Posts Tagged ‘Growing’

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Cubed Foot Gardening: Growing Vegetables in Raised, Intensive Beds

If you don’t already have your own compost, check with your local municipality. Most give away leaf compost for free. Some even deliver by the truckload to your home!

Leaf compost is very rich in organic matter; however, it still needs a few amendments. Lime added to your compost will balance the Ph and Gypsum added (about 5lbs. per 100 sq. ft.) will keep the soil nice and loose, it also adds trace minerals such as calcium which is great for the soil. Adding these will also help plants intake the nutrients they need to thrive. Work this into the top 4”-6” of soil.

Another important key to growing organic veggies is sunlight. Take some time to watch the sun as it moves across your property throughout the day. Start your garden where it will get the maximum amount of sun and plant your rows from NE to SW. It is also important to water your garden in the early morning between the hours of 6 and 10 am. The will allow for good water absorption and any water left on the leaves will evaporate before the heat of mid-day. Watering in the middle of the day is not recommended because the water will evaporate before it has a chance to really soak in (or you will have to water longer to get the same effect). The leaves of the plants may also burn as the water on the leaves heats up. Never, ever water your garden in the evening unless you want a tough battle with the evil fungus! Let me explain. When you water in the evening it is cooler and dark. The ground will absorb the water well, however, the round will only suck up so much, and then the garden is left with water on the leaves and puddles (even small ones) around the stems. There is no sun to gently evaporate the excess. Water and air can carry fungus spores naturally. The water laying on the leaves and around the stems acts as a fertilizer to the evil fungus and it grows literally overnight. Before you know it you have black spots on your tomato and pepper plant and curling leaves on your cucumbers!

Ok, once you have chosen your location, prepared the soil, and have placed your plants in rows, use your recycled newspaper as a weed preventer between the rows. Once the newspaper is wet, no weed can penetrate it. It’s not very pretty, do like I do and give it a covering of mulch. Newspaper and mulch also serve a dual purpose…they help retain moisture around the plants. Just try to keep them away from the stems of your plants.

Pretty simple so far, huh? There is a great misnomer about the word ORGANIC. Many people think that organic means work. It’s just the opposite. Working with nature, and using simple principles is always easier and more successful than working against nature with harmful chemical based fertilizers and control products.

Beneficial insects in your garden are a must. Lady bugs and Preying Mantids will eat many unwanted insects. Bats are also great insect eaters. And no, they will not get stuck in your hair! Install a bat box up in a tree and you will have less garden pests and mosquitoes in your yard. Bats are nocturnal so they won’t bother you at all. They are actually great fun to watch at dusk, dancing in the moonlight.

If you do find yourself with a garden invasion of nasty little critters, there are a few easy tricks. If you only see a few insects, pick them off, put in a refuse bag and throw in the trash. If you have more than a few, a solution of soapy water generally will do the trick. Using recycled bath or dishwater works great. It also saves precious water. If your garden is too large to bucket the water from your sink or tub, pour some liquid dish soap in a hose end sprayer and spray the garden. A good soak of the plants is what you want. You can do this weekly all the way until harvest.

As for fertilizing your veggies, there is nothing better than Merrill’s! When I find a product that works this well, I have to spread the word. Merrill’s Compost Fertilizer or Compost Tea (a water soluble fertilizer) is an All Natural Certified Organic Fertilizer. Your plants will love it! They will grow bigger, and yield more veggies than any other fertilizer I’ve ever used.

Ok, now let me tell you how to rid your garden of the EVIL FUNGUS. If you come across a plant (particularly tomatoes) that is curling or wilting with no other apparent signs of disease, (and it’s been getting adequate water) pull it our and dispose of it immediately. Throw it in the garbage… do not put it in your compost bin!

Do not replant in that spot again this season. It could have Fusarium Wilt or some other disease that attacks the root system of the plant and can travel quickly from plant to plant. If you have Black Spot or Powdery Mildew, make sure you are only watering in the morning, and you can get an organic fungus control at greennationgardens.com or your local garden center.

Now that the gardening season is over, when breaking down your garden… COMPOST IT! Any newspaper and mulch can be placed in your compost to break down naturally to be added back into your garden next year. Plant stems unfortunately have to go into the garbage. They are fibrous and difficult to break down. You do not want any disease spores wintering over in your compost bin. Make sure to test the Ph and amend your soil yearly to replace the nutrients and trace minerals your veggies took from the soil. After all, the organic vegetables you’ll be growing the following growing season will be looking for those very same nutrients. They’ll thank you for it with a bountiful array of fresh organic produce, and your family will thank you for all the wonderful goodness you have provided them with no chemicals, and that is a wonderful thing!

HAPPY “ORGANIC” GARDENING!

