Once your summer gardening has ended, there is plenty of work that is still needed to be done if you want to get your early crops in the spring planted as soon as the weather permits. With a little planning and preparation it will greatly benefit your organic garden.
Now is the time to create a plan for what you want to grow next year. It doesn't needed to be an elaborate plan, just a simple list with dates that you needed to plant certain crops and a layout for there designated location. This is very important when wanting to include companion planting into your gardening practices.
Clean all debris from the garden so that pests wont have a place to harbor through the winter months is a major part or organic pest control. There are many pests that can harm your garden and survive the winter months with the shelter that spent plants and other garden debris will provide.
Fall is a great time to test your gardens soil and to improve it's structure. Organic soil amendments need time to breakdown to provide the benefits your gardens soil needs to create the healthy growing conditions for your plants to thrive.
Preparing your organic garden in the fall has many rewarding benefits. It gives you the ability to extend the length of your growing season. Being able to start your garden earlier in the spring also allows your plants to get established, grow strong and healthy early in the season before there are any dangers of pests or diseases.
www.organicheirloomgardening.com
Showing posts with label Green Gardening. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Green Gardening. Show all posts
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Friday, July 17, 2009
Vegetable Gardening Through The Cool Months
Now that the rush of the spring planting is over, the summer months are here and your crops are fully established, waiting to be harvested is the next exciting part of having an organic garden. It all goes by so quick and before you know fall will be here and you just can't believe the gardening season is going to be ending soon. There are crops that do very well in the cooler times of the year and you can keep your garden going with a second crop before it completely ends, this is the time to start getting these crops planted.
Carrots, lettuce, peas and spinach are all crops that do great in the cooler months of the year. Any crop that you enjoy and plant in your garden early spring are the crops you want to get planted for a fall harvest. The benefits of taller crops that are established in your garden are a great benefit to these cool weather crops, they supply the shade they need to keep them cool and allow them to get established in the warmer months. This is also a great time of the year to experiment for yourself and see what will do good in your garden.
To get the most of your gardening season, you can even use row covering to protect the crops you want to harvest during the times when a early frost can be expected. It is getting to that time of year where planning should be getting some thought on how long you want to keep your garden growing. Waiting to the last minute can cause you to loose the crops you but all that hard work into growing.
www.organicheirloomgardening.com
Carrots, lettuce, peas and spinach are all crops that do great in the cooler months of the year. Any crop that you enjoy and plant in your garden early spring are the crops you want to get planted for a fall harvest. The benefits of taller crops that are established in your garden are a great benefit to these cool weather crops, they supply the shade they need to keep them cool and allow them to get established in the warmer months. This is also a great time of the year to experiment for yourself and see what will do good in your garden.
To get the most of your gardening season, you can even use row covering to protect the crops you want to harvest during the times when a early frost can be expected. It is getting to that time of year where planning should be getting some thought on how long you want to keep your garden growing. Waiting to the last minute can cause you to loose the crops you but all that hard work into growing.
www.organicheirloomgardening.com
Monday, June 29, 2009
Wild Roses
This year is the first time this wild rose has bloomed in our yard. They are growing along the edge of the woods mixed into brush.
The Pasture Rose, (Carolina Rose ) is a native plant to the eastern and central parts of North America, from zones 4 to 9. It is a deciduous shrub type plant and a member of the rose family, Rosaceae. Growing from a height of 3 to 6 feet and a spread of 5 to 10 feet, this plant produces a beautiful pink flower.
Conditions that it likes to grow in is an area of full sun and a moist, loamy soil that is well drained. Allowing this plant to grow in full sun will give it the environment needed to provide the best flowering and to prevent disease. It is more resistant to diseases of it's foliage than most hybrid roses. Good air circulation is very important in growing a healthy plant. Pruning should be done in late winter to early spring.
The flowers of the pasture rose is about 2 1/2 to 3 inches in diameter, each flower consists of 5 pedals, 5 green pointed sepals, a numerous amount of bright yellow stamens and a flat wide pistil structure in the center of the flower. This plant blooms early summer. lasting for about a month. After the blooms have finished, a bright red hips will appear, usually flattened if compared to most wild roses.
The root system of this plant consists of a central taproot that penetrates deeply into the soil and occasionally branching. Shallow rhizomes allow this plant to spread it's vegetation and form small colonies.
