Organic Gardening How To Blog

I’m writing this post in my Organic Gardening How To Blog to try to encourage readers to add things to their organic gardens to give them depth and a since of comfort. You might want to add a bench or a bird bath or a selection of small statues. Just add something to give a since of variety. My husband and I recently added a small waterfall to our organic garden.

The waterfall we created makes me feel closer to nature. I like that since I spend so much time in my organic garden. It makes me feel comfortable. Sometimes, I like to close my eyes and just listen to the bubbly sounds coming from it.

If you might be interested in building a waterfall, you can use the same information that we used. We found it at Build A Backyard Waterfall. It’s really simple to do and doesn’t cost that much. The most expensive parts are the pump and the liner. You can even buy waterfall kits and save a little more. And, the hardest part is the digging.

Watch this video for some more info on this Organic Gardening How To:

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 gardening how to needs, or your money back.

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The Iroquois Indians were masters at growing organic vegetable gardens. Their main gardens consisted of corn, beans, and squash – all inter-planted. These three vegetables were considered the Three Sisters and it’s said that they all sprouted from Sky Woman’s daughter.  

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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It’s April and learning to grow artichokes is a wonderful organic gardening how to. It’s time to get this beautiful plant into the ground.

Artichokes are a perennial and not only are they good to eat, but they can also produce beautiful flowers to add to your gardens beauty. The most popular variety is called the Globe Artichoke.

Globe artichokes can be grown in any of the temperate zones from 4 or warmer. However, in zones 4-7 the plants will need some protection during the cold winter months. Cover the plants with a thick layer of pine straw or use some other means to protect them. No protection is needed in zones 8-10.

  Artichokes can be started from seeds, but if you didn’t start germinating artichoke seeds in February, it’s best now to buy small plants from your local nursery or Amazon.com.

Follow these steps for this organic gardening how to on growing your own artichokes:  

1. Choose an area in your garden that gets full sun – artichokes require a lot of sun. When fully grown, artichokes will stand 4-5 feet tall so make sure you choose an area in your garden where the shade from your artichokes won’t inhibit the growth of other plants. Artichokes also like well-drained soil where the soils pH is between 6.5 and 7.0.  

2. Loosen the soil and set the artichoke plants into the ground so that the crown is just above the soil surface. Space artichoke plants at least 3 feet apart and keep rows of artichoke plants at least 6 feet apart.  

3. Keep the ground moist. Mulching will help with this. Fertilize the plants with fish emulsion or other organic fertilizers from early spring to mid-summer.

4. Harvest artichokes just before the bud starts to open – they should still be green and fairly tight.

This video should help you with this organic gardening how to:

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Once you have tasted some vegetables from your own organic vegetable garden, you’re going to wonder why you haven’t been doing this all along. There is so much more flavor from freshly picked organic vegetables compared to their store bought hosts. And, it’s so easy to do.

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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