Why plant with organic seedlings? (featured on Kora Organics)

A great question that many people have … why bother with organic seedlings, are they not all the same? The plants at the hardware or supermarket are much cheaper.
Well it DOES make a difference in many ways – and not just for  the obvious “organic” reason either.
Making a decision to start an organic vegetable garden is a fantastic one. No chemicals, pesticides, fungicides etc. You will know exactly what is going onto your food and to me that is a very comforting thing.
Organic seedlings are grown using organic seeds, seeds that have not been treated, altered or tampered with. They are raised using organic inputs and do not rely on artificial stimulants to get them going. Organic seedlings are stronger and can hold their own in your garden without needing artificial inputs to keep them alive. For seeds or seedlings to be classified as certified they must adhere to regulations set out by our various organic certifiers.
Our seedlings at Ready 2 plant organics are not raised in a heated nursery so they are sun hardened and will not die when you plant them in your garden – they are raring to go. They have not been treated with any synthetic fertilisers and will flourish in your own garden.
Buying non – organic seedlings you are supporting farmers that spray and contaminate our world – why not support organic farmers who are committed to our environment and our health. Conventional (non – organic) seeds come from conventional plants that contain a chemical component, why would you put that into your beautiful organic garden?
Buy organic seedlings and start your garden off onto the right foot.
I feel very strongly about planting seedlings that are GMO free, pesticide free, untreated, healthy and strong. I get so many comments about our seedlings at Ready 2 plant Organics along the lines of “Your plants actually grow” …. Well they should and they do.
If you wish to have an organic garden, start with organic seedlings and end up with gorgeous organic food that you will feel safe eating.

Have a fantastic week Everyone,
Rebekah

Why start a Veggie Patch

There are so many different reasons to start your own organic vegetable patch. We are all so different when it comes to what motivates us, but some of the reasons could be as follows:-

• You have children who will not eat their veggies, if children are involved in growing their own food they will be much more inclined to eat what they sow. My children will not usually eat cooked vegetables on a plate, but they will devour whatever is growing in the garden. Snow peas, beans, strawberries, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, kale, tomatoes … straight out of the garden. They will often make a little “hidey hole” among the plants for their little picnics.
• You want your children and family to know where food actually comes from. Lettuce does not grow in a supermarket in a plastic bag. I have been so surprised to have my friends who are in their thirties like myself come to my garden and exclaim “ohhh that’s how a broccoli grows” or “wow, I never knew that cucumbers grew on a vine”.
• You want to reduce your food bill. Growing your own food is very affordable and will save you a stash of cash every week if you eat seasonally and plan your meals around what is growing in your garden. Much of the food bought in the supermarket goes to waste as you may not need an entire bunch of parsley, but if you are growing your own you only pick what you need.
• You want to eat fresh, organic food – not something that has been sitting in a cool room for the last six months. There is seriously nothing like eating food that has just been picked – lettuce has crunch, tomatoes have flavour and beans will snap when broken. The amount of people who will buy a lettuce from my garden and come back and say “I still have some left and it is still fresh”, well it should be !!! So many of us have become used to soggy supermarket produce that we have forgotten what real food is all about.
• Organic food can have an elevated price tag which puts it out of many families budget, which to me is such a shame. Growing your own is easy, affordable and gives the family a fantastic project to work on together, why not give every family member a special plot of their own so that they can contribute to the food that goes onto the table. “Tonight we are eating Sarah’s potatoes, Ben’s carrots and Julie’s broccoli”. You will not eat any organic produce that tastes better than your own.
• Satisfaction. To go out to the garden, pick something out and eat it … there is nothing like it. The pride, satisfaction and sense of accomplishment is fantastic. To be in control of your own food supply is awesome. Your meal will just taste better knowing that you grew it.
• Environmental. If you are concerned about your food miles, what farmers are spraying onto their crops and what that is doing to our world – stop the demand. Grow your own.
• Relaxation … when you think of gardening you may only think about the work that would probably be involved. I personally love pottering around smelling the herbs, watching the children play among the beds, planting new seedlings, watering and just soaking up the ambiance of it all. Try getting up early with a cup of tea and go and sit in your garden – just breathe it all in.