The pasture rose is an excellent choice to be planted in mass borders, rose gardens and to naturalize an area of your yard, along with being included in a nature garden to attract wildlife to your backyard.
www.organicheirloomgardening.com
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Just a Few Pictures
While sitting outside on the back porch I had a few visitors that I would like to share.This deer was enjoying her afternoon strolling through the yard on the backside of the garden. There are usually three of then that come through here everyday. They haven't been a problem after I fenced the garden in. They were before that.
Here is one of the four hummingbirds that are around all day at the feeders e have setup for them.
www.organicheirloomgardening.com
Lily and Daffodil Garden
Creating a new garden with daffodils and lilies that you already have growing in your yard is easy to do. They are both plants that are easy to divide and replant. I have these plants growing in several location around my yard and they are starting to get to crowded. Time to dig them up and start a new garden.I picked a location that is on a slope, not an easy place to mow and keep maintained. A good location to plant flowers. It gets sun a good part of the day and the soil in that area stays moist. This picture as taken early morning before the sun was fully up. I am going to plant a combination of lilies and daffodils there to start.
First I have to remove all the weeds and sod that is growing in the area. Then I mixed in a generous amount of compost to improve the soils structure. Once I finished mixing the compost in I raked it level and laid out the lilies I dug from one of my other gardens.
Once I got the lilies planted, I took handfuls of daffodil bulbs that I also dug from another garden and through them between the lilies and planted them where they landed. It adds a more natural look than spacing them in a line of pattern.
www.organicheirloomgardening.com
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
The Alpine Strawberry vs. The Traditional Garden Varieties
The Alpine Strawberry is one that has it's on unique qualities and characteristics. It's delightful sweet taste and an inviting fragrant puts it in a class of it's own. Relatively easy to grow, they can add beauty to your edible landscape and to your garden.
Alpine Strawberries are larger than the wild strawberry you see growing freely in woodlands, on the side of roads and even in yards, but still considerable smaller than the the modern hybrids you purchase from the local garden center, that most are use too. They are well worth growing, their delicate, succulent flavor is a treat that is like no other strawberry. With these berries, you won't get a huge crop, but they do fruit continuously throughout the growing season.
There are varieties of the alpine strawberry that don't send out runners as aggressively as the traditional hybrid strawberry, making them easy to maintain. They are plants that will reseed themselves and readily. Preferring partial shade, at least 4 hours, they will grow into a compact plant about 10 inches high and spread about 8 inches wide. A good healthy organic soil structure, full of organic matter will have these strawberry plants thriving, along with mulching to keep the soil moist, suppress weeds and protect there shallow root system.
Coming in varieties that range in colors from white, yellow to red. These strawberries can be as much of a treat for wildlife like birds as they will be for you and a great choice to be used as a ground cover along walkways or even around trees in your landscape.
www.organicheirloomgardening.com
Alpine Strawberries are larger than the wild strawberry you see growing freely in woodlands, on the side of roads and even in yards, but still considerable smaller than the the modern hybrids you purchase from the local garden center, that most are use too. They are well worth growing, their delicate, succulent flavor is a treat that is like no other strawberry. With these berries, you won't get a huge crop, but they do fruit continuously throughout the growing season.
There are varieties of the alpine strawberry that don't send out runners as aggressively as the traditional hybrid strawberry, making them easy to maintain. They are plants that will reseed themselves and readily. Preferring partial shade, at least 4 hours, they will grow into a compact plant about 10 inches high and spread about 8 inches wide. A good healthy organic soil structure, full of organic matter will have these strawberry plants thriving, along with mulching to keep the soil moist, suppress weeds and protect there shallow root system.
Coming in varieties that range in colors from white, yellow to red. These strawberries can be as much of a treat for wildlife like birds as they will be for you and a great choice to be used as a ground cover along walkways or even around trees in your landscape.
www.organicheirloomgardening.com
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
The Eastern Bluebird
The Eastern Bluebird is a pleasant site when they decide to make your backyard there home. They are about 7 inches long with a wingspan of about 13 inches. The male has a blue back, head and wings, with an orange throat and breast. The female basically has the same features, with the exception of it being duller in color.These birds nest in birdhouses that are in the open, not near the edge of woods. They are a bird that like open land, like backyards or fields. The female will lay her eggs between March and June, four to six, pale blue in color.
