Juliet Spalding


You have now planted your own organic vegetable garden and have done everything that you can to get it started.  Unfortunately the seeds have not started sprouting or your started seeds have not grown much if it all.  Before you throw in the towel and give up on organic gardening there are a few things that you should try.

First of all, have you been hand weeding your garden daily?  This might sound like a pain and stupid chore but it could make all the difference in the world.  Make a point of visiting your vegetable garden each day and carefully checking for weeds.  Do not let the children do it and do not rely on a glance from your back window to tell you whether weeds are growing or not. 

Many gardeners have done casual checks and later realized that the sprouts they thought were growing in their garden were really weeds.  Make a close inspection each day and weed by hand to make sure the job is thoroughly done.  Throw these weeds away do NOT put them into your compost pit.  In order to get the best results dedicate 20 minutes each day to pulling weeds.

If you have been weeding your garden each day and your plants still seem to be growing slowly start adding rich, aged, compost to the slow growing vegetables.  Many plants just need a helping hand and some vegetables, corn, pumpkins, and squash, all need compost to provide richness and nutrients.  Spreading some aged compost from your composts pits will help your vegetables grow properly.

After adding compost to your vegetables every few days leads to no results consider investing in some manure from your local garden supplier.  They will often have organic manure on hand for your gardening needs and this will act as a stronger fertilizer than your compost.  If you are afraid to try manure you can invest in some aged compost purchased from a nursery first.  In many cases your compost pits will only be a few weeks old when you are trying to use them to encourage growth some older compost might just do the trick.

Do not be afraid to increase the amount of water that you are giving your garden.  You should be careful not to over water your plants but you want to make sure that your plants are getting enough water to survive and thrive.  When you water your plants in the morning always check to see if the soil appears dry.  If the soil seems dry one day after watering you might want to consider increasing the amount of water you are giving them.  The soil should always be a little damp around your plants.

Lastly, do not be afraid to spray your homemade pesticide or even a bit of diluted soapy water on your plants to get ride of insects.  If you notice a lot of pests are attracted to your vegetable garden consider spraying once every ten days or once every two weeks.  Also, spray diluted soapy water directly onto vegetables that have insects on them all the time.



Roy

Dael Leathe


If you’re not a big fan of getting dirty in the outside garden, then fear not. Most of the vegetables grown at home can be grown equally well in containers. By finding the right container and filling it with the right potting mixture, you will be able to grow anything you want in it, even tomatoes.

First you need to find the right size container for your plants. If you want the little cherry tomatoes (which are excellent in salads) then you can use the regular size hanging baskets, but if you prefer the larger tomatoes you’d do best to purchase five gallon buckets, because your plants need plenty of room to grow, you don’t want them to be cramped. Next you need to go to a nursery and purchase your tomato plants. You don’t want to get too large of a plant, you can buy a determinate tomato plant, that stops growing after they reach a certain size, or indeterminate that will continue to grow and produce larger tomato plants. Two very popular indeterminate tomato plants are Big Beef and Better Boy, which are also very resistant to plant disease and will give you tomatoes for a longer period of time.

Now you’re ready to begin planting, make sure you put some holes in the bottom of your container for proper drainage. You don’t want your plant to become overwhelmed with excess water. Carefully remove the bottom few sets of leaves and place the plant in the container. Make sure you don’t use a flimsy, light weight container, because when your tomatoes are in bloom they may be top heavy and could cause the plant to topple. Tomatoes should be staked as early as possible, to prevent root disturbances caused by setting in the stake. Use a well mixed potting soil supplemented with plenty of organic matter to enrich the taste of your tomatoes. Ask at your neighborhood nursery for help in picking out the proper soil and fertilizer for in home planting.

Plants need plenty of sunlight, at least 6 to 8 hours a day. A grow light can be very beneficial in growing young plants, especially on cloudy days with limited sunlight. Be sure to water them daily, forgetting to water them for a couple of days and then starting to water them again, and then you once again forgetting; this rigorous process could delay the growth of your tomato plants. So please, be consistent with your care for them.



Anne-Marie

Organic Gardener


How to grow beautiful culinary herbs

You don’t have to be a chef or have a green thumb to grow an herb garden. Culinary herbs are extremely easy to grow. Once they get going, they add fragrance, texture and color to just about any garden or space. Harvest your culinary herbs to make everything from herbal teas, vinegars and flavorful recipes.

Herbs don’t require much space to grow. You can plant them in beds in a garden or you can grow them in a small container. Combining herbs can create a beautiful effect. Your bed or container is your canvas - and what you plant there can grow into a beautiful masterpiece.

