Featuring Vegetable Gardening Tips, Organic Growing Techniques, and Unique Plants for the Backyard Gardener
Straw mulches can serve many beneficial functions in the home garden. Straw is inexpensive and readily obtainable from garden centers, or even more economically from local farmers. Just be sure to purchase straw rather than hay, since the latter is more likely to contain weed seeds. Straw is an organic material that breaks down slowly […]
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The leaves took longer to fall this year, but they’re finally down, except for one Japanese Maple out front. I spent part of the past weekend gathering them to use for next season’s compost. I can’t say that I enjoy the raking and collecting, but it is satisfying to look over the huge piles that […]
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Fig Trees lend an exotic presence and the flavor of tree-ripened fruits to the home garden. With extra care to provide winter protection you can succeed in growing a fig tree even in northern climates. Growing Fig Trees Many people prefer the taste of fresh figs even more than that of the dried fruit. By […]
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Nasturtiums are one of my favorite edible flowers for growing to compliment the vegetable or herb garden. Tasty, attractive, and easy to grow, nasturtiums also perform well in containers. The blossoms range from bright red, to apricot, yellow, peach, salmon, pink, orange, gold, cream, or mahogany. Some nasturtiums have a mounding growth habit best suited […]
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Vermiculture isn’t a common practice even among experienced organic gardeners, but it can be a very interesting addition to your gardening activities. Vermiculture or vermicomposting simply refers to the process of earthworm composting used to recycle yard waste and everyday kitchen scraps. Benefits of Vermiculture and Vermicomposting Clean and odorless, vermicomposting is carried out in […]
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Mustard Greens while not as popular as kale, collards, and other leafy greens make an excellent addition to the home garden. Their strong, spicy hot flavor is probably the reason that many gardeners neglect them, and cooks ban them from the kitchen, but there are many good reasons to set aside a little space for […]
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Soil improvement is a common goal of many gardeners looking for ways to enhance the growth of their gardens. Soil problems can range from poor texture, such as heavy clay, to issues involving soil that is deficient in nutrients, waterlogged, shallow, hard packed, or just not producing the healthy crops that the gardener desires. My […]
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This past weekend was ideal for getting in a little fall gardening. Despite the calendar saying that it’s November, the temperatures were more like springtime. High temps reached into the seventies, while the lows were no where near freezing. Overall, weather conditions were about 25 degrees warmer than normal for this time of year. Of […]
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I frequently recommend growing leafy greens such as Swiss Chard because they are so nutritious, delicious, and easy to grow. Often a single sowing can extend across several seasons, providing harvestable greens from spring, right through fall frosts. Even more remarkably, Swiss Chard can survive frigid winter conditions to produce additional early spring harvests when […]
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Gardening is a wonderful gift that I've developed the hard way... through trial and error! I hope to share the incredible lessons learned and make things a lot easier for you out in the organic vegetable garden.