There diet consists of insects, berries and live mealworms. This bluebird is sitting on a post of my compost bin.
Every year we have the pleasure of enjoying this spectacular sight of the Eastern Bluebird in our backyard.
Backyard Birding Supplies at Gardeners Supply
www.organicheirloomgardening.com
Monday, June 22, 2009
A Full Compost Bin
Now that all the yard trimming is done and the flower beds have been cut back my compost bin is full and ready to be turned for the first time this year. I used most all the compost that I had made and need more to finish mulching around the yard. You can never have to much compost.This bin had all the garden debris that I cleaned from the garden last fall to start. I added all the cuttings from the daffodils around the yard that were dried, weeds from the garden, kitchen waste and raked leaves from the edge of the woods to mix together. Once I turn this bin into the bin next to it I can start over with filling it again. I should have three full bins by the end of the growing season. Once they all decompose, there will only be one full one to use next spring.
There is no better way to improve the structure of your gardens soil than with a good, nutrient rich humus from your compost pile. It adds the organic matter needed to keep the soil full of the microorganisms needed to have a healthy garden soil. A healthy garden soil is the best way to control insect and disease problems in your organic garden and give your plants the nutrients they need to thrive.
www.organicheirloomgardening.com
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Organic Gardening - Create a Rain Garden and Help the Environment
Water runoff from rainfall can be a bigger problem to our environment in certain areas than you can imagine. In area where there is a lot of pavement, either asphalt or concrete, the water that runs into the drainage or off the edges of a road or parking lot can carry contaminates like metals, oils and even pesticides to name only a few. Eventually these pollutants will ending up into a natural water supply, mainly from storm water drainage systems.
Creating a natural organic rain garden can help this problem. Plants and the soil can absorb and clean many of these toxins naturally. Plants can help purify by absorbing toxins and a good healthy organic soil is full of bacteria that can keep the harmful nitrates from reaching the water supplies by turning them into a nitrogen gasses.
When building a water garden, they only need to be a shallow depression, they are not deep ponds. The soil in your area will determine the size needed. You don't want water to stand in the garden for a long period of time, 48 hours should be the maximum time it sits before it drains into the soil, evaporates or is taken up by the plants.
Organic gardening is a great method to choose for your garden. It is the same method that nature uses to grow plants naturally and to clean the air we breath along with water we drink. When using these practices in your home garden, you will be doing your part in helping to keep these natural resources clean.
www.organicheirloomgardening.com
Creating a natural organic rain garden can help this problem. Plants and the soil can absorb and clean many of these toxins naturally. Plants can help purify by absorbing toxins and a good healthy organic soil is full of bacteria that can keep the harmful nitrates from reaching the water supplies by turning them into a nitrogen gasses.
When building a water garden, they only need to be a shallow depression, they are not deep ponds. The soil in your area will determine the size needed. You don't want water to stand in the garden for a long period of time, 48 hours should be the maximum time it sits before it drains into the soil, evaporates or is taken up by the plants.
Organic gardening is a great method to choose for your garden. It is the same method that nature uses to grow plants naturally and to clean the air we breath along with water we drink. When using these practices in your home garden, you will be doing your part in helping to keep these natural resources clean.
www.organicheirloomgardening.com
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Organic Gardening - I Don't Have Enough Weeds
Whats wrong with this picture? All I see is a lot of beneficial, nitrogen rich, organic material that I can put to good use in my compost bins. This is an area that I am planning on planting strawberries in next spring. I have the hills all ready and waiting to be planted. While this area is just on hold I let the weeds grow and harvest them for my composting.Weeds are thought to be a gardeners worse enemy. As an organic gardener, I can't get enough of them. They are a great source of green organic matter to be added to a compost pile when they are harvested at a young age, before they develop seed.
Once your garden is planted in the spring and your compost bins are full of debris from your garden or yard that you cleaned last fall, you need nitrogen rich organic material to add to it to start you new hot compost pile. Weeds are a great source and one that most never have a shortage of. Spring and summer are the best time to put this material to a good use and compost the material you need for mulching your garden beds in the fall and to have the organic matter needed to improve your gardens soil structure in the spring when needed for planting.
