People often think that gardening is hard work and not worth the effort for what they receive in vegetables for their family. Could it be that home organic gardening can be fun and easy? By fun and easy I mean there is work to do, but that work can be made a fun project for the family and not a chore that must be done.

Here are three tips to gardening that will help you make your gardening more pleasurable and much easier. Those tips are to use compost for fertilizer, properly prepare the soil and use lots of mulch.

Compost for fertilizer

If you are an organic gardener you will want to use compost. I know you think that maintaining a compost pile is a lot of work, right? It does not have to be. You do not need to have any fancy bins or break your back turning the compost.

I keep my compost in a pile; I try to keep it neat. And, I do not turn my compost pile. Just let it sit until everything breaks down and put it on the garden. Now, you will need more compost to use this system, but to me, that is better than turning the pile. That gets to be work.

Make your pile out of kitchen scraps, yard waste and anything else you can find. I mix in about an inch of compost before planting and scratch a little around the plants as they grow. It really does not take that much compost to grow great veggies.

Soil preparation

If you are starting a new garden bed you will probable need to till the soil to get it loose enough to plant. But, once you get established you do not need to till very often if you are doing everything else right.

Once your garden is established, and you are keeping it well mulched, you can just pull the much back and set your plants or sow your seed. There is no need to run the tiller every time you plant something. This saves a lot of time and labor, plus it helps your soil structure.

Mulching

Mulch can be a life saver. It makes your gardening so much easier and is so much better for your garden. With mulch you do not need to spend a sweaty tiring weekend weeding the garden. Why? There are few weeds. Just walk through the garden, every once-in-awhile, and pull the little weeds as they stick up their heads and that’s it.

Your mulch can be a commercial biodegradable material or it can be leaves leftover from the fall. I use straw, as I can find it locally, but you can use most anything organic to smother out the weeds.

Following the above three tips for home organic gardening will help you garden easier with a lot less work and a lot more fun. Get the family involved in the gardening project. Many kids do not know where their food comes from.

Originally posted here: 3 Best Tips for Home Organic Gardening

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People often think that gardening is hard work and not worth the effort for what they receive in vegetables for their family. Could it be that home organic gardening can be fun and easy? By fun and easy I mean there is work to do, but that work can be made a fun project for the family and not a chore that must be done.

Here are three tips to gardening that will help you make your gardening more pleasurable and much easier. Those tips are to use compost for fertilizer, properly prepare the soil and use lots of mulch.

Compost for fertilizer

If you are an organic gardener you will want to use compost. I know you think that maintaining a compost pile is a lot of work, right? It does not have to be. You do not need to have any fancy bins or break your back turning the compost.

I keep my compost in a pile; I try to keep it neat. And, I do not turn my compost pile. Just let it sit until everything breaks down and put it on the garden. Now, you will need more compost to use this system, but to me, that is better than turning the pile. That gets to be work.

Make your pile out of kitchen scraps, yard waste and anything else you can find. I mix in about an inch of compost before planting and scratch a little around the plants as they grow. It really does not take that much compost to grow great veggies.

Soil preparation

If you are starting a new garden bed you will probable need to till the soil to get it loose enough to plant. But, once you get established you do not need to till very often if you are doing everything else right.

Once your garden is established, and you are keeping it well mulched, you can just pull the much back and set your plants or sow your seed. There is no need to run the tiller every time you plant something. This saves a lot of time and labor, plus it helps your soil structure.

Mulching

Mulch can be a life saver. It makes your gardening so much easier and is so much better for your garden. With mulch you do not need to spend a sweaty tiring weekend weeding the garden. Why? There are few weeds. Just walk through the garden, every once-in-awhile, and pull the little weeds as they stick up their heads and that’s it.

Your mulch can be a commercial biodegradable material or it can be leaves leftover from the fall. I use straw, as I can find it locally, but you can use most anything organic to smother out the weeds.

Following the above three tips for home organic gardening will help you garden easier with a lot less work and a lot more fun. Get the family involved in the gardening project. Many kids do not know where their food comes from.