Soil less Mixtures

There is a great amount of soil less mixtures available, which contain different ingredients. Sphagnum moss, perlite, and vermiculite are the most widely spread hydroponics components, used in such mixtures.

Being organic, soil less growing media are usually used for container gardening wick systems or on-recovery drip systems. It is also possible to use soil less mixtures in recovery systems, however, it is necessary to remember that because of very fine particles in such mixtures, they can clog tubes, pumps and drip emitters, when used without a good filtration system. By the way, according to the urban gardeners, one can use panty hose as a filter: just fit it to the return line and to the pump inlet, and all the tiny particles will be filtered out.

Most soil less mixes form a good growing medium for multiple hydroponic and organic gardens, because they can hold water well, have great wicking action, and, at the same time, they provide a reasonable amount of air to the roots of growing plants.

Coconut Fiber

The popularity of coconut fiber as growing medium increases rapidly around the world. Being the first totally organic growing medium, providing highest performance for hydroponic systems, coconut fiber may soon become the most popular growing medium ever. It is interesting to note that coconut fiber is, actually, a waste product, which contains the powdered husks of coconuts.

In comparison to rockwool, coconut fiber is characterized with higher oxygen capacity and water retaining. These features are important advantages for hydroponic systems with intermittent watering cycles.

Coconut fiber also contains a lot of root stimulating hormones, thus offering some protection against fungus infestation and other root diseases. The mixture of 50% coconut fiber and 50% expanded clay pellets is considered to be the perfect growing medium.

However, it is necessary to underline one precaution when buying coconut fiber. Avoid purchasing a low grade coconut fiber, which is very fine grained and contains a high level of sea-salts. Such coconut fiber will have negative and disappointing effect on hydroponic system.

Many people know about the benefits of eating organic fruit and vegetables. However, not many people regularly eat organic food. The biggest disincentive is usually the price. Organic veggies are invariably a lot more expensive at the local supermarket. The good news is that anybody with even a modest vegetable garden can grow healthy organic vegetables for a much lower cost than they would buy off the shelf.

Nevertheless, some people avoid growing their own vegetables because they are running short on space, time and the know-how to tend a successful veggie patch. However, organic gardening isn’t as difficult as many people think.

Mulching is one of the main secrets. The regular incorporation of old organic matter helps keep the soil functioning well. Mulching helps the soil retain moisture, suppresses weeds, reduces temperature fluctuations, and can prevent soil crusting. Many organic gardeners find that plant disease problems decline as the health of the soil improves.

Of course, the main reason for growing organically is to avoid the use of chemicals and commercially produced fertilizers and pesticides. Again, this helps to maintain a healthy soil across numerous growing seasons. More importantly, you can be sure that the food your family is eating is free of pesticides and herbicides. While avoiding synthetic chemicals, many organic gardeners approve of and use sprays and other preparations containing naturally occurring materials. Other pest control methods include the use of mechanical devices such as traps. Another favorite is to encourage other animals, which like to eat the pests, to the garden.

For city dwellers who have more enthusiasm than space, container gardening may be the answer. Many herbs and vegetables can be grown quite successfully in containers. These include carrots, radishes and lettuce, as well as crops that bear fruit over a long period of time, such as tomatoes and peppers. No matter what you grow it is important to remember that drainage is extremely important. Another possibility if space is at a premium is to grow herbs and vegetables amongst your flower garden.

You never know, if the prices of organic produce remains high and concerns about food safety grow you might be able to convert that backyard vegetable patch into an income earner as well. For those less entrepreneurial, there is the opportunity to work on projects, such as neighborhood food growing, in order to benefit the whole community. At the very least, home grown vegetables definitely taste better.

Herbs are a plant that people use or have used for a specific purpose. Nowadays herbs are most usually known for their culinary, medicinal, aromatic and decorative qualities. In the past, people relied on herbs for greater number of uses, some were utilized in dyeing and cleaning fabrics and many were used in everyday life as flavorings for food and drink to promote good health and to cure illness.

In many cases it is the green part of the plant that is used as a herb, but different parts, such as roots, fruits, seeds and flowers, even the woof of some trees are utilized according to the species.

Herbs are plants that people have found useful right through history. The majority of herbs are safe to handle and consume but not all of them. Some herbs can be toxic to humans and animals even in small does, so they need to be treated with respect. Never use anything that you are not sure is completely safe and consults a medical herbalist first if you want to use herbs for their medicinal properties.

Herbs are easy to raise in natural world, walk into any herbs garden for a sensory experience, the plants it contains will have been selected for their smell as well as their appearance and have rich relations with human history. Herbs are plants that have over many centuries helps people to sleep, soothed pain, repelled insects and flavored exciting drinks. Herbs are still worth growing today for their useful qualities as well as for the fact that they are beautiful to look at.

