How to Start a New Organic Garden

Planting and maintaining an organic garden is a rewarding experience. While many of the steps for making a new organic garden are similar to starting any type of garden, there are a few noticeable differences. For example, there is a lot more work up front, planning and analyzing the site. This work is essential for any organic garden: ideal conditions result in healthier plants, fewer pest and disease problems, and a more care-free garden.

Step One: Goal Setting
Before you ever put shovel to soil, before you buy a single plant or seed, you need to know what your goals are for your new garden. Are you hoping for a pretty planting bed to give your home curb appeal? Maybe you’re planning a vegetable or herb garden, or that flower cutting garden you’ve always dreamed of. What you choose to grow will have a huge impact on selecting the site for your new garden.

Whatever your goals are, it’s important to be realistic. You may dream of long perennial borders `a la Gertrude Jekyll, but it’s best to start with something small and manageable. You can always expand beds later. Keep your hopes for expansion in mind as you consider your site.

Step Two: Site Selection
It is time to spend some time analyzing your yard. Where would be the best place to put a new garden? Keeping your goals in mind, start observing areas of your yard that look like they’ll work. If it’s an herb or vegetable garden you’ve got in mind, you’ll need a site that gets at least six hours of sun per day. You’ll also need to make sure that the site drains well—if it’s like a swamp in the spring and summer, it won’t work for herbs and vegetables, which prefer well-drained soil. If it’s an ornamental bed, consider placing it where you can enjoy it from inside your house as well.

Once you have a site selected, observe it for a day or two. How many hours of sun does it get? Does it get bright morning sun, or hot afternoon sun? What’s the soil like? By doing a few simple tests, you can analyze what kind of soil you have, and figure out ways to improve it.

Step Three: Creating the Bed
Now that you have your perfect site selected, it’s time to start digging. The first step will be deciding on the size and shape of your new garden. This can be done by putting down a garden hose and adjusting it until you get the size and shape you want, which is a good option for beds with curved borders. If you are going with a more formal, geometrical bed, you can use string and stakes to create an outline, or simply measure the size and mark your borders in paint.
Most likely, there is something currently inhabiting the space you’ve chosen for your new garden. Whether it is grass, gravel, or an existing planting, you will need to completely clear the area. This is the hardest part of the entire process, but once it’s done it will make the rest of the process a breeze. There are other methods of making a new garden bed, but if you want your bed to be ready for planting now, digging is the way to go.

Step Four: Amend the Soil
Good soil makes for a good garden. The easiest, best way to amend soil in a new bed is to add compost, and plenty of it. If you make your own, add all you can to your new bed. You can also purchase compost in bulk and have it delivered to your home, or purchase it in bags at home and garden centers.

If you took the extra step of sending your soil samples to your cooperative extension service for testing, follow their recommendations regarding nutrients and acidity.

Step Five: Plant Selection
This is the fun part: your garden is ready for plants. Time to hit the nursery and make your selections. A word of caution: most nurseries carry plants that were conventionally grown using chemical fertilizers and pesticides. They will bring some trace amounts of these chemicals into your garden. Also, plants grown conventionally tend to get almost “addicted” to the chemicals they are raised on, and will show signs of stress when weaned off of these chemicals. They will adjust to chemical-free conditions in time.

It’s getting easier to find organically-grown plants in many home and garden centers. If you are starting your garden early in the season, you can select organic seeds and start your own plants. Organic plants and seeds will always clearly be labeled as such. There are also several good catalogs that sell organic plants.

As far as the plants themselves, be sure to closely inspect any plant before you bring it home. Look for signs of insect or disease problems. Remove the plant from the pot and inspect the root system. Does it look healthy and robust, or is it straggly and weak? If the plant is rootbound, you can still purchase the plant, but you will need to slice the root ball before planting so the roots will start growing out.

Step Six: Planting
When you get your plants home, give them all a good drink of water, even if you plan on planting them immediately. A thoroughly moist root ball will help your plant adjust better to its new surroundings, lessening transplant shock.
To plant your plants, dig a hole just as deep and at least twice as wide as the root ball of your plant. Place the plant in your prepared hole, backfill with the soil you removed, tamp it in, and water it thoroughly.