The rest is here: 3 Best Tips for Home Organic Gardening

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Perhaps you have heard about this common line, prevention is better than cure. These days, people are more careful of what they put inside their body. Many people are influenced to live healthy because it is a great way to prevent occurrence of diseases and infection. Certainly, you have heard of organic drinks and the benefits that they provide for the body. These drinks help improve the immune system and they are rich in essential vitamins and minerals to keep the body moving. Having that said, there is a lot of buzz going on around organic gardening, which is the process of producing food minus the use of chemicals. Ironically, man thought that he could fool Mother Nature by making the process of farming instantaneous and quick by using chemicals. After several studies, man soon found out that these chemicals are detrimental to the body and can contribute to the development of certain diseases.

If you have not heard about organic gardening before, following are important information that you may want to know about this special process.

Organic Gardening – Basics

Organic gardening is not exclusive to growing plants without using chemicals. It goes deeper than that. Organic gardening is a lifestyle. It is a decision to live without putting chemicals in the body. Come to think of it. The early civilizations do not really use chemicals in their food production. They can make delectable meals by using herbs and spices like cumin, pepper, chillies and so on and so forth. Now, with the development of technology, people were able to come up with food flavorings, chemicals and other additives. We should recognize that something is wrong with the way we produce food and it is affecting our body negatively. Moreover, it destroys the equilibrium of the ecosystem.

Benefits Of Organic Gardening

There are many benefits of using organic gardening. One, it dramatically reduces our intake of harmful chemicals. In this type of approach, we do not use any pesticides, growth hormones, fertilizers, or toxic artificial additives like flavoring, coloring or preservatives. Moreover, the soil where the crop is planted is well maintained, preventing the loss of topsoil. Water pollution and soil contamination is greatly reduced as well. In the main, organic gardening preserves the nutritional value of the food as certain processes reduces the health benefits of the food.

The main challenge of organic gardening though is it takes more time and expertise. Let us face the fact that using artificial means of gardening is easier. Another possible challenge would be educating farmers on how to produce food the traditional way not using harmful chemicals and pesticides.

Organic Gardening Tips

When gardening organic or not, your goal is to produce good harvest and at the same time save money, time and effort. There are ways on how to do these. Just follow these simple steps.

- Take note that the best organic matter for bed preparation is compost. Creating compost is fun and economical. Look around for anything that was once alive. It can range from old pile of leaves, a banana peel or kitchen waste. You are not just saving money for fertilizer, you are also recycling and putting old waste to good use.

-Consider your area and the climate where you want to plant. Choose well-adapted types of plants.

-Plant trees. They provide good shade during summer.

-To protect your plants from insects and pests learn how to maintain a healthy soil.

Above are important information about organic gardening. Remember that it is not just an overnight project. It can take weeks, months or even years for you to assimilate the idea. However, once you have seen the benefit of organic gardening, surely it will be difficult for you to go back.

Read more: Organic Gardening – Living Green

People who are new to organic gardening often think that organic gardening fertilizer is just another kind of fertilizer in a bag. If you are a true organic gardener this is not the case.

To figure out what is the best for you we will look at two ways of getting the proper nutrition for you plants. We will look at purchased organic fertilizer and compost you can make at home.

Organic fertilizer in a bag

You can buy fertilizer for your garden that is an organic fertilizer, rather than a chemical fertilizer. The difference is, of course, the organic fertilizer has been produced out of organic matter and without chemicals.

If your only interest is to grow tasty vegetables in your garden then an organic fertilizer in a bag might be a good alternative for you. If you want to grow the healthiest produce for your family, then this is not the best route to take.

Why, you ask? Good question. First, you are relying on someone else for the most important part of your life, what you put into your body. You may have learned that not all things in life are as they seem. This is true with a bag of fertilizer as with other things we encounter.

Recently, a manufacturer of organic fertilizer in California was busted for putting chemicals in his product. People who wanted to grow their food without chemicals trusted this company for the nutrients their food needed and they were being deceived.

