Vegetable garden: a friend of the bees!

Would you like to have your own vegetable garden? Do you love fruits and vegetables? Do you enjoy adding your species to your dishes? This article is definetely for you! But why are we speaking of vegetable garden when here generally we speak about bees and beekeeping? Well, vegetable gardens are truly friend of the bees! Why? because Bees are pollinators n.1. There are so many fruit trees, vegetables, herbs among the existing bee-friendly plants. Hence, taking care of this passion can be an extraordinary help for our friend bees. However, taking care of a vegetable garden is not for anybody, you need a certain vocation…about this and much more, today – and not only today – Giulia, a girl with a deep passion for nature and vegetable gardens will speak about. We let her continue now.

A wonderful day to all the friends of the nature!

I’ll introduce myself: my name’s Giulia, I live in Verona, I adore cooking, I’m crazy for Christmas, I’m sensitive and respectful towards Nature.

My ancestors were farmers whose main objective was working hard the whole day. Since I was little I spent most of my free time in the countryside with my parents, especially in Summer when schools were closed and staying outside was nicer, I have learnt much from my father: sense of duty, of sacrifice, of responsibility and of the value of what we daily eat. He has always put much effort to let us eat local food: home-made salami, eggs from our hens, meat from hunted animals, fruits and vegetables from our garden. This all by following a specific ethics and season cycle,

My passion for fruits and vegetables is born from here. For a certain period of my life I was vegetarian too. I am enchanted by the world of the vegetables, both while cultivating them, and when cooking them once at home.

From this love OrtOhana was born…

OrtOhana is the corner of heaven in which I take care of my passion. The inspiration of this name comes partially from my blog and because Ohana means family: these are my origins and they smell of earth. Luckly the current society is more and more sensitive to the topics related to the climate and sustainable food. Each one of us can make some choices that are useful for ourselves and at the same time respectful for the environment. Everything in the nature is cyclical, life itself is this way. Thinking bigger, any kind of movement is life!

Vegetable garden – a matter of ethics

Anyone can decide to have a vegetable garden, but love for nature and the attitude at make your hands dirty is not for everybody. Moreover, I believe that there are some essential qualities when it comes to this kind of tasks:

• Motivation: the reasons why we may decide to have a vegetable garden can be different. For example, the fact that we want to know what we are eating. We know this since we are those that take care of the ground (and, hence, of the plants) and the treatments done for saving them from parasites. Another reason can be the cultivation rotation according to the seasons, which vegetables include each one of them and what might happen in case we decide to cultivate them beyond their ideal period. A further motivation can be the idea of using the product just some minutes after harvesting it, keeping its properties untouched. It’s interesting knowing how a plant grows, but also being able to understand the difference between a vegetable treated to make it looking more beautiful, compared to those that grow without too many treatments. Think of how often you are in front of a wide range of vegetables and you choose the brighter, bigger, flawless product instead of the more imperfect one. It’s right this the wrong concept: these features are absolutely not important from the health point of view, it’s a mere matter of easthetics.

• Care and sensitivity are features that some people have more than others and they are never enough in this field. You need also a certain experience to understand if the plant has any issue. Moreover, problems could be caused by many reasons: a matter of climate, irrigation, parasites, etc

• Availability, commitment and problem solving may seem banal qualities, however, they are essential. They are the needed foundations for the good developement of a plant. Sometimes, especially in Spring and Summer, vegetable gardens can’t be unattended because plants need the right irrigation, manuring, care, maintenance and various actions. Are you already thinking if you’ll be able to go on holidays this year? That’s ok, but remember that you’d better to set a irrigation system and someone that can daily check the situation. Needless to say, the bigger the vegetable garden, the bigger the sorrow when it gets spoilt. The daily check may prevent any bad issue.

so…are you going to start to plan your vegetable garden?

Do you have all these needed features for starting with it? if yes, that’s perfect, don’t lose our next two article with more practical tips about this world!

A hug,

Giulia & the Gaeblini