| areas to visit within the garden... | ||
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Flowers Resources & Links Going Bananas! |
New
Plants The Island Bed The Broccoli Experiment |
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| National Gardening Association Articles | ||
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| Organic Gardening - A Growing Trend By Judith Schwader |
| In the past decade and a half, organic products have achieved almost mainstream status. Where organic produce was a specialty item in a few upscale grocery stores in the early 1990s, today's supermarkets commonly offer organically produced items.
An upward spiral is happening: Organics have become more available and more affordable. The result is that a larger proportion of the population buys organics. This leads to an increased general awareness of the benefits for people and the environment of organic production. Greater awareness of the benefits contributes to a greater demand for organic products. Higher demand encourages growers to an even larger production of organics. Increased production results in organics being increasingly available and affordable… and upward the trend goes. During the 1990s, organic product sales dramatically increased at the rate of more than 20 percent every year. By the beginning of the 21st century, sales of organic products passed the $9 billion mark. Today in 2006, the majority of US consumers (7 out of 10) buy organic food at least some of the time. These statistics are encouraging indications that organic production is here to stay. This is good news for the well-being of people and the environment. **What ORGANIC means** Fifteen years ago, organic growers might have had to explain to shoppers at a farmer's market what the label "organic" means. Today, most people understand that for a product to be labeled organic, it had to be grown without using synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, or hormone supplements. But organic growing is a system, and is not just a matter of substituting natural materials for synthetics. Whether on the large scale of the market farmer or the small scale of the backyard gardener, the underlying principles of an organic system are to work within the boundaries of nature to grow healthy food. The system starts with a focus on healthy soil, which supports healthy plants. When plants are strong, they are naturally disease and pest resistant. **Why ORGANIC is better** Rather than apply chemicals to cure disease and control pests as conventional growers must do, organic growers are oriented toward prevention through continuous soil improvements. It's a big difference in attitude: the chemical quick-fix vs. long-term soil building. The benefits of taking the long-term approach are immediate. Rather than having to keep indoors during a "re-entry interval," (after using poisonous chemical pesticides, there is a required safety period when people must avoid the area), organic gardeners never experience exile from the location where they grow food. Also, there is the difference in the effect on local water sources. Organic gardeners don't contaminate ponds and groundwater with synthetics. In short, gardeners who live where they grow food have a particular motivation and advantage in using an organic system: personal health and safety. But everyone benefits when organic methods are used because they are sustainable: wholesome food is produced in a system that respects the natural environment. |
| About the Author: Life-time gardener Judith Schwader specializes in organic gardening methods. She shares expertise, humor, and advice for your gardening success at A to Z Gardening. Also visit FB Home for additional home and garden information. |
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Help in the Garden ~ 10 Frugal Tips by Cyndi Roberts |
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| Whether you are an avid vegetable gardener, a
beginning herb gardener or just like to have a pretty yard, these frugal
tips may help you save a little money! 1. Stale coffee and coffee grounds make great organic fertilizer. They provide many trace minerals and low, gentle levels of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorous. 2. Remember that a good soaking of water less often is better than a light sprinkling every day ~ for veggies and for your lawn. 3. If your neighbor has a plant you particularly like, ask for a cutting, instead of going to the nursery and buying one. Maybe you could trade a cutting from one of your own plants. 4. To easily water a tomato plant, bury a bottomless coffee can next to the plant and pour the water into the can. This allows the water to go straight to the roots. 5. Plant marigolds in your vegetable garden. They will attract insects that eat aphids and other pests. 6. My husband bought some used carpet at a garage sale, cut it into wide strips and laid it down between the rows in our garden. Now we can pick peas with getting our shoes muddy. 7. Use grass clippings as mulch around your vegetable plants to keep moisture in and weeds out. Just don't use the clippings right after you have fertilized your grass or treated for weed control. 8. If you have access to them, pine needles make excellent mulch. 9. A natural, frugal garden pest spray: mix 1 tablespoon of liquid dishwashing soap and 1 cup of cooking oil. Use 3 tablespoons of this mixture to 1 quart of water and spray on plants. 10. In the herb garden, to keep plants like mint from taking over too big an area, put it in a clay pot and simply plant the whole pot! |
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| "He who plants a garden, plants happiness." | |
Cyndi Roberts is the editor of the "1 Frugal Friend 2 Another" bi-weekly newsletter and founder of the website of the same name. Visit http://www.cynroberts.com to find creative tips, articles, and a free e-cooking book. Subscribe to the newsletter and receive the free e-course "Taming the Monster Grocery Bill". |
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| Topics leftover from past Summers | |
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A Swallowtail butterfly having a snack on the blossoms of one of three Butterfly Bushes in Feline Gardens. |
The lil man investigates the purple coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea, I think) growing in the border on the west side of the driveway. This plant was put in late summer 2002. |
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 Another Volunteer...
Not sure yet if it's watermelon or acorn squash, this plant suddenly appeared in mid July between the green pepper plants at the back of the house. Hey... if it sprouts from over-wintered seeds, gotta be a strong plant... why pull a gift out of the ground??? |
Update
September 9, 2003...
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Japanese Beetles... an insect curse below and above ground but kinda pretty to look at. I'm exploring a couple of different control methods but currently only using a general garden insecticide. The moles and vols in the yard seem to keep the grubs under control, preventing any serious lawn damage. The adults are another story as they have begun to cause severe damage beginning last year. Another option, since I prefer not to spray insecticide in some areas of the garden, is to sweep the little herbivores off of the leaves with a dustbuster. Just remember to empty and dispose of the critters right away or they will simply crawl out and fly away. |
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Easy Plant Propagation Techniques Low Water Gardening - Xeriscaping tips The Owner Built Landscape |
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FREE year of Better Homes and Gardens magazine! Click here for details. |
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©2003-2005crazycatmaninorangehat |
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