NYH's Organic Gardening Page

EarlyTips For The Beginner - Organic Gardening

2010-02-25T04:52:00.000-08:00

The Snow Drops are coming!!

Yeah, It's that time of year again. Time to get into gardening mode. I truly do love this time of year, the chickadee's are singing the spring "fee-bee"song, the coyote's are howling, the days are getting longer, and I can smell it in the air. As for my gardening preparation, I can't do anything outside yet as the ground is still quite frozen and there is plenty of cold and snow before spring "officially" starts.
Most veteran gardeners know most of these tips so I am gearing this post to the beginning organic gardener. After a little thought I have come up with a few tips to help you along with your organic garden during this time of year. Keep in mind that when you do these helpful little chores will depend on your last frost date and which zone you are in.

If you haven't ordered the seeds you want for your garden yet, by all means do it now. This is the busy time for seed dealers and getting those orders out and back to you, could take several weeks maybe even a month or two. I collect my own heirloom seeds each year and therefore don't usually have to buy too many seeds. And I recommend you do the same.

If you are in the same zone as I am (4 - 5) or farther south and you do your onions via seeds, now is the time to start them indoors. I have started mine already (about 4 days ago) I'm anxiously awaiting their arrival but they can take quite some time to germinate.

Make sure you have your garden layout on paper, If you have an existing garden do your best to rotate your crops year to year, as this is essential for a healthy garden and usually prevents plant specific pests from gaining a foothold in one spot.

If you do "cole crops" (cabbage, broccoli, kohlrabi, etc.) Transplants are usually started 2-3 weeks prior to garden time and can go in the garden about 4 to 6 weeks before the last frost date. Same with lettuce, spinach and peas although I prefer to direct sow them in the garden around the first or second week in April (about 4 - 6 weeks before last frost)

Have all your garden tools cleaned and available. I do this in the fall and it is a good habit to get in to. If your just starting out a quick list of some essential tools are, a trowel, spade,(round pointed shovel) square shovel, garden rake, hoe, and garden fork. Once you get into gardening this list will expand a little, but try to stick to the basics, and always buy quality tools. You know the deal "You get what you pay for."

For a little later on in the season have an irrigation and a composting plan ready to go. Irrigation is essential and composting should be foremost in your mind for this and future years of 100% organic fertilizer.

We always advocate organic gardening, Use no chemical fertilizers, no herbicides, fungicides, or pesticides. We do our best to not even use "organic" pesticides that are made of plant based materials because they too , kill indiscriminately You can read a related post on organic pest control by Clicking Here!

If you are just starting with a garden I would recommend that you read everything you can on the subject. You will find many different ideas and theory's on all types of, and ways how to do, organic gardening but, the more you read about it you will begin to see all the basics begin to "stick out like a sore thumb" that, in our opinion, is what you want to start with, and stick with,, the basics!

To start you off on the right track you can get a great beginners guide to organic gardening by clicking on the picture below.

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Peace and Prosperity to You this gardening season,

Happy Homesteading,
Rich @ NY Homesteader

Start Your own Indoor Herb Garden

2009-12-18T19:17:00.000-08:00

Here is a great little video from the red white and green on youtube.

How to start your own herb garden. It has a short glossary of herb types and is very informative.I personally make my own potting mix but a high quality store purchased organic mix is just as good. Good Green Stuff! ,,Enjoy and don't forget to leave comments and sign up for updates at NY Homesteader.

You can get a great organic gardening guide by Clicking Here

Peace and Prosperity to You,,Happy Homesteading,,,NY Homesteader

You can visit the red,white and green by Clicking Here
Leave us a comment !!

Saving Seeds and the Adaptive Properties

2009-12-16T01:07:00.000-08:00

I really like "Expert Village" on YouTube and repost some of their videos here. They are short snippets about all types of subjects,especially sustainability, gardening and micro habitat. I hope you enjoy the video and learn to go Organic

Organic Pest Prevention - 10 DO'S and DON'TS For Your Garden

2009-11-11T15:18:00.000-08:00

You can get your Comprehensive Guide on Organic Gardening by Clicking Here !

Going organic is not as hard as you might think. These 10 Do's and Dont's are based on not letting the "bad" pests gain a foothold in your vegetable and flower gardens. Most plants are far tougher than we tend to think they are, and can take some pest damage and still thrive. This does not mean just let mother nature take her course either.

DO - Check your garden daily for the culprits, look under leaves and around the base of the plants for any sign of foulplay. Better to catch an "outbreak" than wait for an "infestation".
DON'T - Use pesticides. Even "organic pesticides" are toxic and kill indescriminately. The reason they are called organic is because they are made of plant bases and degrade quickly in sun, water, and soil.
DO- Welcome some "good" guys to the party! Attract benificial insects to your garden by planting some flowers they like. Goldenrod, yarrow, and daisies are good choices. Many flies and wasps as well as ladybugs and lacewings devour bad bugs.
DON'T - Crowd your plants. You will get more and healthier crop off of one uncrowded plant than you will off three crowded together. Also crowing creates humid conditions and rot which in turn attracts pests and disease.
DO - Keep weeds in check. Weeding is one of the things most gardeners don't like to do, but is essential for a healthy garden. Weeds rob nutrients, crowd plants, and provide safe haven for many bad pests.
DON'T - Add the wrong stuff to your compost pile. Keep meat and dairy products out of your compost pile. Fatty acids take a long time to break down and can attract maggots and animal pests, like raccoons, that can make short work of a nice garden. Stick to plant materials for your compost.
DO - Plant pest resistant strains. Do some research on plant resistant flowers and veggies for your area. A good example is coneflowers very pest resistant and the seeds provide good forage for the birds in the winter.
DON'T - Over fertilize your plants. Over fertilizing may make your plants susceptible to sucking pests like aphids and others. Find out the fertilizing guidelines for your plants and stick to those. P.S. Ladybugs love aphids!
DO - Clean up and keep records. After vegetable plants and annual flowers are spent pull the plant and look at the root system for any pests or disease. After perrenials are spent you can leave them for a place for benificials to overwinter or you can cut them back. Also, all good gardners will keep records of everything from weather to yields and at what time of year, this should include a section on pests.
DON'T - Think that you can't go organic, it's just as easy, healthy, and fun for the entire family. Knowing that you have not used any pesticides to poison your air,water,soil, or family and saying "I grew it myself" is a good feeling.

I hope these quick and easy tips will help you on your way to becoming an organic gardener or a better organic gardener.

Pest control is only one aspect of Organic Gardening
For one of the best guides to Organic Gardening and Companion Planting, just click on the pic below!!

Peace and Prosperity to You,,Happy Homesteading,,,NY Homesteader