I’ve received several questions from gardeners expressing concern over their home grown tomatoes that develop sunken brown spots or black rot on their bottoms which totally ruins the fruit. The probable cause is a disease called Blossom End Rot which affects tomatoes, peppers, squash, and watermelons.

While looking around the garden recently, I was surprised by the many uses that I’ve found for an ordinary roll of vinyl coated garden fencing material. For me it’s the gardening equivalent of a handy man’s roll of all-purpose duct tape.

The use of Floating Row Covers is a great organic gardening technique for protecting plants from harmful insect pests. Row covers can also guard against frost damage and deter animals from eating young seedlings and vegetable transplants.
Organic Pest Control With Floating Row Covers
Floating row covers are a lightweight, almost transparent, spun fiber material that can be spread [...]

Earthworm Castings are the excretions left behind by worms after they finish digesting the organic matter that makes up their diet. The process of creating worm castings is probably the most efficient means of recycling kitchen and yard wastes.
Benefits of Worm Castings in the Garden
More than just a great plant fertilizer, castings are also a terrific [...]

Mushroom soil or mushroom compost is a great organic amendment for enriching the soil used to grow fruits, vegetables, and even flowers. I’ve written about mushrooms quite a bit in the past few weeks, from indoor mushroom kits, to growing mushroom logs outdoors.
Enrich Garden Soil With Mushroom Compost
This entry doesn’t have anything to do with [...]

If you’re struggling with unsightly holes and mysterious damage to your plants, controlling garden slugs in the area may be the solution to the problem. Slugs appear at dusk and work throughout the night feeding on their favorite garden plants such as lettuce, cabbage, and Swiss Chard.
Interested in finding a natural solution for controlling garden [...]

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 specially designed [...]

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 [...]