Gardening - Tips and Techniques

One of the oldest hobbies known to man, gardening has withstood the test of time as a hobby. It is not only enjoyable but fruitful as well in more ways than one because plants actually bear fruits. You can grow your own flower and vegetables and even fruit. Gardening is a hobby which is easy and gives you exercise and exposure to sunlight as well.

If You Want To Grow Tomatoes

If you are starting out and want to grow tomatoes, remember that are easy plants to grow. As there are more than 25,000 varieties available, you will be able to find a variety which will be suitable for your soil and weather conditions. Tomatoes can he used a large number of recipes and can be used raw or cooked. It is a delight to watch tomatoes growing in your garden as you get to see tomatoes going from green to red before your eyes.

There are two ways to grow tomatoes. You can either buy the immature plants and plant them, or you can grow them from seeds. Just remember that if you are growing them from seed, you need to plant the seeds at least six to eight weeks before the last expected frost.

If you are growing them in your garden, you will need to prepare the soil, dig the holes an the plant the baby plants or the seeds. Even baby plants will need sunlight and warmth, so make sure that the location is such that it gets the sunlight. If you are a window sill or terrace gardener, you need to see that the fledgling plants get the warmth and water that they require

If You Want To Grow Flowers

Planting flower bulbs is fast, easy, and nearly foolproof. Even if you have no gardening experience you should be able to complete this with few to no problems. The first step is for you to prepare the planting bed. Then you use fertilizer, and plant the bulbs into holes.

There are lots of resources available on gardening, whether it is books or internet sites. You can get all the information you need for your gardening needs. Once you get into gardening you will meet other people with the same hobby and as your network grows you will get more tips and techniques to help hone your gardening skills.

How To Find Gardening Help

You will need gardening help whether you are a new at this hobby or a professional gardener. Sometimes you may just need a little organic gardening help, at other times you may need the help of a seasoned expert who can show you what you can. In any case, it is necessary to know where you can access the organic gardening help whenever you need it.

Finding The Information You Need

There are many resources that you will be able to access when you need gardening help. There are innumerable books on gardening available at your nearest library or book store and books will always be there for you to look up. They are among the really good sources of information for organic gardening help.

Among the really good and best selling gardening books are Gardening Basics for Canadians for Dummies by Liz Primeau, Canadian Gardening by Steven A. Frownie and The National Gardening Association. With the aid of these books, you will find out which are the best plants to grow for the area and climate that you live in, make sure that you are using ecologically friendly products, make your gardens really beautiful, whether you have an open landscaped garden or other types which the books will tell you about

The internet is an extremely friendly and informative resource which will help you with your gardening skills. Through the internet you can find any possible information that you are looking for in terms of gardening help. In no time at all you will be able to find solutions to any problems you may face with your gardening or any help that you may require with regard to organic gardening.

If you want to get even more savvy about gardening, there are courses and seminars that you can attend which will provide you with gardening help. As you will be able to ask questions one on one, you will be able to get professional guidance and help. You will also meet people with similar interests and while networking, you will find out even more gardening information which will be of help to you.

Gardening is not just a hobby which is rewarding and interesting, but it also helps you do your bit for the environment. You can use organic gardening to grow flowers, fruits and vegetables which will be of aesthetic value and also perhaps you can literally enjoy the fruits of your labor by eating the fruits and vegetables. Organic gardening may seem to be taking up a great deal of time, but it is not that difficult to do and the rewards are worth the time and labor that you put in.



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How To Start Beekeeping. Want To Start Beekeeping? This New EBook Reveals It All. Start Keeping Bees This Season! Click Here!


Orchid Care Expert - A Practical Guide. The Most Practical Guide To Orchid Care To Be Found On The Internet. Click Here!


Organic Food Gardening Beginners Manual. 87 Page Step-by-step Gardening Manual For Beginners To Learn How To Grow Their Own Healthy, Organic Food - Saving Money And Eating Chemical Free! Great Bonuses With This E-manual. Revised Edition Just Released.
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Forceful Orchid Fertilizers: Homemade Recipes. Know How To Feed Your Orchids To Quickly Get Astonishing Results. Click Here!


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Vegetable Gardening

If you are going to take up a new hobby, you might as well do something that is productive as well as fun. One such activity is vegetable gardening. Vegetable gardening is a very relaxing activity that millions of people love to do. There is also a certain pride when you know that you can grow your own fruits and vegetables right from your own backyard. In order to become a successful vegetable gardener, though, you must have a specific plan involving the kinds of plants you want in your garden, as well as the placement of these plants.

Basic Requirements for Vegetable Gardening

A flat, level surface is necessary for vegetable gardening to ensure that the water will flow evenly, giving sufficient nourishment to all the plants in your garden. If you have an uneven terrain, some of your plants may drown while others might be dehydrated. Good soil is essential as well so make sure that you buy quality gIf you are going to take up a new hobby, you might as well do something that is productive as well as fun. One such activity is vegetable gardening. Vegetable gardening is a very relaxing activity that millions of people love to do. There is also a certain pride when you know that you can grow your own fruits and vegetables right from your own backyard. In order to become a successful vegetable gardener, though, you must have a specific plan involving the kinds of plants you want in your garden, as well as the placement of these plants.

Basic Requirements for Vegetable Gardening

A flat, level surface is necessary for vegetable gardening to ensure that the water will flow evenly, giving sufficient nourishment to all the plants in your garden. If you have an uneven terrain, some of your plants may drown while others might be dehydrated. Good soil is essential as well so make sure that you buy quality garden soil that is packed with sufficient minerals for the healthy growth of your vegetables.

Choosing the type of vegetables you want to plant in your garden is the fun part. There are hundreds of vegetables you can choose from, but make sure the ones you pick are well adapted to the particular environment and climate in your area. Most vegetables are actually very easy to cultivate if you provide them all their growth requirements.

Planning is very important for the success of your vegetable gardening venture. You need to at least have a general idea of where you want to place your different vegetables in relation to each other. Using pots is a good idea so you can rearrange your garden if the need arises. Of course, your options will be limited if you have a small garden space but if you have a large area to work with, your gardening options are limitless.

One more important element that all vegetable gardeners find very important is the elimination and prevention of garden pests. There are many organic pesticides that you can use to solve this problem without inflicting any damage to your crops.

If you have a little more open space at home, you can go for regular home vegetable gardening as well. This is a more structured type of gardening in which you can lay out your garden more systematically than when you are using random containers.

If you live in a cramped apartment or high-rise condominium where there is no backyard to plant in, you have to use your creativity in order to create your own indoor garden. You can use any kind of containers to serve as an improvised garden plot and place this near a window in order to get as much sunlight as possible.

When it comes to productive hobbies, nothing can be better than vegetable gardening. Not only will vegetable gardening provide you with fresh vegetables to serve your family, but it also has therapeutic and relaxing effects on your body and mind. Regardless of what kind of vegetable gardening you choose, planting your own vegetables will definitely be much healthier and cheaper than purchasing them from the local grocery store.arden soil that is packed with sufficient minerals for the healthy growth of your vegetables.

Choosing the type of vegetables you want to plant in your garden is the fun part. There are hundreds of vegetables you can choose from, but make sure the ones you pick are well adapted to the particular environment and climate in your area. Most vegetables are actually very easy to cultivate if you provide them all their growth requirements.


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Organic Food Gardening Beginners Manual. 87 Page Step-by-step Gardening Manual For Beginners To Learn How To Grow Their Own Healthy, Organic Food - Saving Money And Eating Chemical Free! Great Bonuses With This E-manual. Revised Edition Just Released.
Click Here!


Forceful Orchid Fertilizers: Homemade Recipes. Know How To Feed Your Orchids To Quickly Get Astonishing Results. Click Here!


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Planning is very important for the success of your vegetable gardening venture. You need to at least have a general idea of where you want to place your different vegetables in relation to each other. Using pots is a good idea so you can rearrange your garden if the need arises. Of course, your options will be limited if you have a small garden space but if you have a large area to work with, your gardening options are limitless.

One more important element that all vegetable gardeners find very important is the elimination and prevention of garden pests. There are many organic pesticides that you can use to solve this problem without inflicting any damage to your crops.

If you live in a cramped apartment or high-rise condominium where there is no backyard to plant in, you have to use your creativity in order to create your own indoor garden. You can use any kind of containers to serve as an improvised garden plot and place this near a window in order to get as much sunlight as possible.

When it comes to productive hobbies, nothing can be better than vegetable gardening. Not only will vegetable gardening provide you with fresh vegetables to serve your family, but it also has therapeutic and relaxing effects on your body and mind.


Bonsai Gardening Secrets. Discover Over 95 Pages Of Insider Secrets To Creating Stunning Bonsai Trees. Click Here!

Worlds Best Compost. Make The Worlds Ultimate Natural Fertilizer, Colloidal Humus, Without Bins, Turning Or Odor. Click Here!


The Complete Grape Growing System. A Complete System With E-book And Audio Book To Help You Grow Grapes The Correct Way. Click Here!



How To Start Beekeeping. Want To Start Beekeeping? This New EBook Reveals It All. Start Keeping Bees This Season! Click Here!


Orchid Care Expert - A Practical Guide. The Most Practical Guide To Orchid Care To Be Found On The Internet. Click Here!


Organic Food Gardening Beginners Manual. 87 Page Step-by-step Gardening Manual For Beginners To Learn How To Grow Their Own Healthy, Organic Food - Saving Money And Eating Chemical Free! Great Bonuses With This E-manual. Revised Edition Just Released.
Click Here!


Forceful Orchid Fertilizers: Homemade Recipes. Know How To Feed Your Orchids To Quickly Get Astonishing Results. Click Here!


The Hypertufa How-To Manual. 100 Page EBook On How To Make Garden Art Objects From Hypertufa. Easy To Follow Instructions & Expert Advice. Click Here!


Homemade Hydroponics. Hydroponics Secrets Shows You How To Grow The Plants, Fruits And Vegetables -even In Limited Space--without Using Soil. Pays 75% Commission With Excellent Conversion Rates. Click Here!



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Medicinal Herbs and Aromatic Herbs

Planning an herb garden can be fun and rewarding. Herbs have been in use for centuries for culinary, medicinal and aromatic reasons. For generations tribal leaders and healers passed down the herbal secrets. Many modern medicines have an herb base. Modern herbalist mix medicinal herb for their clients. Many herbalists also mix aromatic herbs for beauty purposes. But, of course, the culinary herb is still the most widely used. You can become a kitchen gardener by growing an herb garden right in your kitchen on a sunny windowsill.

For the discussion of herbal gardening today we will plant the herbs found in the Elizabethan Era and so often mentioned in William Shakespeare's works. The plants selected will be culinary herbs, medicinal herbs and aromatic herbs, all to experience the aromas and flavors of that time.

Herbal gardening is wonderful since the herbs can be grown in a variety of ways. Plant a container garden for you deck or patio for great colors, different textures and super aromas. Planning an herb garden in the ground will allow you to cultivate a traditional kitchen herb garden outside. Or if you have limited space, become an inside kitchen gardener and plant your herbs on a windowsill or in a window box.

When planning your herb garden remember that the herbs need well drained soil, they hate wet feet. Test your soil for the herb garden and make sure it is alkaline. All Herbs need at least six hours of sunlight.

When Elizabethans planted aromatic herbs, culinary herbs and medicinal herbs they used either a symmetrical rectangular or square patterns. The Elizabethans were very formal and felt their herb gardens should be too. Their herbal gardens had walkways, as strolling through the garden was a popular pastime. They had no TV'S! If you are planting your herbal garden near a patio, think about adding a strolling path for yourself. The paths will add character to you herbal garden.

In planning an herb garden be sure to take in to consideration the growing habits of each herb. Plant the taller busier herbs in the back of the garden, the small, compact ones in the front. Most herbs are perennials meaning they will grow back each year. Any of the herbs that need to be planted annually should go in a spot in the herb garden that is easy to get to. Give each herb plenty of room to grow. The herbs need air circulation to prevent mold. This stage of planning an herb garden is essential since once the plants become mature they do not like to be moved.

When you plant an herb garden, you can either start from seeds or get small plants from your garden center. The garden center plants will give a better chance of achieving success in the herb garden. When using seeds, plan ahead because the seeds may need to grow for several months before they are ready to plant into the herb garden. Especially if you are a beginner, I would recommend using the small plants from the garden center.

Go to a reputable garden center to purchase you herbs. Inspect your herbs closely to make sure they are healthy. One infected plant can ruin your whole herbal garden. When using the small herbs from the garden center you will be able to harvest your herbs much sooner. When you take the herbs out to be planted in the herbal garden, gently remove the plant from the pot and loosen the soil around the roots. Place the herb in the spot you have chosen or the container that you have prepared. Cover all of the roots with soil and gently tamp down. Give your new herbs plenty of water checking the moisture each day. Never let the soil dry out but don't make your herbs roots too wet. If you are planting a container garden remember that the dirt in a container will dry out more quickly then the ground. You might find that the herbs will droop for a couple of days. Don't fret that is shock but they will recover.

Once you have learned the herbs growth patterns you can start pinching off to get a bushier herb. When you first start out, keep a journal for your herb garden to keep track of each herbs strengths and weaknesses. After you get to know your herb garden you will be able to tell when the plants need attention.

Over the centuries herbs have evolved into very hardy plants. Once you herbal garden is established it will need very little care. To hold moisture for the herb longer, mulch around the plants. This is a good garden tip whether you plant the herbs in container gardens or in the ground.

Herbs are natural insect repellents but if you have to treat for pests be sure you use a non toxic treatment since you will be eating your harvest. Marigolds are a natural repellent so you may want to plant of few of these flowers. Planting companion plants is how most Shakespearian gardens were done.

Harvest can begin as soon as you have several leaves on the herb. It is best to cut your herbs before they begin to flower for the best flavor. This is when the most oils are stored in the leaves. Wait until any morning dew has dissipated before cutting but harvest before the full sun is out. You can cut your herbs right before you wish to use them. If the stems are tender these too can be used in your recipes.

If you have an abundant harvest you can freeze or dry the herbs. Dry them by hanging them upside down, in a bunch tied together, in a warm and dark place. You can microwave them by placing them between two paper towels and microwaving for 2 minutes. Put them in an air tight container, they will last up to 1 year.

Freezing the bounty of your herb garden will let them last a little longer, a year to year and a half. Chop up the herbs and place on a sheet of wax paper. Freeze for at least 2 hours. Another method is to put the herbs in ice cube trays with water. Freeze until firm, pop them out and put them in to zip lock bags. When ever you need the herbs for soups, stews or sauces, just throw in an herb ice cube.

Now, here is the list of Shakespearian Herbs to plant in your Elizabethan herb garden including culinary herbs, aromatic herbs and medicinal herbs. It will truly make you a kitchen gardener.

Bay, box, Broom, Calendula, Chamomile, Chives, Heartsease, Hyssop, Lavender, Lemon Balm, Parsley, Peppermint, Rosemary, Rue, Salad Burnet, Summer Savory, Bachelors Buttons and Thyme. For more information on each herb, email me or search on the internet.

Happy Gardening!



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The Complete Grape Growing System. A Complete System With E-book And Audio Book To Help You Grow Grapes The Correct Way. Click Here!



How To Start Beekeeping. Want To Start Beekeeping? This New EBook Reveals It All. Start Keeping Bees This Season! Click Here!


Orchid Care Expert - A Practical Guide. The Most Practical Guide To Orchid Care To Be Found On The Internet. Click Here!


Organic Food Gardening Beginners Manual. 87 Page Step-by-step Gardening Manual For Beginners To Learn How To Grow Their Own Healthy, Organic Food - Saving Money And Eating Chemical Free! Great Bonuses With This E-manual. Revised Edition Just Released.
Click Here!


Forceful Orchid Fertilizers: Homemade Recipes. Know How To Feed Your Orchids To Quickly Get Astonishing Results. Click Here!


The Hypertufa How-To Manual. 100 Page EBook On How To Make Garden Art Objects From Hypertufa. Easy To Follow Instructions & Expert Advice. Click Here!


Homemade Hydroponics. Hydroponics Secrets Shows You How To Grow The Plants, Fruits And Vegetables -even In Limited Space--without Using Soil. Pays 75% Commission With Excellent Conversion Rates. Click Here!



Bonsai Gardening Secrets. Discover Over 95 Pages Of Insider Secrets To Creating Stunning Bonsai Trees. Click Here!


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Veggie Gardens From Kitchen Scraps

It does not matter whether you put your kitchen scraps in the compost or the bin, did you know that you could grow many of your favourite fruit or vegetables from those scraps. Indeed, unless your compost is very well matured you will find stray veggie seedlings may appear wherever you deposit the compost.

Take for instance those potato peelings, if it is a fairly thick section of peel with an eye (shoot), then you can often get these to grow into full potato plants. Another indication that a potato is only good for planting or throwing out is the colour. If the potato is starting to look fairly green on the skin then *DO NOT EAT*, as it is an indication that it is producing a poisonous substance common in the nightshade family to which it as well as the tomatoes, chillies and capsicums belong. You can also get sweet potatoes and taros to grow from sections of the tubers.

Have you ever tried to plant or thought about trying to plant the seeds from a particularly nice tomato, capsicum, chili, watermelon or pumpkin? While any plants grown from such seed may vary quite a lot from the parent fruit, you can still achieve fairly good results from them if you are on a tight budget.

The plants grown from seeds of many of your kitchen scraps will not produce fruit to the same high standard as the original fruit/vegetables because of the complicated interbreeding programs put into place by the big seed companies. However the progeny can give a very wide range of resulting offspring. But if you come across one or two particularly good plants in the resulting season, then reuse the seeds of that and always-in future pick the best fruit from the best plants for your future propagation material.

Though there are some veggies in the kitchen where it is not possible to grow them from the seed in the fruit. These are those vegetables where the edible fruit is still in an immature state and the seed is not yet viable. These fruit/veggies include the cucumbers, okra and squashes to name just a few. This is because the fruit when it reaches a stage where the seed is viable is just too big and coarse for human consumption.

If you leave the top of a pineapple out in a shady spot for a week or so during warm weather, then strip back the lower dead leaves. You may even notice some small juvenile roots already forming at the base of the plant top. One thing to remember with pineapples is that it is a species of bromeliad. And as such it requires the same moist but well drained growing conditions.

When the garlic cloves are starting to get a green sprout coming out of the top, it is a pretty good indication, that it might be a good idea to plant them out individually for a good harvest in about 8-10 months time of this fairly expensive herb plant.

Treat it like any member of the onion tribe, because they like moist, well drained soil and a fair amount of feeding during the growing season. Harvest as the tops are dying back. But let them dry out in a cool but airy place, before you try to use them back in the kitchen.

Another fruit/vegetable along a similar line is corn, try leaving a fresh, uncooked cob of sweet corn in a shady dry spot for a couple of weeks, then you can strip the kernels away from the cob and plant them. A quicker suggestion is to grab a handful of corn kernels out of a packet of popping corn, The only comment would be that corn grown from these seeds would not be as sweet or juicy as sweet corn, and in reality would be better dried and used as popping corn.

Why not try growing your own peanuts? Always only using the raw nuts, and only choosing those nuts, which are still whole and encased in the brown skin. Peanuts can be grown during warmer weather in most parts of Australia. One of the fascinating things about peanuts is that they are one of the only plants which flower set fruit and then bury and pre plant their own seed ready for later germination. Yes the peanut, which is dug from the ground, is actually a fruit buried by the parent plant, after flowering.

You can always grow your own ginger; all it takes is a section of the root, purchased from a greengrocer. Plant it in a well drained but moist soil. Allowing plenty of room for the plant to spread out. You can be harvesting your own ginger roots within about 8-12 months.

Whether you have got a long fence, chook pen or an unsightly shed to cover, why not try planting a choko. The Vine can be very prolific, as long as you keep the moisture and fertilizer up to it.

Though once it is established, it can be left to fend for itself, and will still produce a steady supply of fruit for the family. If you have a few dollars why not look at purchasing some of the heritage or heirloom seed ranges of Fruit and vegetables. Many seed firms as well as organizations like the Seed Savers Network have many fascinating and unusual varieties of plants available for the home gardener to grow.

Of course once you have various plants growing in your veggie garden don't forget to keep some propagating material back ( whether it is root sections, seed or divisions), for future plantings. Also you should think about letting certain plants like lettuce, parsley and basil go to seed, for planting later. I regularly have to weed my lawns around the gardens for rouge seedlings of the above plants. Such spare seedling weeds are easily replanted or swapped with other gardeners for plants I don't yet have, or given to school and/or charity plant stalls. It is useful to have weeds that other people want and are willing to pay for.

While it usually not a good idea to try and propagate most of the tree fruit, simply from a time perspective and again because the results can also be very variable. It is still interesting to try even if you only end up getting a pot plant out of the results. It is possible to grow the seeds of such trees as mangoes, citrus, avocado, apple, pear, etc. While the fruit of some species simply have no viable seed at all eg, bananas. There is however a few, which readily lend themselves to home propagation eg, pawpaw (papaya), tree tomatoes, unroasted coffee beans, etc. I remember as a child, accidentally germinated a coconut palm, from throwing the mostly eaten out shell onto a garden bed for a few months.

Another suggestion for those of you out there, who are visited by birds to your garden, why not take a handful of birdseed and plant it out in an out of the way section of your garden. These bird friendly plants like Sunflower, oats, sorghum, etc, can be a real bonus for many native birds to supplement their diet. Many of the seeds in any packet of birdseed are very viable.

