In the quest to get healthy, more and more people are turning to organic food. Free of chemical additives and pesticides, organic produce offers only pure and natural nutrients. But for those people who do not have ready access to organic produce at their local markets, or do not wish to pay the high prices associated with organic produce, starting their own organic garden allows them access at any time to fresh, wholesome produce at a fraction of the price it would cost to buy at the store. For those interested in beginning such a garden, an organic garden center can give you all the tools and education you need to start off right.

An organic garden is defined by produce that is grown without the addition of chemicals and pesticides normally used to ward off bugs and weeds, as well as stimulate growth in a traditional growing environment. In order to truly grow organically it is necessary to fully commit to using only products that are 100% certified organic. And in order to get those products you are best to visit an organic garden center.

As its name suggests, an organic garden center offers products for sale that are only certified organic. From soil to fertilizer, the organic garden center will ensure that you have all that you need to grow a delicious and beautiful organic garden. Best of all, most centers have knowledgeable employees on hand who are just as committed to organic gardening. They can be enormously helpful in showing you how to begin, as well as pointing out those products that will work best in your particular space.

Begin with the proper fertilizer and choose those sees that you want to plant in your garden. The organic garden center should be able to help you find those products that will thrive in your particular climate, as well as in the type of sun that your garden receives on a daily basis.

Be sure to do your research regarding the type of maintenance that your seeds will require. The organic garden center can also offer literature and other information about helping your garden grow successfully. Taking the time beforehand to determine what factors will most contribute to your success will help you realize your gardening dreams.

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In the UK, we each spend an average £200 each year on our gardens. That’s a whole lotta cash that could be used to make our green spaces green in the eco-friendly sense – by growing plants to organic standards, using compost instead of chemical fertiliser and deploying natural pest controls instead of going crazy with pesticides. To learn the how, we took a trip to Garden Organic Ryton to meet environmentalist, writer, CAT staffer and organic gardener, Allan Shepherd. This is part one of a …

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Organic gardening is a skill that most people should learn. In these dire times, pesticides and chemicals have poisons the very ground that crops are grown in, learning to grow your own food at home is probably one of the wisest decisions that anyone could make. However, before making the leap into the organic gardening arena, there are a few supplies that you need to get before you can begin to grow your own food. Here are a few tips on what you need before planting season begins.

If you are a regular gardener, or an organic gardener, most of the needed supplies needed are relatively the same. Everyone needs a hoe, pail, shovel, and a hose to get water to your crops. Themain difference is that most organic gardeners will not be at the local hardware store purchasing weed killer or other pesticides or herbicides in order to take care of their garden quickly and easily.

Most organic gardeners know that by using these types of products, you can affect your food in a detrimental way and you can end up eating many of these poisons which become part of the food you are ingesting. You have to ask yourself if you would actually drink the poison that you are spraying on the plants. If not, then why would you want to eat it alter when it has become part of the plant you are about to eat!? The answer is that you wouldn’t and that by taking a time out, looking at a game plan, and deciding what to do way in advance, you are ensuring your success with your crops now and in the future.

You will also notice an overall shrinkage to the crops and the yields will be lower. Of course, if you are an organic gardener, you will be subject to the same things that all other gardeners will face. You must simply take care of them in a different way which will allow you to create a better tasting, and better for you, line up on your kitchen table.

Typically, an organic gardener, or any gardener for that matter, you will need some kind of a shovel with a spading fork by which to dig into the soil to begin to prepare it for planting. A pair of gloves is also necessary so that you can begin to take the weeds and the rocks out to of your soil, sometimes even with the help of a hoe or a pry bar to dig up even the toughest stones invented in your ground.

Once your soil is ready, and you have properly prepared additional product for your soil such as compost or worm castings, it is time to mix your soil with the organic fertilizers and do so in about a month in advance. This will allow the compost to break down further and will allow a proper mixing of the compost with the soil to make it even more healthy for the seeds to grow in.

Organic gardening supplies can be purchased at virtually any store. The supplies you will need as far as tools are basically the same as those needed by conventional gardeners. What you will need that is different are the composting additions that are typically bypassed by ordinary gardeners that will use pesticides and chemicals to protect their crops from on coming pests.

One might wonder why there are so many pests in the world. Most every insect or plant has some sort of purpose which has to do with the natural equilibrium of the area where they are located. If these insects are killed off, this causes an imbalance that cannot be replaced except over time.

This is why using strategies that are involved in the organic field, you will need to find an organic gardening supply store that can help you get all of the tools that you will need in order to make your endeavor a success.

Timing is everything, therefore get your supply list going for your organic gardening needs. Planning too late will lead to a lack of preparedness for event that may arise that will literally kill your crops overnight. So be forewarned and take the time a few months in advance so you are ready for any organic gardening problem, no matter what it is or when it arises.