Herbs are easy plant to grow, and in many cases free from pest and disease problems. Growing them yourself means that you can have fresh supplies to hand when you need them and using organic methods means you can be sure they have not been treated with pesticides. Growing herbs of any kind will increase the multiplicity of a garden, one of the key principles behind a winning organic system. With such a huge range of herbs to choose from, there is almost definitely one for every situation.

Herbs can be selected to climb, creep, tumble, form solid carpets or trained up walls. Some will be happy in muddy soil, others on top of walls, in between road surface stones, under trees and in meadows- success depends on matching the right plant to the accessible conditions. They also vary in size, from the tiny, ground-hugging Corsican mint, to stately giants such as angelica or lovage reaching 2m high. Herbs can be grown fro their appearance alone. Some plants have spectacular flowers, some are valued for their foliage and they all have something to contribute to a garden.

Many herbs attract wildlife; birds eat the seeds and berries, butterflies and bees enjoy the nectar and pollen, while beneficial insects will lay their eggs near sources of aphids and other pests. Some example are given above. Dense plantings of ground-covering herbs such as thymes provide habitats for many beneficial creatures including beetles, spiders and even frogs and toads.

Herbs convey a huge range of flavors to both sweet and flavorful dishes. They can be added to soups, sauces, stews, salads, casseroles, pies flans and anything else you can eat!. Although it is possible to dried herbs, their flavor is far better when used fresh. Recipes that list dried herbs can be adapted for fresh herbs just by doubling the quantities given. With practice, you should be able to judge quality according to taste. A good suggestion is to start with just one or two herbs in a recipe until you become familiar with the flavors and learn how to combine them for the best effects.

Another tradition is the use of aromatic herbs to repel moths or insects and to keep stored clothes lines smelling sweet. These mixtures are effective and still popular today either sewn into bags or stored loose in containers as pot-pourri.

Herbs are also an important part of the cosmetic industry, finding their way into oils, shampoo, cream and lotions. Many old-fashioned preparation are simple to make yourself and much cheaper than buying products off the shelf.

The role of herbs in rituals and ceremonies with more evident in early times, but what is left is still remain, such as the way we decorate our homes with mistletoe, ivy and holly in midwinter. Other herbs are today appreciated simply for their decorative role either in the garden or in fresh or dried flower arrangements.

If you are trying to change your lifestyle and trying to eat vegetables that are healthy for your family then why not grow your own? Why not grow your very own garden full of organic vegetables and herbs? You can do this right in your own backyard and believe it or not many people are doing just this. All you need are the right tools and the patience to learn how to do it properly.

To begin you will need to make a large space on your property in order to have a good sized garden. Most gardens leave a space of 10 feet by 10 feet to give their vegetables plenty of growing space. This will also help you to plant several different kinds of veggies without them getting in each others way. If you don’t think you have the much space then you can always ask your local nursery what they would recommend. You may have to have two different small gardens to grow the things you want.

Strip the top layer of sod of where your garden will be. During this process you will need to remove three to four inches of the ground surface to help remove the grass and the rots of weeds. Weeds can destroy your garden and the things growing in it so you want to make sure that you remove them all before you plant the seeds.

Near your garden you are going to start your very own compost heap. The compost is one of the best ingredients to helping your vegetables to grow. The compost heap can be made up of grass clippings, fruit rinds, and natural waste from your home. Making your own compost heap is messy – but it will save you money and will be a natural fertilizer for your plants.

Before you plant your desired vegetables you will need to soak the top layer of your garden’s soil. The surface needs to be completely flattened with a shovel in order to avoid puddles. When the ground is not even the water will not be able to distribute evenly to all the plants.

Now divide your garden into a minimum of four sections. This will help you to manage what is growing. Place wooden stakes between each section and label what is growing where. Each vegetable is different and requires different care. Having labels will help you to remember where the veggies are.

When it comes to what you are growing it is all up to you and your environment. You want to grow organic vegetables that both you and your family will eat and love. Visit your local nursery and tell them what you would like to plant. They will let you know in what season you should grow them and whether or not they will grow ok in the soil that you have.

While your organic vegetables are growing keep a close eye on them and make sure that they are growing properly. Remove any weeds or plants that should not be growing. If you notice that one or two of your veggies are beyond repair then you would be wise to remove them completely from the garden. This will help them to spread the damage to the other plants.

I love growing herb plants, they are cheap and easy to grow, they grow well indoors through the winter and I get to eat them. Herb plants grown well in cheap plastic plant containers. I got a stack of them out of the trash dumpster behind my local plant store. A few packets of seeds, some salvaged containers, some dirt and it is amazing how much will grow.