When my kids were younger and I was showing them such wonders, I used to have trouble convincing them that I could not do similar things in growing and multiplying with a variety of items of importance to them at the time, from toys to chocolate, lollies and even coins.





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The Complete Grape Growing System. A Complete System With E-book And Audio Book To Help You Grow Grapes The Correct Way. Click Here!



How To Start Beekeeping. Want To Start Beekeeping? This New EBook Reveals It All. Start Keeping Bees This Season! Click Here!


Orchid Care Expert - A Practical Guide. The Most Practical Guide To Orchid Care To Be Found On The Internet. Click Here!


Organic Food Gardening Beginners Manual. 87 Page Step-by-step Gardening Manual For Beginners To Learn How To Grow Their Own Healthy, Organic Food - Saving Money And Eating Chemical Free! Great Bonuses With This E-manual. Revised Edition Just Released.
Click Here!


Forceful Orchid Fertilizers: Homemade Recipes. Know How To Feed Your Orchids To Quickly Get Astonishing Results. Click Here!


The Hypertufa How-To Manual. 100 Page EBook On How To Make Garden Art Objects From Hypertufa. Easy To Follow Instructions & Expert Advice. Click Here!


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Moss

Moss is either loved or hated in the garden. People very often passionately rake it away. Why not to look at it as blessing to your garden? Its kinds are very difficult to recognize - you need proper book for that and magnifying glass. I don't remember since when I love moss. I think since always. Soft, fragile and moist. In my garden moss is welcomed everywhere. I try to grow it on my stones as well. Few months ago I covered them with yoghurt dilluted with water 1:1. No great effect yet, just little greenish something appeared.
You can appreciate moss beauty especially in the winter - when it is lush green and so soft to walk on. Grows in the lawn in the shadow? Great! I don't need to move it. Grass is weaker and weaker in these spots, and moss patches are larger and larger... and more and more green. Moss reminds me my second big and earliest garden fascination of Japanese Gardens.
I look for tranquility and harmony in the garden. In the smaller gardens it is even more important to not overload it with too many different plants.

I like them for meditative and tranquill character. I remember that in communist time in Poland there was not so many books about landscaping and Far East - that was of my special interest at that time. I made friends with the owner of the shop selling used/old books. Whenever something about Japan appeared on the shelf I was getting a phone call and I immediatelly run to the shop to see it.

There is six features as a synonym for an excellent not only Japanese but landscape garden.
According to the ancient book of gardens, there should be six different qualities to which a garden can aspire.
They are grouped in their traditional complementary pairs, they are:
spaciousness & seclusion
artifice & antiquity
water-courses & panoramas.
As the specialists say "it is difficult enough to find a garden that is blessed with any three or four of these desirable attributes, let along five, or even more rarely, all six."

Yet there is such case in Japan.
Its name is “Kenroku-en” which means “garden that combines six characteristics”, which is named by Sadanobu Matsudaira, a feudal load in the present Tohoku district (northern part of mainland Japan).

Plants recommended for Japanese gardens:

Trees and shrubs
Acer plamatum, Acer japonicum, Acer ginnala, Amelanchier canadensis, Cercis chinensis, Chamaecyparis obtusa, Cornus kousa, Cryptomeria japonica, Gingko biloba, Pinus nigra, Pinus thunbergiana, Pinus densiflora, Magnolia kobus, Magnolia stellata, Prunus cerasifera, Prunus mume, Prunus serrulata, Prunus armeniaca, Sciadopitys verticillata, Tsuga canadensis,

Trees and shrubs of medium size
Acer palmatum 'Dissectum', Spirea japonica, Chaenomeles japonica, Chaenomeles lagenaria, Euonymus alatus, Enkianthus campanulatus, Forsytia x intermedia, Forsytia suspensa, Juniperus chinensis 'Armstrongii', Kerria japonica, Mahonia aquifolium, Pieris japonica, Rhododendrons, Azaleas, Syringa vulgaris

Small shrubs
Buxus microphylla, Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Nana', Daphne cneorum, Ilex crenata, Juniperus chinensis 'Blue Vase', Pinus mugo 'Compacta', Rhododendron obtusum, Rhododendron kaempferi, Spirea japonica, Spirea bumalda, Thuja occidentalis 'Globosa', Viburnum carlesii

All these plants are accompanied by different kind of grass, moss, perennials, bamboo, ivy that might be chosen according to the climate zone.




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Gardening

To love dragging yourself out of the house in the shortest, darkest days of the year is much less of a struggle if you have some hellebores in the garden. All winter flowers are magical, but they tend to be small like those of wych hazel or viburnum, and at the same time highly fragrant. Hellebores, on the other hand, have large flowers, like single roses, strikingly and surprisingly lush- looking in the winter wastes. They survive winter snows by hanging their heads downward, and by having strong petals. Nonetheless, there is a hint of transparency in the flower so that any stray beam of winter sunlight makes it light up and glow. This seems to be enough to attract insects for pollination as very few hellebores are scented. There are all sorts of hybrids available, with flowers from pale green to deep purply black. The foliage is large, palmate, usually a good dark green, and generally glossy. Plant in good deep moist soil in semi shade, as its natural habitat is on the woodland floor.

To do Like all good gardeners, you washed down the glass and insulated the greenhouse with bubble wrap at the end of the autumn didn't you? Nevertheless, the winter months will have already taken their toll, so wrap up warm and wash down the outside of the glass panes, which will almost certainly be stained with grime of all kinds already. This will maximise the amount of light and heat reaching the interior of the greenhouse. While you're out there, clean out your gutters that will, mysteriously, have become clogged again with leaves.

Also, check any rain barrels for leaves. If you get a sunny day, give the greenhouse a quick airing; all the plants will benefit as it reduces the chance of disease.

Make sure you close it up before the temperature drops. If you are lucky enough to have peach or nectarine trees in pots, now is the time to move them into an unheated greenhouse to prevent the spores of the fungus infection known as peach leaf curl settling on the damp foliage. Pot plants like hippeastrum and azalea, which finished flowering over Christmas, can be moved out to the greenhouse to start recuperating, but don't forget to water them sparingly. Think about what seeds you are going to plant in March - it's never too early to start planning.




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UK Gardens

There are probably more than 5,500 gardens open to the public. Many in the National Garden Scheme are too small or localised to be included here. What follows is a taste of what can be found

1 Sizergh Castle

Cumbria

The paths crossing the 1,600-acre estate give superb views of Morecambe Bay and the Lakeland hills, but the real joy is the gardens. Laid out in the 18th century, there are 14 acres that include herbaceous borders, a wildflower garden, part of the national collection of ferns, lake, water garden, rose garden, pools and fruit orchards. Perhaps its most striking feature is the rock garden, the largest limestone one on a National Trust property. There are also trails through ancient woods and across meadows alive with butterflies.

2 Benvarden Garden and Grounds

Co Antrim

Within 300-year-old brick walls nearly 12ft high lie two acres of flowers, fruit, herbs, and vegetables. Through the centre is a walkway bordered by herbaceous planting and "roofed" with pergola arches over which old roses ramble. There is a beautiful box and lavender parterre, a weeping silver pear, a rose area, and, in the lower part, a superb kitchen garden. Here are vegetables all in a row, hot houses, melon house, vinery, and, throughout, fruit trees trained against the warm walls. And, outside the walls, is a wild garden and Victorian iron bridge over the river.

3 Benmore Botanic Gardens

Argyll

This is now a magnificent out-station of the glorious Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, but it was the creation of two generations of the Younger beer family. The younger Younger gave the garden to the public in 1925. Its 120 acres contain 300 species of rhododendrons (some of which are in flower until August), an avenue of giant redwoods, late-flowering trees and shrubs, pond, a Bhutanese glade, Chilean rainforest glade, a spectacular collection of dwarf conifers, and the Victorian fernery, built by James Duncan, a Greenock sugar refiner, after he bought the house in 1870.

4 Biddulph Grange

Staffordshire


A Victorian masterpiece, 15 acres of delights created by James Bateman, a plant enthusiast, neglected, nearly destroyed, but now restored by the National Trust. Below a rather forbidding house is a range of garden "rooms" that depict places around the world: a Chinese temple garden (plus its own Great Wall of China), Italian terraces, Egyptian court, Scottish glen, and more. There is also a pinetum, Wellingtonia walk, rock gardens, fernery, topiary, the bizarre upside-down tree, and a Dahlia Walk with 500 varieties.


5 Eggleston Hall

Durham

Four and a half acres set in Teesdale, not the most friendly horticultural country. But what is achieved here is magical, and has an ethereal quality lusher climes could not produce. Its owners describe it as a "Pandora's box of surprises: winding paths, a stream, organic vegetables, walls, and fell views". There are also fruit trees, iridescent blue geraniums, a shrubbery with some late- flowering specialities, and a superb ancient contorted hazel that twists and turns in all directions. The numbered paths lead you to the old churchyard, and, beyond, along the water to a vegetable patch and the 200-year-old stone troughs.

6 Bro Meigan Gardens

Pembrokeshire

The first private garden in Wales to be accorded the accolade of "partner garden" by the Royal Horticultural Society. Overlooking the Preseli Hills are nearly seven acres offering unusual features such as a wooded dingle and natural springs. There are more formal parts, with enchanting herbaceous borders, and also a Gothic garden, Dragon's Nest, cottage garden, orchard, wildflower meadow, turf maze and bee hives. Plenty of colour whatever the season, and often described as a special delight for photographers and bird-watchers. The shy water rail, and peregrine and red kite are often seen.

7 Old Thatch

Buckinghamshire

This was the house - a long, thatched one by the Thames at Bourne End - and garden of Enid Blyton, where she wrote many of her stories and gardening books. Found in a derelict state in 1990, it has been restored and rejuvenated by Jacky Hawthorne. There's a cottage garden, rose walk, water garden, lavender terrace, and formal garden - all in about two acres. It's the kind of garden many of us would like to have - English, restrained, and seriously classy without being prissy. The use of grasses and foliage is a wonder. And there's a pub next door.

8 Upwey Wishing Well

Dorset

This is small, but it is perfect, and very well hidden. Up a Dorset lane, besides Upwey's church with its wall paintings, is the wishing well, gardens, and tea rooms. The waters here were allegedly taken by George III, when staying at Weymouth to try and recover his missing senses. They are no longer deemed safe to drink, but are surrounded by a delightful gardens built around a pond, and through which run rivulets, streams and little falls of water. It is one of the most photographable places in Dorset, the colourful plants reflecting in the waters, and, as a background, an old mill.

9 West Dean Gardens

West Sussex

Acres and acres of varying delights, everything from formal borders, woodland walks beside a stream that twists and turns and bubbles over little falls, and a view across pasture to wooded hills beyond. In places it is a painting come to life. The three stars are the walled fruit garden with its wall-trained trees and arch of pear trees; the Edwardian pergola, 100 metres long, ending in a gazebo whose floor is made of knapped flint and horses' molars; and the Victorian glasshouses and frames. In troughs in the corner of this live many newts, a wonderful surprise for any passing child - of whatever age.


10 Ventnor Botanic Gardens

Isle of Wight

Chosen not only because of what it has to offer by day, but for what it holds at night. The gardens are built on the site of an old chest hospital and are said to be the most haunted in Britain. Every Monday at 8pm there is a ghost walk, offering a chance to see - and hear - former patients, nurses, and even a ghostly tennis match. By day, the gardens glow with exotic plants which can grow in the area's sub-tropical climate. There are 22 acres of unusual species, with colour especially good in late summer. On a warm day you may also see the wall lizards basking in the sun.



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Kitchen Drawer Garden Tools

Why go and spend a fortune at the nursery on new tools, when there is probably a wealth of unused stuff tucked away unused in your own kitchen, or someone you knows kitchen that will more than adequately do the exact job you want, without having to spend a cent.

Just make sure that anything taken from the kitchen really is not wanted there. As well as the fact that such stuff is on a one way permanent trip out to the garden shed.

Here are just a few suggestions of stuff that are useful kitchen refugees,

Old dinner knife for digging weeds out from between concrete sections or pavers.

Old kitchen fork for light weeding in around tight places or where you do not want to disturb root systems that are close to the surface.

Good sharp kitchen knife or a pair of kitchen scissors are great fro dividing up clumps of plants, or for taking cuttings off of a branch.

Kitchen tongs can be used to pick up thorny cuttings or to help you repotting thorny plants like cacti.

Serving tray or placemats to keep things organised or for carrying produce, cuttings or even weeds.

Potato Masher for pushing past a thorny plant or rose.

BBQ or Carving Forks for digging out stubborn rooted weeds and root vegies.

Kitchen funnels for pouring various liquids into containers or for accurate pouring around plants. or to get seed or even small screws & nails into storage packets or bottles.

Chopsticks make great little pot stakes (metal and wooden skewers work too), or construction sets even for some jobs.

I've seen bamboo placemats and chopsticks cut down to make scenery pieces for bonsai planters, along with old aquarium ornaments.

Set of measuring cups and measuring spoons are great as scoops for fertilizers and potting mixes.

Icecream or soup scoops for measuring and scooping potting mix in around new potplants.

Egg rings and biscuit cutters for shaping growing fruit just for fun, or as a simple handheld hoe for light weeding in around plants.

So theres a few things which can obtain a second life out in the gardenshed and garden, nstead of being stored for years in a drawer, or being thrown out or passed on to a charity store.





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Caring for Your Rose Types

WATERING

Roses are deep rooted and once they are well established are more capable than most plants of surviving mild drought spells. The first spring and summer directly after planting your rose is very important. During this period if the soil around your rose seems to be drying out give your roses a good soaking. Each rose could get about 2 gallons of water. In following years you will only need to water them if drought seems iminent.

FEEDING YOUR ROSES

As with all plants that provide us with beautiful blooms they need plenty of the correct nutrients. Give roses a good helping of blood, bone and fishmeal in early April, about two handfuls to each rose. In June a handful of specially prepared rose fertilizer will give your roses a huge lift. The magnesium and potash gives the rose a great kick. Just work the fertilizer in gently around the soil at the base of the plant.

MULCHING YOUR ROSES.

Mulching is a very simple task with great benefits. Mulching retains moisture, smothers weeds and generally boosts the health of your roses. Well rotted manure is best but garden compost or bark mulch can also be used.

DEADHEADING YOUR ROSES.

Deadheading spent blooms not only tidys up the rose but actually saves the plants energy and thereby encourages more bloom flushes. A light pruning of hybrid teas will encourage a second flush.

WATCH OUT FOR ROSE SUCKERS.

Shoots that emerge from rootstocks are known as suckers. These will be different in coloring and often by the amount of leaves, than what grows from the stems over ground. Gently scrape away the soil until you can see where the sucker is growing from the rootstock, tear the sucker away cleanly.

CONTROL OF WEEDS.

Mulching is the most effective method of controlling weeds and also the less back breaking.

Hoeing is not as effective and you must take care not to damage the stems.

Sowing other plants underneath the rose is also an option. The least favored option is the application of a rose-bed weedkiller. This will eventually damage the soil and thus your rose.

ROSE DISEASES AND PESTS.

This is an area that turns people off growing roses and really it shouldn't. Roses have diseases and pests particular to them and as such regular treatment is very effective. The main problems are greenfly, mildew and blackspot.

There are plenty of products that treat these main three problems in one treatment. Performing a regular maintenance schedule starting in April will leave you with very few problems. Do make sure to follow exactly the manufacturers recommendations.

Your roses will respond brilliantly to a little regular maintenance and once you have started your routine there will be very little work attached. Issues will only arise once you neglect your routine and this is what often deters people from growing roses.





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The Cost Of Your Garden

It can be a scary exercise to sit down and work out exactly what is spent every year, on the average home gardens and lawns.

Try adding up the costs of plants, weedicides, pesticides, fungicides, fertilisers, petrol, mower and trimmer maintenance, weed eater cord, garden mulch and even water costs. Even the time and effort we go to in order to maintain a good-looking environment for our families and ourselves can amount to a substantial price.

So it is no wonder that many people are looking at ways to save money for more important causes.

One of the first things that you can do to save money, is to make use of as much of that organic matter that many people throw in the bin or wash down the sink.

For instance do you throw out your lawn clippings? Do you dutifully wrap up and throw out those old veggie scraps?

Are you one of those people who regularly get the trailer out and make trips down to the landfill with a pile of branch prunings?

What about those pile of leaves you threw in the bin last autumn?

Do you realise that all of those things can be turned into a wonderful form of plant food, as well as being used as a barrier to prevent the soil from loosing moisture and therefore increasing the amount of time between watering your garden. An organic mulch will also improve the soil structure, increase the good animals like worms while assisting in decreasing the nasty pests living in the soil.

By keeping these sorts of things within your own garden you are also assisting in reducing the effects that city living is having on the environment in landfill problems and costs.

There are a number of different ways that you can recycle these piles of organic matter within your own yard. One is to apply the bulk organic matter directly to your garden beds, ensuring that you don't pile the material directly up against the trunks or main stems of the plants. A second idea to get a worm farm and recycle your kitchen waste that way; the worms provide you with a very strong and nutritious fertilising liquid for the garden as a bonus. This liquid is so strong it has to be diluted 10-1.

Don't, by the way, put meat products, citrus peels or onion and garlic in with the worms. A third way is to purchase or construct your own compost pile/bin/tumbler and recycle the material that way.

So just by composting your old leaves, soft cuttings, veggie and fruit scraps, chipped branches, lawn clippings etc., you can do a lot to reduce your costs that you would have spent on such things as garden mulch and fertilisers as well as assisting your plants to last much longer between watering periods. So as you can see there are a number of reasons for not throwing away all that organic material.





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Garden Creep

One thing you either might have to watch out for or embrace is something I call Garden Creep.

This is the ability of certain gardens, let alone the plants in them, of slowly growing and spreading or even multiplying over time.

Any dedicated gardener can explain to you the visible symtomology of the disease. New garden growths appear almost randomly at times as new outbreaks of gardens pop up in sometimes rather unexpected corners and sections of the area.

This problem is also seen in certain plants as well. When they have managed to obtain a foot hold in an area, where the available space for them, is inadequate for their realistic size. You will find these plants spilling outwards or upwards into space they were never intended to occupy. This causes constant problems for entryways & walkways, as well as air space occupiers like power lines. These planbts then have to constantly attacked and kept back within their territory, often at great cost in time and money to their garden owner.

Lawn areas and sometimes even pathways in it's way are encompassed and/or swallowed up. It even can escape from your area onto and around footpaths and along road verges.

It appears I reckon to be a possibly viral disease that affects both the gardens and their gardeners alike.

It means that these garden areas extend over a period into every little space they can infect and take over, sometimes far outside the originally intended boundaries of the initial garden/s.





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Plant Presents From your Garden

If you are looking for ways for you or your children to provide cheap presents for the extended family, or just like to give gifts that have a personal element to them, then here is a suggestion or two for you.

If you are looking to make a present for the gardener in the family or someone who has recently moved into their own home, someone in a flat or unit, or a person who can't manage a full sized yard, or a family member who loves to cook with fresh ingredients, etc. Then why not consider giving them something from your own garden? Here I am talking about plants that you have divided off from your own garden plants.

There are many plants growing in the average garden that can be divided, or that have naturally self layered themselves. Where you could go along and take a rooted section, pot them up and with a bit of dressing up of the planting container, you could produce a really nice gift for someone you care about.

These plants include many herbs as well as perennials or shrubs and even some trees which manage to send out self-layering branches or suckers from the root system. Some perennials or bulbs will increase their size or number of bulbs over time. Chance seedlings coming up in the wrong place for you, can easily also be used. All of these provide you with an opportunity to cheaply create a wonderful present for someone else.

First things first you will need to obtain a number of pots either plastic ones left over from additions to the garden population, or from someone you know, or you can go out and purchase a pot plastic/ceramic/terracotta etc., to suit your needs. If the person you are giving the plant to is not a real gardener, then you might consider getting a pot with a waterwell in the base to increase the plants' chances of surviving.

Next, you need to begin looking for your plant material, so take a careful look around your garden at the soil level. Check out which plants are showing multiple stalks growing out of the ground. Or those sprawling plants where a branch has leaned over on to the ground and taken root along the branch, maybe one where a branch has become buried under the mulch.

Or one where there is a sucker growing from the soil a short distance from the parent plant. Another possibility is seedlings growing in the garden a distance from the parent plant material. Maybe there is a clump of plants or a big patch of bulbs where you can do some dividing.

Many of these plants benefit from being divided up or being allowed some more growing room in the particular area where you have taken away some material.

Different parts of Australia will have a differing range of plant species, which lend themselves to this form of self-propagation. If you can't find any plants that are doing this in your own garden, why not look at a friends or neighbours garden. Or you could maybe join forces and give a joint present using plants from another family member's garden. Or another possibility is to buy a plant in a pot that has several plants already established in it.

Divide that up before you use half in your own garden, and still have half to repot and give away. Even if you are not confident about your gardening skills you can still pick up cheap plants at the local market, school/church fair, garage sale etc. Repot them into a bigger or nicer pot for a fairly cheap present.

Another possibility is to multiplant a few different plants into a long or large round tub. This will create an instant garden on the move. Some themes you might consider here is herbs, indoor foliage, bulbs, annuals, alpine/rock, cacti/succulent or even patio gardens mixing annuals and perennials.

It is best to moisten the ground around the plant that you are going to work on well before you do the dividing, as this allows you to remove the maximum amount of root mass during the dividing process.

