It is getting to the point where, if you don’t have a gift for your special someone, it is almost too late.  However, you can still get some good deals out there, and, with express shipping, you can still make it happen:  that MasterCard commercial with the trampoline, Kleenex and paper bag, oh and the door opening to show two brand new cars.  If you can’t get two brand new cars for your sweetie, you can still pick up some nifty organic gardening swag.  Here are my top picks if you are still searching for ideas.

• Blue Planet Compost Bin:  You can make rich compost and compost tea with this composter.  It is perfect for anyone who wants to create rich compost, quickly.
• Heavy Duty Galvanized Compost Pail:  This is perfect for die-hard gardeners that want to make compost under the sink!  It is also perfect for indoor worm composting.
• The Truth about Organic Gardening and The Truth about Garden Remedies, Jeff Gillman’s new books about organic gardening.  They are must-haves for any true organic gardener.
• A Garden Gnome:  Every garden needs a gnome, for safekeeping!
• The Organic Gardening Ebook!  This is a win-win for those who have truly waited for the last minute because you can download it as soon as you purchase it!
• The sprouting Seed Super Sampler:  This is great for the cooks on your list.  There is nothing better than eating your own fresh sprouts on salads.
• Kid’s gardening set:  This is for the little sprouts (gardeners in training).  You can’t get them started too early!
• Felco number seven pruners:  If you are really in the doghouse or need a great present quickly, get a pair of Felco 7 pruners.  They are ergonomic with a rotating handle.  If someone has a large rose garden or needs to prune a lot, these pruners are a must-have tool.

If you are reading this on December 24th or 25th, go for the ebook, it’s immediate.  Then, tuck an IOU in the card for a couple of other goodies.  You can’t go wrong with these.

Happy Holidays!

When I first started my present organic garden, it had been totally farmland and therefore, it was full of weeds. It had no shape. It was like a typical farmers field, bumpy ground and obnoxious weeds. At first I felt rather daunted and overwhelmed by the job of creating this nightmare into an English Cottage garden. As I have lived in England, I knew what I wanted my garden to look like. I just was not sure that I had enough physical energy and determination to get the job done.

I have learned in life, that if you tackle a large project one step at a time, rather than look at a project in its entirety, you are more likely to achieve your goals. I had to think, just what do I want from my garden? Was it to be a place where I could relax, or a place to have wild poolside parties, or a place where I could lose myself in time? While weeding and creating, I chose the latter, but it is important if you are starting from scratch to know what kind of garden you want.

Gardens are never made by accident. Whether it’s a sterile plot or a space filled with plants, someone decides the precise arrangement they want and are prepared to maintain.

I broke all my own rules about garden planning and detail before getting started. I just went ahead and by instinct knew what I wanted. As my garden covers two acres of land, I really could not financially employ anyone to help to dig it all up and renew the soil, so I had to go it alone with my trusty spade and garden fork and my aching muscles and tubes of liniment!

I like rounded edges in my flowerbeds, not straight sided. I think rounded edges add softness to any design, but I had to angle the edges from the grass to stop the weeds from growing into the flowerbeds. I thought that would work, but I soon found out differently. I think some of the weeds I encountered had roots going down 50 feet! As soon as I would dig them out, they just came back. This was very discouraging and backbreaking, but I was determined to go ahead. My philosophy is to never use harmful chemicals, so it was by hand! To win the war, you have to know the nature of weeds.

How Do Weeds Thrive?

Weeds grow either from seed or they reproduce from their roots. The roots grow outward from the parent plant and produce new plants, springing up from lateral roots, creating more parent plants. The process just goes on and on and the weeds thrive. We must remember that weeds are just plants growing in the wrong place. They need water, sunlight and nutrition to survive.

How to Prevent Them From Thriving

The easiest of these essentials for a gardener to control is sunlight. Before mulching, remove all vegetation from your planting area and, using a hoe, undercut the roots and remove the plant, roots and all. Then turn the soil by hand. You may decide to turn it again after a few days have passed. This brings the roots that were left in the soil to the top and the sun will dry them out and make them less viable. It also disturbs the weed seeds that have started to germinate, which makes them less viable. The longer you continue this process, the more weeds you eliminate from your garden.

Before mulching, place newspaper (about 8 layers thick) over the soil and place the mulch on top. The newspaper blocks the sunlight from reaching the soil, which keeps weed growth to a minimum. As it decomposes, it will not affect the appearance of your garden.