When composting weeds, it is best to use a hot method. This is best done in a bin that is at least 4 foot wide by 4 foot deep and 4 foot high. Once the proper layering of organic matter is done, carbon/nitrogen ratio, it is also a good choice to cover the pile to keep as much heat in the pile that you possibly can. I use a 4 bin system, each bin is 5 foot wide by 10 foot deep and 5 feet high and turn the pile to the next closest bin every two to three weeks. Once the pile is in the last bin it is a finished, a nutrient rich humus that is ready to use. If you don't have the room for a bin system, there are many self contained composting systems on the market that can be used and will create a hot compost.
The main concern with composting weeds is seed. Pulling or cutting them before they develop seed and perennial weed roots need to be dried or soaked until they rot before composted to prevent any chance of them regrowing in the compost.
With the proper carbon/nitrogen ratio, moisture content and the proper turning of your compost pile, you can successfully turn the unwanted weeds from your yard and garden into a healthy, nutrient rich, humus material that will greatly benefit your organic garden.
www.organicheirloomgardening.com
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Mulching Existing Trees in Your landcape
Mulching the trees in your landscape with an organic mulch is a great way to improve the soil structure around them, allowing water and nutrients to easily reach there root system.Before you mulch there is a little preparation that needs to be done. Small to mid size trees should be mulch to about the drip line of the tree, this is how far out there root system travels. Mark out the area that you are going to be applying the mulch. This is best done by taking a tape measure and marking the distance around the tree with something visible on the grass, like garden lime.
Next you need to take a shovel and cut the grass along the marking and completely remove any sod and weeds. When removing the sod, you only need to scrap about 1 1/2 to 2 inches of the surface off, don't dig down. Take the shovel and slide it under the grass. If the area is hard, you can soak it the night before to loosen the soil and make it easier to remove.
Once you have the area prepared, you can apply a 3 to 4 inch layer of compost or a organic mulch of your choice, this tree here is mulched with compost.
www.organicheirloomgardening.com
Water Gardens
A water garden is a great way to add a relaxing atmosphere to your backyard. The sound of running water, fragrance of a water lily or the contrasting foliage of water plants. The attraction of wildlife such as birds, toads, dragonflies and butterflies are also a site to see.It makes for a beautiful get away in your own yard to sit, relax and watch natures beauty. There are many ways you can create a water garden. The most popular are built with a plastic liner. These liners comes in PVC, Butyl Rubber, or Polyethylene materials and are safe for fish and plants. There are a various thicknesses that range from 20 - 45 mils and usually have a life span of anywhere from 10-20 years.
When you are shopping for a liners, avoid ones that have been treated with an algicide inhibitor. These inhibitors can be harmful to the natural plant and animal balance that occurs in a water garden pond.
Other types of water garden ponds that can be purchased as a kit are prefabricated fiberglass ponds. These can be considerably more expensive.Then there is the concrete installed ponds.They come in may different designs and can also be custom made just to your personal preference. Due to the amount of concrete mix and reinforcement needed to avoid cracking, these are usually ponds that are hired out to a professional contractor.
You can design your own pond and build it from just about any type of tub formed item that you have available. Old bathtubs, watering troughs from farm animals, etc. Let your imagination take it's course and see what you can design.It is a great do-it-yourself project that can usually be done in one weekend, depending on the size and how creative you want to get. The ideas are endless, fountains, waterfalls, lights and plants can be incorporated in your design. Water is the most magical feature of a water garden.The rewards are great. It can also boost the value of your property.
www.organicheirloomgardening.com
Saturday, June 13, 2009
The Basics of Hydroponic Gardening
Hydroponic gardening is a method of gardening without soil and receive the nutrients that they need to thrive through a source of water. Soilless media is used in some of the different techniques of this type of gardening. These medias can be of sand, gravel or perlite. The medias main purpose is for support or stability of the plants.
It is a very efficient, healthy and productive method of growing crops. There are a few techniques that can be used when choosing this method of gardening and they all have there own unique purpose. Some of these most common techniques are aeroponics, the ebb and flow system, nutrient film technique, drip system, and the wick system.
Hydroponic gardening is a method that can be done at any scale and the systems can be commercially purchased or you can build your own homemade system to fit your personal needs. There are systems for large commercial agricultural needs to sizes that will work for the urban gardener and if you live in an apartment there are even systems that will work there too.