The first step is to divide the clump or cut away the joining branch to make the separate plant available. Then using a spade, fork or gardening trowel, dig as far out from the potential plant as practicable, because this will give you the biggest root mass possible.

Go down as far you believe you need to, (this will depend on such circumstances as size of new plant, species of original plant material, type of soil, other plant or landscaping material around the area, etc.). As gently as you can dig out the new plant. Shake off any excess soil and refill the resulting hole in the ground if necessary.

Prune back the foliage of the new plant to roughly equal size of the root mass, trying to protect some of the new foliage growth. Repot as soon as practicable, so that the roots do not dry out and die.

Another thing to consider is what sort of pot you are gong to plant into; if it is only a plastic pot then you do not need to prepare it beforehand. However if you are looking at painting it, then do this before you get digging.

When painting up pots, you will need to do some preparation work for the paint to stick properly. Plastic pots should have their surface roughened up with a bit of sandpaper. While some terracotta pots should have a primer applied to the outer surface before you paint them. Try not to get primer or paint onto the inside of the planter, because while most wont, there are still some paints which contain chemicals that may affect or contaminate the soil and plant over time.

Other possibilities for decorating up pots include simply gluing on bits and pieces including stones, tiles, buttons, sticks, shells, ornaments, ribbon, stickers and decals, etc. Other ways of decorating up a pot for the initial presentation is to wrap up just the pot (not the actual plant), using either wrapping paper, cellophane, material, a cheap teatowel or even hessian. Hold these wrappers in place with string, ribbon, bandana, scarf, etc.

Other possibilities for adding value to the potplant is to provide some growing information and name tags for the plant/s included. Other little quirks you might add include a personalised name tag, (Hi, my name is David the Diffenbachia . . . ), or a little watering indicator, miniature hand tools, small amounts of fertiliser, pot ornaments, watering can etc.

So as you can see, creating a very personal gift for just about anyone can easily be within the grasp of anyone. Why not go out into your garden and start thinking about what presents you can be preparing for Christmas this weekend.






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Feed your Gardens for Free

In Today's throwaway society, there is absolutely no need to go out and purchase mulch material for your garden, unless it is for the particular aesthetic appearance, "The Look", sake of the mulch material.

Were you aware that there are a number of mulching materials that you can obtain from around your own community that are free, and some of which can even be even delivered to you for nothing as well.

Impossible you might say. Well I mulch my gardens fairly heavily, and I never pay a cent for the mulch material. As a matter of fact, most of the mulch is willingly delivered to my home for nothing. As the former owners are only too glad to see the back of it, as it would cost them money, time and effort to find other ways of getting rid of it.

I also combine these outside sources of mulch with my own compost, weeds and other organic matter mixed through to achieve a great result in my garden, and so all that it costs me is time and effort.

So what am I talking about? While some of the below list is delivered free, other items I pick up myself, depending on time, circumstances, importance etc.

Grass Clippings from other people in the area or from lawn-mowing contractors.

Wood shavings from local wood turners and carvers, ( Do not use shavings from treated timber).

Small amounts of solid fill from friends who are excavating. This is to assist in raising garden beds, in my heavy clay soil.

Light prunings from shrubs which is shredded by me or put whole into garden

Heavier sticks and logs, which are turned into trellis, garden stakes, garden edges, seats, frames, log planters etc. while they slowly decay.

Newspaper, cardboard, non-rubber carpet underlay, and even carpet and carpet squares. Which is put under other mulch to prevent grass and weed regrowth

Animal manures sometimes mixed with straw from places like Racetracks and Showgrounds, Pony Clubs, Stables etc. I contact them well beforehand to see if any is available.

To this I also add my own weeds, throwing away some which can still be a potential problem, or burying them below the bottom most layer of mulch material to stop them regrowing.

Another item I add is any old potting mix from deceased plants or when repotting plants.

Being a fairly lazy gardener, I throw the material around a bit at a time, as they are available, and let nature mix them for me. On a couple of occasions I have received a bit too much wood shavings so these became path material between some of the garden beds, with a heavy underlay of newspapers. People even tell me that it looks and feels good underfoot.

Never put a large amount of fresh animal manure on any garden, as it will burn any plant around it. Be extremely sparing or let it age first for a few months before applying it to the garden.

I have been living in my new house for about fifteen months, and the mulch layer in all my gardens (there were no gardens originally), is about 10 cm or 4 inches deep. None of which I have paid for and little that I have had to even pick up for myself.

People are even starting to comment on how fast the plants in my gardens are growing in the local heavy black clay soils, and they are surprised when I tell them that I have never bothered to fertilise the plants. The reason for this is that the earliest laid mulch material, is now broken down into plant nutrients and is now feeding my plants as a plant nutrient soup aided by the soil life which has suddenly started appearing in my gardens.

Another benefit that has started to appear in the last few months is the arrival of insect eating wildlife into my garden. Predatory insects and birds are now visiting my gardens on a regular basis, where I saw none this time last year. Bees and butterflies are also starting to visit many of the plants, which have come into flower for the first time this year.

So what can you do to start locating your own supplies of free mulch material, well here are a number of suggestions.

Put a little sign near your gate, something along the lines of ‘Organic mulch required', or ‘Lawn clipping wanted'. There are sure to be a number of local people who are currently throwing theirs away in your community or even local area. Never mulch solely with grass clippings as they form an impenetrable layer that air and water cannot get through. Always mix it with other things to stop it ‘thatching', just like a roof over the soil.

See if you can get into contact with local people who are into woodturning and carving, or even local sawmills. And come to some arrangement about unpreserved wood shavings.

Check the local phonebook for local showgrounds/racetracks/stables etc, to find out if any have stable or manure waste to give away, for people willing to pick them up

In other words, start talking around the place that you are after mulch materials and they will soon start coming to you.

The only caution with using other peoples waste material is the chance that you might also import other peoples pests and weeds. I have rarely found it a problem because of heavy mulch on mulch routines. But it is possible.

One point being that when you first start applying mulch to your garden you may see some nitrogen deficiencies occur in some plants. This is because the organisms that are breaking down the mulch material are using up all the available resources of it during the initial breakdown. Once you have gotten past this time the old composted material provide more than enough nitrogen for future processes.

Another thing to be careful of is not to bury or mulch up against the stems of wanted plants, as it may cause further problems for your plants in rot problems around the collar of the stems.

So get out there and talk around the community, find the contacts, believe it or not they will be as grateful as you to solve their particular problems of waste reduction. As well as that, you may start making some new friendships out of the deal; I know I have.





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Create a Garden Office or Garden Studio in a Small Space

There are many people who love to spend most of their time in the garden. The concept of a garden office or garden studio is perfect for such kind of people. In today’s world many people work from their own home. It becomes very convenient for these people to own their own garden office. However, everyone may not have ample space for his or her garden office. In that case, they can take professional help to create their own garden office within a small area.

If you want a robust and secure garden office or garden studio you simply must purchase a product from a specialist company such as Garden Lodges. People who want to build their garden office within a small space normally resort to this method. People who generally work from home prefer using a garden office instead of a spare room. However, there are certain details that one should keep in mind while creating a garden office.

For creating a garden office or garden studio, it would be best if one has sufficient space. He should take into account all the requirements for building a garden office or garden studio. Proper insulation and security of the modular garden office has to be considered.

People often like to own a garden studio. Garden lodges are market leaders in this field. A person can design his garden office or garden studio as per his choice. He can opt for designing a traditional kind of a garden office or garden studio or opt for the modern type of garden office. However, a person has to take into consideration a lot of details while creating a garden studio within a small place.

People who have limited space to build their garden office or garden studio generally purchase smaller buildings. The most modern equipment can be installed into a garden office or garden studio. Micro pods from Garden Lodges based in the UK can also be used.




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Sustainable Agriculture

“Americans today spend less on food, as a percentage of disposable income, than any other industrialized nation, and probably less than any people in the history of the world.”
-Michael Pollan “The Omnivores Dilema

I had some time to kill. Waiting for a friend. I went into the nearby CVS hoping to find a magazine that discusses our current “Green” revolution. If only it really were. I quickly found a popular science magazine with a cover featuring “The Future of the Environment.” It covers some wonderful futuristic ideas for sustainability. The current reality though is that companies are buying Carbon credits for trees that have not yet been planted so they can evade the taxes meant to preserve our ecosystem. The FDA has turned the once powerful idea of Organic Certification into a very profitable marketing tool that provides little to no protection for our ecosystem.

The calories we are consuming require more and more calories for their production and therefore a bigger and bigger negative impact on the environment. I had the opportunity recently to travel to Northern California with the Culinary Institute of America. Our trip was part of the California Food & Wine Seminar in the interim of the seventh and eighth semesters of the Bachelors program. Each student chose their own focus for a four page research paper to be part of a larger four person group project. My focus is on the differences between Organic and Sustainable. There is currently no Sustainable Certification recognized by the USDA. The "Organic" certification is designed to favor the commercial farm instead of the original virtues behind the organic movement.
Take for example somewhere like Earthbound Organics. “Organic lettuce.” Twenty thousand acres of machine fed, pruned and harvested lettuce. Their size alone forces them to spray with layers of “Organic” pesticides. Mono-cropping such as this removes specific nutrients faster from the earth. Oil by-products are then required to “fix” the soil. After using copious amounts of fossil fuel power instead of man power they can sell their product down a long chain and across long distances only to undersell the guy who grew his sustainably down the street from where it is being sold. The simple fact that a field can be injected with fertilizers to make products grow does not mean the land is being sustained.
Produce grown with synthetic fertilizers is less nutritious than if grown with composted soil. I almost wanted to say natural soil there, but the term natural has become dishonest as there is no regulation guiding the use of the term. Today you can buy all sorts of “All Natural” products but the term is only a marketing tool. Science has proven that these products are not nearly as healthy as they claim to be. The laws of false advertising do not seem to apply to the food we eat. Is not our health and survival the primary concern in life? With the frantic pace of the world economy, many age-old values are being lost. As Wendell Berry says in his essay “The Idea of A Local Economy:”
A total economy is one in which everything—“life forms,” for instance,—or the “right to pollute” is “private property” and has a price and is for sale. In a total economy significant and sometimes critical choices that once belonged to individuals or communities become the property of corporations. A total economy, operating internationally, necessarily shrinks the powers of state and national governments, not only because those governments have signed over significant powers to an international bureaucracy or because political leaders become the paid hacks of the corporations but also because political processes—and especially democratic processes—are too slow to react to unrestrained economic and technological development on a global scale. And when state and national governments begin to act in effect as agents of the global economy, selling their people for low wages and their people’s products for low prices, then the rights and liberties of citizenship must necessarily shrink. A total economy is an unrestrained taking of profits from the disintegration of nations: communities, households, landscapes, and ecosystems. It licenses symbolic or artificial wealth to “grow” by means of the destruction of the real wealth of all the world…

This may seem like a pessimistic view but it is all too true in the modern market. This battle has been fought for decades and will probably continue for many more.
The organic revolution began back in the nineteen forties with Organic Gardening and Farming magazine. Its goal was to move away from the idea that plants only require NPK (Nitrogen-Phosphorus-Potassium) and instead require the full spectrum of life death and decay that is the composting process. On April 20, 1969 a group known as the Robin Hood Commission took over a plot of land belonging to the University of California. Their goal was to create a model organic agrarian system. They would be raising a truly sustainable system and distributing its produce to the poor. It was this type of awareness that empowered the organic revolution. Much more than just a standardized set of fertilizers it represented an attunement with the essential needs of society.
When the organic standards list was released in 1997, the list of acceptable products included genetically modified crops as well as irradiation and sewage sludge. Today the list has been revised to allow such synthetic additives as ascorbic acid and xanthan gum. Bleach and ethanol are both on the list or permissible products as well. Many regulations for the treatment of animals for food have been set in such a vague manner as to have no impact whatsoever. For example the USDA finally ruled that dairy cows must have “access to pasture” in order to be considered organic. Sounds nice, but it means simply that at some point in the cows life the owner must provide them access to somewhere outside of a building for a minute or so. The same is true for chickens. Organic free-range chickens means that they are not kept in individual cages but instead in massive layers with access to the outside. Michael Pollan visited Petaluma Poultry and gave this description upon visiting what he says look like military barracks:
“I donned what looked like a hooded white hazmat suit—since the birds receive no antibiotics yet live in close confinement, the company is ever worried about infection, which could doom a whole house overnight—and stepped inside. Twenty thousand birds moved away from me as one, like a ground hugging white cloud, clucking softly. The air was warm and humid and smelled powerfully of ammonia; the fumes caught in my throat. Twenty thousand is a lot of chickens…sipping from waterers suspended from the ceiling, [nibbling] organic food from elevated trays connected by tubes to a silo outside, and [doing] pretty much everything chickens do except step outside the little doors located at either end of the shed.”

The doors lead into a fifteen foot wide grassy yard outside the shed—which none of the chickens have ever been seen in. This is far from the picturesque farm depicted on most organic products and far from what most people would consider truly organic. At the 2000 inaugural speech, USDA Secretary Glickman went out of his way to point out that “The organic label is a marketing too, it is not a statement about food safety. Nor is ‘organic’ a value judgment about nutrition or quality.” So if the government is not going to provide us with a reasonable food system what can we do?
Education plays an essential role in the future of sustainability and agriculture. Billions of dollars are spent annually convincing civilization that they want to live on Big Mac’s and carbonated corn soda. The reality is by the time we are actually old enough to be in charge of our own food supply we have been fairly well saturated with these messages. Therefore, it seems to be more prudent to bring the youth to farms and involve them with their own food choices. They then can understand what they are eating as well how we can produce it in synchronization with nature. Once that stream of thought expands into enough people, we will return to understanding the earth and how we can live in symbiotic agricultural harmony. Places like the Center for Land Based Learning (CLBL) and the Farm Based Education Association provide such experience and are essential to the future of our food system and health. The CLBL focuses on High School students in order to shape the way people think about the earth its role in the production of our food system. Some of these people may not go into the industry. Some may become farmers themselves. Some could even become the politicians who design a future farm bill. With our current agri-business model, farming is becoming just like any corporation where the bottom line is the only thing in sight. The business people do not know what organic really means, much less do they care about their impact on the earth. It may be difficult to argue with the millions of dollars these businesses bring home but if these ideas are imparted at an early age we may have a better chance to realize the destruction that comes with that profit and therein a better chance to really save the earth and the people it supports.




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Tomato Basil Roll Ups

That Sweet Smell of Basil

The dark green leaves and sweet pungent aroma of basil are unmistakable during the summer months. Basil is one of the easiest, large producing herbs to grow. Nothing compares to the wonderful sweet flavor of fresh basil. The most popular variety is sweet basil which has large curled leaves that look comparable to baby spinach. Spicy basil is another common variety that has much smaller leaves with pointed ends and a spicier fall flavor. If managed properly by plucking the stalks before flower production, basil will grow new leaves rapidly. It can even be brought in during the winter for year round enjoyment. Sprinkling a bit of basil into pasta sauce, scrambled eggs, a sandwich, or a garden salad are great ways to enjoy it's fantastic flavor. There are countless other ways to enjoy the plentiful fresh basil including this recipe.


Basil is the Tomato's Number One Fan!
Basil and tomato are destined to be consumed with one another. They compliment each other extraordinarily well and are one of the most popular food parings. Use fresh basil and tomato from the garden or farmers market in this simple summer recipe.

Tomato Basil Roll Ups


A hand full of large freshly picked sweet basil leaves
Large fully ripe beef stake or heirloom tomatoes
Package of large flour or wheat tortillas of your choice
Extra virgin olive oil
Ball or log of soft fresh mozzarella cheese (This can be found at your local grocery store. Look for soft mozzarella that is stored in a brine or water for freshness, not the brick or shredded mozzarella.)
Course sea salt
Course ground pepper
Optional garlic powder or minced fresh garlic
1 box of toothpicks


Begin by rinsing the basil and tomato. Cut the tomato into thick slices and then in half so the will fit well in the tortilla. Slice the mozzarella cheese. This can be difficult since the cheese often sticks to the knife. Make sure the knife is sharp and has a bit of olive oil on it. Lay out the first tortilla on a clean, dry cutting board. Place 1 layer of basil down the center of the tortilla. I usually use about 4 large leaves to start. Now place the mozzarella cheese slices onto the basil in the same fashion followed by a layer of tomatoes. Drizzle on a bit of olive oil and sprinkle a dash of salt, pepper, and garlic to your liking. Place one more layer of basil onto the top. The basil being next to the tortilla will help prevent sogginess. Tightly roll the tortilla like a burrito and hold in place. Place toothpicks through the roll about every inch or so to secure it. Cut the roll into 1 inch slices in between each toothpick. Serve with toothpicks for easy eating. Make as many as desired. Each tortilla should make 4-6 rolls. This is a quick simple snack or appetizer with a delicious gourmet feel. Enjoy!




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Make a Basket Trellis

Make a Basket Trellis


Decide from what materials the trellis will be constructed. Common trellis materials are treated wood, copper or even PVC pipe.


Purchase copper pipe and pressure treated wood at any home improvement store such as Lowe's or Home Depot. Have the store cut the lengths of pipe and wood to size.


Drill four 5/16-inch holes partially through the top post cap to affix the four pieces of copper pipe.


Continue to drill a 5/8-inch hole through both ends of each piece of wood about 1/2-inch from the bottom.


Slide the pieces of wood down alongside the copper pipe to a point where the smaller ones are first and larger further down.


Bolt the pieces together with appropriate hardware and place in the project area.


Create as many of these simple trellises as the project calls for.


Affix as many baskets as desired by hanging from the wood slat support pieces.


Things You’ll Need:
Copper piping
Pressure treated 1-inch by 2-inch wood (as needed)
One pressure treated post cap
Wire
Bolts
Tips & Warnings
Plant morning glory vines along a trellis for another attractive look.
Use a trellis to hold and nurture a grapevine.
Twist the copper piping into differing shapes and adhere the wood in uncommon ways for a trellis with a different style.
Use all caution when using power tools and saws. Wear eye protection and gloves.




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Water conservation

The green industry is constantly focusing more and more on environmentally friendly production practices and products. More and more companies are developing new innovative products to target the environmentally focused consumer. Whether backed by sales targets or quotas positive change and more "green" products is good relating to the environment. Many of these new innovative products can even help you, the end consumer save money Want to start saving today? Here’s an affordable and eco-friendly idea: have you considered adopting rain barrels into your backyard or home decor?


So what is a rain barrel?

Rain barrels are basically rain collectors that are placed at the base of your down spouts around your home. If you have ever noticed how much rain water pours out of these spouts during a severe storm, you can see the potential that this product offers. And the advantages are simple: during a storm these barrels fill up, when it comes time to water your grass again, you can attach your hose directly to the barrel. These rain barrels have the ability to hold a significant amount of water, many can hold between 60-100 gallons! With this product you save in numerous ways: watering grass is expensive, you will notice a drastic decrease in your monthly water bill with the usage of this product.

Furthermore, grass replacement can be expensive and labor intensive. The use of a rain barrel to water your lawn ensures that your lawn is watered, even during a dry spell (when water restrictions are in effect), which keeps your grass staying healthy and green. Lastly, the accumulation of water around the foundation of a home can be risky. Many of the down spouts found around homes, direct water into a pool, which then seeps into the ground and can potentially cause major problems with leaky basements and water damaged foundations.


Rain barrels are not only enviro-wise, but some new models incorporate a modern look, which can make for a very stylish piece of garden décor for your backyard or property landscape. Take the positive step towards environmental stability, conserve water, and have a positive impact on the environment. Make a rain barrel a part of your home today!



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Organic Horticulture

Organic gardening can very well pass as a pursuit for some individuals and this can be true if you are the type of person who has the passion for gardening. This may not be everybody's cup of tea so think yourself lucky if you are amongst those who can grow green things out of the blue. Organic gardening has different aspects to it, which you must be familiar with, for instance, what type of dirt you have, what you want to grow on them, and how you might tend for the plants.

All this may seem puzzling to a beginner but if you are an experienced hand, then these aspects are already well-known to you and you could comfortably start the organic way to produce things. This method of gardening is harder than regular horticulture as much more drive and labor is necessary to do it this way.

The basic rule of organic gardening is that you will only use synthetic products when it is absolutely needed. This includes using horticulture components like pesticides and fertilizer. Procure all that you need for your horticulture from the earth and then use them for your efforts. This would enable you to produce anything you wish, like flowers, vegetables or any other green you wish. Hopefully you are getting what we are trying to say, and that is this is one way to work in conjunction with nature.

If you are wondering if this is at all feasible, it is, and you are there to make it. It is feasible to make your own garden compost from the materials of the garden. You could conveniently use, fallen leaves and dead branches and animal muck but a lot would be based on the type used and other factors.

Organic gardening wants, as much as feasible, to stay away from pesticides. Usually handpicking of several worms and other insects is not feasible so go to the local store and ask for organic pesticide, which are easily available and ready to use. The traditional way is to keep a vigil on your garden and as soon as some insects are located, kill them. Go for organic pesticide, when things tend to go out of hand and it is no longer manageable. You can also try to bring in the animals that feed on those pests. This way, you'll have some help in picking those pests up and this also helps the other animals satisfy their hunger.

As is evident, all these things take up a lot of time and unless you can devote as much time to this hobby, or get someone who can partner the responsibilities, it is wise to drop the idea altogether till such times that you are more organized with manpower and time. Organic gardening really entails a lot of hard work so you had better be prepared to perspire in the process. When you are feeling down and out during your horticulture adventure, just think of the benefits you are returning to nature. This is a simple way to give thanks to nature for all the good that has been gifted to you since birth.