Most herbs are tough wild plants which thrive when pampered by gardeners. Having a few of the basic cooking herbs growing in containers is convenient because they are all a few steps from my kitchen. If I decide I need an herb in the middle of cooking, I cut a little fresh without having to drive to the store. Herbs can be harvested by simply cutting off what you need, I keep a small pair of scissors just for that. Cooking with fresh herbs is much better than the dried stuff they call herbs that come in little plastic containers. The flavor of fresh herbs is better but the potency of dried herbs is about three times that of fresh, so if you are using fresh herbs in a recipe that called for dried herbs, keep this in mind.

Herbs and spices – Culinary herbs are different from spices. For the most part, culinary herbs are fresh or dried leaves. Spices are seeds, roots, fruits, flowers, and bark. Culinary herbs usually have a mild flavor while spices tend to have a stronger, pungent flavor.

Annuals, Biennials and Perennials – Annuals bloom one season, put out a lot of seeds and die, biennial herbs live two seasons, blooming the second season only, perennial herbs bloom each season once established and can be propagated by division or cuttings.

What to grow? – Grow what you like to eat. If you cook a lot, you probably already have some idea what herbs you’d like. I grow some herbs because they are used in cuisines I like to eat. Cilantro for Mexican food, basil and rosemary for Italian.

Lavender, rosemary, bay laurel, marjoram, dill, oregano, sage and thyme are all easy to grow cooking herbs. This will start you out with herbs you can eat. They are all from the mild, dry climate of the Mediterranean and grow well together. They need well draining soil, bright sun, and moderate temperatures. Many of the Mediterranean herbs are very sensitive to soil moisture conditions. Raised beds are sometimes needed to provide the necessary drainage. Oregano, and thyme have tried to take over my garden many times. Now I put them in pots, and sink them into the ground. They grow better this way also because I can use soils that drain better just for them. Some of the best easy-to-grow herbs will take over the garden if you do not watch them.

Every herb garden needs at least five kinds of basil. Basil, is not really a mediterranean herb and needs more water. Parsley, chervil, and mint grow best on soils which retain moisture. Chamomile and mints are always good to have growing for tea. Mints are another plant that are good to grow in pots because once they get going they will quickly overwhelm other plants. Peppermint does not produce seeds and can only be propagated by cuttings.

Mints, oregano, rosemary, thyme, and tarragon, should be purchased as plants or propagated by cuttings. If you are planting herb plants from the garden store, plant them in the same way you would plant any other plant, dig a hole, put the plant in and water it well. The woodier herb plants like rosemary, thyme and oregano are better grown from established plants.

Growing herbs outside – Pick a spot that gets at least 6 hours of direct sun each day. Do not plant where water stands or runs during heavy rains. If you don’t have good drainage raised beds will fix it. Add dead leaves and compost to the soil. If you are starting your plants from seeds, put some dirt in a bucket, add a few packets of seeds and scatter them over the soil and water well. The plants will begin to sprout in about a week.

Dry some of your harvest so you’ll have dried herbs through the winter. You’ll never go back to those sad little plastic containers from the grocery store. The shelf life of many herbs is one to two years as long as they are not exposed to light, heat and air. Leaves keep their flavor best when they are stored whole and crushed just before use. Seeds for cooking should be stored whole and ground up as needed.

Keep them well watered, make sure your soil has drainage, make sure to plant them in a place they will get sun, but not too much, feed them a little and they will pay you back many times over. Never use fertilizer, just good dirt with some mulch from the back yard and some alfalfa pellets or some cow manure. Continue to plant seeds every couple of weeks all season long so you will always have fresh herbs available. Most herbs reach their peak for flavor before flowering, that is the best time to harvest leaves or seeds for storage.

Growing herbs inside – Growing herbs inside requires good drainage, sunlight and water. Put an inch of gravel at the bottom of each pot for drainage. Herbs grow best inside in a location with bright, filtered light. A south or west windowsill provides a good spot for an herb garden. Keep plenty of space between your plants to allow for air circulation, Herbs in smaller containers tend to dry out faster, water more often if needed.

Fertilizing – Too much fertilizer produces poor tasting herbs. Heavy applications of fertilizer, will decrease the concentration of essential oils. Don’t fertilizing your herbs in winter. Most plants, especially the warm-climate ones, are asleep and not growing in winter.

Compost is the best fertilizer around. Just toss a handful or two of it around the base of the plant. Mix in lots of organic matter to the soil like mulched leaves to improve texture and drainage.

Plants do not eat fertilizer, they use photosynthesis to eat light. It is amazing but that is what they do. Giving them too much fertilizer is like taking too many vitamins.

I am growing mint and basil on my window sill and they have grown white flowers at the tips. Is this a problem? Will it effect the quality of the herbs? Should I cut them off or can I just continue harvesting the herbs as usual.
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