This unique method of gardening not only is a healthy and beneficial way to grow your crops, but is also a great way to learn about the needs of the plants you are growing. Just as organic gardening is a method of gardening that you work in harmony with nature, hydroponics is a method of gardening that you work in harmony with the plants your are growing and understanding there needs.
www.organicheirloomgardening.com
www.organicheirloomgardening.com/gardentoolsandsupplies.html
It is a very efficient, healthy and productive method of growing crops. There are a few techniques that can be used when choosing this method of gardening and they all have there own unique purpose. Some of these most common techniques are aeroponics, the ebb and flow system, nutrient film technique, drip system, and the wick system.
Hydroponic gardening is a method that can be done at any scale and the systems can be commercially purchased or you can build your own homemade system to fit your personal needs. There are systems for large commercial agricultural needs to sizes that will work for the urban gardener and if you live in an apartment there are even systems that will work there too.
This unique method of gardening not only is a healthy and beneficial way to grow your crops, but is also a great way to learn about the needs of the plants you are growing. Just as organic gardening is a method of gardening that you work in harmony with nature, hydroponics is a method of gardening that you work in harmony with the plants your are growing and understanding there needs.
www.organicheirloomgardening.com
www.organicheirloomgardening.com/gardentoolsandsupplies.html
Friday, June 12, 2009
Going Green With Your Lawn and Garden Tools
Everyone wants to have the picture perfect lawn and gardens in there yard. With the proper tools, this can be easy to do. Going Green is a great choice when choosing the proper equipment for your organic gardening needs. They are eco-friendly and easy to use.
The choice of garden tools you buy will usually depend on the amount of work you need to do, like are you starting a new garden or do you need tools to maintain an existing one. How big your yard is will be another factor when choosing tools or equipment to maintain your lawn. There are green products that can fit any of your home gardening and maintenance needs.
The type of soil you are working with can also be another factor in choosing the proper tools, depending on how hard or soft the ground is and the size of the garden. The bigger the garden, the more work and it can require the need of power equipment along with the everyday hand tools.
They are heard in all neighborhoods and at all hour of the day. The high pitched sound of the mower, trimmer or even leaf blowers. They not only pollute the air, they also are a source of noise pollution. Going Green with power equipment is easier than you think. There are many environment friendly cordless power tools on the market today. They range from your standard tools for cutting and drilling to mowers and trimmers. These tools are great to add to your organic gardening practices.
www.organicheirloomgardening.com
www.organicheirloomgardening.com/gardentoolsandsupplies.html
The choice of garden tools you buy will usually depend on the amount of work you need to do, like are you starting a new garden or do you need tools to maintain an existing one. How big your yard is will be another factor when choosing tools or equipment to maintain your lawn. There are green products that can fit any of your home gardening and maintenance needs.
The type of soil you are working with can also be another factor in choosing the proper tools, depending on how hard or soft the ground is and the size of the garden. The bigger the garden, the more work and it can require the need of power equipment along with the everyday hand tools.
They are heard in all neighborhoods and at all hour of the day. The high pitched sound of the mower, trimmer or even leaf blowers. They not only pollute the air, they also are a source of noise pollution. Going Green with power equipment is easier than you think. There are many environment friendly cordless power tools on the market today. They range from your standard tools for cutting and drilling to mowers and trimmers. These tools are great to add to your organic gardening practices.
www.organicheirloomgardening.com
www.organicheirloomgardening.com/gardentoolsandsupplies.html
Organic Gardening - Reasons Pepper Plants Can Turn Yellow
One of the most common problems that the home gardener have with there pepper plants is the yellowing of there leaves. This can be caused by a few different reasons. The first is the lack of nitrogen and magnesium, another reason is chlorinated water, soil splash on the lower leaves from watering and a fungal problem.
The first reason, the yellowing of leaves is most of the times caused by a lack of nitrogen and magnesium in the gardens soil. This can be simply a result of the nutrients being leeched from the soil due to excess water. Pepper plants only need 1" of water per week. Another reason is the plants may need an application of fertilizer that is high in nitrogen to get past this problem.
Normally you wouldn't want to give pepper or tomatoes a high dose of nitrogen, it will usually result in lush foliage and not a strong harvest. You need to get the plants healthy again, so if they need a dose of nitrogen do it sparingly.
Another thing that works for me is to apply an epsom salt spray to my pepper plants. Epsom salt will supply magnesium and calcium that can be absorbed by the leaves for a quick recovery. You may want to try this foliar spray. I mix 3 tablespoons of epsom salt to one gallon of water and spray the foliage.Then I apply a slow release organic fertilizer that is high in nitrogen to the soil around the plant. At this time I remove any flower buds so the plants can solely concentrate their energy on there foliage. There is still plenty of time for a productive harvest.