If you have not created one yet, you will need to box in an area for your composting pile or even an area for your works so that you can create your own worm castings. By doing these things in advance, you will be prepared as you begin to get ready to plant your organic garden. Organic gardening supply tips can also be found by consulting local neighbors that also grow organically.

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It does not matter whether you put your kitchen scraps in the compost or the bin, did you know that you could grow many of your favourite fruit or vegetables from those scraps. Indeed, unless your compost is very well matured you will find stray veggie seedlings may appear wherever you deposit the compost.

Take for instance those potato peelings, if it is a fairly thick section of peel with an eye (shoot), then you can often get these to grow into full potato plants. Another indication that a potato is only good for planting or throwing out is the colour. If the potato is starting to look fairly green on the skin then *DO NOT EAT*, as it is an indication that it is producing a poisonous substance common in the nightshade family to which it as well as the tomatoes, chillies and capsicums belong. You can also get sweet potatoes and taros to grow from sections of the tubers.

Have you ever tried to plant or thought about trying to plant the seeds from a particularly nice tomato, capsicum, chili, watermelon or pumpkin? While any plants grown from such seed may vary quite a lot from the parent fruit, you can still achieve fairly good results from them if you are on a tight budget.

The plants grown from seeds of many of your kitchen scraps will not produce fruit to the same high standard as the original fruit/vegetables because of the complicated interbreeding programs put into place by the big seed companies. However the progeny can give a very wide range of resulting offspring. But if you come across one or two particularly good plants in the resulting season, then reuse the seeds of that and always-in future pick the best fruit from the best plants for your future propagation material.

Though there are some veggies in the kitchen where it is not possible to grow them from the seed in the fruit. These are those vegetables where the edible fruit is still in an immature state and the seed is not yet viable. These fruit/veggies include the cucumbers, okra and squashes to name just a few. This is because the fruit when it reaches a stage where the seed is viable is just too big and coarse for human consumption.

If you leave the top of a pineapple out in a shady spot for a week or so during warm weather, then strip back the lower dead leaves. You may even notice some small juvenile roots already forming at the base of the plant top. One thing to remember with pineapples is that it is a species of bromeliad. And as such it requires the same moist but well drained growing conditions.

When the garlic cloves are starting to get a green sprout coming out of the top, it is a pretty good indication, that it might be a good idea to plant them out individually for a good harvest in about 8-10 months time of this fairly expensive herb plant.

Treat it like any member of the onion tribe, because they like moist, well drained soil and a fair amount of feeding during the growing season. Harvest as the tops are dying back. But let them dry out in a cool but airy place, before you try to use them back in the kitchen.

Another fruit/vegetable along a similar line is corn, try leaving a fresh, uncooked cob of sweet corn in a shady dry spot for a couple of weeks, then you can strip the kernels away from the cob and plant them. A quicker suggestion is to grab a handful of corn kernels out of a packet of popping corn, The only comment would be that corn grown from these seeds would not be as sweet or juicy as sweet corn, and in reality would be better dried and used as popping corn.

Why not try growing your own peanuts? Always only using the raw nuts, and only choosing those nuts, which are still whole and encased in the brown skin. Peanuts can be grown during warmer weather in most parts of Australia. One of the fascinating things about peanuts is that they are one of the only plants which flower set fruit and then bury and pre plant their own seed ready for later germination. Yes the peanut, which is dug from the ground, is actually a fruit buried by the parent plant, after flowering.

You can always grow your own ginger; all it takes is a section of the root, purchased from a greengrocer. Plant it in a well drained but moist soil. Allowing plenty of room for the plant to spread out. You can be harvesting your own ginger roots within about 8-12 months.

Whether you have got a long fence, chook pen or an unsightly shed to cover, why not try planting a choko. The Vine can be very prolific, as long as you keep the moisture and fertilizer up to it.

Though once it is established, it can be left to fend for itself, and will still produce a steady supply of fruit for the family. If you have a few dollars why not look at purchasing some of the heritage or heirloom seed ranges of Fruit and vegetables. Many seed firms as well as organizations like the Seed Savers Network have many fascinating and unusual varieties of plants available for the home gardener to grow.

Of course once you have various plants growing in your veggie garden don’t forget to keep some propagating material back ( whether it is root sections, seed or divisions), for future plantings. Also you should think about letting certain plants like lettuce, parsley and basil go to seed, for planting later. I regularly have to weed my lawns around the gardens for rouge seedlings of the above plants. Such spare seedling weeds are easily replanted or swapped with other gardeners for plants I don’t yet have, or given to school and/or charity plant stalls. It is useful to have weeds that other people want and are willing to pay for.

