Some Useful Organic Vegetable Gardening Tips

We all want to stay healthy by eating chemically free, fresh, vitamin filled and natural foods. When we grow our own food, it makes us less dependent on commercially grown foods, which are coated with chemicals and are also quite tasteless.

The US Department of Agriculture compiled data that reveals that the mineral levels in vegetables, fruits, dairy and meat has decreased substantially in the foods that are commercially produced. Chemical fertilizers that are used for commercial produce swell it with more water. Organic food on the other hand has more dry matter and is loaded with essential nutrients. It is also much higher in antioxidants, which is another big reason to go organic.

How is Organic Gardening Different

The main difference between conventional gardening and organic gardening is in the areas of pest control and fertilization. In organic gardening, organic and natural methods and materials are used rather than synthetic chemicals which are detrimental to the environment and our health.

If you are fond of home gardening for organic vegetables, some of the useful home vegetable gardening tips are to choose your crops carefully, select a garden site that is appropriate for plants, plan your garden, prepare the soil and choose appropriate fertilizers.


Successful Organic Vegetable Gardening

The most important organic vegetable gardening tip is that you need to provide good growing conditions for the healthiest produce. A good crop does not happen by accident, it needs lots of hard work and suitable conditions. The most important factor responsible for adequate growth of any plant is at least six hours of direct sun each day. You also need to make sure that the soil is full of organic matter.

Another organic vegetable gardening tip is to choose the plants sensibly. There are some plants that are more susceptible to diseases and pest problems as compared to other plants. To save unnecessary problems for yourself, look for varieties that are disease-resistant.

One valuable organic vegetable gardening tip is to feed your organic plants naturally. Fertilizing your plants may not be necessary in most soils, but it definitely helps them grow better. Feeding your plants with well-rotted animal manure is a good source. Organic matter improves tilth, structure and the condition of the soil. It also improves the ability of soil to hold water and nutrients.

Another handy organic vegetable gardening tip is to be absolutely intolerant of weeds as they rob plants of water and essential nutrients. They also attract pests that can spread diseases from one plant to another. It is therefore important to walk through your garden and pick up weeds and shed foliage.

Another important organic vegetable gardening tip is to water wisely. Use water saving soaker hoses to water the plants directly at the roots. Also, jamming the plants in the plot can cause problems. Do not plant the organic vegetables too close to each other. There has to be good airflow between the plant for them to grow well and prevent any fungal disease.

For more about gardening please visit www.organicgardeningzone.com

A Healthy Option: Green Gardening

There is a new world developing in the gardening world that is called green gardening, otherwise known as organic gardening.  Since it is becoming more popular, there is more gardening help available to help a person who has been gardening for years change over to green gardening from traditional methods.  There is also plenty of information that allows those who have not ever gardened before to become green gardeners in a short amount of time.

Going Green

Going green is a slogan that has been tossed around more and more in recent years, as more and more people become informed about the effects of our actions on the environment and more environmental problems surface due to man's negligence.Since this is the case, people have been finding more ways to be environmentally friendly yet still able to participate in the activities they enjoy, such as gardening.

Green gardening means using products that are organic, such as compost instead of chemical fertilizers.The compost can be made through grass clippings, leaves or scraps from the kitchen that are organic.  All of these items are thrown onto a pile called the compost pile, which begins to decay and let the nutrients from the decaying bodies into the soil, which plants love.Earthworms also help to decompose the compost pile if the person doesn't mind their squirming.

In addition to growing flowers organically, green gardening includes growing food, so that most of what is eaten is home grown.Organic food that is bought in a grocery store or specialty shop is always more expensive then alternatives.Growing food in a vegetable garden saves time and money, including the gas required to get to the grocery store!  In addition, picking the vegetables and fruit from the garden, fresh, right before use always tastes better than those that have been shipped to the store.

For those who do not have the option of starting a green garden in the back of their house, there are a couple of different options available.One option is to join a community garden in which people sign up to take care of the garden on different days of the week and the produce from the garden is shared amongst them all.The other option for urban dwellers is to do container gardening, doing green gardening in potted plants.All sorts of plants can be grown this way, including vegetables, so it is a viable option for those who do not have yards.

For more about gardening please visit www.organicgardeningzone.com

Crazy About Orchids? You're In Good Company

Since tulip mania (or "tulipomania") crested in the Netherlands until the present, no single group of plants has acquired such a firm grasp on popular fancy as the orchids. Believe it or not, though, today's orchid craze hardly compares to the fevered devotion that the plants inspired in our Victorian forebears, especially in England and the United States.