If chlorine is the problem, you can simply rid the water of chlorine by just running the water into a bucket and letting the bucket stand for a few hours to allow the chlorine to evaporate.
Lower leaves that turn yellow on your pepper plants can be simply caused from soil splash when watering. They will yellow and wilt. Remove these yellow leaves and your plants should do just fine.
www.organicheirloomgardening.com
The first reason, the yellowing of leaves is most of the times caused by a lack of nitrogen and magnesium in the gardens soil. This can be simply a result of the nutrients being leeched from the soil due to excess water. Pepper plants only need 1" of water per week. Another reason is the plants may need an application of fertilizer that is high in nitrogen to get past this problem.
Normally you wouldn't want to give pepper or tomatoes a high dose of nitrogen, it will usually result in lush foliage and not a strong harvest. You need to get the plants healthy again, so if they need a dose of nitrogen do it sparingly.
Another thing that works for me is to apply an epsom salt spray to my pepper plants. Epsom salt will supply magnesium and calcium that can be absorbed by the leaves for a quick recovery. You may want to try this foliar spray. I mix 3 tablespoons of epsom salt to one gallon of water and spray the foliage.Then I apply a slow release organic fertilizer that is high in nitrogen to the soil around the plant. At this time I remove any flower buds so the plants can solely concentrate their energy on there foliage. There is still plenty of time for a productive harvest.
If chlorine is the problem, you can simply rid the water of chlorine by just running the water into a bucket and letting the bucket stand for a few hours to allow the chlorine to evaporate.
Lower leaves that turn yellow on your pepper plants can be simply caused from soil splash when watering. They will yellow and wilt. Remove these yellow leaves and your plants should do just fine.
www.organicheirloomgardening.com
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Tomatoes Are the Pride of Most Gardeners
The most common and one of the easiest crops to grow in the home garden is the tomato. With the proper planning and care you can grow a healthy, highly productive crop in your backyard organic garden.
Tomatoes fortunately are a crop that can be grow many different ways. They can be grown in pots, containers, greenhouses, the traditional garden, raised beds and as a part of your edible landscape. From the urban gardener to the most rural properties this crop can bring rewarding results.
Varieties, this is just about endless in your choices. There are tomatoes for every culture to ones specifically for there taste, size, shape and color. There are tomatoes that have low acid content to the sauce or paste tomato.
As more gardeners are turning to the natural methods organic gardening, the heirloom tomato is regaining it's popularity. It is another group of tomatoes that have just about an endless number of varieties to choose from. These varieties all have some type of history behind them. Whether it be a history of being past down through generations in a family or from it was introduced by our ancestors. There is usually always a story behind every heirloom.
Starting your on tomato crop can be a fun and an educational experience. Growing your own varieties for your own specific needs can be the start of a tradition that can be past down for generation to come. Learning the history behind the heirlooms you grow can even unveil the history of your own heritage.
www.organicheirloomgardening.com
Tomatoes fortunately are a crop that can be grow many different ways. They can be grown in pots, containers, greenhouses, the traditional garden, raised beds and as a part of your edible landscape. From the urban gardener to the most rural properties this crop can bring rewarding results.
Varieties, this is just about endless in your choices. There are tomatoes for every culture to ones specifically for there taste, size, shape and color. There are tomatoes that have low acid content to the sauce or paste tomato.
As more gardeners are turning to the natural methods organic gardening, the heirloom tomato is regaining it's popularity. It is another group of tomatoes that have just about an endless number of varieties to choose from. These varieties all have some type of history behind them. Whether it be a history of being past down through generations in a family or from it was introduced by our ancestors. There is usually always a story behind every heirloom.
Starting your on tomato crop can be a fun and an educational experience. Growing your own varieties for your own specific needs can be the start of a tradition that can be past down for generation to come. Learning the history behind the heirlooms you grow can even unveil the history of your own heritage.
www.organicheirloomgardening.com
Monday, April 13, 2009
The Benefits Of Kitchen Composting
There are many benefits that can be had from composting your organic household and yards waste. The household is a great place to start. Kitchen waste from fruits, vegetables, empty boxes and even bakery items are ideal along with being beneficial when composted.