Secondly, you get more plant food from compost, if you balance your compost in the pile. To be fair, you do get an analysis of what’s in the bag and, unless you test your compost, you do not know for sure what’s in the compost.

Compost

Compost is something you can make at home and will cost you little, but some good exercise. Compost has been used for centuries by people who rely on their garden to feed them for the whole year. So, this in not just a new idea, it has been perfected through out the ages.

I remember my grandfather used the manure and bedding from the dairy barn on the garden in the spring before plowing. He always raised great tasting veggies. And, he canned enough to get him through the winter, until he could plant a new crop.

Compost is made by gathering different organic materials that will decay and add nutrients to the compost that the plants need. You can vary the content of the compost by varying the materials used to build a compost pile.

The compost pile is made up of the stuff you have around the home. You can use the vegetable trimmings, which you now throw out, to make fertilizer for your next vegetable crop.

To make your compost pile the right mixture you need to add brown and green stuff. The brown stuff can be anything that has dried out, like leaves in the fall, straw, weeds you have cut and have dried, newspaper, cardboard, anything that is dry and organic.

Your green stuff can be the garbage from the house, lawn clippings, alfalfa hay, a green crop that you raise, the list is endless.

All these different materials bring a different combination of proteins, minerals and other nutrients. Added together they provide the plant they are placed around the food that it needs to grow properly and provide you with the food that you need.

Your decision on what type of organic garden fertilizer to use is up to you. The above guideline will help you make the right decision.

Go here to see the original: What Is The Best Organic Gardening Fertilizer?

People who are new to organic gardening often think that organic gardening fertilizer is just another kind of fertilizer in a bag. If you are a true organic gardener this is not the case.

To figure out what is the best for you we will look at two ways of getting the proper nutrition for you plants. We will look at purchased organic fertilizer and compost you can make at home.

Organic fertilizer in a bag

You can buy fertilizer for your garden that is an organic fertilizer, rather than a chemical fertilizer. The difference is, of course, the organic fertilizer has been produced out of organic matter and without chemicals.

If your only interest is to grow tasty vegetables in your garden then an organic fertilizer in a bag might be a good alternative for you. If you want to grow the healthiest produce for your family, then this is not the best route to take.

Why, you ask? Good question. First, you are relying on someone else for the most important part of your life, what you put into your body. You may have learned that not all things in life are as they seem. This is true with a bag of fertilizer as with other things we encounter.

Recently, a manufacturer of organic fertilizer in California was busted for putting chemicals in his product. People who wanted to grow their food without chemicals trusted this company for the nutrients their food needed and they were being deceived.

Secondly, you get more plant food from compost, if you balance your compost in the pile. To be fair, you do get an analysis of what’s in the bag and, unless you test your compost, you do not know for sure what’s in the compost.

Compost

Compost is something you can make at home and will cost you little, but some good exercise. Compost has been used for centuries by people who rely on their garden to feed them for the whole year. So, this in not just a new idea, it has been perfected through out the ages.

I remember my grandfather used the manure and bedding from the dairy barn on the garden in the spring before plowing. He always raised great tasting veggies. And, he canned enough to get him through the winter, until he could plant a new crop.

Compost is made by gathering different organic materials that will decay and add nutrients to the compost that the plants need. You can vary the content of the compost by varying the materials used to build a compost pile.

The compost pile is made up of the stuff you have around the home. You can use the vegetable trimmings, which you now throw out, to make fertilizer for your next vegetable crop.

To make your compost pile the right mixture you need to add brown and green stuff. The brown stuff can be anything that has dried out, like leaves in the fall, straw, weeds you have cut and have dried, newspaper, cardboard, anything that is dry and organic.

Your green stuff can be the garbage from the house, lawn clippings, alfalfa hay, a green crop that you raise, the list is endless.

All these different materials bring a different combination of proteins, minerals and other nutrients. Added together they provide the plant they are placed around the food that it needs to grow properly and provide you with the food that you need.