Once you have all of your plants in, give the entire garden a three inch layer of organic mulch, such as shredded bark, hay, chopped leaves, or grass clippings. This will keep weeds down while retaining soil moisture.

Step Seven: Labeling
Labeling your plants now will ensure that you will remember exactly what you planted. You can do this by installing plant labels near each plant, or by making a map of the garden to keep for future reference. This will help remind you where plants should be emerging in the spring, as well as which cultivars you planted.

There is some work involved in creating a new organic garden, but it will pay off in the years of enjoyment you will gain from it.

By Colleen Vanderlinden

Organic Gardening Tips for Flowers and Herbs

The popularity of organic food and gardening has certainly increased over the last few years. Not only does it give you a sense of well being but people love the beauty of wonderful colored flowers and the taste of vegetables they helped create. Organic gardening tips on how to successfully start and care for an organic garden are becoming easier to find as this type of gardening continues to become more popular. Along with being relaxing, it is a very interesting hobby. Anyone can organically produce wonderful fruits, herbs and vegetables and know that they are healthy to eat and pesticide, herbicide and chemical free. There will always be garden pests but instead of using chemicals to deal with this problem, there are many organic gardening tips to get rid of them, similar to the way gardeners did many years ago before the use of pesticides and herbicides.

A good homemade pest deterrent to use in organic gardening is:
In a jar, combine 1 teaspoon dishwashing liquid and 1 cup vegetable oil. Shake vigorously. In an empty spray bottle, combine 2 teaspoons of this mixture and 1 cup water. Use at ten-day intervals (or more often if needed) to rid plants of whiteflies, mites, aphids, scales, and other pests.

Following a few organic gardening tips, you will produce fruits, vegetables and herbs that are healthy, taste wonderful, are less expensive than buying produce at the grocery store and give you the peace of mind knowing exactly how they were grown and what was used on them. Aphids are annoying little insects that often cause a lot of damage in your garden. If you plant marigolds near your vegetable garden, the aphids will quit bothering your plants. If you already have an aphid problem, spray the infected plants with diluted soapy water and then spray them again with clear water. Organic gardening tips you should try are; instead of buying compost for your garden, which could contain chemicals, make your own while you cut down on garbage at the same time. Using your garden and kitchen waste is an excellent and very easy way to make your own compost. In your compost pile use peelings from carrots, potatoes and other vegetables, dead weeds, coffee grounds, egg shells and even the pruning from roses and other plants. The different textures help break down the compost quickly. Compost improves the soil texture, structure and aeration while enriching the soil, which stimulates root development. When choosing plants for your organic garden, make sure you choose ones that are well adapted for your area.

Here are a couple of great organic gardening tips that not only help keep your garden free of weeds but also keep the soil from drying out too quickly. Grass clippings and pine needles mixed or old newspapers make very good mulch, which keeps your garden weed free and the soil moist. Organic gardening tips help you grow healthy organic fruits and vegetable that you, your family and friends will love.

Most important of all, is to enjoy your organic garden and the fruits of your labor. Not only will you have the satisfaction of growing vegetables and herbs organically but you it will also inspire you in your culinary tasks. Here's to a great organic garden and fabulous, healthy meals.Copyright © Mary Hanna, All Rights Reserved.

Some Great Gardening Tips

A garden is the reflection of ones choice for the outdoors and landscaping. Building a garden is a labor of joy but it is not easy to maintain a garden in its perfect state. Most people prefer smaller gardens for their home as it need less maintenance as well as less time, energy and money. Whatever the size, every garden needs special care to make it bloom and blossom round the year. Gardening tips from experts or professionals guide us through this onerous process. Gardening tips are meant to give the gardener all the guidance he needs to make the garden perfect. The tips differ from garden to garden.

Easy gardening tips
Tip #1 - Gardens not only give a pictorial value to the property but also have other benefits like organic food growth if one loves a kitchen garden idea. For such multi-purpose gardens make sure that you do not have plants that attract too many pests and need pesticides which might have adverse effect on the kitchen garden.

Tip #2 -In a small garden or for house plants make sure they get regular attention to curb overgrowth and have regular pest and weed control.

Tip #3 -The water flow and air circulation in the garden should be adequate so that garden remains fresh.