These items can be stored on a daily basis in a compost container or bucket in your kitchen to be used in your outdoor compost operation or there are ways of composting them in your kitchen without the need of having an outdoor compost pile.
Kitchen composting has been on the rise due to the new compact systems that are on the market today. These compost units range from a simple crock that can sit on your counter to small composting units that fit in your kitchen cabinet. There are many different types and styles of composting bins that can be used indoors and are filtered to avoid odors that can be present with composting.
Go green in your kitchen and start composting. The nutrient rich compost that is produced from you kitchen waste is a very beneficial, nutrient rich humus that your plants will benefit from.
www.organicheirloomgardening.com
These items can be stored on a daily basis in a compost container or bucket in your kitchen to be used in your outdoor compost operation or there are ways of composting them in your kitchen without the need of having an outdoor compost pile.
Kitchen composting has been on the rise due to the new compact systems that are on the market today. These compost units range from a simple crock that can sit on your counter to small composting units that fit in your kitchen cabinet. There are many different types and styles of composting bins that can be used indoors and are filtered to avoid odors that can be present with composting.
Go green in your kitchen and start composting. The nutrient rich compost that is produced from you kitchen waste is a very beneficial, nutrient rich humus that your plants will benefit from.
www.organicheirloomgardening.com
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
The Importance Of A Good Healthy Soil In Your Garden
It is almost time to get out and start planting here in New England. Yes, there are a few cold weather crops that can be started, but the major part of the planting is still a month away. There are still things that can be done to prepare your garden so that the crops you plant will be healthy and productive.
Soil is the key factor in having a healthy and productive garden. To achieve this takes time and patience. Testing your garden soil and adding the proper soil amendments is a very important part of organic gardening and this is the time to do it. Gardeners that don't apply organic methods to there gardening practices plant there crops and feed them chemical nutrients to force them to thrive and at the same time harm the natural methods that are already in your soil waiting to get feed with organic matter to produce these nutrients naturally.
Composting is a simple and basic method of turning your organic household and yard waste into useful nutrient rich humus that will greatly benefit your gardens, whether they be vegetable, flower or herb gardens. Even though this method can be applied by fairly basic means, once you start studying it you will see it is a very complex science behind this incredible process.
Over the next few weeks I am going to be getting more indepth into this subject and add a lot of useful information on how you can improve your gardens soil by using the method of composting. All these articles that I add to my website will also be available through my accounts on twitter and ezinearticles.com.
I hope this information will be useful to you and help you provide you with the knowelege you need to apply composting to your gardening practices and GO Organic!
http://www.organicheirloomgardening.com
Soil is the key factor in having a healthy and productive garden. To achieve this takes time and patience. Testing your garden soil and adding the proper soil amendments is a very important part of organic gardening and this is the time to do it. Gardeners that don't apply organic methods to there gardening practices plant there crops and feed them chemical nutrients to force them to thrive and at the same time harm the natural methods that are already in your soil waiting to get feed with organic matter to produce these nutrients naturally.
Composting is a simple and basic method of turning your organic household and yard waste into useful nutrient rich humus that will greatly benefit your gardens, whether they be vegetable, flower or herb gardens. Even though this method can be applied by fairly basic means, once you start studying it you will see it is a very complex science behind this incredible process.
Over the next few weeks I am going to be getting more indepth into this subject and add a lot of useful information on how you can improve your gardens soil by using the method of composting. All these articles that I add to my website will also be available through my accounts on twitter and ezinearticles.com.
I hope this information will be useful to you and help you provide you with the knowelege you need to apply composting to your gardening practices and GO Organic!
http://www.organicheirloomgardening.com
Monday, April 6, 2009
Soil - The Most Overlooked Part Of A Garden
The one thing that is overlooked in a garden and lawns is the soil. Soil is the key to having successful plant growth, whether it be your lawn or in your garden. The common practice by most is to study there plants and give them a quick fix of nutrients by the use of chemical fertilizers to make them look healthy and green, this does nothing for the soil. Organic gardening is a method of gardening that builds a healthy soil with all the nutrients the plants need to survive naturally and without the use of chemicals.
When using this method of gardening, the soil food web is what needs to be maintained to have a healthy successful plant growth. It is what feeds the organisms in the soil to keep them alive and working hard for you to maintain a good soil structure. Chemical fertilizers are only a fast fix and can harm the soil along with killing off the beneficial complex community if life that lives in your yard or gardens soil.