Your decision on what type of organic garden fertilizer to use is up to you. The above guideline will help you make the right decision.

Read the original post: What Is The Best Organic Gardening Fertilizer?

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Hello everyone, I would like to begin talking about starting your tomato plants from seed with talking about organic soil. What is organic you may ask? Well good organic soil has living organisms within the soil make-up. A good soil contents has things like chicken manure, earthworm castings, and something called Bat Quano. All of these materials are good for your plants because they promote healthy bacteria which feeds the soil and your garden plants.

A lot of people shy away from growing their plants from seed because they think that it might be to hard for them. I think it simply is a fear of the unknown. I will attempt to get you through the necessary steps to grow you very own successful tomato plants starting from seed. The first step is to select a quality organic tomato seed from your local garden center. The seeds should display the USDA organic label on the package.

You will need a few seedling growing supplies to start your plants off properly. The first item is a seedling heating mat. This mat is necessary because it warms the root area 10 to 20 degrees over room temperatures to improve germination. The organic seeds you selected need the best growing medium possible to grow. You should select seed starting mix which contains Canadian sphagnum peat moss, plug grade perlite, and vermiculite. All of these ingredients provide the optimum environment for seed germination.

The second item necessary is a seedling tray to place you seeds into the growing medium. These trays come in various sizes such as 50 to 75 individual planting cells for your seeds. One smart way is to purchase a small hot house growing kit which come with a UL listed waterproof seedling heating mat. A 6″ tall humidity dome, 11″ X 22″ watertight base tray, and a 72 cell seedling insert plus instructions with a few growing tips.

To start your seed sowing or planting you fill your trays with soil and poke a small hole in the soil to drop one seed in the hole and proceed on to the next hole to plant. Once all of your seeds are planted into your growing medium you will want to lightly water the soil till moist, but not soggy.

The third item which is very important is a growing light such as the Jump start T-5 growing light. This growing light has a special grow bulb design to closely simulate the suns natural infrared rays. A key note here is to have your light on so that when your first seedlings start to come up from the soil they immediately receive the light from the above lamp. The grow light should be on between 12 to 14 hours a day to help your young tomato plants thrive and grow. As your plants get stronger and start to develop its first leaves you will soon be able to transplant your organic tomato plants outside. Stay tuned for more helpful garden tips about properly transplanting your plants.

View post: Gardening How To: Growing Organic Tomatoes From Seed

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Tropical gardening is very popular amongst people looking to create a private tropical garden retreat. These exotic gardens typically have lots of greenery and striking colors, and combine a variety of growth that is both attractive and relaxing. Tropics can refer to any of the regions near the equator, such as Brazil, the Caribbean, India and the Philippians.

Ideal growing conditions for tropical gardens are usually places that have warm humid weather and mild winters. Tropical gardens need lots of light and water to remain healthy, which helps to replicate the climate of their natural environment. An irrigation, or misting, system can be used to help keep the soil humid at all times. Consider planting in containers as much as possible. This allows for plants to be moved around whenever necessary due to conditions that may affect their livelihoods. Large planters can be equipped with castor wheels to assist with their mobility.

There are many types of tropical flowers, plants and trees that thrive in conditions similar to a tropical climate, such as birds of paradise, anthuriums, hibiscus, orchids, passion flower, royal poinciana, bergenia, calla lilies, ginger, fuchsia, campsis, caladiums, impatients, bromeliads, bamboo, ferns, cycads, rhopalostylis, alocasia, pandanus, philodendrons, colocasia, crotons, and palm trees. Tropical fruits that can be integrated into the garden designs could include pineapples, bananas, mangoes, kiwi, oranges, lemons, limes, cashews, coconuts, chocolates, figs, apples, and papayas.

