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

I have a large garden that I work very hard on, and I hate to see my plants half-eaten by bugs. I do not grow any vegetables or fruits, but I do have three dogs that spend a lot of time around the flowers. Does anyone know any pesticides that are not harmful to the environment or other animals?

Pesticides would include Neem oil concentrate- mix with water and spray- it is an insecticide and fungicide. Does not harm plants, children or pets. There are other proprietary organic pesticides available at garden stores.

Use a mild liquid soap like Ivory mixed with water, oil and other ingredients like hot sauce/ garlic etc.- plenty of homemade insecticidal spray recipes are available on the web.

Other methods include releasing or attracting beneficial insects like ladybugs (for aphids), diatomaceous earth application (all kinds of pests including slugs), handpicking the bad guys, blasting with water (for plants that do not mind their leaves getting wet).

Companion planting helps certain plants (e.g.grow marigolds with tomato). Herbs like basil, dill, garlic chives help repel certain insects. Nasturtiums repel insects and also have edible flowers.

Yeast (use beer/yeast with sugar water) traps for snails, slugs (insert saucer with lip at soil level- put some abovementioned liquid in it almost till the top)- slugs drown in it. Also, copper strips around containers/ raised beds/ trees is what we use in our Sunnyvale organic community garden. Place little pots upside down but raised slightly on one side(use a pebble) in shady, moist places- slugs crawl in when it gets hot and can be handpicked. If all else fails, use products like Sluggo (safe for pets).

Make sure there are no debris (rotting leaves, etc) in the garden to shelter bugs. Raise pots and rocks etc. to catch the culprits munching on your plants hiding during the day.

Hope that helps you and your plants while keeping the dogs safe.

I've got this spot in my vegie patch that has been neglected somewhat. It hasn't been worked as much as the rest, has less organic matter in it etc. I've put my rhubarb there, which is doing ok there. What vegetables could I grow there?

Not tomatoes. They are very heavy feeders. You would end up adding to and turning the soil more than it sounds like your willing to do. You sound like you want the easy way out so grow cucumbers there. 96% water, dont take a ton of care, just steady moisture. Or…….collard greens. You couldnt kill em if you tried.