Studying your soil along with watching the way nature supplies nutrients to plants naturally is a what organic gardening is about. Testing your yard or gardens soil is very important in knowing what is needed and how much soil amendments are needed to improve the soils structure that you are working with. There are tests that are simple to do yourself and that will give you a better understanding on how soil works. To improve your soils structure you should know what you are working with. The soils texture is what will classify the type of soil that you have. It is a simple test that can be done with a sample of your soil, a jar and some water.
Once you have the results of the test you will know what is needed to improve your soils structure. Other tests that also can be done easily with test kits that can be purchased online or at your local garden centers will let you know what the soils ph level is and the amount of nutrients that are presently in the soil. Not all crops grow there best in the same soil conditions. Knowing your plants and the environment that they do best in will greatly benefit you in having a high yielding productive garden.
Organic gardening is a healthy method of gardening, for both you and the environment.
organicheirloomgardening.com
When using this method of gardening, the soil food web is what needs to be maintained to have a healthy successful plant growth. It is what feeds the organisms in the soil to keep them alive and working hard for you to maintain a good soil structure. Chemical fertilizers are only a fast fix and can harm the soil along with killing off the beneficial complex community if life that lives in your yard or gardens soil.
Studying your soil along with watching the way nature supplies nutrients to plants naturally is a what organic gardening is about. Testing your yard or gardens soil is very important in knowing what is needed and how much soil amendments are needed to improve the soils structure that you are working with. There are tests that are simple to do yourself and that will give you a better understanding on how soil works. To improve your soils structure you should know what you are working with. The soils texture is what will classify the type of soil that you have. It is a simple test that can be done with a sample of your soil, a jar and some water.
Once you have the results of the test you will know what is needed to improve your soils structure. Other tests that also can be done easily with test kits that can be purchased online or at your local garden centers will let you know what the soils ph level is and the amount of nutrients that are presently in the soil. Not all crops grow there best in the same soil conditions. Knowing your plants and the environment that they do best in will greatly benefit you in having a high yielding productive garden.
Organic gardening is a healthy method of gardening, for both you and the environment.
organicheirloomgardening.com
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Start Of The Garden Season
The start of a new growing season has finally arrived. It is still wet in the garden but most of it is raised beds. If I didn't plant this way it wouldn't be until may before I could get into the garden.There are advantages in having a garden that has a high water table. In the summer months it stays moist enough under the surface so that watering is keep to a minimum.
I am going to get what I can ready to start planting some spinach today and clean around the garlic that I planted last October, that is along with my helper. She just loves digging in the garden.
It feels good to be able to get back outside working in the garden again after the long cold winter we have had. It is only 43 here today but it still feels good.
In this area is where I plant my garlic, peas, lettuce and string beans. I start out by turning the
beds, adding a little peat and more compost before I start any planting. This area is fairly wet early in the season so I built a raised bed and plant on mounds or hilled rows. The beds I build a little more each year with rock that I have saved from the garden. I even use the rocks just to divide off different areas.I started by cleaning off the leaves from last fall and putting them
in the compost bin, then I turned the soil and add about 2 to 3
inches of peat, once I mixed the peat in I added another 2 to 3 inches of compost to the beds and turned it all in. The soil I have to work with in the garden is a glacial till. It is a silty, almost clay type soil that when dries out turns fairly hard and water doesn't penetrate very easily, more sheds off than goes in the ground.That is why it is important to mix the peat and compost to improve the soils structure.
As I work the soil I take whatever rocks that I come across and save them to build new raised beds or just to use them to divide off different areas of the garden. There is no easy way to get rid of them so I put them to use wherever I can.
This is an area where I plant some zucchini and placed a row of rock that I have dug from the garden to divide the area from my asparagus bed, it keeps things neat. As you can see from these photos, I plant in small areas, it makes it easier to maintain. In small areas you can do a lot with companion planting that greatly benefits the garden. It is a way to control pest, it helps to improve soil structure and there are crops that will provide nutrients to other plants that they are planted with.Organic gardening is a great method of gardening. With a good healthy soil structure and the method of companion planting your garden can produce a highly productive crop and one that is healthy for you, without the use of chemicals.
www.organicheirloomgardening.com
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