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Herb Gardening

Herb gardening is becoming more and more popular every day, and for a good reason.
Herbs have practical value, serve a purpose, and with herb gardening you can actually use your plants.

When most people think of herb gardening they automatically think of cooking, but herbs are also grown for their pleasant aroma and their beauty.

One important part of herb gardening is drying the herbs for use during the winter months, especially if you plan on cooking with them. First the tops of leafy herbs have to be cut, washed, and hung up for the water to evaporate. Then, tie stems together and hang up in a paper bag to dry. After two to three weeks they must be removed; crumble the leaves, dry them out in the oven, and store in a glass jar.

One of the most common herbs gown in herb gardening is basil. Dark Opal and regular green basil are beautiful additions to any garden and often used as decoration. Dark Opal has light pink flowers and dark red leaves. Basil isnt just used for its looks; it is used for extra flavor in tomato juices and pastes.

Chives are very petite looking and resemble a blade of grass. They are much stronger than they look, however, and will grow well through a drought and a drought. Their toughness and sturdiness makes Chives a perfect plant for herb gardening, especially if the gardener doesnt want plants that require a lot of hassle. Chives are good used in salads, egg dishes, and many different sauces.

Mint is also very simple to grow and is good to use in mint jelly, mint juleps, lemonade, and any other kind of fruity drink. Mint is also good in herb gardening for its unique minty smell.

Two herbs that appear in nearly everyones herb garden are thyme and sage. Both of these herb gardening favorites are used for flavoring soups, chicken, turkey, pork, and other sausages. Sage is also grown sometimes for its beautiful blue spiked flowers.

Lavender is probably the best smelling herb in all of herb gardening and is often used in candles, as a perfume scent, and to improve the smell in linen chests. The light purple flowers smell absolutely lovely.

Other types of herbs often grown in herb gardening include borage (used in salads), chervil (used in egg dishes), sweet marjoram (flavors lamb, fish, salad, and soup), sesame (flavors crackers, cookies, and bread), and dill (flavors meats and used in pickles). Herb gardening allows gardeners to use herbs from their own garden for cooking, looks, and smell. Herb gardening will produce much fresher herbs with more flavor than store-bought herbs, and are a lot cheaper.



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Organic Gardening

Organic gardening is a method of growing plants without the use of synthetic chemicals, including pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers. Instead, organic, or once-living, materials are used to naturally cultivate the growing plants.

Organic materials include leaves, grasses, food scraps, agricultural crop residue and other natural materials.

By promoting natural diversity and biological cycles in farming, organic gardening methods strive to create gardens that are self-sufficient and sustainable. Converting a garden to produce vegetables and fruit organically is a long-term process; it happens gradually, typically requiring several years, rather than in one single growing season. Organic gardening sometimes takes a great deal of work, but the rewards can be found in the chemical-free bounty of the harvest. Take a look at the basic process of organic gardening.


Planning an Organic Garden
The first step in creating an organic garden is to consider its purpose. Will the garden support an entire family, or will extra produce be grown and sold? Keeping the garden’s purpose in mind, a location should be chosen that is convenient to the home but big enough to meet the needs of the gardener. It is best to choose a location with well-drained soil that is near a water supply and not shaded by buildings or trees. Some gardeners plot a layout of the garden on paper before planting. The crops that will be planted in each row should be planned in advance.

Organic plant production depends on healthy and fertile soil, so the soil should be amended as necessary before planting to ensure quality. Decayed plant material is essential for producing fertile soil. This organic matter, when added to the soil, can slow erosion and offer a good environment for earthworms and other beneficial microorganisms. To ensure that the soil is healthy before planting, aim for 3 to 5 percent organic matter soil content. Be sure to mix the organic material into the soil at least three weeks before planting, because the organic material can interfere with the growth of the seeds if it is not completely rotted and incorporated into the soil before planting.


Planting an Organic Garden
In an organic garden, seeds must not have been chemically treated. Seeds for some crops, however, may not be available in non-treated form. In that case, if the grower is certified organic, he or she will need authorization from the certifier before buying the seeds. To achieve certified organic status, an application must be made to the National Organic Program through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. For more information, visit National Organic Program Web site. For individual gardeners who are not certified, it comes down to a personal choice as to whether to use seeds that have been treated with chemicals.

Good choices for seeds include varieties that are best able to resist disease and insects. Plants that mature early are also good choices, because they allow less time for any diseases or insect damage to take place; by the same token, late-maturing plants are more susceptible to these common afflictions.

When planning and planting, keep in mind that some plants naturally can be used to the gardener’s advantage. For example, if the gardener plants dill on the opposite side of the garden from tomatoes, tomato hornworms will be drawn away from the tomato plants because they are more attracted to the dill. Although this approach may offer only a small measure of protection for the tomatoes, any advantage is a good one. Likewise, sage can work to repel the cabbage moths and black flea beetles that attack cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli, so a gardener can gain a slight advantage if sage is planted with these crops.


Organic Gardening Fertilizers
Animal manure is the best fertilizer for organic gardening. The manure needs to be partially broken-down, however, before it is applied to the plants. For best results, the manure should be aged for 30 days to allow for breakdown; otherwise, it can be composted. To find out more about managing manure, read the Ohio State University’s guide to Manure Management.

The benefits of animal manure can be found in the nutrients contained within the manure. Though the nutrient content varies greatly depending on the source of the manure (the type of animal and its age, physical condition and diet all play a role), some level of the following nutrients can be expected: nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium and calcium. Fresh manure should not be applied to growing plants, or within 120 days of harvest time.

Compost is another good organic fertilizer. Compost is made from the decomposition of organic materials, including lawn trimmings, crop residues, food scraps and wood chips. A compost pile is made of alternating layers of organic materials that heat up in the sun after two or three days, though it takes between two months and a year for the compost to be ready, depending on the season, materials used and the skill of the person doing the composting. Every three to four weeks during that period, the compost must be turned with a pitchfork to allow the different materials to mix into a uniform fertilizer.


Organic Garden Mulching
Mulch, which is usually composed of lawn clippings, wood shavings, pine straw or sawdust, is placed on the surface of the soil, around the plants. Mulch allows the soil to conserve water and nutrients, reduce erosion and weed growth, moderate temperature and reduce rot on fruit that is caused by soil. Plastic mulch, which comes in a variety of colors, also can be used.


Controlling Weeds, Insects and Diseases in an Organic Garden
Mulching is recommended to control weeds, as are hoeing and shallow cultivation. Controlling insects and diseases by natural means, however, can be more difficult. Prevention is important because once an infestation occurs; it can be hard to control using only organic methods. Therefore, it is important to plant as early as possible using resistant varieties of plants and only seeds and transplants from disease-free plants. Also, clean up any plant refuse as soon as possible, water in the morning to avoid wet plants at night and get rid of diseased plants before the problem can spread to healthy plants. Insects can be picked from plants by hand, or natural predators can be introduced to the area. Some organic gardeners also use sprays that contain organic or natural plant poisons that can help keep insects at bay.

The National Gardening Association maintains a large bank of knowledge about gardening, and can help novices and those more experienced with tips, strategies, and support. Visit the National Gardening Association for more information.


Organic Gardening Certification
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulates the standards for organic farming. Certification must be obtained to sell organic crops with the claim that they are organically produced. The USDA National Organic Program accredits the agents who inspect organic products and certifies that they meet the standards established by the USDA.



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Lunar Gardening

Introduction
Man has long used the sun to guide agricultural activities. The sun has a profound effect on plants. The position of the sun relative to the earth determines the season of the year which in turn determines which plants will flower and which will bear fruit.

How it Works
Although the mass of the moon is much smaller than that of the sun, yet the moon is so close to the earth which causes its gravitational force to have a noticeable effect on the water content of the earth. The effect of the moon’s gravitational force clearly shows in its influence on oceans and sees in the form of ebbs and tides. The great amount of water in oceans and sees makes this phenomenon clearly noticeable to humans. Yet the moon also has the same gravitational force on water containing entities on the earth of smaller magnitude. Since the soil and plants both contain water, yet on a much smaller scale, the moon’s gravitational force pulls on the water content in both the soil and plants yet on a much smaller scale that can be barely noticeable by us. However, we can notice the effect of the moon’s gravitational force by observing plants and their growth patterns along the different phases of the moon.


Waning Moon
27th of the lunar month: New leaves start to show up.


During the time of the vanishing moon, the amount of water being pulled by the moon’s gravitational force is minimal. This leads water to sink deep into the soil and not at its surface. Roots tend to extend during such a period in search for water deep into the soil. At the same time, new leaves start forming to increase the length of the stem as a result of the increase in root length.


Waxing Moon
15th of the lunar month: Seeds start to germinate.


During the full moon, the gravitational force of the moon is at its apex. This leads water to be pulled to the top of the soil. Therefore, this is the best time for seeds to germinate, since they get the most amount of moisture.


3ed of the lunar month:


Beyond the Phases
Besides observing the moon phases, every 9 days the moon passes by a different sky constellation.



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Firewood

One cord of dry hardwood is roughly equivalent to 150 gallons of heating oil. Use that to estimate how much you will need. You can use the Smithers method to figure out other ratios. All three of these are equivalent to 1 cord.

1- 230 gallon LP gas
2- 21,000 cubic feet natural gas
3- 6,158 kwh electricity

Freshly chopped firewood has up to 50% water content and won't burn in your fireplace. First, you must let the firewood season, which allows the moisture to escape. When the wood gets down below 20% water content, it's ready to burn.
Steps

Chop the wood. It's best to get the pieces down to no more than 6-8 inches in diameter. 18" long is a common size. Store the wood outdoors. Stack the wood so it isn't sitting directly on the ground or right up against a wall. If you don't have a wood shed, cut two saplings to use as a the base to keep the firewood from contact with the ground as shown in the image above. Pallets are also a great alternative. If you don't have or don't want to make side supports as shown here, you can stack the ends by turning the direction of wood 90 degrees with each layer and the end stacks will be self supporting.

Allow space between your stack and a wall to allow air to move. Ideally you would have a moisture barrier such as a tarp below the wood, and/or have it spaced up off the ground to allow air flow.
Ensure that the top of the wood is covered to allow rain to run off without soaking the wood, but the ends of the stack are uncovered to allow air to circulate and moisture to escape.
Bark acts like a lid on firewood. On split wood, stack the wood with the bark side on the bottom to allow the wood to dry faster. If you are storing the wood without cover, stacking with the bark side on top will prevent some of the rain from soaking into the wood.

Energy content for one dried full cord, in thouands of BTUs. The hardest species are at the top of the list.


Rock Elm

Shagbark Hickory

White Oak

Bitternut Hickory

Sugar Maple

Beech

Red Oak

Yellow Birch

Red Elm

White Ash

White Elm

Red Maple

Tamarack

Black Cherry

White Birch

Black Ash

Green Ash

Silver Maple

Manitoba Maple

Large Tooth Aspen

Hemlock

Trembling Aspen

Butternut

Balsam Poplar

White Pine

Basswood

White Cedar

White Spruce

Balsam Fir


Tips

The duration of seasoning depends on the wood and for deciduous trees, when the tree was felled. The sap of deciduous trees moves to the roots in the winter, so trees felled in winter have a much lower moisture content to begin with, and so will be seasoned more quickly. In general, pine and other soft woods require around 6 months to season, while hardwoods such as oak require a year.
Place the stack of wood where it will get the most sun all day long.
There are two theories on the covering of wood during the seasoning process. You must decide for yourself which theory you wish to follow. One theory is stated above--cover the wood to prevent the rain and snow from entering the center of the stack and gathering there. However, within the firewood community, another theory holds that you do not have to cover your wood at all--ever. Just leave it out there in the weather and it will season just as well as if you covered it. This theory has its supporters and they are quite sure it works just as well as covering your pile.
Ash can be burned immediately. It does not need to be seasoned. Oak needs a year but maple can often be seasoned in 8 months.
In general, pines and evergreens should never be burned in a fireplace or woodstove as they deposit much more creosote in the chimney. Stick to burning hardwoods. Use pine in outdoor firepits or only in true emergencies.
Over-dried wood will have less energy as volatile esters in the wood evaporate. These waxy substances have a great deal of heat energy, so it is a mistake to think that longer is necessarily better.


Warnings

Be careful chopping wood. It's easier than you think to injure yourself with that axe. (Actually, accidents with axes are one of the leading causes of injuries in homes where homeowners provide their own wood.)
It is not a good idea to burn pine products in your home. Pine products, due to the resin in them, burn very hot, crackle and spit a lot throwing burning particles around, and the pine tar in the combustion products coats the inside of the flue, leading to a potential fire hazard.
Be wary of snakes, spiders and/or other potentially dangerous creatures taking up residence in your wood pile.
Wood should not be stored closer than twenty feet away from your home. In addition, the ground should be prepared with anti termite protection and should be treated regularly to prevent termites and carpenter ants from forming a home in your wood pile.
When chopping wood, wear goggles and baseball catcher's shin guards to protect yourself from the axe entering your shins on a missed swing.
Never completely cover the wood with a tarp. It will serve to trap the moisture that is escaping from the wood and will rot the wood rather than dry it. The moisture must be allowed to escape the pile.
Be careful not to bring your seasoned firewood into your home too soon before actually buring it. You do not want the insects that have gone into winter hibernation inside your pieces of wood to awaken and spread into your living area. It is best to bring in only one day or nights supply at a time.
Do not burn unseasoned (green) or even partially seasoned wood in your stove or fireplace as this will cause creosote build-up in your chimney which could lead to a chimney fire.
Do not stack wood higher than your own height. Being hit on the head by a log falling can cause serious injury.


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Organics

With trends setting the high pace of consumerism, it takes extra attention to be sure you are actually "getting what you paid for". Avoiding being sold products that are more expensive, but provide no further value, or products with labels that mean nothing, grows even more challenging as the organic movement is popularized, and unscrupulous businesses use this latest trend to maximize profits. With so many labels like, Organically Grown, All Natural and Free Range, exploring The Truth About…Organics, practicing critical thinking, and staying informed will save you from wasting precious time, energy, and money.

What The Truth About... Does
The Truth About… Organics explores practicing critical thinking to separate fact from fiction to make important choices, informed choices. We do this by offering expert perspectives from a wide range of backgrounds including authors, restaurateurs, eco-advisors, salon owners, organic farmers and global produce wholesalers, filmmakers, TV show hosts, skeptics, pesticide scientists, researchers, natural beauty products manufacturers, and even a "Green Guru". These experts offer their considerations and recommendations on how to be efficient and effective in making a difference in your quality of life, safety, and health.

Through The Truth About…Truth Tools and expert interviews, they facilitate a review of existing beliefs and questioning of reflex reactions, interpretations and conclusions about organics.

Benefits
Through the exploration of The Truth About… Organics, there are a variety of possible benefits available.

Find satisfaction in cultivating resources and making informed choices you can feel good about.
Identify meaningful certifications as well as be vigilant and watchful with misleading or fraudulent labeling.
Discover ways to save money when buying organic food as well as how organic can actually be less expensive than non organic.
Clarity on the costs and benefits of options and choices.
Resistance to stress and financial drain of illness and disease.


Questions Explored


Is Organics all or nothing? Do I have to go all out and change my whole life so drastically?
What are the most significant considerations around organic foods? What do I need to know?
What does organic mean? What does it mean to me?
Are there ways that buying organic products can actually save money?
How can I better read the variety of food labels being used and filter out empty or false claims?
How might I participate in collective change or influence legislation from the local to federal levels?
Is there an expert recommended list of most important foods to be eaten organically?
Where does food come from and what resources does it takes to produce, deliver, and discard.


Assumptions Examined


"Organic is pesticide free".
"Cheaper/faster is better."
"I have no options."
"If they sell it, it must be safe."
"Organics are for hippies."
"I can't afford to buy organic"


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The Guide to recycling

HOW ARE ALUMINIUM CANS RECYCLED?

· The aluminium cans thrown into recycle-bins by the consumer are collected and transported to the treatment plant.
· In the treatment plant, aluminium is sorted, cleaned and made ready for reprocessing.
· They are then turned into molten aluminium through a re-melt process. This is done to remove the unwanted coatings and paintings present in the can.
· After that, the large blocks of aluminium, called the ingots are made. It is estimated that it takes 1.6 million aluminium cans to make an ingot.
· To give aluminium great strength and flexibility, these ingots are taken to the mills and are rolled into sheets.
· These rolled sheets are then used to make aluminium products such as cans, wrappers etc.
· The interesting fact is that it takes mere 6 weeks to complete all these processes and the aluminium cans will be back in the shelves.

FACTS:
Recycling one kilogram of aluminium can save up to 8 kilograms of bauxite, four kilograms of chemical products and 14 kilowatt hours of electricity.
Anything made of aluminium can be recycled repeatedly: not only cans, but aluminium foil, plates and pie molds, window frames, garden furniture and automotive components are melted down and used to make the same products again. Used aluminium cans can be recycled to make new aluminium cans, aluminium windows can be recycled to make new aluminium windows and old aluminium engine blocks to make new ones. The recycling rate for aluminium cans is already above 70% in some countries.
Aluminium beverage cans can be profitably recycled by individuals and groups and most countries have a national can recycling association which offers advice, support, and can put collectors in touch with purchasing organizations.
Aluminium is the only packaging material that more than covers the cost of its own collection and processing at recycling centers.
Aluminium will never loose its properties no matter the number of times it has been recycled. This means that aluminium can be recycled forever.


HOW IS GLASS RECYCLED?

The glass which is disposed in the rubbish bin will reach the landfills along with all other waste.
Glass is recycled in all the glass banks around the globe.
Many supermarkets have glass-recycling banks, enabling you to recycle glass on your weekly shop.
Most home recycle bins, provided by your local council, usually accept glass.
Glass collected at the curbside is usually color separated on the vehicle or is sold as mixed glass for color separation or for use in alternative markets.
Glass from pubs and clubs is usually collected color separated in wheeled bins, but often it is collected in mixed bins due to lack of space.
Glass is usually separated into three colors. Brown, green and clear.
Recycled glass contains contaminants which must be removed before it is used to make new containers. Metal, paper, plastic, organics, ceramic and pyro-ceramic must all be removed. This is done using manual inspection and high-tech equipment utilizing metal detectors, vacuums, crushers, screens, lasers, digital cameras and even x-rays to detect and remove contamination.
Once the recycled glass has been cleaned and prepared it is mixed with raw materials and the whole process of glass product manufacturing begins again.
Recycling glass mainly constitutes of 6 major steps:
Ø Dumping Glass
Ø Glass Collection
Ø Commercial collection
Ø Removing contaminants
Ø Container making
Ø Alternative uses.


FACTS

Currently we landfill around 1,400,000 tonnes of glass each year. This is a real lost opportunity!
100% of recycled glass can be used to make new glass bottles and jars, without any loss in quality.
Green bottles are made with up to 90% recycled glass content.
Can you believe that glass recycling in 2003 saved enough energy to launch 10 space shuttle missions?
HOW IS PAPER RECYCLED AT HOME?

To recycle paper, several pieces of scrap paper are collected.
The collected scrap paper is torn into small pieces and is put into large buckets. If you need the recycled paper to be in color, just add small pieces of colored scrap paper in the bucket.
Then one gallon of warm water along with a tablespoon of bleach is poured into the bucket.
Now more water is added to cover the paper pieces completely.
The scrap paper should be allowed to soak for atleast one hour.
Next, place about one cup of soaked paper into the blender. Add two more cups of bleach water into the blender, too. Blend this paper and water mixture on high. If it doesn't blend easily, you need to add more water to the blender. This forms the slurry.
Pour the slurry into another bucket and repeat the process until all of the paper has been blended.
Different paper products like cardboards, newsprints, office papers are made by adding suitable materials to the slurry.
The slurry is spread using large rollers into large thin sheets.
The wet paper is then left to dry, and is rolled up in to sheets, ready to be cut.


FACTS:

To produce each week's Sunday newspapers, 500,000 trees must be cut down.
If all our newspaper was recycled, we could save about 250,000,000 trees each year!
The average American uses seven trees a year in paper, wood, and other products made from trees. This amounts to about 2,000,000,000 trees per year!
Each ton (2000 pounds) of recycled paper can save 17 trees, 380 gallons of oil, three cubic yards of landfill space, 4000 kilowatts of energy, and 7000 gallons of water. This represents a 64% energy savings, a 58% water savings, and 60 pounds less of air pollution!
The construction costs of a paper mill designed to use waste paper is 50 to 80% less than the cost of a mill using new pulp.
Approximately 1 billion trees worth of paper are thrown away every year in the U.S.

HOW TO RECYCLE PLASTIC?
There are over 50 different types of plastic that are in use today. However, the mostly used plastics are HDPE, PVC and PET.
It is good to deposit the waste plastic bottles at the local recycling banks.
The plastic bottles should be cleaned initially, before taking them for recycling.
Purchasing those containers that your residential recycling program won’t accept must be avoided.
You can seek the help of your county’s department of public works or other recycling centers to determine what type of plastic to recycle and where to take them for recycling.
Crush the plastic containers to save space in your recycling bin.
The plastic bottles should be deposited in the recycle bins. Throwing away the plastic bottles in the trash should be avoided.
Many of the recyclers do not recycle all kinds of plastics. It is necessary to find out what kind of program your community has, for recycling plastics.
Remember to remove all the labels and caps from the plastic bottles before you send them for recycling.
Follow your community’s instructions on what to do with your plastic bottles. Most often there is a special curbside collection for recycling, but otherwise take them to your local Bottle-Bank.