After 6 years of battling with my own weeds, I am not sure who is winning the battle, but I am determined to win the war!!

I hope you will be able to reach your own goals and realize that nothing is impossible when determination and creativity are your partners.

There is a lot of interesting information in my soon to be released ebook” How To Master Affordable Organic Gardening.”

Advantages of this method include good moisture retention needed for germination, along with avoiding transplanting shock, since seeds are moved, “pot” and all.

If you would like to try this method, then follow these simple steps:

Take one egg and cut a cap about the size of a quarter from the large end. This opening is big enough so that the contents can be poured out without breaking the yolk. Put the empty shells (of however many eggs you have cut) back in the carton and keep them in a shed or basement until you’re ready to plant seed.

Use an ice pick to punch a small hole through the bottom of the dried eggshell to provide drainage, then fill with a regular potting soil mix. Take a seed (you can use tweezers) and place it in the eggshell container, you can even sow two or three, and then moisten each container thoroughly.

Seedlings are easy to handle in these planters and may be held for some time. The best time to put them in the ground is on a cloudy day. If you have seeds that are slow to germinate, then you can slip the egg container into a plastic bag, a bread wrapper would do, seal with soft wire or other fastening and place on a darkened shelf until germination occurs.

Once the seeds germinate then you can expose them to light, a good idea is if you have a Gro-lamp.

When the plants are large enough to set out in the garden, make sure to crush the eggshell or remove the bottom half, so that the roots can be in direct contact with soil.

Water the transplants well using a starter solution made from an ounce of fish emulsion in a gallon of water. The decaying eggshell releases a small quantity of beneficial calcium into the soil. The other advantage being that roots do not become root-bound and should there be a period of drought, the crushed shell will not become dry and separate from its surrounding soil.

It is just as easy to cut the eggs as described above, as cracking them open.

I find it quite amazing how quickly the shells disappear in a humus-rich organic garden, when the seedlings are transplanted.

Some gardeners put the potting soil directly into the paper egg shell cartons, and as they are biodegradable, they will be absorbed into the soil.

The Organic method has always appealed to me because it doesn’t impose a mental straitjacket on it’s practitioners. It is safe to say that Nature follows more than one path to achieve its ends. So I feel free to experiment and adapt on a small-scale, as long as I stay in tune with the natural processes.

I have just been reading about gardeners in the 18th and 19th centuries, and I have been quite amazed at the similarity of the problems that gardener’s face today.

Organic gardening was alive and well in those days, as I outline in my soon to be released ebook “How To Master Organic Gardening.”

Although, I think,the double purpose of a garden has been forgotten in landscape gardening. It seems that we now have a useful kitchen garden, but they can be quite ugly, or a flower garden that is not useful, but has flowers to redeem its purpose

The charm of a garden, as it used to be, was in marrying the two together.

In an English garden of old, vegetables and flowers were grown together, as the household had only a small plot of land, and they had to support themselves with food as well as providing flowers for the table. Carrots, celery, and other root crops would reside quite happily with delphiniums, foxgloves and other flowering plants.

In my own garden, I like to go my own wild way and do things wrong, and then find out by myself the mistakes I may have made.

I do recommend, if you have space, to have an experimental garden. Here you can try all sorts of new things before they go into your flower beds. It allows you the luxury of trial and error, without the stress of trying to place new plants in an already established area.

It is also a good plan, when a plant fails in one area of your garden, to try it in another area, and if it does not do well when relocated, then discard it. There are plenty more to try!

I think all fledgling gardeners and those who have more experience, know the dreaded signs of “black spot”. You see the black spots on your rose leaves and sometimes yellowish edges on the leaves.

How can you save your favorite rose plants?

Black spot fungus attacks only roses. Those black spots that are found on the leaves are the actual fungus itself, not dead spots, as some gardeners have concluded.

This fungus lives on the canes and on the fallen dead leaves that lie on the ground during winter and then the fungus spreads to the leaves of living roses, when the garden soil is moist and wet.

Roses that grow in areas in which summers are warm and humid are most likely to suffer from black spot.

Black spot loves moist conditions. Good air circulation around your plants will inhibit black spot from forming on the leaves. I like to water my roses early in the day, allowing the moisture to dry during the heat of the day. To avoid spreading the fungus to yourself, never work on your roses when they are wet.

