprigs off, as this will damage the plant and prevent optimal growth.  You should harvest little amounts each time and always harvest from the strongest and healthiest plants only.

The landscaping experts at Kingfisher Landscaping design and implement exceptional and beautiful gardens in a professional manner and can provide the home owner with any exterior decorative feature.  We pride ourselves in providing our clients with excellent, efficient and comprehensive service.  We offer all the products and services associated with creating a peaceful, and aesthetically pleasing outdoor living space which will complement the style of your home and in which you can relax.

Spring is the season of regeneration.  You can get the best out of your garden by doing the following during this invigorating time of year.

First of all you should prune all the plants in your garden that have suffered frost damage.  This will promote new growth.

Remove dead leaves and branches from your plants and trees to stimulate growth.

You should divide your perennial plants in order to multiply them and fill your garden beds with more lush growth.

Apply mulch to your plant beds and feed your plants and lawn with fertilizer and compost.

Have your irrigation system checked out and maintained.

You can start to water your lawn and garden more regularly again – two or three times per week.

You can also plant bulbs, which flower in summer, such as arum lilies (zantedeschia species), sword lilies (gladiolus species), and dahlias.  Sow flower seeds and plant seedlings to add vibrant splashes of colour to your garden.

Once your spring flowering plants have finished blooming, you can prune them back to ensure strong growth during the next spring period.

Finally, you should check all of your plants for diseases and treat them accordingly.

The landscaping experts at Kingfisher Landscaping design and implement exceptional and beautiful gardens in a professional manner and can provide the home owner with any exterior decorative feature.  We pride ourselves in providing our clients with excellent, efficient and comprehensive service.  We offer all the products and services associated with creating a peaceful, and aesthetically pleasing outdoor living space which will complement the style of your home and in which you can relax.

Lawn maintenance during winter does not require much effort, but is important with regard to how your lawn will grow and look during the following summer months.

Your lawn will need regular watering, especially in summer rainfall areas.  At least one watering per week should suffice.

You can fertilize your lawn with a fertilizer that has a high in phosphate.  This will encourage root development; ensuring that your lawn stays strong and healthy throughout winter.

Your lawn will not grow as profusely during the winter months, so you will only need to mow it once in a while. 

Make sure that all dead leaves and other organic remains are raked off your lawn, as this will prevent the lawn from getting all the necessary sun and moisture it needs to survive.

Just before spring arrives, you can fertilize your lawn with a fertilizer high in nitrogen, which promotes leaf growth.  You should also aerate your lawn at this time to ensure a beautiful, thriving lawn during spring and summer.

Always remember to water you lawn well after applying any kind of fertilizer.

The landscaping experts at Kingfisher Landscaping can incorporate a beautiful, green lawn into your overall garden design and can professionally lay instant lawn in for you in your garden.