Tip #4 -The garden grasses should be regularly mowed.

Tip #5 -The plants should be selected according to the climate of the place where the garden is situated.

Tip #6 -If the garden gives priority to the wildlife, attention should be given to their food and shelter.

Tip #7 -The vegetable garden needs proper fertilizers whereas the water garden needs proper water planning while a butterfly garden should have proper plants and climate.

Tip #8 -For the patios and the flooring one should also give proper attention to the quality of the bricks.

Tip #9 -The garden furniture for the garden should also be given a proper notice. Appropriate garden furniture gives an aesthetic value to the landscape.

Tip #10 -A garden is that part of a house full of children need to be safe and free from accident zones. Grasses hide uneven ground, and also give a cushion so that the children dont get hurt while playing. Paths and paved areas should also be smooth, level, and firm.

Even an experienced gardener needs to know the updated gardening tips and techniques in order to expand his knowledge. This knowledge combined with his experiences and observations on indoor or outdoor gardening strengthens the garden idea and maintenance plan. Plants are versatile creatures. They want to grow and will grow in simple soil, with very little sunlight, and little cultivation. All one really needs to do it is regularly water them and provide them with occasional shade and sun as required by their genetic design.

Gladiolus Gardening Tips

>Gladiolus bloom about 10 weeks after planting. By planting the corms every 2 weeks from the early spring through midsummer, you’ll enjoy a succession of blossoms all season. Choose a sunny, well-drained spot and mix an all-purpose granular fertilizer (such as 10-10-10 mix) into the soil as you dig, allowing about 1 tablespoon of fertilizer per corm. Plant the corms 4 to 6 inches (10.2 to 15.2 cm) deep and 4 inches (10.2 cm) apart. The small nubbin of new growth indicates the top of the corm and should point up.

>Gladiolus grow so tall and slender that they need to be planted in groups of 3 or more and staked with bamboo canes and some soft garden twine to inconspicuously “corset” the group. Water only if the soil becomes very dry, as gladiolus hate wet soil and can develop root rot. Provide plants with a second helping of balanced fertilizer when flower spikes appear. In the midsummer, watch for signs of thrips. These nearly invisible, sap-sucking insects make silvery streaks in leaves and distort flowers. Control thrips with a commercial insecticide labeled for this use, as directed.

>In areas where gladiolus are not hardy, dig the corms when the leaves begin to yellow in the late summer and trim the leaves to 1 inch (2.5 cm) from the corm. Brush away loose soil and store corms in a paper bag of peat moss in a cool, dry, dark place, such as an unheated room or a garage that remains above freezing. Many gardeners in warmer climate Zones also dig and store the corms, to keep plants from growing small, weedy offspring called cormlets. Cormlets reach flowering size in about 3 years, but because the mature corms are inexpensive, there is little reason to nurture cormlets.

by the Editors of Reader's Digest

Vegetable Gardening Tips

Growing vegetables is a highly rewarding form of gardening. With the right preparation, you won't need to spend long hours doing tedious jobs.

Follow these steps in order to yield the best results:
>Choose seedlings rather than sowing seeds. They may be more expensive, but planting advanced seedlings saves time and avoids the uncertainties of sowing seeds. Additionally, staggering plantings of seedlings over several weeks will provide variety and extend your harvest, so you won't have to be eating the same sort of lettuce two weeks in a row.

>For a terrace or small garden, buy single plants. This means you can buy as many different varieties of each plant as you please. Look for small, early-cropping varieties for pots. Opt for fast crops or ones that can be harvested over a long period, such as spinach, silverbeet, soft-hearted lettuce or aromatic herbs, especially if you don't have very much space, instead of filling your vegetable garden with crops that take a long time to mature, such as onions, potatoes, pumpkin and cabbage.

>Try cultivating sun-drenched tomatoes, perfumed strawberries and crisp little radishes for their superior flavor. It'll mean easy access to fresh produce and fewer trips to the supermarket.

by the Editors of Reader's Digest

Basics On Landscaping For Gardening Lovers by Cindy Heller

+Landscaping is the art of changing a natural area by adding, removing or changing living elements such as plants, flowers and trees, as well as adding other decorative elements, such as rocks, shapes, different levels of terrain, water features and other manmade objects. The objective of landscaping is to create a balanced environment where to understand and enjoy the beauty of Nature.