Plenty of sun

Herbs love plenty of sunlight. When choosing a location for your herbs, look for an outdoor area or window that gets 5-7 hours of direct sunlight each day.

Well-drained soil

Whether you are planting your herbs in containers or a garden, start by testing your soil for nutrients and pH. It may be necessary to adjust your soil pH to the near-neutral pH of 6-7 that herbs grow best in. You will also want to add a layer of organic compost and minerals to the soil prior to planting.

Adequate water

Herbs like well-drained soil, but well drained soil needs to be watered more frequently. Don’t just water on a whim. Stick your finger down into your soil approximately 1″ to 1-1/2″. There is no need to water unless your soil feels almost dry to the touch.

Three rules of thumb for fertilizing your herbs

Fertilizer is often referred to as “plant food.” The most important thing to remember when feeding your herbs - use products that are organic. Remember, you are going to be consuming what you grow. If you don’t want to consume chemicals, don’t use them on your herbs.

Second rule of thumb - feed your herbs a balanced diet.

Fertilizer or “plant food” provides your herbs with the major elements they need to grow and thrive - nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Your plants also need minor elements called micronutrients, which contain the minor elements required by your plants to grow.

Finally.

Feed your plants through their leaves (foliar feeding). Foliar feeding is 100-500% more effective than root feeding and offers quicker results. Look for organic foliar fertilizers and micronutrients. Spray all the leaves of your herbs every 1-4 weeks.

Harvesting and storage

Once your herbs are established it is important to cut them back on a regular basis. Never harvest more than 1/3 of each individual herb plant. The best time to harvest your herbs is in the morning, when the oils are still readily available in their leaves. Harvest your herbs before they flower. This will prevent them from putting forth seed and will encourage more vigorous green growth.

You can use your herbs right away, refrigerate them or put them in a plastic freezer bag and freeze them up to 6 months.

Whatever you do, enjoy growing your culinary herbs.

You will feel like a gourmet, each time you wander into your garden to clip a few herbs for your culinary productions. Even if you don’t cook much, snip a bit of fresh mint from your herb garden to transform a simple glass of ice tea into the most delectable treat. Or garnish a fruit plate, fresh vegetables and salads with your fresh herbs. Using them is as easy as growing them.



Kylie

Ellen Bell


Tomatoes are arguably the most popular homegrown crop in the United States.  What makes them so popular?  Most tomato lovers would agree that the best-tasting tomatoes in the world are those that are homegrown in a backyard garden.  Furthermore, tomatoes are an easy crop to grow, yielding fruit in almost any soil type, provided they get 5-6 hours of sunlight a day.  Even if you don’t have a dedicated garden, per say, most homeowners can find at least a few square feet of their landscaping where they can put a tomato plant.

If you are interested in putting a few tomato plants in your garden this year, we’ve got some great tips to help you grow your best tomatoes ever!

The first decision in homegrown tomatoes is whether you want to start them yourself from seed, or if you’ll purchase young plants from a nursery.  For the less-serious home gardener, who just wants a few of your average homegrown tomatoes to eat, the usual varieties found in a nursery will do just fine, plus you’ll save the time and trouble of growing them from seed.  However, if you are planting on a large scale, starting from seed can be much more economical than buying young plants.  Furthermore, if you want to grow any specific varieties of tomatoes besides your average beefsteak, Better Boy, or Early Girl, you may be forced to start the plants from seed.  Pear tomatoes, yellow tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes and others are varieties that nurseries don’t typically sell as young plants.

Proper fertilization techniques are vital for growing your best tomatoes.  If starting indoors from seed, you should fertilize when the first set of leaves appear on the seedlings.  In the early stages, you’ll want to use a fertilizer that’s high in nitrogen, because this will help the plants to grow strong.  However, when the plants get large enough that they begin forming blossoms, it is recommended to switch over to a fertilizer that’s higher in phosphorus and potassium.  Too much nitrogen during the fruiting stages will result in plenty of vine and very little fruit.

If you do grow your tomatoes indoors from seed, it’s important to harden them off before moving them outdoors.  There are many ways to accomplish this.  You could set up a small fan to blow gently on the plants indoors.  When the daytime temperatures are warm enough, you could also begin setting the plants outdoors for several hours a day, gradually increasing their time outdoors and length of time in the sun, day by day.  Eventually the plants will be ready to set outside.

When planting tomatoes, it is important to plant deeply.  When planting, you should bury at least half to three quarters of the plant, so that only the top few branches are sticking out.  New roots will eventually form all along the stem that you submerge in the soil, making the plant stronger.