FACTS


1. Americans use a whooping 2,500,000 plastic bottles every hour. And the sad news is that most of those used bottles reach the landfills.

2. Recycling plastic saves twice much energy as burning it in an incinerator.

3. Plastic bags and other plastic garbage thrown into the ocean kill as many as 1,000,000 sea creatures every year.

4. Americans throw away 25,000,000 plastic beverage bottles every hour.


HOW TO RECYCLE ASBESTOS?

Asbestos is mostly used in UK as a building material. Much of the asbestos from buildings is now being removed. However, tonnes of asbestos still remain to be removed. Asbestos dust is dangerous when inhaled. Hence special care has to be taken while removing asbestos.


Basically there are three types of asbestos that are in use today. White, blue and brown.
The fibers with which the asbestos is made gets disturbed during the removal of asbestos. Moreover, these fibers are very much harmful if inhaled.
Using face masks and hand gloves is advisory while handling asbestos.
Packaging of asbestos should be done carefully before transportation. The asbestos should be kept damp and contained in plastic bags while transporting, to reduce airborne fibers.
Most of the councils readily accept asbestos at their household recycling centers.
You can seek the advice of your local council to get assistance in asbestos recycling.
Few companies provide certain services to remove asbestos safely.
A few precautions has to be taken for safe handling of asbestos:
Ø Wear a dust mask approves for use with asbestos.

Ø A plastic sheet could be spread out to collect the dust.

Ø This dust should be cleaned with a damp cloth, which should be sealed in a plastic bag while still damp.

Ø The asbestos material should be dampened to prevent dust escaping.

Ø Asbestos should be removed in sheets or components. Breaking up of the asbestos products should be avoided.



FACTS


1. About 15,000 metric tons of asbestos was used in the United States in 1999; most was imported from Canada.

2. In the past, asbestos was used in around 3,000 products manufactured worldwide, most commonly in the construction, car manufacturing and textile industries.


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GOING GREEN - IT'S EASY!

Going Green is not only the "buzz" right now but is something that everyone should be pursuing. Not only because we need to correct the mistakes of man's greed, but because it is the way things were intended by our Creator. Since there are no specific standards that define eco-terms like "organic", "natural", "pure", fragrance-free" and "healthy" many companies often use these words for marketing purposes to gain advantage. Don't be fooled by products that "look or sound" green. Read labels carefully and research ingredients that are not familiar to you. Remember that just because something begins with a plant or natural ingredient doesn't mean that the end result is really "green". The processes involved in getting from the beginning to the end can involve chemicals and toxic substances. Research "green" products and buy from those that are truthful in their advertising practices.
Going Green is not only good for the planet but also helps to ensure a healthy environment for our children and their children. Hopefully future generations will look back with thanksgiving because of how we taught their parents, by example, the importance of responsibility in preserving our living environments and the planet.

How about adding health and wellness to all your green endeavors? Below I offer a list of 10 Green Recommendations you can begin to implement in your home that will not only save money but also will help to promote a healthier lifestyle. We all need help with that! Start today and include your children on the journey to eco-friendly living and good health. Children learn what they see practiced, so be a model teacher!

Change your daily commute and errands.

Walk, car-pool or even bike to work and save money on gas and parking. The physical part will improve your heart health and reduce the risk of obesity. Instead of driving around a parking spot looking for the "perfect space", park in a space that is far away from the store and walk. You will save gas and get some exercise.

If you live a far distance from your work, investigate the option of working from home several days per week. Educate your boss about the possible money the company could save. Americans use about 385 million gallons of gasoline every day, which means more than a gallon of gasoline every day for every man, woman and child.

Purchase "gently" used.

If you have just moved into a new home or are looking to redecorate or up-date, check-out craigslist, local garage sales, flee markets, thrift stores or FreeSharing for furniture, clothing, appliances, draperies and lawn equipment rather than purchasing new.

Be creative in gift giving, including making homemade gifts (especially from your kitchen), donating or even re-gifting. Try to gift in a "green and healthy" manner.

Buying Local = the "new" organic.

Ditch the local grocery stores full of pre-packaged, genetically modified and chemical-laden food and, instead, frequent your local farmers' market. Even though the offerings may be a bit more expensive, the products will be of a higher quality and more conducive to good health--and you will be helping to support and sustain local farming. Better yet, making a visit to local farms will allow you to understand "how" they are growing their produce and animals. Buying locally produced goods also saves energy by reducing the fossil fuels that are needed to transport food and other items across the country and the world.

Start a local co-op program in your area. This will encourage healthy buying and bulk purchases which will save money, time and gas by eliminating frequent trips to the grocery store.

Create a "Green Closet" in your home to store natural and green items purchased in bulk. Type up an inventory list and place it on the inside of the door. Make off items as they are used then use this list to replace needed items.

Learn how to Compost and garden.

Composting assists in reducing the amount of waste that is sent to landfills. This will definitely save money, especially if you live in an area with a "pay as you throw" system. In the process, healthy fertilizer is created for your garden, flower beds or flower/vegetable pots. Don't have a yard or space for a compost pile? Try your hand at indoor 'vermiculture,' or worm composting.

Use organic and non-toxic ingredients on your lawn and garden. More than 80% of the most commonly-used pesticides today have been classified by National Academy of Sciences researchers as potentially carcinogenic, and are routinely found in mothers' milk. If you do not have the room for a garden, learn how to container garden. Be sure to include medicinal herbs in your garden.

Modify your thermostat settings and install energy saving appliances. Setting your home thermostat several degrees lower in the winter and several degrees higher in the summer can amount to significant savings on utility costs. Keep your head out of the refrigerator and the door closed! The refrigerator is the single biggest energy-consuming kitchen appliance, and opening the refrigerator door accounts for between $30 and $60 of a typical family's electricity bill each year. The amount of energy saved in a year by more efficient refrigerator usage could be enough to light every house in the United States for more than four and a half months straight. Source: Elizabeth Rogers and Thomas Kostigen, authors of The Green Book

Install low-flow showerheads and take shorter showers to save water and the energy used to heat it. Buy a small timer for each bathroom and instruct family members to try to master a three-minute shower. Research the cost/savings of installing a solar hot water heater on your property. A family of four using low-flow showerheads instead of full-flow models can save about 20,000 gallons of water per year.

Thirty-six states are anticipating water shortages by 2016. Yet the average American uses more than 100 gallons or water each day.

Wash laundry in cold water whenever possible and use a drying rack or outside clothesline.

Replace incandescent bulbs with longer-lasting, low-energy fluorescent bulbs. If every American replaced just one light bulb with an Energy Star compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL), the energy saved could light more than 2.5 million homes for a year.

Consider buying wind energy from your local utility or purchasing renewable energy offsets. In some instances, "green energy" alternatives can be cheaper than electricity from standard sources. Install eco-friendly ceiling fans in bedrooms, living areas and kitchen and use them! Keep your air conditioning thermostat at 78 degrees or higher and keep the fans running. You will save electricity and still be comfortable.

Ban bottled water.

Buy water filters or carafes for your purified water rather than buying bottled water packaged in plastic. Not only is bottled water expensive and possibly un-healthy, but it produces large amounts of container waste and harmful plastics. Approximately 2.7 billion TONS of plastic is produced each year for the bottled water industry. 86% of this ends up in landfills! Not to mention that the plastic may be harmful to your health.

Learn how to make your own cleaning supplies.

Simple and natural ingredients such as baking soda, soap, and vinegar, allows you to make cheap, easy, natural and non-toxic cleaning products that work. This translates into a savings of money, time, and the air quality of your home. It may also cut down on allergies which will save money on doctor's visits.

Reconsider purchasing new electronics.

The e-waste from discarded cell phones, computers and electronics is a growing environmental concern. Heaps of electronic refuse are now shipped abroad illegally for 'disassembly' by workers who have little protection from the mercury and other harmful materials they contain.

Try to make a conscious effort to keep electronics as long as is feasible and disposing of them responsibly.

Purchase higher-quality products when money will allow. Do your research and don't allow a sales person to affect what you purchase. Know what is truth and what is fiction by taking the time to educate yourself.

Recycle your cell phone by giving it to an organization or person who needs a cell phone.

Implement three meatless meals per week.

Certainly vegetarianism isn't recommended for everyone, but even the most devout meat-lovers can cut back on meat consumption without much effort--and thus save money in the process. The explosion of factory farms is very damaging to the environment and creates stress on the animals with puts more hormones into their meat. Grocery store meat contains added hormones and antibiotics which is not healthy for you or your family.

Using local and organically grown fruits and vegetables for salads and "meat-less" meals will improve your health. Preparing beans and vegetable soups are satisfying and great on the pocketbook.

Make your Workspace Green and Healthy.

Keep small plants around your office. They help to clean the air and provide a soothing "natural-look" to the office environment. Ivy's, spider plants and closet plants do well in lower light while keeping the air clean and green. Un-plug your office equipment at night. Using a power surge protector allows machines to be switched off or on very quickly. Three-billion dollars is wasted in electricity annually for office machines left running when not in use!

Move to using a staple-less stapler. 120 tons of steel would be saved if everyone used just ONE LESS staple every day for a year!

The average office worker uses 10,000 pieces of copy paper each year. Learn to PDF your documents and distribute them electronically. Half of the forests that originally covered 48% of the Earth's land surface are now gone. Only 1/5th of the Earth's original forests remain pristine and undisturbed.

Bring your lunch to work in a cloth bag. For food storage use glass containers that can be washed and re-used. This saves from using Styrofoam and plastic containers from fast food restaurants AND a homemade lunch will likely improve your health in many ways.

Americans spend an average of 90% of their time indoors, where indoor air is often 2 to 5 times more polluted than outdoor air. Air pollution from cars, factories and power plants is a major cause of asthma attacks. More than half of the U.S. population lives in areas with poor air conditions, and studies suggest that "sick air" contributes to the development of asthma in previously healthy people. Install a small ionic air purifier in your office to help clean the air of viruses, germs and bacteria.

Don't forget to turn off the lights when you leave your office. Or better yet, ask your company to install switches that automatically turn off when no movement is detected in a certain amount of time. Daily building operation (lighting, electricity, heating, and cooling of homes, offices, and schools) accounts for more than one-third of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions.

For more suggestions on making your office healthy see my article - Setting Up Your Office For Health

BONUS SUGGESTIONS

Grow at least one heirloom herb this year! - The importance of preserving our seeds is quickly becoming urgent! Chemical companies are continuing to adulterate our seed supply through genetically modification tactics and the use of herbicides and pesticides. OAW provides a list of companies that continue to sell heirloom seeds. Use open-pollinated heirloom seeds that are organic and not genetically modified. Gather seeds after each season for use the next year.

Up-grading Your Home? Go Green! - When up-grading or repairing your home, search for products and materials that are helping to improve the environment. Roofing, landscaping, flooring, carpeting, paint, decking and fixture products can be found that are "green" and thus help to eliminate harmful toxins and chemicals. Search out eco-friendly merchants every time you replace anything in your home!

Got Pets? Go Green! - The Environmental Working Group found 35 toxic chemicals in dogs and 46 in cats - most at even higher levels than are found in people. 63% of homes in the US have pets. Look for all-natural foods for your pets and educate yourself about a raw food diet for your pets. Make sure that you vacuum often thus ditching the chemical flea collars. Purchase biodegradable, compostable doo-bags for use when walking your dog. Use all-natural grooming products for your pets that are made without harmful chemicals. Purchase bedding that is organic and eco-friendly.


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The Complete Grape Growing System. A Complete System With E-book And Audio Book To Help You Grow Grapes The Correct Way. Click Here!



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Orchid Care Expert - A Practical Guide. The Most Practical Guide To Orchid Care To Be Found On The Internet. Click Here!


Organic Food Gardening Beginners Manual. 87 Page Step-by-step Gardening Manual For Beginners To Learn How To Grow Their Own Healthy, Organic Food - Saving Money And Eating Chemical Free! Great Bonuses With This E-manual. Revised Edition Just Released.
Click Here!


Forceful Orchid Fertilizers: Homemade Recipes. Know How To Feed Your Orchids To Quickly Get Astonishing Results. Click Here!


The Hypertufa How-To Manual. 100 Page EBook On How To Make Garden Art Objects From Hypertufa. Easy To Follow Instructions & Expert Advice. Click Here!


Homemade Hydroponics. Hydroponics Secrets Shows You How To Grow The Plants, Fruits And Vegetables -even In Limited Space--without Using Soil. Pays 75% Commission With Excellent Conversion Rates. Click Here!



Bonsai Gardening Secrets. Discover Over 95 Pages Of Insider Secrets To Creating Stunning Bonsai Trees. Click Here!


Forceful Insecticides Home Made Formula. Discover Secret Informations That Big Multinationals Dont Want You To Know! Click Here!

Preparing Your Outdoor Plantings

Gardening has become one of the most popular hobbies in the U.S. While outdoor yard work may seem a dreaded chore to many, there are those who relish the time they can get away from their desks and daily chores to go outside and commune with nature by mowing their grass or planting and maintaining flowers and vegetable gardens. This type of outdoor work is also great for enhancing property value. Even those who detest yard work must admit that a freshly groomed lawn is a thing of beauty!

While a well tended garden can be lovely, it is also be challenging and somewhat physically demanding. In the spring, you must get to work almost as soon as the first snow melts. Planting areas must be cleaned up from the fall and winter months and prepared for new spring plants. Most of us want to get our new flowers or vegetables growing as early as possible for earlier blooms and/or harvests. One way to prepare plants sooner is to plant seedlings inside your home or in sheltered environment such as a small greenhouse. There are many greenhouse kits readily available in stores and online.

Once your plants are ready to put into the ground, the next question is where to plant them. First, evaluate the types of plants you have. Some require well-drained soil while others like it wet. Some need full sun, and others need shade. If you take the time to pick the right spot in your yard to meet the needs of your plants, you'll have much better results in the long run.

The spacing of your plants is another important thing to consider. For example, if you are planting a spreading plant, you want to be sure it has somewhere to go, and that it won't overtake other plants nearby. Some spreading plants will grow like vines, and they can be trained up trellises, arbors, pergolas, or obelisks. These structures not only add a focal point to your garden, but they also help you save space by allowing plants to grow up instead of out. Arbors and trellises come in many styles and colors to compliment the look of your yard or garden.

You will also want to consider the maintenance of your garden. Are you able to bend over and/or sit on the ground to tend to your flowers and vegetables? If not, you may want to consider raised planting beds. Raised bed gardening is a wonderful option for people with limited mobility. Raised beds also work well for children's gardens because they are so easily accessible. They also tend to display your plants better because they are raised up in your yard, plus they allow for good drainage of the soil inside.

Now that your plants are in place, they will need ongoing care to flourish. Be sure to fertilize them and enrich the soil whenever necessary. Commercial fertilizers can be found at almost any garden center. Another option for those who are environmentally conscious is to make your own compost. Home composters can be made or purchased, and composting is a great way to enrich your plants and make use of the daily food waste that your family produces.

With proper planning and maintenance of your garden, you should see beautiful results throughout your growing season. Just don't forget to stop and smell the flowers while you are enjoying the great outdoors!


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Worlds Best Compost. Make The Worlds Ultimate Natural Fertilizer, Colloidal Humus, Without Bins, Turning Or Odor. Click Here!


The Complete Grape Growing System. A Complete System With E-book And Audio Book To Help You Grow Grapes The Correct Way. Click Here!



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Click Here!


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The Hypertufa How-To Manual. 100 Page EBook On How To Make Garden Art Objects From Hypertufa. Easy To Follow Instructions & Expert Advice. Click Here!


Homemade Hydroponics. Hydroponics Secrets Shows You How To Grow The Plants, Fruits And Vegetables -even In Limited Space--without Using Soil. Pays 75% Commission With Excellent Conversion Rates. Click Here!



Bonsai Gardening Secrets. Discover Over 95 Pages Of Insider Secrets To Creating Stunning Bonsai Trees. Click Here!


Forceful Insecticides Home Made Formula. Discover Secret Informations That Big Multinationals Dont Want You To Know! Click Here!

Sustainable Agriculture

“Americans today spend less on food, as a percentage of disposable income, than any other industrialized nation, and probably less than any people in the history of the world.”
-Michael Pollan “The Omnivores Dilema

I had some time to kill. Waiting for a friend. I went into the nearby CVS hoping to find a magazine that discusses our current “Green” revolution. If only it really were. I quickly found a popular science magazine with a cover featuring “The Future of the Environment.” It covers some wonderful futuristic ideas for sustainability. The current reality though is that companies are buying Carbon credits for trees that have not yet been planted so they can evade the taxes meant to preserve our ecosystem. The FDA has turned the once powerful idea of Organic Certification into a very profitable marketing tool that provides little to no protection for our ecosystem.

The calories we are consuming require more and more calories for their production and therefore a bigger and bigger negative impact on the environment. I had the opportunity recently to travel to Northern California with the Culinary Institute of America. Our trip was part of the California Food & Wine Seminar in the interim of the seventh and eighth semesters of the Bachelors program. Each student chose their own focus for a four page research paper to be part of a larger four person group project. My focus is on the differences between Organic and Sustainable. There is currently no Sustainable Certification recognized by the USDA. The "Organic" certification is designed to favor the commercial farm instead of the original virtues behind the organic movement.
Take for example somewhere like Earthbound Organics. “Organic lettuce.” Twenty thousand acres of machine fed, pruned and harvested lettuce. Their size alone forces them to spray with layers of “Organic” pesticides. Mono-cropping such as this removes specific nutrients faster from the earth. Oil by-products are then required to “fix” the soil. After using copious amounts of fossil fuel power instead of man power they can sell their product down a long chain and across long distances only to undersell the guy who grew his sustainably down the street from where it is being sold. The simple fact that a field can be injected with fertilizers to make products grow does not mean the land is being sustained.
Produce grown with synthetic fertilizers is less nutritious than if grown with composted soil. I almost wanted to say natural soil there, but the term natural has become dishonest as there is no regulation guiding the use of the term. Today you can buy all sorts of “All Natural” products but the term is only a marketing tool. Science has proven that these products are not nearly as healthy as they claim to be. The laws of false advertising do not seem to apply to the food we eat. Is not our health and survival the primary concern in life? With the frantic pace of the world economy, many age-old values are being lost. As Wendell Berry says in his essay “The Idea of A Local Economy:”
A total economy is one in which everything—“life forms,” for instance,—or the “right to pollute” is “private property” and has a price and is for sale. In a total economy significant and sometimes critical choices that once belonged to individuals or communities become the property of corporations. A total economy, operating internationally, necessarily shrinks the powers of state and national governments, not only because those governments have signed over significant powers to an international bureaucracy or because political leaders become the paid hacks of the corporations but also because political processes—and especially democratic processes—are too slow to react to unrestrained economic and technological development on a global scale. And when state and national governments begin to act in effect as agents of the global economy, selling their people for low wages and their people’s products for low prices, then the rights and liberties of citizenship must necessarily shrink. A total economy is an unrestrained taking of profits from the disintegration of nations: communities, households, landscapes, and ecosystems. It licenses symbolic or artificial wealth to “grow” by means of the destruction of the real wealth of all the world…

This may seem like a pessimistic view but it is all too true in the modern market. This battle has been fought for decades and will probably continue for many more.
The organic revolution began back in the nineteen forties with Organic Gardening and Farming magazine. Its goal was to move away from the idea that plants only require NPK (Nitrogen-Phosphorus-Potassium) and instead require the full spectrum of life death and decay that is the composting process. On April 20, 1969 a group known as the Robin Hood Commission took over a plot of land belonging to the University of California. Their goal was to create a model organic agrarian system. They would be raising a truly sustainable system and distributing its produce to the poor. It was this type of awareness that empowered the organic revolution. Much more than just a standardized set of fertilizers it represented an attunement with the essential needs of society.
When the organic standards list was released in 1997, the list of acceptable products included genetically modified crops as well as irradiation and sewage sludge. Today the list has been revised to allow such synthetic additives as ascorbic acid and xanthan gum. Bleach and ethanol are both on the list or permissible products as well. Many regulations for the treatment of animals for food have been set in such a vague manner as to have no impact whatsoever. For example the USDA finally ruled that dairy cows must have “access to pasture” in order to be considered organic. Sounds nice, but it means simply that at some point in the cows life the owner must provide them access to somewhere outside of a building for a minute or so. The same is true for chickens. Organic free-range chickens means that they are not kept in individual cages but instead in massive layers with access to the outside. Michael Pollan visited Petaluma Poultry and gave this description upon visiting what he says look like military barracks:
“I donned what looked like a hooded white hazmat suit—since the birds receive no antibiotics yet live in close confinement, the company is ever worried about infection, which could doom a whole house overnight—and stepped inside. Twenty thousand birds moved away from me as one, like a ground hugging white cloud, clucking softly. The air was warm and humid and smelled powerfully of ammonia; the fumes caught in my throat. Twenty thousand is a lot of chickens…sipping from waterers suspended from the ceiling, [nibbling] organic food from elevated trays connected by tubes to a silo outside, and [doing] pretty much everything chickens do except step outside the little doors located at either end of the shed.”

