An edible garden: you can reap the benefits yourself!
Grow your own vegetables, fruit and herbs, simply in your own garden. It's easier than you think. An edible garden allows you to enjoy delicious, fresh and healthy food, which can help you save money, provides food for animals and looks cosy, too. An edible garden is very healthy! On this page you will find the benefits of an edible garden. And we give step-by-step instructions on how to make one yourself. So that you can soon enjoy your own home-grown produce. Take your seats!
How to design your edible garden
This is an outline of 'Arnhem Climate Resistant
Why choose an edible garden?
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Always fresh and healthy food
Vegetables, fruit and herbs from your own garden are super fresh. You immediately harvest what you put in the pan in the evening. Besides, fresh fruit and vegetables contain many nutrients.
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Save money
With an edible garden, you often spend less money on groceries because you can harvest your own produce. Of course, it does cost money to maintain the garden and buy seeds.
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Good for nature
An edible garden with many different plants is good for nature. You also save - by eating from your own garden - packaging and transport. Also consider edible plants for animals: for example, berries for birds.
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Fun and educational
Gardening is a fun hobby! You learn a lot about plants and how they grow and enjoy being surrounded by nature. Research shows that (vegetable) gardening is a great way to get your hands dirty and relax.
A park garden full of fruit and vegetables
Of course, you can plant a vegetable garden with all kinds of vegetables. But an edible garden can also be set up as a park garden! The example garden on the right shows what such a garden can look like. Where you still have enough space to enjoy yourself. Plant fruit trees that you can pick from yourself. Add berry bushes, with berries for yourself or for the birds. And consider (containers of) herb plants.
"Research shows that vegetable gardening is good for your cognitive functioning later in life. People who garden daily are 36 per cent less likely to develop dementia than those who do not. "
Kim Nelissen - Moesmeisje.nl
An edible garden in 6 steps
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1. Choose the right place
Find a sunny spot in your garden, as most edible plants need at least 6 hours of sunlight a day.
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2. Make a plan
Make a drawing of your garden and decide where to put each plant. Get inspired by the examples on this page! Start with easy plants like tomatoes, lettuce, radishes and herbs like basil and parsley.
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3. Prepare the soil
Loosen the soil with a shovel or garden fork and remove stones and weeds. Then add compost or garden soil to make the soil more fertile.
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4. Sowing and planting
Sow seeds according to the instructions on the package or plant young plants you bought in a garden centre. Make sure the plants have enough space to grow.
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5. Watering
Water your plants regularly, especially in dry weather. Use water from a rain barrel to do so! More information on caring for edible plants can be found on the IVN website.
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6. Harvest!
Harvest vegetables, fruits and herbs when they are ripe. There are all kinds of handy calendars with sowing and harvesting times.
3x Alternatives to tiles in the garden - Make a path through edible greenery
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Gravel
You can lay a gravel path between the vegetable garden boxes. This allows water to run through better.
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Shells
A shell path crunches wonderfully under your feet - and it looks nice too!
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Wood chips
A really natural look is created with wood chips. You will have to replace them more often.
Smart tips for an edible garden
Edible greenery in containers and pots
If space is limited, you can also use containers or pots to grow your vegetables and herbs. Just make sure you make holes at the bottom so that water can flow away. And add some hydro grains if necessary. These will ensure that the water can drain well out of the pot and prevent mould from growing inside. And don't forget to mulch! Cover the soil around your plants with a layer of organic material (such as straw) to reduce weeds and keep the soil moist.