Certainly, of course, many other plants were greatly admired in the Anglo-Saxon world of the latter half of the 19th century.Among these were ferns, cacti, chrysanthemums, palms and roses. But orchids to a great extent represented the summit of horticultural respectability in the 19th century garden. So highly were these mostly tropical epiphytes esteemed that in May of 1885 the first general conference on orchids was held in London. The gala event brought together amateur as well as commercial growers to show off their prized specimens and to discuss important issues, including the culture and nomenclature of these marvelous flowers.

At the time of that great conference in London, the exotic tropical orchids had been known to most of the world for only around a hundred years. A 16th-century Spanish botanist, Francisco Hernandez, casually referred to a few orchids as curiosities when recounting a voyage to Spanish America. Some 200 years later, naturalist Engelbert Kaempfer and botanist Georg Eberhard Rumphius, employed by the Dutch East Indies Company, described several of the Asian orchids. But it wasn't until just before the beginning of the 19th century that Europeans in general became aware of these mysterious and exciting plants.

By the early 19th century, botanists were attempting to cultivate a handful of specimens at such places as London's famous Kew Gardens. Until 1820 orchids were looked upon as curiosities in botanical gardens, but about that time some showy Cattleyas and other species produced some stunning flowers, piqueing greater interest among the public. By the middle of the 19th century, new orchid specimens were making their way to Europe from all around the globe. Additionally, more and more people were attempting to cultivate orchids at home.

The first great orchid craze was going full throttle by the late 1800s and continued undiminished for many years to come. Somewhat suprisingly, a solid scientific understanding of orchid botany and what was needed to be consistently successful in growing orchids did not arrive until the 1920s.

Today, of course, we have an abudance of good, accurate information available for anyone who wants to grow orchids. The most accurate and clear guide to today's orchid care, many growers agree, is Orchid Care Expert by a Mr. Nigel Howard, which may be downloaded online. Mr. Howard's guide is a comprehensive course, helpful for beginners as well as the more seasoned fanciers alike. Also, be sure to visit the Orchid Secrets website, which is publishing an ever-growing library of articles on all aspects of orchid care.

How to Make Organic Gardening Compost

So you want to get involved in organic gardening and farming, and know that one of the first things that you are going to need to do is make some organic gardening compost. This organic gardening compost is what you are going to be using to provide nutrients to the soil which in turn will make stronger, healthier plants.

There are a few different ways to make organic gardening compost, but here is some basic information that you will need to be aware of.

Full Instructions

When it comes to organic gardening compost, the most important thing to learn about is what you can use to make compost. Basically, anything that was once living will make for great compost. You should avoid using meat, dairy and cooked food in your compost however because these foods can attract vermin and so you really want to avoid home-composting them.

All fruit and vegetable peels work well in organic gardening, and for the best results you want to always use a mixture of types of ingredient. The right balance for you here is going to really only be learnt by experience, and so just because you may not get it perfect right away, you should not become frustrated and after you practice and stay at it, you will continue to make better and better compost each time.

Keep in mind that some things, such as grass mowing and soft young weeds, will rot quickly, and so they do work as activators which means that they get the compost started, but they do end up decaying and causing quite a mess.

Any tea bags and leaves, coffee grounds, soft green prunings, animal manure, and poultry manure and bedding for instance, will all work very well in your compost. Make sure that you try a few different things, and see what works best.

Depending on the type of plants that you have in your garden, certain mixtures are going to work better than others. Only over time will you be able to recognize which mixtures work best on your garden.

Remember, your organic gardening compost can be as simple or complex as you want to make it. If you are just getting started, it will be best for you to stick to a simpler compost recipe, and then as you begin to get more used to making it and get more familiar with the routine, you can start adding in new things.

For more about gardening please visit www.organicgardeningzone.com

Beautifying the Yard: Flower Gardening

Flower gardening is one way to make a huge difference in the yard and raise the value of any home.  There are so many different choices in flowers that a flower garden can change every year or even every month!  In addition, there are ways to green garden, which means that all of the products used in the garden are organic, so that pesticides and fertilizers are not used which can be harmful to humans, pets and the environment.  

The first choice in flower gardening is what types of flowers to plant, since that will determine where the garden should be located.  If there is only one option for where the flower garden can be placed, then the plants chosen for the garden should be based on how much sunlight is available in the garden and what the overall climate is where the person lives.  That way the flower garden will be more likely to be successful, and the gardener will not get frustrated with plants that will not grow or that die after a short amount of time.

Roses?

There are many people who would like to have a rose flower garden but are afraid to do so because they have heard that roses are temperamental flowers and are difficult to grow and maintain.However, there are some tips that can be used to successfully grow a rose flower garden in any climate.   

The first tip was mentioned above – choose the flowers according to the climate.  Roses are tougher than they look and were found naturally in every climate.  The trick to planting a rose garden is to choose the types of roses that enjoy the type of weather the person lives in.Also, roses enjoy sunlight, so a flower garden composed of roses should be placed where they can get direct sunlight.