It is always best to work around them when it is dry, this lessens the likelihood of spreading. You should also clean tools with alcohol or bleach after working on affected rose plants. When you first notice the spots starting on your plants, apply a baking soda spray to help to control the fungus. It is also important to destroy the diseased leaves and not leave them on the ground.

Baking Soda Spray To Combat Fungus

2 tablespoons baking soda
1 gallon water
1 teaspoon vegetable oil/car wax.

Mix together and spray as necessary.

Finally, rake up the dead leaves around the roses you have already planted, this helps to stop the spread of black spot to other roses.

To the left is my organic garden as seen from the edge of my yard.

I am a Master Gardener specializing in organic gardening and for 20 years I have been working with not only my own organic gardens but helping people with their organic gardens as well.

Here at GoOrganicGardening.com I will share with you my general gardening, and specifically organic gardening, thoughts and experiences so you will also know what it is to work in harmony with Mother Nature.

All too often the act of growing plants and food for pleasure sets the gardener at odds with the natural world around us. As cities grow and natural wildlife habitat diminishes, it is, in my opinion, necessary for us to include places where wildlife can share the planet with us, while at the same time making our gardens whatever we want them to be. This is easily accomplished within the environment of an organic garden.

Spend time with me in my organic garden; get to know my methods for growing plants without the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers and you will be able to create an environment where animals and plants coexist in your own back yard free of pesticides just as they do in the wild.

You will discover such things as how to make your own blend of organic fertilizers to make good soil, which will allow the soil to produce good healthy plants for you. You will learn how to be your own ‘plant doctor’ as you will see how to recognize and correct nutrient deficiencies.

I have been guilty in the past of reaching for the ‘quick fix’ out of a bottle that I purchased in my local store, without taking the time to think of how I could gain the same result had I applied my own remedies.

As an organic gardener, you probably spend more of your time outdoors than most people, allowing you to see more of the wonders that wildlife can provide. Have you seen the fence lizard doing push ups? Do you know why skunks dig holes in your lawn? Maybe you have seen the frogs on the lily pads, waiting to flick their tongues at a passing fly. All of these wondrous things are to be seen in the joy of an organic garden.

An organic gardener is still faced with the same problems as any other gardener, but I believe that chemical pollution has harmed our environment, so I have come up with methods to deal with these problems, while keeping the air and water around me, poison -free.

For instance, did you know most of the bugs in your garden are good ones? They are there to help us in the fight against those that would do your plants harm. It is not beneficial just to open the spray can and kill every insect in sight, you are doing more harm than good.

Very soon my new Ebook “How to Master Organic Gardening will be available for you. You will want to get a copy to discover a lot of what I have proven over the past 20 years really works while working with organic gardens, and hopefully understand the delicate balance that we have with nature.

If you garden in a chemical-free way, you will give back to the environment that has given us so much.

- Ena Clewes

They are such lovely elegant looking plants, that grace many a home, the Amaryllis is not really a lily, and the common-called amaryllis is not even an amaryllis, but a Hypeastrum.

No matter what the correct name is it is most loved for its spectatular blossom production and because it can be grown year after year.

Every year in winter amaryllis bulbs appear in garden catalogues, plant and flower shops, nurseries and even supermarkets. They are sold in boxes with pots and peat moss, and planting instructions.

The supermarket is a good source of acquiring this plant, as I can attest to, I have had many lovely plants from there.

Many people are doubtful as to how to ensure future blooming when their amaryllis is finished flowering.

The time of planting is the time to ensure that your amaryllis will bloom for many years. Use a clay pot slightly larger than the bulb, and instead of the pure peat provided , plant the bulb in a mixture of two parts soil one of peat,and one of sand or perlite.

Be careful not to break the roots when planting and let about one third of the bulb protrude above the soil.

Water so that it is thouroughly moistened, and not again until the soil feels dry to the touch.

Sometimes the stalk will emerge before the leaves, and sometimes the leaves grow first. Generally, the stalk will need staking, cut the stalk off once flowers have wilted.

Feed your plant with a 15-30-15 fertilizer once every 2 weeks and provide good light.

Mid September-Mid October is the plant’s time of rest, it should be kept dry at room temperature.

Do not remove the leaves as the bulb stores the nutrients from them. You can remove them once they have dried up.