The doors lead into a fifteen foot wide grassy yard outside the shed—which none of the chickens have ever been seen in. This is far from the picturesque farm depicted on most organic products and far from what most people would consider truly organic. At the 2000 inaugural speech, USDA Secretary Glickman went out of his way to point out that “The organic label is a marketing too, it is not a statement about food safety. Nor is ‘organic’ a value judgment about nutrition or quality.” So if the government is not going to provide us with a reasonable food system what can we do?
Education plays an essential role in the future of sustainability and agriculture. Billions of dollars are spent annually convincing civilization that they want to live on Big Mac’s and carbonated corn soda. The reality is by the time we are actually old enough to be in charge of our own food supply we have been fairly well saturated with these messages. Therefore, it seems to be more prudent to bring the youth to farms and involve them with their own food choices. They then can understand what they are eating as well how we can produce it in synchronization with nature. Once that stream of thought expands into enough people, we will return to understanding the earth and how we can live in symbiotic agricultural harmony. Places like the Center for Land Based Learning (CLBL) and the Farm Based Education Association provide such experience and are essential to the future of our food system and health. The CLBL focuses on High School students in order to shape the way people think about the earth its role in the production of our food system. Some of these people may not go into the industry. Some may become farmers themselves. Some could even become the politicians who design a future farm bill. With our current agri-business model, farming is becoming just like any corporation where the bottom line is the only thing in sight. The business people do not know what organic really means, much less do they care about their impact on the earth. It may be difficult to argue with the millions of dollars these businesses bring home but if these ideas are imparted at an early age we may have a better chance to realize the destruction that comes with that profit and therein a better chance to really save the earth and the people it supports.


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Organic gardening

At its root there's a lot of overlap between organic gardening and sustainable gardening - organic gardening seeks to minimise the use of man-made chemicals and industrial agriculture techniques, while sustainable gardening seeks to minimise long-term detrimental environmental impact. This is not quite the same thing despite a large overlap in techniques used, though on a systemic level the impact on the environment are similar between the two.

Organic gardening requires considerably more planning than regular gardening, but with the right combination of plants, land use management and biological pest control it can involve a lot less manual labour than regular gardening techniques.

Organic Garden Fertilizer
All gardens need fertilizer, but organic gardening presents a bit more of a challenge as the goal is to not use chemicals for fertilization.

Luckily there are plenty of things you can use for an organic garden fertilizer that are good for the environment as well as your plants.One thing you want to do first, though, is to have your soil tested. How do you know what type of fertilizer is needed if you dont know the quality of your soil in the first place? You can usually bring a soil sample to your local garden center and find out what types of nutrients it is lacking.There are 3 main nutrients needed in a good fertilizer - nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Most organic fertilizers are high in one but low in the other two, so a balance needs to be made between the 3. The exception to this is probably manure, whichis more balanced in all 3 nutrients but doesnt really have a high nutrient content to begin with.Some people consider compost to be a good organic garden fertilizer, but I consider it to be more of a soil conditioner. It does have nutrients, and I do think it is important to till it into your soil, but I also think you need to use a fertilizer in addition.Organic fertilizers actually need the organisms in the soil to break down the nutrients. For this reason, they require moist warm soil.But they also might not work as quickly as your plants need them so you need to apply them early. On the other hand, because they do break down slowly, you run less of a risk of the plants burning from too much fertilizer.There are plenty of organic fertilizers that you can buy for your garden. You can get anything from rooster poop to fish emulsion. The thing you need to keep in mind is the particular nutrient that it is high in and the crops you intend to grow. Different plants, at different stages will need more of different nutrients. For example, lettuce family plants, leeks and onions prefer a fertilizer high in nitrogen. Root crops like potatoes and carrots like to have phosphorus. Tomatoes and fruits like a lot of potassium.Using a good organic fertilizer will help your plants thrive. Check with our local garden center to see what they have on hand for the kinds of vegetables you will be planting, then sit back and watch your garden grow!Organic Gardening Compost - Tips For Perfect Soil Conditioner
Making your own compost is a great way to have a nutrient rich conditioner for the soil in your organic garden and it really isnt that difficult to do. In fact, making organic gardening compost can be very rewarding since you are using things that might have gone in the trash to add life to your garden. Its recycling at its best!

You can buy composting bins or you can simply make a pile in your yard. One thing you want to be sure of is that you set aside a specific place for your compost pile. You need to be able to access it readily as you will have to turn the pile periodically, unless you have a specially made device that uses tray or has a turning mechanism.



You want to include a good variety of kitchen scraps as well as leaves and clipping from your yard and garden. Be sure to only include organic scraps from the kitchen else you might pass on some toxins or pesticides from your non organic foods. Also, dont add any diseased plants to the pile as it could carry through and infect your garden when you add the compost. Dont use any meats or animal fat or bones as this could attract animals to your compost pile.


When starting an organic gardening compost pile, you need to include both green and brown materials in a certain ratio. The green materials include vegetable peelings, garden cuttings and grass clippings. The brown include things like leaves, hay, eggshells and tea bags. Basically, the green materials are live things that contain a lot of nitrogen. The brown materials are dead things which contain a lot of carbon. When added to the pile in a certain ration, the carbon rich and nitrogen rich materials help the pile break down faster. Basically, you want about 3 times as much brown materials as green.


When you start to make your pile, add brown, then green in layers with the brown layers being larger, of course than the greens. As you add each layer, pour on some water - not too much but about enough to make the material about as wet as a damp sponge. Then let it sit for a few days.


You need to turn your compost pile about once a week. Letting the air get in is critical to the composting process. Some people put in bulky materials like straw to allow for some air inside the pile. When you are turning the pile, you will notice that it is much hotter in the middle, sometimes you can even see steam coming off it in the cool of the morning. This is a good sign - it means all the microbes are at work turning your kitchen and yard waste into nutrient packed fertilizer!


So, how do you know when your compost is ready?
The organic gardening compost is ready to mix with your soil when it doesnt look like a rotting pile of scraps anymore. Somewhere during
the process, it will turn into rich, dark, crumbly material that has a pleasant earthy smell. At this point, you can take it and mix it in with your soil

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Grow your own vegetables

How to grow your own vegetables

Simple "How to grow" tips to help grow your own vegetables and fruit with tips on keeping chickens in your garden for fresh eggs. You will save a few pounds and enjoy eating and maybe selling the fruits of your labour.This is a simple mans (me) guide to growing your own fruit and vegetables, if you need more detail or information their are lots of good gardening advice sites on the net.

Preparing and digging the growing area.

I'm assuming you are not going to use Chemical fertilisers or weed-killer, the cost will far negate the savings you are going to make growing your own. The Cottagers didn't use chemicals !! The only sure way to know you are eating chemical free fruit and vedge is to grow your own !! You might want to have a go at companion planting to control garden pests.

Sandy soil is easier to dig but doesn't have as many of the essential nutrients clay soil does so you will need to dig in plenty of compost from your compost heap. Clay soil is harder to dig but most plants do well in it. If the area is water logged you will need to sort it out before you dig it over.

Dig the area over removing as many large stones and weeds as you can, don't try to remove every stone its impossible. Providing the soil breaks up into reasonably small chunks there is no need to rake it over. Weeds that haven't gone to seed can be added to your compost heap. ( Weeds that have gone to seed and Bindweed can be rotted down in a plastic bag and then added to the compost heap )

If you are planning to turn a lawn into a planting area you will need to remove the turf, (this is hard work and if you can wait its easier to cover the area with black plastic until it rots down).If you are going to remove the turf, mark out liftable squares about 2" deep with a sharp spade and scoop the turf off, turn it over and store in a heap in a corner of your garden to turn into loam to be added back to your garden.

SEED BEDS, the areas you are going to sow rows of seed will need to be raked fine before sowing, most seeds are sown direct into the garden but sow a few in trays, the seedlings can be sold at car boots, more than covering the cost of buying the packets of seed in the first place.


Sowing and growing tips.
Broccoli has high vitamin content and anti-cancer agents.The sprouting types are hardy and overwintered for harvest in spring and can be white or purple. Calabrese is harvested in the autumn.

Sow thinly in April and May 1/2 in deep in rows 6in apart. Thin the seedlings to 3in apart. You can sow in March in the milder south and again in June for late cultivars..

Transplant when the broccoli seedlings are about 6in high planting about 18in apart. In dry weather water them well before and after transplanting .The Broccoli will need a good soaking in dry weather and a feed of home made liquid fertiliser now and then will work wonders

Harvest when the flower shoots (spears) are well formed but before the individual flowers begin to open. Cut the central spear first. This is followed by a series of sideshoots, which can be picked regularly for about five weeks.

Cabbages Can be grown to pick throughout the year. spring, summer and winter seeds are available. Spring greens are young spring cabbages Sown mainly in summer, but also all year round.Sow the same as Broccoli above. Spring cabbage: in July/August; transplant in september/October.Summer cabbage from late February/early March (under cloches or similar cover) until early May; transplant in May/June.
Winter cabbages in April/May; transplant in late June/July.
Transplant the young plants as for Broccoli. Compact varieties 1ft apart, larger varieties 18in apart, spring cabbages only 4in apart thin out to 1ft apart from February onwards using the thinnings as your spring greens. Water and feed as for Broccoli
Harvest the Cabbages by cutting through the stem just above ground level at the same time cut a deep cross in the stump and you'll geta second crop of tiny cabbages.
Cauliflowers To grow perfect cauliflowers you'll need a rich and deep soil and there mustn't be a check to growth, so careful planting and watering are essential.Sow thinly 1/2 " deep in rows 6" apart in March and May in a rich and deep soil , Thin to 3" apart when 1" high.
Transplant to growing position when plants have five or six leaves, Water well before and after transplanting. Space 2ft apart or closer for smaller heads. Cauliflowers are hungry so reguraly water and feed with a liquid fertiliser . Important not to check growth regular watering is essential.
Harvest when the heads are firm.

Brussels sprouts
Sow from March to April as for cabbages ,thin out to about 3" apart.
Transplant when 4-6" high about 2.5ft apart in firm soil containing plenty of humus . Important to water well before and after transplanting. Water and feed reguraly with home made liquid fertiliser
Time to pick, Should be just about plump enough for Christmas.

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Organic Gardening

Organic gardening is a method of growing plants without the use of synthetic chemicals, including pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers. Instead, organic, or once-living, materials are used to naturally cultivate the growing plants.

Organic materials include leaves, grasses, food scraps, agricultural crop residue and other natural materials.

By promoting natural diversity and biological cycles in farming, organic gardening methods strive to create gardens that are self-sufficient and sustainable. Converting a garden to produce vegetables and fruit organically is a long-term process; it happens gradually, typically requiring several years, rather than in one single growing season. Organic gardening sometimes takes a great deal of work, but the rewards can be found in the chemical-free bounty of the harvest. Take a look at the basic process of organic gardening.


Planning an Organic Garden
The first step in creating an organic garden is to consider its purpose. Will the garden support an entire family, or will extra produce be grown and sold? Keeping the garden’s purpose in mind, a location should be chosen that is convenient to the home but big enough to meet the needs of the gardener. It is best to choose a location with well-drained soil that is near a water supply and not shaded by buildings or trees. Some gardeners plot a layout of the garden on paper before planting. The crops that will be planted in each row should be planned in advance.

Organic plant production depends on healthy and fertile soil, so the soil should be amended as necessary before planting to ensure quality. Decayed plant material is essential for producing fertile soil. This organic matter, when added to the soil, can slow erosion and offer a good environment for earthworms and other beneficial microorganisms. To ensure that the soil is healthy before planting, aim for 3 to 5 percent organic matter soil content. Be sure to mix the organic material into the soil at least three weeks before planting, because the organic material can interfere with the growth of the seeds if it is not completely rotted and incorporated into the soil before planting.


Planting an Organic Garden
In an organic garden, seeds must not have been chemically treated. Seeds for some crops, however, may not be available in non-treated form. In that case, if the grower is certified organic, he or she will need authorization from the certifier before buying the seeds. To achieve certified organic status, an application must be made to the National Organic Program through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. For more information, visit National Organic Program Web site. For individual gardeners who are not certified, it comes down to a personal choice as to whether to use seeds that have been treated with chemicals.

Good choices for seeds include varieties that are best able to resist disease and insects. Plants that mature early are also good choices, because they allow less time for any diseases or insect damage to take place; by the same token, late-maturing plants are more susceptible to these common afflictions.

When planning and planting, keep in mind that some plants naturally can be used to the gardener’s advantage. For example, if the gardener plants dill on the opposite side of the garden from tomatoes, tomato hornworms will be drawn away from the tomato plants because they are more attracted to the dill. Although this approach may offer only a small measure of protection for the tomatoes, any advantage is a good one. Likewise, sage can work to repel the cabbage moths and black flea beetles that attack cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli, so a gardener can gain a slight advantage if sage is planted with these crops.


Organic Gardening Fertilizers
Animal manure is the best fertilizer for organic gardening. The manure needs to be partially broken-down, however, before it is applied to the plants. For best results, the manure should be aged for 30 days to allow for breakdown; otherwise, it can be composted. To find out more about managing manure, read the Ohio State University’s guide to Manure Management.

The benefits of animal manure can be found in the nutrients contained within the manure. Though the nutrient content varies greatly depending on the source of the manure (the type of animal and its age, physical condition and diet all play a role), some level of the following nutrients can be expected: nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium and calcium. Fresh manure should not be applied to growing plants, or within 120 days of harvest time.

Compost is another good organic fertilizer. Compost is made from the decomposition of organic materials, including lawn trimmings, crop residues, food scraps and wood chips. A compost pile is made of alternating layers of organic materials that heat up in the sun after two or three days, though it takes between two months and a year for the compost to be ready, depending on the season, materials used and the skill of the person doing the composting. Every three to four weeks during that period, the compost must be turned with a pitchfork to allow the different materials to mix into a uniform fertilizer.


Organic Garden Mulching
Mulch, which is usually composed of lawn clippings, wood shavings, pine straw or sawdust, is placed on the surface of the soil, around the plants. Mulch allows the soil to conserve water and nutrients, reduce erosion and weed growth, moderate temperature and reduce rot on fruit that is caused by soil. Plastic mulch, which comes in a variety of colors, also can be used.


Controlling Weeds, Insects and Diseases in an Organic Garden
Mulching is recommended to control weeds, as are hoeing and shallow cultivation. Controlling insects and diseases by natural means, however, can be more difficult. Prevention is important because once an infestation occurs; it can be hard to control using only organic methods. Therefore, it is important to plant as early as possible using resistant varieties of plants and only seeds and transplants from disease-free plants. Also, clean up any plant refuse as soon as possible, water in the morning to avoid wet plants at night and get rid of diseased plants before the problem can spread to healthy plants. Insects can be picked from plants by hand, or natural predators can be introduced to the area. Some organic gardeners also use sprays that contain organic or natural plant poisons that can help keep insects at bay.

The National Gardening Association maintains a large bank of knowledge about gardening, and can help novices and those more experienced with tips, strategies, and support. Visit the National Gardening Association for more information.


Organic Gardening Certification
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulates the standards for organic farming. Certification must be obtained to sell organic crops with the claim that they are organically produced. The USDA National Organic Program accredits the agents who inspect organic products and certifies that they meet the standards established by the USDA. For more information on the National Organic Program, go to the USDA’s Web site.

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Orchid Care Expert - A Practical Guide. The Most Practical Guide To Orchid Care To Be Found On The Internet. Click Here!


Organic Food Gardening Beginners Manual. 87 Page Step-by-step Gardening Manual For Beginners To Learn How To Grow Their Own Healthy, Organic Food - Saving Money And Eating Chemical Free! Great Bonuses With This E-manual. Revised Edition Just Released.
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Forceful Orchid Fertilizers: Homemade Recipes. Know How To Feed Your Orchids To Quickly Get Astonishing Results. Click Here!


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Composting

Composting is making a big pile of yard and kitchen waste in a big, smelly, unsightly compost heap out in the yard, and then turning it over to get the composted soil from the bottom, and then mixing that compost in to your garden. Sure, you know that the compost is really, really good for conditioning your garden soil and adding organic material and nutrients. And it’s really good for the environment, because otherwise all that stuff ends up trucked to a landfill. Composting is a sustainable practice that reduces or eliminates the need for chemical fertilizers so you don’t need to worry about gradually poisoning your soil with chemical residue. But, listen, you and I both know that a sprawling compost heap is really ugly in your yard, smells bad, can get all moldy. The heat generated by the decomposing material can attract snakes. Kitchen scraps attract skunks and all manner of vermin in the night, and, last but not least, it’s a whole lot of work. So, all in all, a good idea, but composting is just not worth the aggravation. Right? Well, what if I told you that we could eliminate every single one of those objections and preserve all the benefits? The good news is that’s exactly what I’m telling you. Let me show you how.

First, let's examine each of the possible hassles of composting one by one.

Controlling Odors and Mold

First, compost heaps can smell bad. This is usually caused by lack of oxygen or adding food waste faster than it can be broken down so that the compost material stays too wet. Using a compost tumbler goes a long, long way to solving this problem. With a tumbler, you just need to spin the compost bin every couple of days or so. About 30 seconds worth of effort every two to three days. If you miss a cycle or two, no big deal, nothing bad will happen. Just give it a couple extra spins next time you get to it. It doesn’t get much easier than that! Spinning the compost bin mixes the composting material and adds oxygen as it tumbles. Almost all tumblers will also have a number of air holes/ drain holes around the bin. This also allows excess water to drain from the bin as it spins.

If you are not using a tumbler, then there’s another way to fix the problem. Controlling the ratio of nitrogen based materials to carbon based materials will also help regulate the rate of decomposition and prevent unwanted odors. Usually, odor from the composter means that the concentration of nitrogen-rich material is too high. OK, we don’t expect everyone to be a chemist (I’m certainly not), so how can we tell what’s carbon-rich versus what’s nitrogen-rich? As it turns out, it’s fairly easy. Most green stuff that you would add is nitrogen-rich. This includes things like grass clippings and most kitchen waste (fruit rinds, wilted lettuce, potato peels, and such). So adding too much of these items in relation to other, carbon-rich stuff, can lead to odors or mold. If you start to get these problems, add carbon-rich material. Like what? Well, like all the autumn leaves that you rake up. If they are cut into small pieces by one of those bagger/ shredders or if you use your bagging mower to collect them, they’ll decompose faster, but this isn’t necessary.

Just make sure you avoid Black Walnut leaves in your compost. Black Walnut actually contains chemicals that it uses to discourage the growth of weeds near it base and these chemicals are present in the leaves and will discourage plant growth in the garden (generally, not a good thing). Obviously, avoid things like poison sumac, poison oak, and such. Other than leaves, what else can I add to my compost to increase the carbon content and help dry out my composting materials? Well, many people use a small paper-shredder to shred old bills and other documents to protect against identity-theft. The shredded paper is a great drying agent and carbon-based item to use to balance out green or nitrogen-based material. Try not to use coated or glossy papers, but most newspaper is fine. Just tear it into small bits or use the shredder. Saw dust from untreated wood can be used, but remember it’s easy to add too much paper or sawdust to your compost. We are aiming for a balance. Too much of these plentiful carbon materials will slow down the decomposition process. Even dryer lint can be used as a carbon-rich material for the composter. Another way to avoid problems is to let things like grass-clippings and weeds dry out in the sun before adding them to the composter, just let them bake in the sun on the cement or pavement for a couple days before adding them. This will reduce the moisture content (and make sure tough weeds are dead). Never add kitchen wastes that contain meats or oils to your compost. These things will eventually decompose, but they will smell. Dog and cat poop should never be added to your compost, both because of the smell and also because they can contain diseases and parasites. On the other hand, manure from horses, chickens, rabbits, cows, and goats is a great source of nitrogen-based materials. Just make sure it is fully decomposed before adding to the garden since fresh manure can “burn” the roots of delicate crops.



Keeping the Yard Pretty While Composting


Compost Tumblers

Nobody wants a big pile of decomposing plant material in their yard. This is another reason to use a compost tumbler. A compost tumbler is a barrel or other canister-shaped container that can be spun about its axis to aerate and mix the composting materials. It also keeps the composting materials out of site. In my opinion, compost tumblers are the easiest, lowest maintenance, most effective, and most attractive option available. I use compost tumblers in my own yard. I recommend using two. When one compost tumbler gets near full, stop adding new material and switch to the other one. Give the first tumbler another 3-4 weeks and then pour out the finished compost and spread it into your garden. Tumblers can reduce the time it takes to make finished compost from a full season to just a few short weeks! Here are some pictures of compost tumblers (scroll about halfway down the page).



Compost Bins



In addition to compost tumblers, there are a number of other bins designed to accelerate decomposition and help keep your compost materials tidy and out of sight. Some of these bin-type composters contain individual sliding drawers so that you drop your fresh materials in the top and pull your finished compost out of the bottom drawer when it’s ready. Others have slide-out slats in side to allow you to get in and shovel finished compost from the bottom of the contained pile. There are a variety of shapes and colors. Depending on the model you may need to provide some manual aeration by using a shovel or pitchfork to turn over the composting material from time to time. When using the larger open-bin models, you should take care to turn fresh materials so there is always a layer of older materials on top. My personal preference is for tumbler style composters, but for larger capacity operations, using one or more larger bins may be a more cost effective option than adding more tumblers.