Among tomato growers, there is wide debate about whether to pick or not to pick suckers.  Suckers are secondary stems that form on all tomato plant, and they grow from the joint of the main stem and the primary branches.  There are two fields of thought about this.  If you allow suckers to grow, they will sap much of the energy from the plant’s main stem.  Allowing suckers to grow on an indeterminate plant will result in an enormous, sprawling tomato plant that, by season’s end, can be difficult to manage.  On the other hand, if you remove all the suckers from your tomato plant, the plant will become very spindly, without very many leaves.  When you have a tomato plant that isn’t bushy enough, the fruits themselves will be more susceptible to discoloration and sunspots because they don’t get adequate shading from the plant itself.  In general, for more home gardeners, it is recommended to allow some of your suckers to grow in the beginning, but by mid-season, to begin removing suckers and continue doing so until the plants are finished in the fall.

Lastly, be sure to keep a close eye out for any diseased plants.  While many varieties of tomatoes have been hybridized to be disease resistant, there are still some plants that will be susceptible to common tomato problems such as fusarium wilt and verticillium wilt.  If you notice a plant that looks unhealthy, you should attempt to diagnose the problem as quickly as possible, and potentially remove the plant all together.  Many diseases affecting tomatoes will spread rapidly from one plant to another, and it’s always better to sacrifice one plant than to risk your entire crop of tomatoes.

Tomatoes are not a difficult plant to grow.  Even the gardener with the blackest of thumbs can usually produce a decent crop of tomatoes with very little effort.  However, if you do provide them with a little extra care and nurturing, you’ll be rewarded with your best tomatoes ever!



Edgar

Judith Schwader


Picture three ripe red tomatoes arranged on a wooden cutting board awaiting your pleasure. They’ve each come from a different source: can you tell which one was grown organically?

Two of the tomatoes were lovingly tended in backyards - one in a conventional garden and the other in an organic garden. The third tomato came from the supermarket, and it’s easy to eliminate from the guessing game.

The supermarket tomato is the pale red one the size and shape of a tennis ball. Bred for packing, shipping, and storing, (not flavor), this tomato was picked green, has traveled more than a thousand miles from farm to store, and has sat on the shelf for weeks — looking none the worse for wear.

Set this one aside. It was definitely not grown organically.

Two remain. For the sake of the game, they are the same tomato variety, let’s say Big Beef slicers. Bright red, they were just picked and are still warm to the touch from afternoon sun.

It’s not so easy to tell the difference in these; we have to look beyond the surface… literally. The quality of the soil from which they grew is the key element to naming the winner of this game: conventional tomato vs. organic tomato.

The chemicals in the fertilizers used in conventional gardens actually break down the health of the soil. Microbes that are necessary for making soil nutrients available to the plants are killed off.

The dead soil requires increasing doses of conventional fertilizer, and still the plants are malnourished, falling prey to insects and disease. Enter the deadly pesticides, sprayed liberally on the plant.

Now, the game is getting serious. One of the two remaining contestants in our tomato contest had better be carefully washed before being eaten; it’s been dusted with poison.

On the other hand, the organically grown tomato also had fertilizer applied to it, but this fertilizer was made from naturally occurring substances like bone meal, fish emulsion, and rock phosphate. These additions fed the soil and did no harm to the beneficial microbes that make nutrients available for use by plants.

Pesticides probably weren’t necessary because a healthy plant produces its own pest-resistant chemicals. But if there were pests, the organic gardener might have used a home-mixed spray of hot pepper and garlic, or something similarly non-toxic to humans.

There are a few additional techniques the organic gardener probably used, such as tilling in a cover crop to add organic material for the microbes and earthworms to decompose. This process results in a crumbly textured soil that holds moisture and allows the roots to breathe.

But even without the soil improvement from a cover crop, it’s fairly clear which tomato is better for health: the only nutrients that can be found in the fruit had to come from what was available in the soil. The organically grown tomato provides better nutrition.

What is not so clear is which tomato is better for flavor. A test of the ratio of sugar to acid might be made, but that isn’t a big issue. Both the conventionally grown and organically grown tomato are vastly superior in flavor to the poor tomato found in most supermarkets.

The original question in this tomato guessing game was whether you could tell which one of those ripe, juicy tomatoes on the cutting board was organic. Turns out that it’s hard to tell just by looking, or even just by tasting.

So, what’s the big issue? Mainly this: sustainability. Conventional growing depletes and eventually destroys the soil. Whereas organic growing techniques actually build and improve the soil.

In the end, the nutritious organic tomato contributes more to your health, and it is certainly better for the health of the soil from which all future crops will come.



