Spring has sprung and I’ve just planted the tomatoes in our organic vegetable garden. There is something about growing tomatoes that really gets my juices flowing. And this year, I’m doing it a little differently. You see, I found this incredible e-book that’s called Organic Tomato Magic and I’ve learned some really neat things that I had never thought of before.

For example, did you know that most tomato plants have too many leaves? These leaves consume nutrients from the stem of the tomato plant which robs the nutrients from getting to the actual fruit of the plant. If you don’t prune these leaves, the tomatoes will be smaller.

Likewise, too many leaves on the tomato plant reduces air circulation around the fruit. The tomatoes need this air circulation to help make the skin on the tomatoes stronger and more elastic…thus, reducing cracking on ripening tomatoes.

Watch this quick video to get a better idea on how to prune your tomato leaves in your organic vegetable garden:

This is only a pinch of information that I got from Organic Tomato Magic. If you enjoy growing luscious red tomatoes like I do, I know you will enjoy this book.

Right now, you can enjoy a few more of these tips for FREE…just click this LINK. After submitting your first name and email address, you’ll be sent a FREE REPORT called 3 Secrets To Growing Incredible Tomatoes. Even if you don’t buy this book, you can still keep this FREE REPORT!

But, if you love to grow tomatoes like I do, I think after you read this FREE REPORT you will really want to buy the book. I grow tomatoes for 5-months every year and I’m sure glad to have it.

This year, I’m looking forward to picking the biggest, red tomatoes that I’ve ever picked from my organic vegetable garden.

Until next time from the Organic Gardening How To Blog…

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EZGarden will walk you through the entire process. It will help you design, plant, tend, and harvest your organic vegetable garden.

The software is designed to help anyone to be successful at gardening, no matter where you live. To begin with, EZGarden will ask you to provide the zip code for your gardening area. EZGarden goes out and retrieves valuable data concerning your soil type and climatic conditions.

Based on other information that EZGarden will ask you, EZGarden will help you to decide what to plant and when to do it. It will provide you information on how deep to plant and what the spacing should be. EZGarden will even make suggestions on companion planting and crop rotations.

Once your organic vegetable garden is planted, EZGarden will provide you a weekly task list on things that should be done in your garden. You can even ask EZGarden to send you this weekly task list in a separate email.

Watch this video for some more info on EZGarden:

Pretty cool software, isn’t it!

Give EZGarden a try. It certainly makes growing an organic vegetable garden a whole lot easier!

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The only materials that you’ll need are:

5 Pcs. – 1/2″ PVC schedule 40 pipe, each 10′ long

3 Pcs. – 1/2″ x 1″ x 8′ (1×2′s) pine boards (preferably treated)

2 Pcs. – 1-1/2″ x 1-3/4″ x 8′ (split one 2×4) pine boards (treated)

16 Ea. – 1/2″ roofing nails

1 Pc. – Sheet of heavy duty clear plastic

String or wire to secure the wood to the top of the PVC

Construction is simple. Watch this short video to see how easy it is to keep your organic vegetable garden growing during the approaching cold weather months:

And, what’s great about this is that you’ll be able to start next year’s organic vegetable garden much earlier in the spring!

An EASY ORGANIC GARDENING HOW TO.

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The popular product Topsy Turvy made this method of growing vegetables popular. Television commercials repeatedly advertise the Topsy Turvy and I know those commercials have peaked the interest of many gardeners.

Why would you want to grow tomatoes or other vegetables upside-down? Well, as I mentioned above, many insects cannot access these upside down plants that are hanging from posts or a trellis. Besides that, it can save space in your garden for other plants that can’t be grown upside-down or it’s a means to grow certain types of vegetables for people that live in apartments and townhouses. Also, you won’t have problems with weeds and this method will deliver nutrients and water more efficiently.

The best vegetables to grow upside-down in your organic vegetable garden are:

*Tomatoes – Particularly interdependent tomatoes.

*Cucumbers – Slicing or pickling, although pickling are the easiest.

*Eggplant – Opt for small fruit varieties.

*Beans – Pole and bush beans.

*Peppers – Any variety.

Do these vegetables grow better and yield more if they are grown upside-down? Well, I’ve visited many forums where many gardeners claim they do have better luck with these vegetables grown upside-down, but particularly amongst organic gardeners. Organic gardeners have greater control over the potting soil used in the pots and they don’t have to worry as much about garden pests.

If you would like to try upside-down gardening, you can certainly buy a Topsy Turvy from places like Amazon, Wal-Mart, and Lowes. Or, you can make your own planting system. These systems can be made out of buckets, plastic bottles, heavy-duty plastic trash bags, kitty liter containers, laundry hampers, and even old tires.