Keeping Animals Away

Any of the above ground composters (whether bin and drawer or tumbler type) will keep snakes from being attracted by the heat of decomposing material. For some of the on ground bin types, this might still be an issue. The key to keeping other vermin from being attracted to your compost pile, is to make sure that you don’t put things in it that will attract them. Never put any meat scraps or oils into the compost heap. These things are very high in energy for their volume so they make very efficient foods for most animals. As a result, they will go to great lengths to find and get at them. Theses items will also cause strong odors in your compost which acts as a long-distance calling card for animals. Keeping the right mixture of nitrogen rich and carbon rich materials keeps the odors away and helps keep the animals away as well. As I mentioned earlier, if the composting material starts to smell, just make sure it is properly aerated and mix in some more carbon-rich material such as shredded paper, sawdust, or dried leaves. Using tumblers or bins that make it physically impossible (or nearly so) for animals to get into the compost is another benefit of these types.


Too Much Work?

So, bottom line, composting sounds like a good idea, and I’ve told you how to avoid the typical issues that can come up to make it a less pleasant experience, but you’re afraid that this is one of those things that you try and after a few weeks you just don’t keep up with it and you stop because you just don’t have the time or energy to put in the work. I really can’t stress enough how easy this is. If you use a compost tumbler, you just spin it every couple of days, and dump the finished compost out and spread it into your garden as infrequently as once or twice a year (or more often at your discretion, depending upon how much compost you need). It’s much easier than those “Six Minute Abs” you paid for a few years ago! From start to finish it works something like this:


As you're preparing dinner in the kitchen, you toss compostable things like potato peels, apple cores, wilted lettuce (without salad dressing), even egg-shells, into a separate little bucket reserved for that purpose. This can be any bucket or container you have on hand or one of the specially designed, and attractive kitchen buckets shown at the bottom of this page. Then once a week or whenever you’re heading out to the garden, you take the bucket with you and empty it into the composter. A quick rinse with the garden hose, and just let it dry while you do your other gardening before bringing it back keeps everything neat and clean. When you mow the lawn or rake the leaves in the fall, the clippings or leaves go into the composter, easier than bagging and hauling to the dump by a long shot. When you weed the garden or thin out your spring plantings, drop them into the composter. Give the tumbler a couple of quick spins every couple of days to keep it aerated and to mix the old and new materials. When the tumbler starts to get full or when you're preparing your garden for planting (or cleaning out the garden in the fall) just slide a tarp under the tumbler, remove the cover, and tip it over to let the compost fall onto the tarp. Drag the tarp to your garden and spread the rich dark compost onto your garden. In the spring or before you plant, just turn it into the soil to mix it up. And that’s all there is to it. If you use compost regularly, you don’t need to drive down to the local garden shop to buy, and then apply commercial fertilizers for your garden. Compost will turn poor unproductive soil into rich, fertile garden loam over time. Each year your garden will get better and better and produce higher yields. Although, you can still, as I do, use a liquid fertilizer that sprays on with your garden hose, if you like, as many plants will benefit by absorbing the nutrients directly through their leaves.

How to Avoid Screwing it All Up

So, what’s the short list of things I shouldn’t do if I want to compost?



1) Never add any meat products or oils to the compost bin.

2) Don’t let the compost stay too wet for very long.

3) Don’t forget to add both nitrogen-rich materials (like lawn clippings, weeds, and kitchen scraps) and carbon-rich materials (like autumn leaves, saw dust, or shredded paper).

4) Don’t spend too much time fussing with the composter unless there’s an obvious problem.

How do I Know Anything’s Going on in There?

So, you think you’ve done everything right, but how do you know if all the stuff you’ve put into your composter is actually turning into usable compost? Well, the action of decomposition creates heat. So, if the process is working, the composting material should be significantly warmer than the air temperature. In fact, the composting material should reach 130 degrees Fahrenheit or more, depending upon the speed with which the decomposition process is occurring. If your compost is not warmer than the ambient temperature about 24 hours after its last tumble (or other aeration), then it’s probably not decomposing properly. If the outdoor temperature is very cold, this can slow or stop the decomposition process (like keeping fresh food in the refrigerator or freezer). So, in really cold weather, don’t worry about it. If the weather is warm and you still don’t have a temperature increase in the compost, then you probably need to do something. Lack of proper decomposition can be caused by lack of aeration. Make sure you are spinning your compost tumbler, turning over your on-ground bin contents, or properly following the directions on your drawer type composting bin. Second, too much carbon (or too little nitrogen, depending upon your point of view) can slow or stop the process as well. Try mixing in more grass clippings, kitchen vegetable waste, weeds, or other similar nitrogen-rich material to your compost. Thirdly, you may have added something that isn’t compatible with composting. If you have used plant materials with pesticides, or have added heavy fertilizer content, too much lime, salt, or anything that might inhibit microbial growth, this could be the problem. As a last resort, empty and rinse the composter and start again.

I Have More Free Time than Money, How do I Build my own Compost Tumbler?

This is fairly easy, things you’ll need: Some stout scrap wood (4 x 4 works best) including at least two pieces about 4 feet long, depending upon the size of the barrel you have – roughly 16-20 feet altogether. A plastic barrel that you can drill holes through and a fitted cover – preferably one that screws on as it will need to hold the weight of the contents inside when you spin the barrel. A length of strong metal rod or pipe that will support the weight of the barrel nearly filled with dirt without bending – ideally threaded at both ends so you can add nuts to stop it from sliding off the frame. Large nails, screws, or bolts to hold the wooden support assembly together. The bottom supports in the picture below are too short. They're roughly 30 inches long, and the composter tends to fall over when it spins since the centrifugal force displaces the center of gravity well beyond the outside of these supports. I recommend going no less than 4 feet long with these bottom pieces (depending upon the size of your barrel). Our barrel is roughly 35-40 gallons. Here are the pictures, don't shortcut ANY of the supports. A half full barrel of compost is a fairly large dynamic load when it's tumbling. Scrimping on wood or effort means it will be likley to fall apart and could be dangerous. All diagonal supports are at 45 degree angles.


Which brings us to the disclaimers. This is heavy weight that moves and can fall over even if built correctly and correctly placed on a level surface. Stand to the side when tumbling. Be prepared for the compost tumbler to fall over. It should happen very rarely, or never, if built with long enough supports, but be ready, just in case. Most of the pieces shown here are 4 x 4 lumber. Don't use anything less strong. If you make the diagonal supports longer, it will be more stable. You should stain or use a wood preservative coating on the wooden pieces of your compost tumbler every year or two as needed. Replace any wood that becomes weak or rotten. Make sure the cover on your compost barrel is FIRMLY attached before tumbling. Screw-on covers work best.

Compost Tea
Compost tea is the nutrient rich liquid run-off from composting material. It makes a great fertilizer for your garden during the growing season.


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Organic Gardening Benefits

It's a well known fact that getting closer to the earth relieves stress - when did you last spend a few hours in the garden? Not only does gardening relieve stress but it is also very enjoyable once you make the effort to get out there.

Have you ever tasted organically grown vegetables and fruit and wished that you afford to have them more often? If you grow them yourself they will cost you a fraction of the price of the ones you buy at your local supermarket or greengrocer.

Have you smelt the difference as they were being cooked in your kitchen? That's because they are so fresh, packed full of goodness and vitamins.

Are you doing your bit for conservation? Think of all that packaging and transport that you are avoiding.

When did you last have the pleasure of sharing something with your family that you know is good for their health? Top chefs get up at the scrake of dawn to buy fresh produce at the market. You can pick yours at any time and have them cooking in a matter of minutes!

How pleased would your friends and neighbours be to receive a gift which cost so little and tastes so good?
Do you know someone who is ill or frail and would benefit by getting some wholesome fresh non-contaminated food into their system?

Do you know that many farmers don't relish eating their own products because they know what chemical sprays and fertilisers have been used on them? Eating more vegetables is known to help prevent heart disease and cancer.



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Herb Gardening Tips

While most people love gardens for the simple joy of growing and nurturing plants, herb gardener's have an added bonus because they can actually use the plants to flavor their food and cure their ills. With so many uses, you'd think that herbs would be hard to grow but in fact they are one of the easiest plants, require little attention and will grow under adverse conditions.

Of course, if you are thinking of starting an herb garden you want to make sure that you provide your herbs with the best conditions possible to ensure that you have healthy thriving herbs no matter what your purpose.

Here are some basic herb gardening tips to get you started:

1. While herbs can survive in many different soils, it's best to provide them with a rich fertile soil so that you will have lush fertile plants. Using humus from your compost pile is ideal, but if you have to buy a store-bought fertilizer to prepare the soil that's fine too. Just make sure that you keep your soil free of chemicals especially if you will be using the herbs or culinary or medicinal purposes.

2. Make sure the soil is well drained. A sandy soil is best for herbs as most of them don't do well in standing water so you want to make sure that the soil drains adequately.

3. Plan your herbs in a sunny spot. Most plants like sun, although there are plenty of herbs that will thrive in the shade as well.

4. Make sure you have a way to easily water your herbs. You want to be sure that you don't splash water on the leaves when watering as this can invite fungus, so the best thing you can do is use one of those soaker hoses that has all the little holes in it.

Herb Container Gardens

Herbs don't have to be grown in the soil of your garden, you can grow them in pots and containers too. In fact this is a great idea because it will allow you to bring the herbs in in the colder months and have them right in your kitchen. What more convenient place could they be?

To grow herbs in containers, you want to make sure that the soil is well-drained so you can use a regular potting soil and mix in a little bit of sand or gravel. The sand and gravel will ensure that drainage happens properly.

Put your herbs in a window, preferably one that faces south. Southerly facing windows get the most amount of sun which your herbs need to thrive. If you don't have a window that gets good sun, don't worry you can still grow herbs by using a growing lamp.

Growing herbs in pots in your kitchen is a great way to have herbs literally right at the tips of your fingertips for cooking. You can leave them indoors all year long or set your pots outside in the summer to give your herbs some fresh air.

Harvesting Your Herbs

When it comes to using your herbs, you want to make sure that you harvest them properly. For herbs like basil and parsley, you can simply go out and snip off some of the top growing leaves then add them fresh to your stews, sauces and other dishes. For basil you want a pinch off the smaller leaves that are growing at the top as this will help make your plant bushy.

If you want the full potency of your herbs for medicinal purposes, you want to harvest them right before they flower. This is when the oils are most potent. If your herb is an annual, you can pull the whole plant up but if it is a perennial you'll want to just cut back enough of the plant for you to use but not so much that you kill the plant - try to cut off less than half of the existing plant.

If you want to dry your herbs and save them for later use, you want to first wash all the dirt off and pat them dry with paper towels. One method that people use is to tie bunches of them together and hang them upside down in a dry cool place for a couple of weeks. Another method is to simply keep them in the oven at about 150° for three or four hours.

Herbs can be stored in a dry place in a sealed container and even frozen in the freezer for later use.




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Organic Gardening for Beginners

In early August, 2001, the British organization, The Soil Association, reported that a comprehensive review of existing research revealed significant differences between organically and non-organically grown food. These differences relate to food safety, primary nutrients, secondary nutrients and the health outcomes of the people who eat organically

Vitamin C and dry matter contents are higher, on average, in organically grown crops then they are in non-organic crops. Mineral contents are also higher, on average, in organically grown crops. Food grown organically contains "substantially higher concentrations of antioxidants and other health promoting compounds than crops produced with pesticides

Many people think that organically grown foods taste better. Also, some foods grown without pesticides produce a higher amount of an anti-oxidant that has been found to reduce the risk of some cancers.

Overall, though, most people who enjoy organic gardening report that the enjoyment they derive is paramount to their decision to eschew chemicals in favor of the all-natural route. Many people like to watch the tender new growth come to full maturity and, as a bonus, you get to eat it!
With organic gardening, you get extra fresh vegetables. Naturally, corn on the cob and newly picked peas are especially noticeable, but this trait extends to all vegetables you grow yourself, especially under the organic method. A phenomenon noted by most people when harvesting their very first vegetables from their very first organic garden is that everyone eats much more of a given vegetable than they would of a similar store bought variety.
You will save money not only by growing your own food, but you can even make a little extra cash on the side by selling your own all-natural foods that are so popular in the grocery stores these days.And also save yourself money by not having to buy vegetables any more because you can grow them If you have canned all the tomatoes you can and still have bushels left over, you can take the extra to the farmer’s market and sell your organic tomatoes to others who don’t have the advantage of their own garden.


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Square Foot Gardening

Lately, when I go to the store to buy groceries, I have been coming out shell-shocked at my grocery receipt, sure that the clerk must have overcharged me and forgot to discount my sale items. However, to my chagrin I find that it is indeed the correct total. As the economy began to sour, and my checking account looking anorexic, I started to find ways to cut unnecessary expenses and supplement where I could. A couple of years ago, my husband and I decided that a good way to expand our tightening grocery budget was to grow a garden. We were enthusiastic at the thought of fresh veggies and fruit gracing our table. Our enthusiasm waned slightly as we hauled several wheelbarrows of rocks out of the side yard, and rented a tiller to prepare the ground. After a long hot day, and sore muscles we finished the yard. We planted some tomatoes, and corn in hopes of enjoying a good bounty. However, after a couple of weeks, the weeds came, and our little fantasy became a harsh reality, when those wicked weeds began to take over our little garden. With four kids, jobs, and other activities it seemed there was no time to weed and take care of the garden. When we did have the time, the kids whined (we did as well) about having to spend our Saturday mornings weeding. Needless to say the garden was a bust, and I decided that I would stick to picking veggies in the grocery aisle. However, one day, I stumbled upon a book by Mel Bartholomew entitled Square Foot Gardening.

I was immediately intrigued by the front cover. It features the author standing in front of a 4X4 wooden box full of lush veggies and flowers. Inside the front, he writes about how anyone using his system, would be guaranteed a healthy, easy garden. I was sold on the word easy. I decided to buy the book. It ended up being the best $15.00 I have ever spent. I went home and read the book and I felt my old enthusiasm swell like the sweet watermelon I would soon taste. I decided to try it. After my last escapade, my husband wasn’t convinced that it was going to work, so I bribed my 12 year old son to help me build the boxes. It was surprisingly easier than I imagined. I first needed to build the outside frames or boxes from wood. This was a paralyzing fear for me, because I have no wood working skills whatsoever. I barely knew what a skill saw was, much less use one. I had terrifying visions running through my mind, of my family wheeling me into the emergency room after slicing my hand off with the skill saw. It’s understandable to say, I was giddy when I found out that my local home store would cut the 2X4 frames there at the store. Mel suggests using 4’X4’ frames, but we built ours to be 4’X6’ to fit our yard. My son and I built two boxes in one Saturday morning. Anyone with any carpenter knowledge could probably finish them in an hour. After finishing the frames, we laid down landscaping fabric. Mel explains that if you do this, it will prevent the vicious weed attack that we had experienced earlier. We then combined equal third’s of compost, vermiculite, and peat moss. We filled the beds, and then added a grid made of fur strips, that were 12”X12” squares over the top of the beds. Once the beds were finished we were ready to plant. We have had our beds now for three years, and because we live in Tempe, AZ, have been able to plant all year long.

I have been so happy with the two, I eventually added two more. We have grown peppers, tomatoes, beans, squash, cantaloupe, watermelon, flowers, and many other yummy fruits and vegetables. The only complaint I had was in the beginning with the initial cost of building and completing the garden. To do this is rather expensive, but I can honestly say it has well been worth the money and it has recouped ten fold.
I was so elated with my fruitful result; I went back to the store and bought 10 more books as gifts for family and friends. I wanted to share this system because I knew it would help them too. After seeing my success, several of them have taken advantage of this method of gardening. In fact, because of this method of gardening, horticulture has become a passion for me. I not only love the results of a bounteous harvest and beautiful flowers, I have found that it has been therapeutic for me. It also has given me the opportunity to teach my children, and neighborhood children about various subjects. For instance, my boys have been coming in with different varieties of bugs they have discovered, and they have had so much fun finding out what kind of bug it is and whether it is good for our garden or bad. I have enjoyed observing the new findings of my junior entomologists.

I also know what my children are eating from my garden is healthy, and is completely organic and safe. As a matter of fact I laughed a little when I have been picking lettuce, spinach, and tomatoes from my garden and still enjoying them last June, when they were pulled by the FDA for salmonella contamination. In fact just yesterday, I watched a news report that said that the FDA believes that jalapenos were actually the reason for the last health scare, not tomatoes. I have no worries; because I grow both of those veggies, and know exactly what goes in the soil, therefore I know exactly what comes out.

Square foot gardens are also great, because they can be built anywhere, and maintained by just about anyone. My friend, Robyn (a single mom with 4 kids) built 2’X8’ beds along the narrow side of her house, and has grown an amazing amount of things. Now she too is an avid gardener, and has expressed her appreciation for the fresh strawberries and lettuce she has pulled from her garden. Interestingly enough as a side note, the side of her house, used to be a place to store extra junk, and now it has become a peaceful, relaxing space. Another friend, Eileen built hers right on her back patio! She has very little space, and even less ground, but was able to incorporate this idea to work for her. I could go on and on about many others that have been successful with this, but you get the idea.


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How to Prepare Soil for Gardening

All excited to start gardening? One important part of setting up your garden is preparing the soil. Ideally you want to achieve a perfect mix of 40% sand, 40% silt and 20% clay. Experienced gardeners use a number of tests to determine good soil composition.


Composition Of Your Soil
One quick way to test if your soil has good composition is by compressing the soil in your hand. If the soil crumbles after compression, there is too much sand in the soil. If the soil holds its shape and it doesn't easily fall apart after you poke it with a finger, there is too much clay in the soil.

Still unsure of the composition of your soil? You can try separating the components using a very simple method. Fill a jar with water and put in two cups o the soil in it. Cover the jar and shake it for a few seconds. Put the jar back down and let the soil set. You'll see three layers: clay on the top, silt in the middle, and sand on the bottom. Note down how much of each component are present.

This simple method helps you identify which component your soil is lacking and which one it has too much of. If your soil has too much sand or silt, you can fix this by adding peat moss or compost to the soil. If there is too much clay content in the soil, mix peat moss and sand, and then add it to your soil. Peat moss allows the sand to integrate better into the soil. If you still can't seem to get the proper balance among your your soil components, head on down to your local nursery or gardening store. You'll find several products that may be able to help you. Ask experienced gardeners for help too.

Water Content

Aside from the composition, water content is one other thing you'll need to check when you are preparing garden soil. You can easily tell the water content of the soil by its location. For example, if you are planning to put your garden at the bottom of an incline, the soil is likely to absorb too much water, which would drown your plants. Try elevating your garden about 4 or 5 inches above the ground as doing so will give it more drainage and help the soil become less saturated.


Soil preparation also involves adding nutrients to the soil. If you live in an urban area, fertilizing your soil before planting is especially recommended because urban soils tend to have little or no nutrients in them. Fertilize your garden soil one or two weeks before you plant. Mix the fertilizer into the soils thoroughly and allow the fertilized soil to sit for a few days. After a couple of weeks, your soil is ready for planting.

After planting your seeds, keep a close eye on your soil. In the first few weeks, the seeds you planted will be using up all the nutrients they can get from the soil. One week after planting the seeds, add the same amount of fertilizer to the soil. You can continue to fertilize the soil every two or three weeks but using a lot less fertilizer.

Conclusion
Essentially, garden soil preparation involves 4 simple steps: (1) make sure soil composition is good and will allow for your plants to grow healthy; (2) ensure that your garden has good water drainage; (3) fertilize the soil two weeks before planting and do so again a week after planting; and (4) fertilize the soil every few weeks. Following these 4 simple steps will ensure that you end up with a healthy garden.


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A Brief History of Victory Gardening in America

Although most of us think of WWII-era Victory Gardening or the popular PBS series, the concept's roots go much further back. According to scholar Amy Bentley, the term can be traced back to England in the 1600s when Richard Gardner produced a book called Victory Garden, encouraging cities to provide for its citizenry through gardens in anticipation of possible invasion by Spain.

It would be well over 300 years...at the end of WWI...that the term "Victory Garden" became widely used stateside.

During WWI, "liberty garden" and "war garden" were the common phrases, both denoting the primarily urban and suburban vegetable beds created to provide sustenance during the conflict. Having seen the nation's Allies suffer with food shortages, civic and political leaders wanted to prepare the country for hard times. They also wanted to keep both troop and citizen morale high by cultivating a sense of patriotic self-sufficiency. Efforts were understandably concentrated in larger cities since more rural areas regularly relied on gardening for sustenance.

Through posters, pamphlets, and other propaganda, the federal government and private entities (including businesses, civic groups and schools) promoted gardening as a civic virtue. It was often noted that none other than Thomas Jefferson had seen a direct relationship between gardening and good citizenship. This was true. As he commented once to John Jay, ""Cultivators of the earth are the most valuable citizens. They are the most vigorous, the most independant, the most virtuous, and they are tied to their country and wedded to it's liberty and interests by the most lasting bands" (23 August 1785).

Over a year prior to and throughout America's engagement in the First World War--and with the aid of the National War Garden Committee comprised of civic and business leaders, vegetable gardens were established in a variety of places--from front yards to vacant lots to The White House. Gardeners were encouraged to store and preserve food using canning and drying techniques.

Between the wars, school gardens (part of a separate gardening movement which had begun in the late 1890s) kept the concept of gardening as a form of patriotic self-sufficiency top of mind. There was also a fair amount of urban gardening during the Depression as well, with many people seeking to relearn homesteading skills in order to survive.

During the Second World War, the government and a private group promoted Victory Gardening anew as a means of addressing potential food scarcity problems at home and abroad. There was also the matter of conserving fuel for the war effort. People were encouraged to drive less. Of course, food produced close to home didn't require transport, either.