Lara

jamiehanson


To sow seeds in the garden the first and foremost consideration should be the area available for the garden. Then looking at the garden and the seeds you will sow which will culminate into plants, the varieties should be decided. For different type of plants you have to space the garden accordingly. And the instructions for sowing seeds are normally available on the packet or a horticulturist can well advise. Always go with the instructions of the seed manual or the horticulturist who will guide you on the requirements of quantity of water, sunshine, fertilizer, etc. Always buy seeds of the current year and if possible heirloom seeds specifically for special plants. Heirloom seeds belong to a particular family of species which comes from generations and its history is known. In the garden you can plant different types of trees with variant natures. There are plant which climb for them you have to provide for a trellis or a fence. Trellis can add beauty to the garden if placed properly. Beans and peas are some varieties. You can plant tomatoes which also come in varieties like cherry tomato, it grows in vines; the Roma OR Sauce tomato which grow in bush. There is another variety of tomato which crawls in the ground. To buy these seeds you should decide early in the season by March. You sow the seeds and allow them to grow in a temperate climate till they take the shape of a plant to be planted in May/June. One particular factor should be kept in mind that if you ever desire to plant onions , it it better to go for onion sets than for seeds. Vegetable seeds are always chosen depending upon the climatic condition of the area or region. Sow the seeds and transplant them according to their climatic requirement. For example if you plant a vegetable plant or a flower plant or even herbal plant in the seasons which they do not grow, you will not get the expected yield out of it. If you plant a variety which grows in winter will never grow or yield satisfactorily. Growing vegetables are rewarding. Vegetables such as egg plants (brinjal), beans, peas, tomatoes, water melons, cucumbers, cabbage, radish, carrot, lettuce, spinach, chilly and many other varieties can be grown in a garden. The development of gardens, gardening and horticulture is primarily because of the herbal plants. Herbal plants are a part of mankind. It has medicinal values, flavors and also used in different ceremonial occasions. There are many varieties you will find in kitchen gardens or even in general gardens in people’s house. They are angelica, lemon grass, lavender, mints, coriander, Cummins, ginger, Marjoram, etc. Whether it is vegetable seeds or flower seeds or herbal seeds all of them are available on stores and can also be bought online. If you browse the internet through search engines plenty of seller’s will be available. Most of the seller’s of seeds offer good discounts. You can find many family owned generic seed shops which is grown by them and accumulated for sale. Another facility in online buying is that you can buy seeds of such varieties from other countries or region which is not grown in you country or region. A genuine online shop always provides you with premium quality seeds and seeds with more survival ratio. Even shops ship you the seeds for free.



Greg

Dominic Ferrara


ardening is not as difficult as one may think. It actually helps us to conserve the soil we plant on and also keep our level of trash low. The basic concept of organic gardening is to make full use of the natural resources that one has in the area without destroying any of them. The use of chemical pesticides and chemical fertilizers are not encouraged in organic gardening.

Soil

This is one of the most important things in gardening. The soil is used to contain the nutrients and the water that the plant needs to survive. Although, there are now gardening methods wherein the soil is abandoned in favor of other materials, soil is still the primary medium used for organic gardening and farming.

For those who wish to use soil as a medium for gardening, it is best to choose the kind of soil that the plants you wish to grow are comfortable with. Clay soil is usually ideal for those plants that like watery areas since this kind of soil holds water best. It is not ideal for those plants that like sandy soil, though. Sandy soil drains water the best and is used for plants that do not need that much water or whose roots rot easily if steeped in water for too long.

Compost And Organic Matter

Organic matter is anything that was once alive and is now decaying. These are important in organic gardening because these will serve as compost mixed with some stuff to make them more viable as compost. Organic matter that is great for organic gardening can include fish heads and sometimes entrails, kitchen scraps, grass clippings, manure and many others. Organic matter or compost is often used to condition the soil and in place of fertilizer. Some organic dairy products can also be used for organic matter mixes.

Pest Control

Pest control is one of the major reasons why organic gardening is more expensive than other kinds of gardening. Workers and gardeners need to work overtime in protecting their plants from insects and other animals that are attracted to the plants. Inspecting the plants manually in order to remove damaging insects may be hard work but this is beneficial for the plants and the other animals because you do not use pesticide to control them. The best way in organic gardening in controlling the pest problems is to get the help of some useful insects to control the other insects.

There are some organic pesticides available to make the job easier in organic gardening but some farmers do not like to use these if they have a small garden or field which they can work on manually instead.

Taking care of the environment and the so which give us the food should be the top priority of the farmers and their regulating body.