So yes there are many reasons to start your own vegetable garden, but if you look at the big picture and think about how different the world would be if we all just grew a little. Imagine how much better off we would all be and how much better we would leave the planet for our children.
Have a look at your place, no matter how big or small and think outside the square. Where could you put a pot? Hang a pot? Put a raised garden bed in? Plant a border of food? A sunny windowsill? A balcony? A front yard that is just full of grass?
Go on – do it!!!!
Rebekah

Last week my best friend and I attended a Kora Organics event. We were treated to a fantastic organic dinner as well as being inspired with all things organic.

Miranda's Mum Therese (pictured with me above) is very passionate about organics and was so very generous in sharing her personal experiences and how organics have changed her life and how healthy can taste GREAT. It was so refreshing to hear someone else be so committed to what they are doing and trying to help others as well xxx

I have always been passionate about what I put on my skin as it is the largest part of our body and it all soaks in .... when you slather your moisturier on - where does it go?
Give that some thought.

My motto is is generally if you can't eat it don't put it on. When my skin is dry and I am at a freinds house, I reach for the pantry instead of their bathroom and usually grab some olive oil and rub it on. I also use avocado oil, rosehip, grapeseed and lots of others.

Miranda Kerr and her family have developed an organic skin care range and are looking into expanding the line even further - I really want to see what their shampoos and conditioners are like, even their fake tan!!! I can't wait to try out all my cute samples.

So next time you reach for your usual moisturiser or beauty product have a read on the back - do you even know what all those ingredients are???? Google them and find out ....


I have asked to be a guest writer on the Kora Organics blog and you can read my "blurbs" as well as lots of other informative entries as well - check out the recipes from Kate including the scrummy chicken dish with beetroot pictured above (seriously the best meal I have had in ages).

http://www.koraorganics.com/blog

Welcome

Hello there and welcome to our blog :)

To start with we should introduce ourselves and tell you how Ready 2 plant Organics came to be.

We are a family of 5, with me (Rebekah) as the "Mumma" and my husband Paul who is the "Dadda". I have a background in teaching / photography and design, whilst Paul has a background in IT. So how do two people from such different backgrounds discover vegetable gardens?

Well the answer to that question would be our 3 children Nash, Phoenix & Foxx.

Having children has resulted in us wanting a richer and more natural environment for them to grow up in.

So 2 years ago we ripped up or entire front yard - yes ALL of it.

We built 5 big raised garden beds from recycled materials found mostly from our local council clean-up. We replaced our grass/weeds with woodchip (another freebie) from our local tree lopper.

We ordered in organic soil, organic mushroom compost and got to work.

The first problem we encountered was finding our plants - where on earth can you buy organic seedlings?

NO WHERE!

We did not want to fuss with temperamental seeds, the kids wanted to see something instantly and so did we.

Much to my delight we stumbled upon a local grower, who has now become our supplier.

The garden started to take shape pretty quickly, and not long after we added some organic dwarf fruit trees to the mix. Looking forward to them fruiting soon!

We drove around yet another council clean-up and found tables, chairs, terracotta pots, crates, wine barrels (thank you Kerry), decorations, even a small cubby house and put it all together.

We still have lots to do in our little suburban patch - but our imagination and vision has inspired others and that is what lead to....

Ready 2 plant organics

Everyone should experience the joy of growing their own food and we are here to help you make that happen.

We want you to realise how easy it is to do and how you can reduce your food bills and reduce the impact on the environment as well

If you have a big yard, a small porch, a some pots or some sunny patch of grass somewhere - then you can do this!!

My kids do most of the work in our garden and nothing makes me happier than to see my kids grabbing what they want and eating it then and there.

Strawberry or raspberry juice running down their chins, the crunching of fresh snow peas or broccoli (which they will only eat raw) ... ahh bliss.

Anyway, this blog will cover all sorts of topics and different ideas.

We hope that we will be able to inspire you in some way.

Rebekah and Paul.

Spring gardening - what i am planting this week

So many exciting things to plant at the moment.

I have already planted yellow pear tomatoes, red pear tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchinis, endive and rocket.

This week I will be planting runner beans, some more herbs and of course some extra salad greens.

Paul wants me to plant LOTS more bullshorn capsicums as they are his favourite to eat when he is in the office - they are amazing!!!! You have to try one if you never have, you will be hooked. They may look like a chilli, but they are actually a very very sweet capsicum that is bursting with flavour and colour.

He also loves his raspberry plants which have now also been planted in the back yard.

Happy gardening and don't forget to feed your garden :)