After two or three months the bulbs can be started again. Amaryllis can be taken outside and placed in a protected spot with the pot sunk into the ground.

A good bright spot in the house suits them well and with good care they should provide years of pleasure.

{This article was originally published in 2007}

A fertile soil has a balance of minerals and micronutrients so subtle, that I do not think that any chemical could add
them all. However it is known that manure, compost and leaf mold will.

Organic fertilizers improve the soil to allow it to hold water, fixes nitrogen and makes nutrients accessible to plants
when they need it, this is probably one of the most important factors that organic fertilizer has.

Nitrogen makes leaves grow, and if you see yellow leaves then there is a nitrogen deficiency in the plant. For nitrogen, add compost, manure, blood meal, grass clippings and any other garden wastes.

Next comes phosphorus, which is crucial to seed development plant growth and disease resistance.

Potassium is necessary for early growth, stem strength and is also essential to the formation of carbohydrates necessary for the protein in the plant.

Using Organic fertilizers is much better for your soil, than any commercial product.

{This article was originally published in 2007}

Another talk, the keynote speech at the same conference, couched all of the above in different terms.  This speaker said that Gen Y’s grandparents, who came of age during the Great Depression and World War Two, were in survival mode their entire lives.  Because of what they did, their children were able to have a higher standard of living.  Those children, my generation, are philosophically beyond subsistence (For the most part.  We’ll see how this recession-thing goes), and up in the dream space.

Sign in the "SEEDS Garden," Durham, NC

We don’t just want meat.  We want pasture-fed meat.  We don’t just want milk, we want hormone-free milk.  We don’t just want tomatoes, we want organic, locally grown, heirloom tomatoes.  How long will that last?  I don’t know. It depends upon whether we can continue to feed, clothe and house ourselves by working one job apiece.  It depends upon whether the sea levels rise and the oil runs out and different forms of energy are developed and harnessed.  I think it is a definite possibility that we might end up exactly where our grandparents were-merely surviving.

In the Mean Time. . .

How to get us interested in gardening before our lives depend upon it?  (Some would say that our lives already do.)  Well, my favorite comment from this guy, Kelly Norris, was that people who write about gardening, or are in the gardening business, need to focus more on the benefits of the process, less on the end result.  I’d second that.  I was positively giddy to jump out of the car and check on my garden after being away for five days.  I wasn’t expecting big changes, because it is fall, in the south, and my plants are saying “We are D-U-N. Done!”  But, there were little surprises or greetings–my Mexican sage is blooming now.  The giant golden orb spider over the sidewalk is about twice as big as when I left.  My encore azaleas are blooming.

I asked my husband, who is an un-trained gardening fanatic, why he likes to garden.  He’s a seriously enthusiastic hobbyist.  He has Pam Beck’s Best Garden Plants for North Carolina, and keeps it by his bedside, marking the pages of plants he wants.  When he makes a grocery list he puts “plants” at the bottom.  He was thrilled when I told him that I brought home a toad lily from Plant Delights.  He ran and got his book and showed me the post-it on the toad lily page in his book.

He told me “Gardening is soothing.  It keeps me connected with the earth.  It lets me give back to nature’s creatures.”  (We don’t spray pesticides in our yard.)  I said “Are you just saying that because I’m a garden blogger?  Do you really mean it?”  He said that, yes, he did mean it.  He said he also viewed gardening as a bit of a challenge.  If he kills something (which is often), he tries again, with different techniques.  He said he has noticed that it is much different gardening in Wilmington, North Carolina than in Keene Valley, New York, where we lived when we were first married.  He likes learning.  He said nothing about the end result:  buckets of yellow pear tomatoes that he picked, and sat on the counter, and never ate, or lettuce gone to seed, or radishes so pithy they would break a tooth.

For all the talk about how besotted we are with instant gratification, which some interpret to mean “results,” I would tend to agree with my friend and co-hort, Jayme, owner of aHa Modern Living, a cool online garden store.  For us, many of my generation, who work long hours, at often unfulfilling jobs, and on a treadmill to keep up with our parents, rising housing prices and non-existent health care, the EXPERIENCE is the product, just as Kelly Noris said.  We don’t want instant tomatoes, we want to be instantly captivated by the EXPERIENCE of growing tomatoes, or lettuce, or potatoes.  Within that experience, there is room for learning the process, enjoying interesting gardening products, reading cool books and researching online.