Hoping to spark widespread participation, once more the government relied upon posters and other propaganda to garner support and interest. The private sector's National Victory Garden Institute helped to spread the notion. too. Likewise Eleanor Roosevelt's White House Victory Garden generated positive press. Also, as was done in WWI, local and regional committees created a network of support for neophyte gardeners. The combination of civic activism coupled with propaganda was successful. It's widely reported that near the end of the Second World War, the nation's 20 million gardeners produced some 40% of the nation's total food production. While there is some evidence to suggest that the oft-quoted figure was inflated, those mid-century gardeners certainly accomplished much in ensuring easy access to food during bleak times.

After WWII, improvements in agriculture and a prevailing sense that fuel would never diminish led gardening to move off of the nation's agenda in favor of other concerns. In the 1960s and '70s there were periodic movements to return to self-sufficiency through gardening (Gerald Ford supported "Whip Inflation Now (WIN) Gardens), but none of those movements reached the scale or garnered the wide-spread support of the nation's public and private sector leadership as WWI & WWII efforts did.

In recent years, with renewed interest in local produce, organic and sustainable agriculture, and concerns about food and fuel security attracting new interest, authors, bloggers and journalists have begun to push forward a Victory Garden revival. An increasing number of pro-Victory Garden videos are also accessible via You Tube. In fact, it may be argued that new media has empowered citizens to seed the notion in a way that mirrors the government's earlier propaganda efforts.

Will the nascent revival succeed? That remains to be seen. Optimistically speaking, the creation of a new Victory Garden on the grounds of San Francisco's Civic Center (Summer 2008) paired with a troubled economy, climate change worries, and newfound interest in fuel conservation suggest that a full-scale revival is plausible AND potentially essential to our long-term survival.


Similarities & Differences Between Earlier Movements & The Current Revival


To date, the driving force behind the current revival has been gardeners, bloggers and journalists--the federal government has yet to formally engage with the effort. A few county extension agents, however, have written columns or op-ed pieces in support of gardening as a means of reducing food costs in tough economic times. And, as mentioned elsewhere on this lens, the city of San Francisco, in collaboration with Slow Food Nation, recently created a Victory Garden on the grounds of their Civic Center. This comes on the heels of a two-year, city-wide project to promote sustainable urban gardening across that community. Other cities are reportedly planning to follow suit.
In WWI & WWII, emphasis was placed on growing new gardens in suburban and urban areas. The modern movement encourages growing food in all areas, though there is an understandable emphasis on communities with limited access to land. Thus, community and container garden options are often heavily encouraged today for urbanites and suburbanites interested in taking part in the revival.
For many people, the long-standing connotations of war in relation to the phrase "Victory Gardens" are problematic. This has lead to many people to use other monikers (freedom gardens, peace gardens, liberty gardens, edible landscapes/estates, etc.) for what is essentially the same thing--gardening for self-sufficiency.
Modern proponents heavily promote organic gardening methods and using seeds (as opposed to seedlings) to protect planetary bio-diversity. In contrast, some WWII-era propaganda encouraged the use of new-fangled pesticides and inorganic fertilizers to maximize production. This is interesting in light of the fact that the pesticides were often derivatives of chemical weaponry developed for the war effort.
Fuel scarcity and food safety are promoted alongside environmental stewardship (hence the preference for organics).
The nascent revival has inspired artists ranging from graphic designers to playwrights...just as earlier efforts sparked creative responses from visual artists and even cartoonists.
The trend toward locavorism and the writings of individuals like novelist Barbara Kingsolver, journalist Michael Pollan & chef Alice Waters has led to an emphasis on food quality inherent to growing one's own food.


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Organic gardening

Organic gardening is a method of growing plants without the use of synthetic chemicals, including pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers. Instead, organic, or once-living, materials are used to naturally cultivate the growing plants.

Organic materials include leaves, grasses, food scraps, agricultural crop residue and other natural materials.

By promoting natural diversity and biological cycles in farming, organic gardening methods strive to create gardens that are self-sufficient and sustainable. Converting a garden to produce vegetables and fruit organically is a long-term process; it happens gradually, typically requiring several years, rather than in one single growing season. Organic gardening sometimes takes a great deal of work, but the rewards can be found in the chemical-free bounty of the harvest. Take a look at the basic process of organic gardening.


Planning an Organic Garden
The first step in creating an organic garden is to consider its purpose. Will the garden support an entire family, or will extra produce be grown and sold? Keeping the garden’s purpose in mind, a location should be chosen that is convenient to the home but big enough to meet the needs of the gardener. It is best to choose a location with well-drained soil that is near a water supply and not shaded by buildings or trees. Some gardeners plot a layout of the garden on paper before planting. The crops that will be planted in each row should be planned in advance.

Organic plant production depends on healthy and fertile soil, so the soil should be amended as necessary before planting to ensure quality. Decayed plant material is essential for producing fertile soil. This organic matter, when added to the soil, can slow erosion and offer a good environment for earthworms and other beneficial microorganisms. To ensure that the soil is healthy before planting, aim for 3 to 5 percent organic matter soil content. Be sure to mix the organic material into the soil at least three weeks before planting, because the organic material can interfere with the growth of the seeds if it is not completely rotted and incorporated into the soil before planting.


Planting an Organic Garden
In an organic garden, seeds must not have been chemically treated. Seeds for some crops, however, may not be available in non-treated form. In that case, if the grower is certified organic, he or she will need authorization from the certifier before buying the seeds. To achieve certified organic status, an application must be made to the National Organic Program through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. For more information, visit National Organic Program Web site. For individual gardeners who are not certified, it comes down to a personal choice as to whether to use seeds that have been treated with chemicals.

Good choices for seeds include varieties that are best able to resist disease and insects. Plants that mature early are also good choices, because they allow less time for any diseases or insect damage to take place; by the same token, late-maturing plants are more susceptible to these common afflictions.

When planning and planting, keep in mind that some plants naturally can be used to the gardener’s advantage. For example, if the gardener plants dill on the opposite side of the garden from tomatoes, tomato hornworms will be drawn away from the tomato plants because they are more attracted to the dill. Although this approach may offer only a small measure of protection for the tomatoes, any advantage is a good one. Likewise, sage can work to repel the cabbage moths and black flea beetles that attack cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli, so a gardener can gain a slight advantage if sage is planted with these crops.


Organic Gardening Fertilizers
Animal manure is the best fertilizer for organic gardening. The manure needs to be partially broken-down, however, before it is applied to the plants. For best results, the manure should be aged for 30 days to allow for breakdown; otherwise, it can be composted. To find out more about managing manure, read the Ohio State University’s guide to Manure Management.

The benefits of animal manure can be found in the nutrients contained within the manure. Though the nutrient content varies greatly depending on the source of the manure (the type of animal and its age, physical condition and diet all play a role), some level of the following nutrients can be expected: nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium and calcium. Fresh manure should not be applied to growing plants, or within 120 days of harvest time.

Compost is another good organic fertilizer. Compost is made from the decomposition of organic materials, including lawn trimmings, crop residues, food scraps and wood chips. A compost pile is made of alternating layers of organic materials that heat up in the sun after two or three days, though it takes between two months and a year for the compost to be ready, depending on the season, materials used and the skill of the person doing the composting. Every three to four weeks during that period, the compost must be turned with a pitchfork to allow the different materials to mix into a uniform fertilizer.


Organic Garden Mulching
Mulch, which is usually composed of lawn clippings, wood shavings, pine straw or sawdust, is placed on the surface of the soil, around the plants. Mulch allows the soil to conserve water and nutrients, reduce erosion and weed growth, moderate temperature and reduce rot on fruit that is caused by soil. Plastic mulch, which comes in a variety of colors, also can be used.


Controlling Weeds, Insects and Diseases in an Organic Garden
Mulching is recommended to control weeds, as are hoeing and shallow cultivation. Controlling insects and diseases by natural means, however, can be more difficult. Prevention is important because once an infestation occurs; it can be hard to control using only organic methods. Therefore, it is important to plant as early as possible using resistant varieties of plants and only seeds and transplants from disease-free plants. Also, clean up any plant refuse as soon as possible, water in the morning to avoid wet plants at night and get rid of diseased plants before the problem can spread to healthy plants. Insects can be picked from plants by hand, or natural predators can be introduced to the area. Some organic gardeners also use sprays that contain organic or natural plant poisons that can help keep insects at bay.

The National Gardening Association maintains a large bank of knowledge about gardening, and can help novices and those more experienced with tips, strategies, and support. Visit the National Gardening Association for more information.


Organic Gardening Certification
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulates the standards for organic farming. Certification must be obtained to sell organic crops with the claim that they are organically produced. The USDA National Organic Program accredits the agents who inspect organic products and certifies that they meet the standards established by the USDA.


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Types of Greenhouse

"Your Greenhouse will probably be one of the most expensive things you buy for your garden, but if used properly will pay for itself many times over and more importantly give you many years of enjoyment."

Types of Greenhouse

There are many different sizes and shapes of greenhouse at all sorts of prices from "free to collector" to commercial greenhouses costing thousands , from polythene poly tunnels to alluminion or timber construction, from lean-to greenhouse to apex greenhouse.

A lean-to greenhouse
is built leaning against another building, usually your house. Good if you have limited space and the temperature is more stable because the house wall prevents large temperature fluctuations , but it does cut down the light entering the greenhouse, although this is probably negated if the long bit is facing south.

An apex greenhouse
is freestanding and has an apex roof which lets in light from both sides and permits growing on both sides providing more room.

The larger the greenhouse, the less it will cost per square foot of growing space, so it is best to buy the largest greenhouse you can afford and have space for. Once you get hooked and taste the difference, you will have no difficulty in filling it!

Plastic or glass ? Plastic is cheaper, easier to fit, is not brittle and won't break when the kids wack it with a football, But, glass lets more light in than plastic, but it easily broken and if people who are liable to trip or fall are going to be the main user, plastic is the best bet. On the other hand the more light that gets into your greenhouse the better it is. Tough decision !

One more decision which material. Aluminum is light weight, corrosion free, and requires no maintenance. It is also cheaper than wood but does not look as nice, and it also heats up and cools down much faster. Wooden greenhouses need to be treated every few years to protect them from rot

Greenhouse accessories. Guttering to collect rainwater and store in a water butt.. Waist high staging and plenty of shelving with slatted surfaces for planting seed trays and potting up and doing other work in your greenhouse. The slatted surfaces are important as they let spilt soil and water fall through.and allow air to circulate more freely. Finally and very important ventilation a window in the roof of the greenhouse.


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Greenhouse gardening

Green house gardening is much the same as gardening in the open, the same knowledge is learnt and applied just altering it a little to garden under glass. Remember a greenhouse doesn't have to be a "hot house", unless you are growing a tropical jungle .Plants actually do best in temperatures slightly lower and with a much higher humidity than in our houses. You can control the temperature in small greenhouse quite easily.

Some good reasons to have a greenhouse, Vegetables for the winter, Taking cuttings of tender plants for next year and protecting frost vulnerable plants from the Winter frosts, Early start for tender plants started from seed. Getting in early with seedlings you may want to sell at a car boot sale. Experimenting with various plants as a hobby, or even to develop new varieties. But most of all the enjoyment of greenhouse gardening. Remember mistakes don't matter tis a learning curve, Enjoy


Food and water If you have a compost heap a mixture of one part compost, one part good topsoil from your garden, and one part sharp sand, and a little lime is the optimal soil for use in a greenhouse - particularly for growing tomatoes. If you don't have a compost heap bags of potting soil from a local supplier are ok, but if you want to grow organically check the contents label. The only time you need to water is when the soil is dry. Over watering will kill your plants.

Siting your Greenhouse Choose a level bit of garden preferably out of the way of young children Your greenhouse should receive the maximum amount of winter sunlight available. Some things to consider.Try to avoid shadows cast by building or trees , deciduous trees will allow winter sun evergreens will not.
Have the long side of your greenhouse facing south to catch the maximum amount of light and sun in the spring, autumn and winter.

Workspace Your greenhouse interior should allow enough room for moving around and potting plants. Have benches to suit your height, To low can cause a bad back to high you will have to stretch.Potting benches can be designed to fold down to make more room when not being used They're usually slotted so dirt and water can fall through.You've got to get in and out carrying pots and compost, so make sure the door opens onto a solid path.


Temperature The more sun your greenhouse gets the more heat the greenhouse will produce. The ideal greenhouse temperature is (depending on what plants you want to grow) about 5 C Place a thermometer in the shade near the middle of your greenhouse and check the temperature at different times during sunny and cloudy weather. If the temperature is Higher and the plants you are growing need a range of about 5 C you will need to ventilate the greenhouse. The minimum temperature readings you record on a hot sunny day with doors and vents open will determine what plants you can grow.


This is a bit technical but worth a read . Two temperatures are key - the air temperature required in the greenhouse and the minimum outside temperature that your heating equipment must overcome. For most plants, a night temperature of 5 degrees C in the greenhouse is adequate. The general rule, however, is not to have a higher temperature than is necessary. If you grow some plants that require a higher temperature than is provided in the greenhouse, use a propagating case or a warmed bench with thermostatically controlled warming cables to warm the air surrounding the plants. This can be done at a fraction of the cost that would be necessary to heat the whole greenhouse to provide the same temperature.

Ventilation Spread your plants evenly throughout the greenhouse so the air is distributed evenly. Greenhouses overheat easily, and in the middle of summer you may have to make sure to open the doors and ceiling vents in the morning and leave them open until late afternoon. If the greenhouse does overheat you can Hose down the greenhouse floor. This will cool the greenhouse down quickly.

Cleaning and debugging the greenhouse Its a good idea to disinfect the entire greenhouse now and then with a scrubbing brush and a mixture of diluted bleach, making sure the vent is open and you don't get bleach on your plants. Then rinse with clean water. Spray the walls and corners with a hosepipe will help keep insect pests to a minimum.Slugs and snails love warm damp places so watch out for them. Frogs, Toads and Hedgehogs eat slugs and snails so encourage them. You could also try some alternatives to slug bait

Produce Tips Carrots, beets, turnips, and other root crops do well in deep pots or containers under benches. Tomatoes, peas, cucumbers, and runner beans need fairly large containers. Lettuce can be planted around the taller vegetables. Tap water is ok for watering. If you let it stand for a day to get rid of chlorine you will avoid brown tips on plants. Good drainage is very important so line the bottom of your pots with bits of broken flowerpots, stone or gravel.Herbs are nature's insecticides so include a variety of them in your greenhouse, they are also great air fresheners for your home. Spraying plants with a mixture of onions and garlic left to stand in water for a few days is a effective and natural insecticide. Probably not a good idea to spray plants in your home with this mix.




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Straw Bale Gardening

Hay or Straw Bale Gardening is a method of gardening in which plants are grown in straw bales, usually wheat or oat straw, rather than in soil. Because it is a mostly soil-less method, it is sometimes considered a form of hydroponic gardening. It is suitable for many types of annuals, and is especially used for vegetable gardening.


Advantages of Straw Bale Gardening
There are many reasons why gardeners turn to hay bale gardens. Probably the most common is poor or difficult soil. A straw bale requires no tilling or mixing of soils to allow for drainage. In this part of South Carolina the soil is mostly very dense red clay that is exceptionally difficult to work and can cause serious drainage issues. Simply growing vegetables in hay bales eliminates these problems. Because the plants are a couple of feet off of the ground, it also makes gardening much easier for the disabled, older gardeners, or just for those who want to avoid back pain. Hay bales are far, far less prone to weeds, and Bale Gardening devotees report fewer pest problems. This means that straw bale gardening makes organic or low-chemical gardening all the easier. A bale garden can be a great solution for that enemy of the gardener, the parking strip (or "hell strip," as many call it). It is also becoming popular in some cityscapes for rooftop and lot gardening.


How to Garden in Straw Bales:


1. Choose your Bales
Most straw bale gardeners recommend wheat straw, but I've heard of success with oat straw as well as mixed grass or alfalfa bales. Do not use pine straw. When choosing your bales you'll want them bound with synthetic twine, which won't rot and allow your planting bed to collapse (if you cannot find synthetic twine, you'll need to use some sort of stakes as support). Try to find older bales that have already begun rotting when you can, though not those that are so far gone as to have lost some of their structure.



Before you start the curing process, place your bales. They will be constantly wet once you start curing, and will be very heavy and difficult to move. Most bale gardeners prefer to have the bales oriented with the straw vertical for better root penetration, but this is a matter of preference


2. Cure your Bales
The curing process will take about ten days, or longer if you are not using chemicals. First, soak the bales and keep them wet for three days. On the fourth day sprinkle the bales lightly with about five ounces of ammonium nitrate. Continue soaking, and on the seventh day add another two and a half ounces of ammonium nitrate. Continue soaking, and on the tenth day add one cup of 13-13-13 or 10-10-10 fertilizer and water in.

To cure without chemicals, you may to keep the bales soaking for around three or four weeks to allow them to start breaking down. When you start to soak them, they will become noticeably warm or even hot. Do not plant until they have cooled down.


3. Plant
Most gardeners will want to use some soil for planting on the bales. A 2 or 3 inch layer of compost or potting soil on top of the bales should be sufficient, or you can cut quart-sized holes in the bales themselves with a keyhole saw and fill those with a mix of cool compost and soil. Many bale gardeners, though, prefer to use very little soil, and plant directly into the bales. To do so, simply split a crack to plant in with a prying instrument of some sort. Keep in mind, though, that without compost on the bales, you will need to use more artificial fertilizers.

Each bale should hold about two plants for most vegetables, such as tomatoes, squash, and cucumbers. More will usually fit well with smaller plants like peppers, greens, or herbs. I don't recommend bale growing with root crops, as the roots will be compressed by the straw and will be difficult to harvest. Very tall crops, such as corn or pole beans, will tip the bale over without some sort of support system. Smaller plants are easier to transplant into bales, so bale growers often transplant somewhat younger than soil gardeners.


4. Grow and Enjoy

Depending on what you're growing and how much fertilizer and compost you use on the bales, you may need to fertilize lightly throughout the growing season. Small amounts of artificial fertilizer should work, though I recommend a compost tea. Keep in mind that, unlike traditional gardening, your plants will be getting next to no nutrients other than what you add to the straw (though overfertilizing is often more dangerous for your plants than underfertilizing is). It is also very important to keep the bales moist throughout the growing season. The bales should retain water surprisingly well, and many gardeners report that they actually use significantly less water with straw bale gardening than they did with traditional methods, but you will certainly need to keep an eye on your plants to make sure that they don't dry out between waterings. One great thing about hay bale gardens is that you will probably not be able to overwater them, as they will allow the excess to drain right out.

You should be able to reuse your wheat straw bales for one year. After that you can compost them, or just break them up where they sit and put new bales over them. This will enrich the soil below and encourage worms to come in and improve it.

Got experience with this method of growing? Got questions? See a way to improve this article? I'd love to hear from you! Please, comment below.




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Growing Grapes

Growing Grapes In The Garden
Growing grapes in your garden is as easy as growing any other type of soft fruit. As long as you have a south-facing garden in a relatively warm spot you should have no problems growing grapes outside. Alternatively, you can grow them inside a greenhouse if you live in the north of the UK.

Grapes are hardy plants that can be grown outside in southern England and Wales. For cultivating outdoors, it is best to choose a variety suited for the outdoors. These include:

Meuller-Thurgau – a mid-season maturing sweet, white grape, suitable for desserts, or wine-making
Siegerrebe – an acid-loving early fruiting variety, with green/gold berries, ideal for making wine
Indoor varieties (ideal for being grown in a greenhouse) include:
Black Hamburgh – a well-known variety, bearing large, blue-black berries
Thompson’s Seedless – this variety produces green dessert grapes and can be grown successfully in a cold greenhouse

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Planting A Grape Vine Outdoors
The best time to plant a grapevine is from October until March. Choose a south-facing position and grow the vine up a wall or sturdy structure, such as a pillar. Dig a hole 15cm deep and 15cm away from the support (wall, pillar, etc). Place the rootball in the hole, refill the space with soil and gently tread the soil around the stem to firm it into place. Cover the soil surface around the vine with a thick mulch of well-rotted manure or compost to help protect the roots from frost.


Planting A Grape Vine Indoors
Indoor grapevines can be planted in the soil on the outside of a greenhouse and the trunk trained to grow inside, via a hole in the wall. This method of cultivation is often applied to vines that are grown in greenhouses with concrete floors. However, it is important to provide ventilation (usually via an open window) for grapes grown under glass. This ensures that humidity levels are reduced as the fruits ripen.


Pests And Diseases
A common pest of grapes grown in greenhouses is red spider mite. The mites thrive in hot, dry conditions and can devastate a plant if allowed to spread. Maintaining good hygiene will reduce the problem. Misting the plant will increase humidity (creating adverse conditions for the pest), however humidity can also hamper the quality of the berries.


Growing Grapes In Containers
A grapevine will grow happily in a pot and produce grapes every year if well cared for. Grapevines can be kept in large pots for several years. To maintain a healthy grapevine in a pot, top-dress every spring. Simply remove 15cm of compost from the top of the pot and replace with a fresh layer of well-rotted manure or compost. Regular watering and feeding during the growing season will be required to maintain nutrient levels to ensure the plant grows properly.

Grapes are a fantastic fruit to grow in your garden. They can be grown indoors in a greenhouse or conservatory, or grown outdoors along a wall or in a container. You can eat the grapes fresh on their own or in salads, or even try your hand at making your own wine.


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