There are many option features that can be incorporated with the tropical landscape. Determine a theme for the garden, such as tropical island, tropical rain forest or tropical Asian, and introduce complementary features to complete the look. A hut, pavilion or sitting area with like traditional furniture would be a great way to accent the garden. A water feature can really enhance the validity of a tropical garden. Tropical waterscapes, such as a trickling waterfall or a pond filled with floating tropical flowers and fish, make a great focal point for any garden landscape design. Rocks, gravel, bricks and stones can be utilized to add a tropical hardscape dimension to any tropical garden design, such as a walk path or retaining wall. Create a lightscape element by combining lighted paths with up-lighting to highlight certain features of the garden during the night time. The garden can also be wired to play music to enjoy while entertaining guests.

Creating a beautiful tranquil paradise garden with a tropical theme is a great way to relax in a private enjoyable environment. Besides a peaceful atmosphere, a tropical garden is great way to boost curb appeal and increase the value of a home.

See the article here: Tropical Gardening

Vegetable gardening for beginners is really not that difficult to start mastering. However, vegetable gardening for beginners often does seem daunting and intimidating. But just as with most things that beginners do, it’s found upon further investigation and with some practice that vegetable gardening is not at all as hard as it at first seems.

Nevertheless, vegetable gardening for beginners is also quite similar to walking for beginners: while later on you’ll make it look effortless and you’ll be the complete master of it, at first you just keep falling down, making mistakes, and otherwise looking like a fool. So, without further ado, let’s take a look at some of the most basic, elemental tips that are applicable to vegetable gardening for beginners.

Start your vegetable seeds indoors and use a special seed-starter soil. Are you going to have to lay out a few bucks for that special soil? Yes. But the soil that you could just scoop up for free–that on your own property–is not sufficient for your vegetable plants’ needs.
You need young seeds. Unless they have been specially stored, seeds lose their vitality as they age. In fact, you should not use vegetable seeds that are known to be more than four years old, and if you can find some even younger do so. The best seeds are those that come from plants that just blossomed and yielded produce last season.
Pay close attention to watering, but don’t overdo it. In fact, you don’t have to water your vegetable seedlings unless the soil on top is noticeably drying out. Spritz with water when you do water the very young seedlings. It helps to wrap plastic or put some kind of plastic cover over your planted vegetable seeds to keep the moisture in. Remember to punch holes in the covering to let the soil breathe, however.
Remember to start giving your burgeoning vegetable plants plenty of light (preferably sunlight, but artificial UV light can be used if need be) once you first see their little green heads poking up. Position your plants to absorb the needed light.
When the temperatures out-of-doors have grown mild enough, start taking the growing little plants outside for more and more daylight hours, but bring them back indoors in the evening. This is called “hardening off” and acclimates the vegetable plants without killing them.
We’ve now looked at the basic knowledge needed to undertake vegetable gardening for beginners. To delve further into vegetable gardening knowledge, just follow the link below.

View post: Vegetable Gardening for Beginners: A 5 Step Primer To Start Your Vegetable Garden

It’s time to get excited about gardening again. I love this time of year because I get to plan and get ready for spring. Everyone loves spring. It gives us a sense of a new beginning. Early spring is a cold and wet month. This is the perfect time to start working on indoor garden tasks. Outside at this time of year is a good time to do your pruning, weeding and getting the garden beds ready for the growing season.

What are you Planning for?

It’s time to think about what you are going to be growing this year. I tend to get a little bit excited during this time because I imagine the beautiful and bountiful green lush garden that I am going to be able to harvest. I love to make all my food from scratch, and what better way to do that then to grow your own ingredients.

I picture a full bed of basil and fresh rosemary, lush bushes of tomatoes for making pizza, salad and spaghetti sauce. I also grow extra to share with friends, family and neighbors, and also catnip for the cats.

What you decide to grow may depend on your climate or how much room you have. That is ok, as long as you plan ahead.

Starting Seeds Indoors

I have not the patients to wait for the weather outside to reach optimal temperatures before I plant. I always get a jump on the season by starting my little seedlings indoors.

Propagating from seed is not as hard as some might think. You simply need to find a technique that works for you. It simply takes a little time along with some tender loving care.

