Plant Gardens 101

Interested in growing organic? For many, it’s the only way to grow.

When starting an organic vegetable garden you must start from the ground up. Compost is the key to a lush, bountiful organic garden. If you don’t already have your own compost, check with your local municipality. Most give away leaf compost for free. Some even deliver by the truckload to your home!

Leaf compost is very rich in organic matter; however, it still needs a few amendments. Lime added to your compost will balance the Ph and Gypsum added (about 5lbs. per 100 sq. ft.) will keep the soil nice and loose, it also adds trace minerals such as calcium which is great for the soil. Adding these will also help plants intake the nutrients they need to thrive. Work this into the top 4”-6” of soil.

Another important key to growing organic veggies is sunlight. Take some time to watch the sun as it moves across your property throughout the day. Start your garden where it will get the maximum amount of sun and plant your rows from NE to SW. It is also important to water your garden in the early morning between the hours of 6 and 10 am. The will allow for good water absorption and any water left on the leaves will evaporate before the heat of mid-day. Watering in the middle of the day is not recommended because the water will evaporate before it has a chance to really soak in (or you will have to water longer to get the same effect). The leaves of the plants may also burn as the water on the leaves heats up. Never, ever water your garden in the evening unless you want a tough battle with the evil fungus! Let me explain. When you water in the evening it is cooler and dark. The ground will absorb the water well, however, the round will only suck up so much, and then the garden is left with water on the leaves and puddles (even small ones) around the stems. There is no sun to gently evaporate the excess. Water and air can carry fungus spores naturally. The water laying on the leaves and around the stems acts as a fertilizer to the evil fungus and it grows literally overnight. Before you know it you have black spots on your tomato and pepper plant and curling leaves on your cucumbers! (more…)

Many people are afraid of growing plants from seed but it’s really very simple and anyone can do it. All you really need is patience and diligence.

There’s nothing more rewarding than scattering a few seeds in a box and seeing them grow into real flowers or vegetables. In addition, it’s much less expensive to buy a few packets of seeds and some compost than to buy the equivalent number of plants from a garden centre. This is particularly true if you have a large garden and need plenty of plants to fill the spaces but if your garden is small, why not share a few different packets of seeds with a friend or two. If, say, three of you each grow one variety then you can all have three different types of flowers in your garden or window boxes.

So, to get down to essentials: it has to be the right time of year. Most annual flowers and summer vegetables such as tomatoes, salads, beans, cucumbers, etc. need to be planted in late winter or early spring but perennial plants and vegetables like spring onions should be planted in autumn so you must check the seed packet. You also need good quality seed compost. Don’t skimp on this; you really do get what you pay for and the cheaper varieties don’t contain the nutrients that growing seedlings need. You will also need some sort of container, usually a tray about 5cm deep by 22cm wide by 35cm long. Specialist seed trays from a garden centre are quite cheap and obviously designed for the purpose. Alternatively, you can buy strips of tiny pots, which are useful when you come to prick out your seedlings (more of that later) or for larger seeds, pellets which expand in water and which hold individual seeds. (more…)

While we all know that garlic has many health benefits such as being a natural antibiotic, you may not know that they can also be healthy for your garden as well. As a companion plant, when they are planted near roses and raspberries, garlic will improve the growth and health of your plants. It has the added benefit of deterring Japanese beetles and aphids. Garlic is easy to grow and each planted clove will produce a full head of Garlic with between 8 to 20 cloves per head. To get started in with planting your garlic, first purchase your garlic of choice. Since the garlic from grocery stores has antisprouting chemicals added to it, be sure and buy your garlic from a reputable source rather than a grocery store. One variety that you may enjoy that is popular here in the Mid-South is the mild flavored ‘Elephant’ garlic which has large clusters.

Planting Garlic

One half pound of garlic seed is a good start and will produce about 15 plants. Garlic is divided into hardnecks (Allium sativum var. ohioscorodon) and softnecks (Allium sativum var. sativum). First, check online catalogs or your local co-op for the variety that will suit your needs best. (more…)

How do cherry tomatoes in the dead of winter sound to you, a gardener in a northern clime wishing for summer? Impossible, you say. Not if you garden indoors. Vegetables of all types can be grown year-round indoors, with the proper light, soil, fertilizer and temperature, as well as focusing on suitable plant varieties.

If you are going to grow indoor vegetables in winter, you will need to start by raising plants from seed in late summer or early fall. It’s best to buy your seeds in the spring if you wish to do this, because it is not always easy to find seeds for sale at local garden centers in the fall.

Use a light seedling mix for starting your seeds. Its loose consistency will make it easy for the plants new roots to start to develop. After the seedlings have two true leaves, you can begin to carefully transplant them into individual four-inch containers. You can use any good potting soil for this purpose, but do not use regular garden soil. It is usually very heavy, has poor drainage and can also harbor disease and insects that can kill your new starts. (more…)