Organic Gardening Tips

How to garden organically


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Garden Girl TV: Vertical Gardening Three

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Patti shows you more innovative ways to vertical garden. Check out her website at www.gardengirltv.com

Duration : 2 min 47 sec

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How to prepare soil for gardening shrubs in a flower bed?

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I recently purchased some organic compost not realizing that it was inorganic compost that I really wanted. So when I got home I mixed the organic compost I had just purchased with the inorganic compost i had layed out a week before. So my question was, what will happen when these two types of compost are mixed? Is my soil ruined because of this careless mistake or can I still salvage my soil? The reason I started with the inorganic compost was because I live in the Southwestern part of Texas where the soil is clay like and I was advised to use the inorganic type to soften the soil. Any suggestions out there or any similar issues any one has encountered?

Any type of soil can be improved with the addition of organic matter, unless you are one of the few who have perfect soil. The organic will rot and add water retaining humus to your soil, the inorganic will not rot and serve to help aerate. If you have clay soil, you NEED to add organic matter, period. Sand also helps as a cheap inorganic. One question…..compost is rotting ORGANIC material. I have never heard of inorganic COMPOST.

Organic vegetable gardening?

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I'd like to get into organic gardening for my family and I . I have absolutely no idea where to begin. I'd like to grow carrots, peas, lettuce, beans, zucchini, squash. Can anyone offer any helpful hints or websites. Thanks

I have been making my living growing produce organically for the past 14 years. For 8 years i was certified organic. I assume you don't care to get certified, you just want to grow pure food.
http://www.idigmygarden.com/forums/ is a great forum to learn the ropes. Organic gardening also has a really good forum and the magazine is an excellent resource http://www.organicgardening.com

It will take many years to get you soil in shape and learn the techniques for successful organic growing so don't expect a great garden for a few years. Start small, no more than a 10' x 10' (3m x 3m) garden the first year or you will get overwhelmed in august when the weather is hot, the insects are out and the weeds are growing high.

Mulch everything with straw (not hay as hay tends to have a lot of weed seeds) and mulch well-at least 6" thick. Straw mulch will keep weeds down, moisture in the soil and blight from happening on plants like tomatoes. It also adds organic matter to your soil.

Have a good hoe, rake, wheelbarrow, trowel and garden fork as your basic garden tools.

Start a compost pile ASAP, compost will be the main thing you will feed to the soil/plants. Compost is the best thing to build healthy soil and organics is all about building healthy soil as any organic grower worth their salt knows soil is alive and healthy soils means healthy pest free plants.

Good luck

Does locally grown food taste better and is it organic?

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I like strawberries and I would like to start eating other types of berries but when I buy them from a supermarket they are tart and don't taste good. I was just wondering if locally grown food would taste better because the farmers allow it more time to ripen since they don't have to ship it cross country and therefore they'll taste better since the sweetness will develop right along with it. I was also wondering if it's just a general rule that MOST (I know not all) locally grown food is organic. Thanks again.

i think the answer to all your questions are it depends where you are. Clearly a locally grown banana in Montana, probably isn't going to taste as good. If you are in California, then local strawberries probably will be better, and may be more likely to be organic.
I don't know if it is an old wives tale, but they say that eating local foods, especially honey, also help relieve allergy symptoms

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