I’ve provides you a video below to show you how to do it. For this project, all you will need are: 3-gal.bucket , organic potting soil , coffee filter (or, newspaper), and a utility knife .

Now, watch this video to learn how you too can create an upside-down organic vegetable garden:

Simple, wasn’t it? Many claim that building these systems from a 5-gallon bucket are better than a Topsy Turvy because the latter is too small and the soil dries out so quickly.

After hanging your system, you’ll need to water it every 1-2 days depending on the heat. To help retain moisture, you can put a lid on the top of the bucket, or put peat moss on top, or plant Marigolds and herbs such as Basil (I prefer this one).

One last tip: Super Tomato Soil Recipe – Mix 2 shovel fulls of organic steer manure with 1/4 cup of dolomite lime and 2 Tbs. bone meal . Mix well.

That’s it. Try creating an upside-down organic vegetable garden and you’ll have a lot of fun.

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Companion planting has been practiced for many years. The Iroquois indians planted beans, squash, and corn together and they were called their Three Sisters (read my article Three Sisters/Organic Vegetable Garden). What one plant took out of the soil, another would put back in. These plants complemented each other.

Practice companion planting in your own organic vegetable garden. Planting basil or bee balm close to your tomatoes helps their growth and improves their flavor. Plant caraway in areas where you have compacted soil and the long roots of the caraway will loosen it. Dill planted next to cucumbers will attract beneficial predatory insects.

Have fun and experiment with companion planting. Find out what works and keep a record of it.

You can also learn a lot more about companion planting in the eBook Organic Gardening Magic. You have a 60-day FREE trial and if you don’t like it, simply return it. You’ll learn a lot of secrets that’ll help you in your organic vegetable garden.

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About 1000 years ago, these three vegetables changed the Iroquois way of life. Prior to being introduced to these vegetables, the Iroquois were a patriarchy and hunted and gathered food in the forests. After their introduction, the tribe became a matriarchy and they lived principally off their bountiful organic vegetable gardens.

The Iroquois would plant the corn, first. They planted these about one step apart in rows. Two-to-three weeks later, beans were planted in-between the corn. Squash and pumpkins was then grown to the sides of the corn and beans.

The Iroquois Indians didn’t know it at the time, but their method of gardening is now known as companion planting. That’s where different types of plants are planted in close proximity so that they will assist each other in nutrient uptake, pest control, pollination, and increasing crop productivity. The Iroquois were some of the first to practice this in North America.

In the case of the Three Sisters, the corn takes nitrogen out of the soil, but that’s replaced by the beans which adds nitrogen back to the soil. The leaves from the squash shades the ground, thus, helping the soil to retain moisture and helping to prevent weeds. The corn stalks also acted as bean poles allowing the beans to climb. Ingenious for that time!

Watch this video on the Three Sisters’ Organic Vegetable Garden:

As a side  note to this video, you can add any kind of animal manure at the end of the growing season. Cover this manure with compost and by the time spring arrives, you can mix it in with the soil. Also, make sure your corn is at least 5″ high before adding the beans.

If you are new to organic gardening or would like to learn more, try either one of these two great eBooks: Organic Gardening Magic and My Organic Food Garden. Or, try them both! Satisfaction Guaranteed for your organic vegetable garden, or your money back.

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If you’re a newbie, here are some of my best tips to help you and your organic vegetable garden:

* Select a garden space that’s as close to your house that you can. It should be easy to get to and the area that you choose should receive at least 8 hours of sunshine per day. This will allow you to plant a wide range of organic vegetables.

* As a beginner, start of with a small garden. Don’t get overwhelmed with maintenance by planting too much. You don’t need 10 tomato plants if they’re all the same type of tomato and are going to mature at the same time.

* Grow only vegetables that you and your family enjoy. There’s no use planting peppers if nobody in your family enjoys them. Also, consider growing fresh organic herbs that you and your family may enoy such as basil, oregano, mint, coriander, parsley, and rosemary.

* Look into companion planting (read my article Organic Gardening How To – Companion Planting). Certain types of plants and herbs will help other plants grow better and keep a lot of nasty bugs away.

*Think about the long-term. There are some expensive store-bought vegetables such as asparagus that once planted can can survive 15 years or longer in your organic vegetable garden (read Organic Gardening How To – Grow Organic Asparagus for details on this).

* Don’t plant the exact same vegetables that you can find in the supermarkets – plant different varieties. Vegetables in the supermarket are often grown because they have a long shelf life and taste was not a consideration. For example, plant heirloom tomatoes such as “Brandywine”. Once tasted right off the vine, you’ll be thankful for having an organic vegetable garden.

