Our backyard garden started as a small patch in the corner of our house but as our passion for gardening grew so did the size our vegetable garden. I knew my father shared my excitement when he suggested we remove all of the ornamental shrubs that lined the back of our home to make room for more vegetables. Out came the shrubs and in came vegetable seedlings, strawberry bushes, herbs and trellises to allow for climbing vegetables.  In our ever expanding backyard garden my brother and I explored what we loved to grow (watermelon is his favorite & cabbage is mine) and had a few happy surprises. This past spring we mistook a gourd seedling for a cucumber seedling and before we knew it to our great surprise an enormous 8 pound gourds, not cucumbers, were handing from the window screens on our home where  they climbed their way up. It made for the most unique view and the best Halloween decorations.

Gardening has not only change the view from our windows but it has led to exploring new recipes and an excitement for cooking.  After growing a bumper crop of Japanese eggplant & zucchini my dad dug up an old family recipe from his father. My brother and I took to the kitchen with our harvest and whipped up ‘Papa Stags Eggplant Delish’ . To my surprise I love eggplant and my brother zucchini.  There is no better produce stand than our own backyard.

As our garden adventures continued my grandparents joined in including my 95-year-old great grandmother, Grammie. My Grammie had spent her childhood on a farm in Poland and working in the Katie’s Krops gardens brought back childhood memories that she was eager to share . Still, at 95 years old my Grammie cooks a very special Christmas Eve dinner for my whole family.  The 1st course is cabbage soup, Kapusta, a dish from her native Poland. It was a very special moment last Christmas when I was able to provide the cabbages for her soup from my garden. Although our childhoods  may have taken place almost a century apart and half a world away the garden became our come bond.

What started as a way to give back to those in need in my community has turned into a way to bring my family together. From the backyard to the dining room table our family’s bond has grow along with the garden we grow.

Late in 2011, the Rodale Institute released their 30 year side-by-side farming study, comparing organic farming systems against conventional farming systems. This report not only confirms all of the thoughts and outcries felt by organic gardeners like yourself, but can provide you with the facts you need to convince a friend or family member to grow organically in 2012.

Here are the 7 facts that prove organic farms outperform convention farms. To read the entire study, click here.

1. Organic plants are more resistant to drought conditions – The study shown organic corn yields were 31% higher then conventional yields in years of drought.

2. Those “Organic won’t feed the world” claims are incorrect!– The Rodale Institute found that after a 3 year transition period, organic yields were equal to conventional yields year over year.

3. Organic farms = $$ – Results of the study show that the average net return per acre of an organic farm is $558/year, compared to just $190/year for conventional farms.

4. Healthy Soil = Healthy Plants – As most organic gardeners know, synthetic pesticides and fertilizers damage the health of your soil by stripping them of nutrients and eliminating beneficial insects and organisms. This study proves our thoughts by showing organic farming practices improve moisture retention and in turn, produce healthier soil.

5. Organic uses less pesticides – Another common fact of organic gardening is that organic gardening/farming requires fewer pesticides. Since pests are becoming increasingly resistant to synthetic chemicals, conventional farmers are spraying heavier doses of chemicals in order to have the same affect. Organic pesticides work WITH nature to eliminate the pests, not damage the soil or harm beneficial organisms.

6. Organic uses less energy – The study shows that organic farming used 45% less energy then conventional systems, thus providing 28% higher production efficiency.

7. Organic produces less GHG’s – The study shows that conventional farming systems emit almost 40% MORE greenhouse gases per pound of crop production, then organic farming systems.

We feel these are some staggering claims, proven by the study. We invite you to read the remainder of the study and learn why organic gardening and organic farming is able to feed the world! For more on our technology and our products, click here

The new project will make plots of land available for public lease so residents can plant and cultivate organic gardens. While the current space only allows room for a few organic gardeners, this new space will allow up to 30 gardeners and additional plots across the city.

The continuous push for organic community gardens across the country is a movement that Safer® Brand is in favor of, but Safer® Brand supports such efforts in the likes of support for Katie’s Krops.

You have been aware of Katie’s Krops from our Facebook charitable campaign as well as Katie’s most recent post here on myorganicgardeningblog.com. Katie is looking to expand her children run organic gardens across the country and Safer® Brand wants to support such efforts by providing Katie with grant money as well as outfitting each garden with an full line of Safer® brand products, to keep the gardens pest free.

You will surely hear more about Katie’s Krops as we enter 2012, as well as community gardens supported by our Master Gardener, William Moss and his ‘Get Out and Grow’ campaign.

I also had the pleasure of meeting the editors and Editor in Chief of Organic Gardening magazine, THE publication in the organic gardening sector. What a truly amazing organization and the employees we interacted with on our trip go to show why Rodale is the industry leader!!