When planting rose bushes in a flower garden, they should be planted apart from one another so that they can get air between the different plants.They also should be pruned regularly so that the bushes do not get too thick where they cannot get air within the branches of the plant.  Roses also like to be watered regularly, but not in the way other flowers are usually watered.Roses need to be watered at the roots so that they can more readily absorb the water.

If all of these instructions are followed, then a beautiful rose flower garden should be blooming in no time.Keeping the roses well fertilized with healthy mulch from compost will also help them to stay healthy and strong.

For more about gardening please visit www.organicgardeningzone.com

Home Gardening

Home gardening can be a wonderful way to relax after a rough day in the office, allowing the individual to have time outside, physical activity, and produce a gorgeous garden that everyone can enjoy.  Whether they choose to grow a flower garden or stick to vegetables, a garden comes in all shapes and sizes, from containers gardens, ornamental gardens or ones that provide food for the entire family.

Types of Gardening

There are different types of home gardening styles for individuals to choose from so that they can experiment to see what ones work best for them.Getting started in home gardening almost always starts with the soil, since that is the essence of all that will grow in the garden.Placement of the garden is of importance as well, since there are some flowers and plants that will not grow in direct sunlight or full shade, so the area where the garden is to be placed should be chosen with care.

There are different types of plants that can be planted in home gardens.  Besides the many varieties of fruits and vegetables, there are different types of flowers, grasses and bushes that can be grown in home gardens.Annual plants are ones that only live for one growing season.  The downside to these plants is that they have to be replaced every year.However, they are great filler plants and add splashes of color and texture wherever they are planted.  In addition, there are biennial plants that last for two seasons, so the individual gets more 'value' for their money.

Perennial plants are usually the foundation to any decorative garden since they continue to grow year after year and, if tended well, will fill in and make the garden look more and more luxurious with each year.  Rose gardening is another option of perennial that can make for a beautiful garden.Some people are wary of choosing roses for the garden, thinking that they are hard to tend and finicky, but with a few simple tips, growing a rose garden is a great choice in a home garden.

The other popular choice in flowers is growing from bulbs and tubers.These flowers also grow back year after year, but have to be tended to ward off deer and other creatures who love the tender bulbs.Ornamental grasses and vines are also wonderful choices to edge home gardens or to use as ground cover, since they are decorative and easy to tend once they have grown in.

For more about gardening please visit www.organicgardeningzone.com

If You Grow Orchids, Beware of this Insect Pest

The Cattleya fly is among the the most devastating of pests that could assault your orchid garden.. In fact, this pest is intimately associated with orchids rather than any other family of plant, as you might gather from its scientific name, Eurytoma orchidearum.

Cattleya flies deposit their eggs in the orchid plant's young growths. The eggs hatch and then nymphs (or maggots) hatch and begin to feed voraciously. These nymphs soon swell to a huge size within the orchid's bulbs. One signal that these maggots are doing their nasty work is that the bulbs themselves will swell becoming club-shaped at the part where the pests are munching away.

Finally, the nymphs are transformed into flies, which munch their way to the outside by chewing through the flesh of the bulbs. Adult Cattleya flies are very easy to recognize. They have clear wings and black bodies, and are about a quarter inch long. Sadly, by the time you see them, it could be too late to salvage many of your plants. Nonetheless, you should always attempt to kill the flies before they can lay eggs in your remaining healthy plants.

Abnormally swollen bulbs are a sign that a plant is already infected. In this situation the best remedy is to cut off the bulbs. Then, drown the nymph by dropping it into a bowl of water. It's disheartening to have to cut away your plant's young growth, but this is better than leaving your other plants open to being attacked by this pest. With some luck, that plant that you did surgery to will produce a new bulb in place of the old one.

Now here's the good news about Cattleya flies. They are fortunately not especially common, and most orchid growers will never see them. Regardless, it is just good practice to inspect every new orchid for the signs of these flies and their maggots. Besides looking out for unusually swollen bulbs where the fly's nymphs might be eating, inspect for minute holes where a female fly's ovipositor might have inserted her eggs into the plant. Absent such signs, you probably do not have a Cattleya fly problem.

To be really successful growing orchids it is important to know how to deal with all the various threats to your plants, including insects. It isn't as difficult to grow orchids as many people seem to believe, especially if you first read up on how to properly care for these fascinating plants.

The most complete guide to 21st-century orchid growing, many agree, is Orchid Care Expert by a Mr. Nigel Howard, which can be downloaded over the Internet. Howard's wonderful guide will provide a full understanding of the subject. Also, visit the Orchid Secrets site, which contains an ever-growing library of articles on many facets of orchid care.