Don’t Freak Out!

If you despair that you’ll never interest your child in gardening, or you can’t understand why your niece is more interested in boys than plants, or you won’t even ask your granddaughter to go cherry picking with you because you think she’ll say no, think again.  Think about how to present the gardening activity as an adventure, instead of a chore.  Entertainment instead of work.  Come at it from the standpoint of something interesting to do, rather than something nice to get.  Then, you’ll get results.

{This article was originally published on the site in 2009}

For example, in many regions of the country, this has been an exceptionally cool and wet summer. If this is the first time that an individual has tried organic gardening, they may decide to scrap the whole idea, and return to the use of conventional gardening methods. Due to this weather, peppers are not growing, tomatoes are not turning red, and plants seem to be more prone to disease and rot.

The experienced organic gardener knows that this is part of the process, and resigns themselves to some loss, and accept what they reap. There are other things that make a good organic gardener.

Dedication

As mentioned above, no two growing seasons are exactly alike, and each of those seasons provide different obstacles to conquer.  Some seasons are dry, some are wet, sometimes the wildlife or insects find your garden and destroy them, while other times the garden may be left to grow.

It is difficult when the gardener knows that there are products out there that can solve problems quickly, but that are not organic in nature.  Fighting the urge to toxify the soil in order to grow great veggies can sometimes be an awful battle.  Dedication to the commitment to garden organically is vitally important during the times that things are not going well.

Dedication is also important because more time needs to be spent in the garden looking vigilantly for problems, or research may need to be done on what can be done organically to save your crop. But as you gain the knowledge, you will come to realize the natural processes that make gardening worthwhile, rather than the cosmetic appearance if you stick to chemicals.

Ingenuity and Saving Money By Gardening Naturally

Organic gardening is sometimes expensive to get started because conventional fertilizers and amendments need to be replaced, and organic products are expensive.  As time goes on though, the organic gardener learns many ways that they can decrease costs, to the point where relying on chemicals become much more expensive.

• Re-purpose-Plant seedlings in yogurt cups or margarine containers, use branches for trellises and supports in the garden, borrow what you can from neighbors and friends.
• Go to Auctions-Auctions are a terrific place to find gardening tools, watering systems, power tools to aid in constructing raised beds, produce baskets and canning supplies.  When you think about it, 50 years ago, everyone was an organic garden.  If you happen to find an old farm auction, you are likely to find many treasures for a fraction of the price in the store.
• Talk to neighbors-Let neighbors know that you are gardening, and explain your methods without too much lecturing.  Volunteer to take their leaves, food scraps, grass clippings etc. to place on your compost pile.  Show them where the pile is, and encourage them to place items there even if you are not home.  Make sure to let them know what should not go on the pile.
• Borrow-Part of the mindset of the organic gardener is to use organic practices in order to lessen their impact on the environment.  Borrowing  a wheelbarrow from a neighbor, or hand tools that you do not need often, reduces consumption which is another way to lessen environmental impact.

Patience

Unlike other gardeners who use chemical fertilizers, the organic sometimes does not grow as quickly, as plants are relying heavily on natural elements in the environment.  This means that cool summers, wet weather, or drought can really effect the organic garden.  Sometimes this if frustrating as everyone around you is harvesting while you are waiting for flowering.

Acceptance for Imperfection

At the local farmer’s market, one of the organic growers had some beat up and misshapen carrots on his table.  He had them labeled “pretty carrots”.   They surely taste the same, they just did not look as good as some of the carrots other vendors had.

In your own garden, you may have tomatoes with end rot.  It is not necessary to waste the whole thing, just cut off the rotten part.  Broccoli may not bunch as tightly as it should, or apples may have worm holes.  This is all a part of organic gardening, and learning not to worry about the appearance, but the taste of the food can be tough.  Remember that the beautiful produce paid a dear price to get that way, and that sometimes things happen in the organic garden that make perfect fruit impossible.  Love them anyway.

Overall, being an organic gardener is a very rewarding choice.  You can be sure that the fruits and veggies that you and your family are eating are as healthy and as chemical free as you can make them.  However, it takes a tough attitude and a tough skin as the guy across the fence makes some derogatory comment about your gardening practices while spraying pesticides around his yard!

{This article was originally published on the site in 2009}