To start your seeds, soak them for several hours before you plant them. This will give you an added advantage.

If you have seeds that you have been holding onto for a long time and are not sure if they are still capable of sprouting, you can use the pre-sprout method. This is done by folding a thick paper towel in half and getting it moist. You can do this by using a clean spray bottle. Space your seeds out and place the moist paper towel inside of a zip lock baggie.

About the time I think they should be sprouting (according to the directions on the seed package) I take a peak each day until I see life. If they sprout, I then take each sprout out carefully and transplant them either in a pot or outside in the garden, depending on the current climate.

Make sure to keep your seedlings at an optimal temperature. Below is a short list of some herbs and the best germination temperatures.

Basil – 70 degrees F
Days to germinate – 5 – 14 days

Catnip – 70 degrees F
Days to germinate – 5 or more days

Chamomile – 70 degrees F
Days to germinate – 10 – 14 days

Chives – 60 to 70 degrees F
Days to germinate – 5 or more

Cilantro – 55 degrees F or higher
Days to germinate – 7 to 10 days

Greek Oregano – 65 degrees F
Days to germinate – 14 days

Lemon balm – 60 degrees F
Days to germinate – 7 to 14 days

Parsley – 65 degrees F
Days to germinate – 5 or more days

Sage – 60 degrees F
Days to germinate – 7 or more days

Read the rest here: Early Spring Gardening – Starting Seeds Indoors

Mulching for Free

There are many options for organic mulching that you can explore to help with cost savings. Many gardeners are discovering new sources of free mulch that have been there all along as untapped resources. These include lawn clippings and prunings from other plants. You will be surprised by how beneficial these can be and how often the opportunity arises to collect and use them.

If your garden is in more need of mulching than your yard, try raking up the grass clippings and using them in your container garden. By spreading a small layer around the vicinity of the plant, you apply all the same benefits to your plant as if you have left it on your lawn. It really just comes down to which is your highest mulching priority.

Pruning activities can leave you with another mulching opportunity. After each pruning you may not get a significant amount of clippings but you can save them up each time and when you get enough stock piled it may make sense to rent a wood chipper or use a chainsaw to create mulch from your pruning sessions that otherwise would have ended up in the trash.

Creating your own mulch is a rewarding experience as you not only save lots of money by not buying pre-packaged mulch, but you also save space in our landfills. So you get to turn your so called garbage into mulch and put it to good use which increases the health of your plants while saving you money.

Container to Soil Ratio

You may have many large containers that you would love to see used for your container garden but don’t see yourself filling them to the brim with soil. A great soil saving tip is fill the bottom of the large container with aluminum cans. This technique fills up the empty space at the bottom, and allows a reasonable top area left to fill with soil for planting. The container appears to be completely full from the outside. Your garden admirers will never know that it’s half filled with aluminum cans.

Rain Barrels

Conserving free rain water! Finding the barrels will probably be the hardest part. You can use your own garbage cans, or head to your home improvement store to get a few 55 gallon plastic drums. These can be expensive and difficult to transport, so keep that in mind before you go to the store and buy 10 of them. You will probably want to cover the top of the barrel with a screen of some sort to filter out any unwanted leaves or debris.

Usually during rainfall, there is one corner of the house that rain tends to pour off of more than others. To get the most rain put your barrel under this area. If you want to take a more complicated approach to placing the barrels, you could consider changing your gutter-system a bit. If this is applicable for your situation, you can remove each individual segment and place it at a slight slant so that all the water is diverted to the nearest corner of the house, then place a rain barrel at each corner. So essentially your entire house acts like a rain catcher which maximizes the amount of water your rain barrels can offer for your watering needs. Recycled rain water is one of the best ways to save your gardening dollar.

I love container gardening and have tried to find the best ways to make it Easy. My hope is you enjoy Easy Container Gardening as much as I do.

View original post here: Easy Container Gardening – Cost Saving Ideas to Make Gardening Cost Effective