While it usually not a good idea to try and propagate most of the tree fruit, simply from a time perspective and again because the results can also be very variable. It is still interesting to try even if you only end up getting a pot plant out of the results. It is possible to grow the seeds of such trees as mangoes, citrus, avocado, apple, pear, etc. While the fruit of some species simply have no viable seed at all eg, bananas. There is however a few, which readily lend themselves to home propagation eg, pawpaw (papaya), tree tomatoes, unroasted coffee beans, etc. I remember as a child, accidentally germinated a coconut palm, from throwing the mostly eaten out shell onto a garden bed for a few months.

Another suggestion for those of you out there, who are visited by birds to your garden, why not take a handful of birdseed and plant it out in an out of the way section of your garden. These bird friendly plants like Sunflower, oats, sorghum, etc, can be a real bonus for many native birds to supplement their diet. Many of the seeds in any packet of birdseed are very viable.

When my kids were younger and I was showing them such wonders, I used to have trouble convincing them that I could not do similar things in growing and multiplying with a variety of items of importance to them at the time, from toys to chocolate, lollies and even coins.

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To propagate from leaf cuttings, snip the leaf right where it meets the stem, cut the leaf at an angle, and plant it back in the soil to start a new plant. Use honey as a natural root toner with information from a sustainable gardener in this free video on gardening.

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Gardening is performed by people of all ages in all parts of the world.  For some people, gardening is considered an enjoyable hobby or recreation, but to others it is their occupation.  They grow vegetables to feed their families, as well as help to feed the rest of the world. 

Gardening helps to make a person appreciate beauty.  Like all living things, plants need the proper amounts of food, water and sunshine in order to flourish.  When the proper elements are not provided to plants, they will not grow in a healthy manner.  When a gardener fails to provide enough water during a very dry spell, then the garden will not survive.  Plants are living things that deserve the best of care by the gardener in order to grow into healthy, beautiful plants. 

There are many kinds of plants, but the ones important in gardening fall into four primary classes, which are:  trees, shrubs, flowers and vegetables. 

Trees:  Evergreens are used most of the time near and around homes. They are often used as a border or screen and are beautiful during winter and summer months.  Deciduous trees are trees that drop their leaves during the winter and are often used in landscaping yard areas.  They grow tall and are wide spread which gives a great deal of shade. There are flowering deciduous trees, like the magnolias and dogwood that add beauty to their surroundings.  Orchard fruit trees give both food and beautiful spring blossoms.  There are also nut trees, like the pecan tree, that provides shade and food.  Have you ever tasted a delicious pecan pie? 

Shrubs:  Evergreen shrubs are used as borders and the most popular are: arborvitae, junipers and cedars.  Many have cones or berries and their color is always green year round.  The broad leaf evergreen shrub, like the azalea, is very popular planted in groups in shady areas of the flower garden.  The deciduous shrubs are also popular because of their beautiful flowers.  They often bear berries, which attracts the birds and the blooms are colorful during the winter months.  Lilac and hawthorn shrubs are the most common. 

Flowers:  There are three important kinds of flowers in your flower garden. 

• Perennials:  These plants live from year to year.  They may look like they did not make it through the winter and frost killed them, but when spring comes they will return to life.   Favorites are:  Bleeding Heart, Delphinium and Hardy Chrysanthemum. 
• Biennials:  These plants live for two seasons before they die off.  When they are planted in the early spring, many of them will bloom the first summer continue to live during the winter and then bloom again the second summer.    Favorites are:  Sweet William, Forget-me-nots and Hollyhocks. 
• Annuals:  These plants come to full maturity the first season and then die.  You will need to plant the seeds for annuals every spring, keep them watered well and they will bloom through the summer and fall before dying.  Favorites are:  Petunias, Marigolds and Zinnias. 

Vegetables:  There are annual and perennial vegetables.  Annual vegetables have roots like beets and carrots.  Some hardy annual vegetables can be planted in early spring, but others that are considered tender plants would need to be planted when the ground is warm.  Some perennial vegetable plants are asparagus and rhubarb.  These plants stay in the ground and produce food year after year.  

In order to have a successful garden, you will need to take extra special care by checking the soil and locating the best spot for planting so that there will be enough direct sunlight (unless the plants need shady areas) and moist ground. Planting in an area where the ground is moist but well drained is the best place.  It takes patience and experience to grow a garden, but in time you will become a successful gardener enjoying nature and watching your garden grow.  

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Growing strawberries in a container is a great way to keep them away from predators, and growing them in groups of at least three will help them grow into a healthy bunch. Cover the roots and leave the plant exposed when growing strawberries in a container withplant tips from a sustainable gardener in this free video on gardening. Expert: Yolanda Vanveen Contact: www.vanveenbulbs.com Bio: Yolanda Vanveen is a third-generation flower grower and sustainable gardener who lives in Kalama, Wash …

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