Another unbelievable part of the trip was a visit to the Rodale Institute, a research facility located about 20 minutes from the Rodale campus. Truly amazing things happen at the Rodale Institute including one of the biggest breakthrough studies in organic gardening. The Farming Systems trial matches Organic Farming right up again Conventional Farming to determine which method produces the highest yields, profits, lowest energy input, as well as the lowest greenhouse gases emitted.

The results of this study were not secret to us who have been gardening organic for many years now. Organic farming produced similar yields, while requiring less energy and emitting less greenhouse gases. This study was a 30 year study and provides definitive evidence of the sustainability of organic farming.

One walk around the Rodale Institute, led by their Executive Director “Coach”, shows just why Rodale Institute is a top notch facility and providing us with proof to why our organic gardening and way of life is not going anywhere soon, and can help feed the world. Their newest study matches up GMO crops against organic crops to determine which produces the highest nutritional value. We are all anxious for the results of this study, but we already know organic gardening is superior.

Visit the Rodale Institute’s website and read some of the amazing educational information on their website, including the great article on GMOs and Sustainable Agriculture, and Compost tea.

A number of cities including: LA, Memphis, Raleigh and Richmond are having events known as “Bug Cook-Offs” where participants are eating a wide variety of bugs….and enjoying them. While eating bugs has been prevelant on a number of popular reality TV shows as a way to gross out their competitors, there is a growing contingent, that actually line up to eat them.

According to this article published by FoxNews, the bugs that we find disgusting and a nuisance in our garden, other nations would consider delicacies. As you know, i have had severe issues with stink bugs in my garden and home this year, and reading that other people would boil them and eat them as snacks, makes me want to send them all they want…. i have had plenty. Although significantly less, thanks to my Ultimate Stink Bug Trap. This stink bug infographic really helps also…

Give this article a read and if you are brave, give some of these bugs a taste…..if you dare.

The Locavore movement began in San Francisco in 2005 and consists of two classes of Locavores. The Ultra Locavore is able to grow an abundance of food in their own backyard and generally only eats foods grown within 100 feet of their home. The Common Locavore consumes a majority of food locally grown and sold at farmer’s markets and community supported agriculture programs. Their food is usually grown within 100 miles from their residence.

Gardening organically is our passion and being able to eat the fruits of our labor is such a great lifestyle. We find more and more people are embracing Locavorism, and we are proud to support it. Check out more facts by viewing the graphic below, and hang out with us on Facebook. We’d love to hear how you are eating locally!

Safer® also has a brand new Ultimate Stink Bug Trap that only has limited quantities available so get yours today!! It is working pretty well for me so far!! Click to view the full size image

A recent study by Thomson Reuters shows that 93% of Americans support mandatory labeling of Genetically Engineered foods, yet for 20 years this request has fallen on deaf ears. Until now…

With this inevitable push to more GE produce in our grocery stores, some organizations have banded together to create JustLabelIT.org which is a site dedicated to increasing awareness and hopefully forcing the government to implement labeling of GE foods. JustLabelIT.org was very influential in the legal petition calling for mandatory labeling of GE foods, which was submitted to the FDA in September. The FDA is taking public comments and holds their weight heavily when drawing a final ruling.

THIS IS OUR CHANCE!! Hundreds of organizations have stepped up and partnered with JustLabelIT.org, including us here at Safer® to support the petition and mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods.

Think that you are not eating GE foods already?? Think again…. It is estimated that 60-70% of processed foods available in US grocery stores contain some GE material. The majority of the livestock that Americans consume has been raised on GE grains. We ask that you bind together with us as we feel the consumer needs a choice! Force the FDA to label Genetically Engineered foods!!

“The International Rose Test Garden is also one of 24 official testing sites for the internationally respected All-America Rose Selections (AARS). The All-American Rose Selections is a non-profit association of rose growers and introducers dedicated to the introduction and promotion of exceptional roses. Since 1938 the AARS seal of approval has graced outstanding new rose varieties that have performed the best in the test gardens located throughout the country and representing all climate zones. AARS testing began here in Portland in 1940.

Roses currently under test in the garden are not named but are designated only by a number. The new varieties are submitted by the hybridizers to the AARS, who then distributes them to the test gardens identified only by their code number. Four plants of each entry are evaluated for two years on 14 different characteristics consumers desire in a garden plant including plant habit, vigor, disease resistance, color, flower production, form, foliage, and fragrance. About 200 rose cultivars are under test each year.”

To keep your roses healthy and beautiful like those of the International Rose Test Garden, Safer Brand’s products can help! Use the Safer Brand Rose and Flower Insect Killer to kill problem insects organically. Every rose gardener should keep a fungicide, like Safer Brand Fungicide Concentrate, on hand to prevent or control powdering mildew, black spot, as well as other plant diseases that could be detrimental to your roses.

Do you have pictures of your rose garden? Post a comment with them here or share them on our Facebook wall!

To view the list visit here!