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You can save a lot of money by growing your garden from seeds. You can save dollars and not just pennies. And, if you are going to grow your organic vegetable garden from seeds, you need to try to use organically certified seeds. If you have trouble finding organically certified seeds, you can find many varieties at Amazon.com .

Starting your organic vegetable garden from seeds in February will mean that you will be starting your garden indoors. For more information on how to do this, please read my article titled Start Organic Growing Indoors.

The first seeds that you want to plant indoors are those that the seedlings can survive the most in cold weather ground. This includes crops such as onions, peas, and spinach. These are considered cold weather crops and can survive a frost.As the seedlings develop, these will be the first to plant outdoors.

About 2 – 3 weeks later, it will be time to plant the seeds for your cool weather crops. These crops can survive in a light frost. This includes lettuce, beets, carrots, radishes, dill, cilantro, cabbage, broccoli, celery, kale, and potatoes.

The last batch of crop seeds to plant indoors are considered warm weather crops. They will not survive in a frost. So, in early-mid March, plant the seeds for beans, corn, melons, cucumbers, squash, tomatoes, peppers, pumpkins, eggplant, and basil.

As noted, different crops can withstand different ground and air temperatures when planted outdoors. The biggest danger to most crops is a freeze. That’s why many seed packets will say, “Plant after all danger of frost has passed”. You can determine what your chances are of a freeze in your area by date by checking with the National Climatic Weather Center. All you have to do is enter the state that you line in and the city that is closest to you and it will give you an estimate of the last frost date for your area.

When planting seeds, do not over-plant or waste seeds, especially if your using organically certified seeds. If I want eight cabbage plants, I will plant 16 seeds. That allows me a 50% failure rate to get eight cabbage plants. Also, try not to touch the seeds with bare hands. Your bare hands contain moisture and oil that could harm unused seeds.

Properly stored, unused seeds are usable for 3 – 8 years. The seeds need to be stored in a cool, dry location. Placing the unused seeds in a clean jar with a lid and keeping it in a cool refrigerator is ideal. Watch this video for some futher tips on seed storage for next years organic vegetable garden:

If you are new to organic gardening or would like to learn more, try either one of these two great eBooks: Organic Gardening Magic and My Organic Food Garden. Or, try them both! Satisfaction Guaranteed for your organic vegetable garden, or your maney back.

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Besides saving space, there are other reasons to consider growing an organic vegetable garden vertically. Here are some of those other reasons:

• You may have some unattractive areas in your yard that you want to hide. Growing your plants vertically can hide these areas.
• Growing vines on a fence or along a wall will give your home added privacy.
• Vertical gardening can take stress off your back by allowing you to stand up more while your gardening.
• Many plant pests and diseases will have a hard time reaching your vertical organic vegetable garden – they simply can’t reach it.

Once you have installed a structure for vertical gardening, you can also attach baskets and grow bags to the structure to enable you to grow other organic vegetables, herbs, or flowers. Easier to reach and much safer from soil borne diseases.

You can also grow plants upside down fron your vertical structure. With the use of a Topsy Turvy , you can grow tomatoes, hot peppers, and strawberries.

It doesn’t matter why you choose to do it, practicing vertical gardening is fun and easy. Give it a try and see how much more you can grow in your organic vegetable garden.

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Take a small area in your garden, say 4′ x 4′, and create a small green house. Take inexpensive chicken wire and create a small dome over this small garden area. On top of this, spread one layer of clear plastic so that it completely covers the chicken wire and reaches the ground on all sides. Weigh the plastic down at ground level with rocks or bricks so that the wind won’t blow the plastic off. Now, you have a small greenhouse for your organic vegetable garden.

On sunny days, it may get too warm inside this greenhouse. To prevent this from being a problem, cut a 12″ long slit near, but not at the top of the dome. Heat rises when it gets warm and the slit will allow excess heat to escape.

If you have particuarly cold winters, you can furthur insulate your small greenhouse by placing a layer of bubble wrap on top of your plastic, followed by one more layer of clear plastic on top of that. Don’t forget to put slits in both of these additional layers of plastic. Your organic vegetable garden will thrive in this greenhouse that you created.

Watch this video to give you some additional tips for maintaining your organic vegetable garden.

If you are new to organic gardening or you would like to learn more, try any one of these two great e courses: Organic Gardening Magic or My Organic Food Garden. Or, try them both! Satisfaction Guaranteed for your Organic Vegetable Garden needs, or your money back.

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