A new partnership of Australian green thumbs is encouraging Australian families to improve their health, family budget and learning opportunities these school holidays by planting out a kitchen garden. A Fresh Legacy blogger Kyrstie Barcak believe that with some simple tools and a little expert advice, the dream of the Aussie veggie patch can become a ‘fruitful’ reality, even for brown-thumbed novices.
Nearly half of Australian households1 have tried to maintain a veggie patch, but failure rates for those who try are considerable due to poor soil quality or damage, be it from harsh weather, pest and bugs or wildlife. Research2 confirms that for those 4.7 million Australian households who are currently trying to maintain a veggie patch, yields are relatively low and there is a high turnover of participation. Two Australian companies have joined forces to make the idea of growing and eating home-grown vegetables a reality.
Mother of two, blogger Kyrstie Barcak inspires busy mums to create their own kitchen garden and create fresh healthy family meals. Kyrstie says, “My dream is to have all Australian families grow just one thing. In a bid to inspire this action from the community, I have written a book due to be published early in 2016. I also created the Kitchen Garden Box, a seasonal based product that contains advice, recipes and certified organic seeds to help busy families start their own vegetable garden.”
Vegepod inventor Matt Harris says, “After skipping two generations, growing veggies at home is back in vogue. This is driven by community concern for the environment, a renewed interest in fresh food and primarily to educate young children about where our food comes from. Being a part of the school curriculum means that this growing trend will continue for many years.
“Unfortunately ‘growing knowledge’ was not passed down leaving Gen X and Gen Y lacking the necessary experience and knowledge of how to grow vegetables at home. Couple this issue with a time-poor generation and shrinking yard sizes you can begin to understand the obstacles facing most Australians who would like to grow vegies at home. We have invented the Vegepod to overcome all these issues, and feedback has been amazingly positive.”
Kyrstie has seven tips for starting a kitchen garden with no knowledge:
1. Actually get started – stop thinking and get digging!
2. Plant vegetables that you know your kids will eat plus one veggie they should try.
3. Plant one or two ‘quick win’ veggies to begin with.
4. Be realistic, not everything will grow well. Keep trying and you will find the things that do work well for your soil, climate and lifestyle.
5. Follow planting instructions.
6. Allocate time to care for your plants. If you are time-poor, are likely to forget to water, or doubt your skills, invest in a Vegepod.
7. Create a plan and record your progress.
Kyrstie’s advice is simple: “spend time with your family in the fresh air learning nature’s stories, be inspired to create new family meals from the produce that you have grown. Reduce your supermarket bills and experience the satisfaction, sense of pride and superior flavor of home grown food.
ABOUT THE EXPERT
Vegepod is a compact, self-watering greenhouse container system that enables even the novice gardener to grow fresh, healthy produce with minimal effort. Assembly is fast and simple - containers are filled with bagged potting mix, attached to water, and your garden is ready to grow in minutes. You can now grow vegies on balconies, in courtyards, rooftops and anywhere that gets a little sun, without all of the hassle of traditional vegie gardens. By using a Vegepod as your no-fuss kitchen garden and Kyrstie’s growing tips, any family, anywhere can grow fresh and eat fresh.
1 http://www.tai.org.au/content/grow-your-own
2 http://www.tai.org.au/content/grow-your-own
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