+There are several styles of landscaping you can get inspiration from: the classics such as French gardens and Country English gardens, more modern, clean line landscapes, or even landscapes from the world.

+Although it may sound a bit difficult, landscaping is not only for experts, any novice can achieve a simple landscaping project with the proper tools and education. Landscaping goes from adding a stone path or trimming your shrubs to intricate, exquisite designs that combine fun shapes and interesting colors and plants. The good thing about it, is that you don't need to be an expert to get started.

+If you are new to the art of landscaping, there are plenty of sources of information to help you get started. In fact, landscaping is a very popular hobby, and there's a large amount of information available, both online as offline.

+I would suggest you start online, where the amount of information is simply enormous and varied. You can learn about the basics of landscaping as well as how to trim your shrub into a whimsical, fun shape. The Internet allows you to find information, tips and places to buy much quicker and interesting. You will always come across new, fresh ideas and you can also interact with other users with similar interests.

+However, the realm of information could turn into a difficult, confusing task. That's why you can get started at an authoritative site such as The Home & Family Network where you find a lot of content to help homeowners in landscaping projects. They have plenty of tips and tutorials, which are great for those who're learning the ropes. For those more advanced hobbyists, there are fresh, new ideas everyday that you can apply on your next landscaping project.

+As you become more and more acquainted with the Internet, you'll find it easier to see what are the best sites to go for what you're looking for. Most of us have our favorite landscaping design site, or store where to order our plants. No matter what your fave sites are, have a lot of fun while doing it!

Gardening Tips (How to Add Color to Your Garden With Containers)

Most shade-and-moisture-loving perennial and woody plants look their best when allowed to develop into undisturbed colonies. Disturbing their roots can slow the growth progress and compromise their ability to tolerate drought. Set aside special places where you want to grow shade-tolerant annuals, such as impatiens or tender summer bulbs like caladiums, where you can plant them without digging into the roots of permanent plantings. Better yet, grow these and other colorful plants in containers, and either sink the pots into the garden or set them on the ground among your hostas and ferns. Using containers broadens your plant palette, because you can use plants that prefer more light when they are young, such as browallia, wishbone flower or coleus. Start them in a sunny spot, and then shift the pots to the shade garden when the plants approach their peak. If moved to a shady location when they begin to flower, many annuals actually bloom longer than they would if left in a brighter spot. In fact, even annuals that normally need at least a half day of sun, such as dusty miller, flowering tobacco, petunia and salvia, seem relieved to be moved into shade in midsummer. Should they sulk or stop flowering, simply move them temporarily back to better light. Flowers in pastel shades, like pink and blue, or even white flowers show best in partial shade, though occasional bursts of red can be a welcome surprise.

by the Editors of Reader's Digest

Gardening Tips (Roses - Rose Growing Tips)

Basics for Rose Growing:

• Soil
• Irrigation
• Spacing
• Sun

The ancient Greeks identified 4 basic elements: earth, water, air and fire. Successful rose growing begins with proper attention to these same 4 basic elements. Get these right, and you're well on your way to classic rose growing in your own backyard:

1. Soil (earth):
   Roses prefer a soil pH ranging from 6.5 to 6.8.
   Soils with good drainage are best for rose growing. When improving the soil through the use of soil amendments, don't forget to promote drainage by incorporating peat moss.
   
2. Irrigation (water):
   >Watering requirements depend greatly on conditions. But on the average, it is best to water rose bushes twice a week -- and to water them thoroughly. A regimen of two deep waterings per week is preferable to four shallower, less thorough waterings.
   >Avoid late-evening watering, which could foster powdery mildew. Powdery mildew is a very common disease among roses.
   
3. Spacing (air)
   Rose growing in conditions where adequate spacing is not provided can foster powdery mildew, as well. Let your roses breathe: don't plant them too closely together. Follow spacing requirements for each particular variety when purchasing rose bushes, as indicated on the plant label.
   
4. Sun (fire):
   Roses like six hours of sun per day
   Six hours of morning sun is preferable to six hours of afternoon sun.

By David Beaulieu, About.com