_______________________________________________________________________________

Supplies
The size and make-up of your garden will dictate what kind of tools and supplies you need.  If you’re doing a single small raised-bed, your needs will be much smaller than if you’re garden was 2,000 square-feet (like mine).

For a raised-bed, you need the material for the bed.  Cedar is a good wood to use (make sure it’s untreated) as it is rot-resistant and looks nice.  A lot of gardener supply places sell plastic kits.  Directions for constructing a raised-bed can be found here.  You also need soil to fill it.  You can buy that stuff at any nursery or garden-supply center.  Basic hand-tools like a small trowel, rake, etc. will also be needed.  I mean small, too.  You don’t need a full-size tool (unless you already have it), and large tools in a small bed can be trouble.

For a larger garden, or one that doesn’t use raised-beds, you will need at minimum a rake, spade, and gardener’s fork.  A good pair of light-weight cotton gloves are a good idea.  You will also probably need to rent or borrow a rototiller to break ground initially, unless there is an existing garden plot.  It is possible to break ground by hand using a spade and gardener’s fork but it takes a LOT of time.  If you are using your existing soil, it is not a bad idea to get a soil analysis done.  You can buy kits at any nursery or gardener’s supply website.  The analysis will tell you what kind of soil you have (i.e. loam, sandy, clay, etc) and also what its Ph. is and what nutrients it may lack.  This knowledge enables you to target your soil supplementation rather than applying a random all-in-one solution.

Pest Control
Pest control depends a LOT on what type of garden you are growing.  If you are growing a conventional garden, dump some Sevin dust on it and be done.  Of course, I ABSOLUTELY DO NOT advocate this type of gardening.  Chances are, if it kills bugs, it will kill other stuff too!!  I don’t like chemical herbicides for the same reason.

For a small garden, hand-picking (physically removing insects by hand and dropping them into a container of soapy water) may be sufficient.  There are also organic pesticides like Neem Oil that only affect certain insects, and most of those are pests.  You can also introduce beneficial insects that prey on pests.  Examples include ladybugs and preying mantises.

I had major troubles with Japanese Beetles and Squash Bugs last season.  The Japanese Beetles destroyed my corn crop and the Squash Bugs my summer and winter squashes.  This year I am fighting back with Milky Spore, which is a fungus that attacks only Japanese Beetle grubs, and an organic pesticide that contains Neem Oil.

For More Information
About.com Guide To Organic Gardening:  great newsletter about Organic Gardening with tips and information.

About.com Guide To Gardening:  another great newsletter that focuses on conventional gardening, but still has a lot of great information.

About.com Guide to Local Foods:  a newsletter that highlights local food in each state, and gives tips on farmer’s markets and such

Organic Consumers Association:  great website about the organic movement in general, with TONS of info and action alerts related to organics

Local Harvest:  neat site that has articles about finding locally-grown food, and has a really neat search function that allows you to find events, markets, and farms near you.

Mother Earth News:  magazine and website dedicated to all aspects of self-sufficiency, including horticulture

811 - Call Before You Dig:  This is very important!  Call to have your utility lines marked before you begin digging.  Hitting a gas line or a power cable could kill you!

And my personal favorite, Four Season Farm:  website of Eliot Coleman, one of the foremost organic farmers in the nation.  Most of what I know about organic horticulture I learned from his book The New Organic Grower.  The site includes bios, links, and articles.

I hope that this series has given you some idea of what you need to start a successful garden.  Our next series will cover planting and maintaining your garden!

_______________________________________________________________________________

Now that you know what type of seed you want to plant, it’s time to actually buy some seed!

Where to Buy Seed

I only buy seed from a store if I need the seed right away.  Otherwise, I typically buy as much as I can from Jere Gettle at Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds because I like the fact that he’s built the business from the ground up, selects the seed himself, has great prices, and its a family-owned business.

If they don’t have what I need, I then check the Seed Saver’s Exchange.  They were originally started in the 70’s as a co-op where members could exchange heirloom seeds that they had saved.  They have some great seeds too.

Johnny’s Selected Seeds carries a mix of conventional and organic seeds, but their prices seem to be a bit higher than most.  However, they are a reputable company that has a stated goal of being 100% employee-owned by 2015 (I believe they’re around 30% now).  They are where I would shop if my first two choices weren’t available.

Another good company is the Territorial Seed Company.  They also carry a mix of organic and conventional seed.

Most of these places also carry gardening tools and supplies.

What Size of Garden?

A lot of what you plant will be defined by how much space you have, and how much space you have will likewise dictate what you want to plant.  Things like melons, cucumbers, and squashes (including pumpkins) take quite a bit of space while things like salad plants, onions, tomatoes, and peppers don’t.

If you want to stay small, a 3′ X 6′ is about the smallest I would recommend.  Gardener’s Supply Company has a nifty little web-based tool that lets you plan a raised-bed garden that size.  It includes tips, ideas, and directions, but the coolest feature is that it lets you drag icons of the plants you want to a diagram of the bed, and it shows you how much space each plant needs.  That’s handy.  The only downside to this tool is that 3′ X 6′ is the only size available.  I just use a sheet of graph paper.  A lot of seed packets will tell you how much space each plant requires, or you can Google the plant name.  In a larger garden, leave about 2′ between each row/section so you can move around the plants.

In Part III, we’ll talk about what kind of supplies you will need (beyond seeds, that is!) and how to control pests in your garden.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Finding Your Zone

First, you need to find out what planting zone you are in.  Here is a map that will give you an idea.

Depending on the zone in which you live,  the growing season will be longer or shorter, and certain plants may fare better or worse.  I live in Zone 5, which is pretty much an average zone.

Once you know approximately how long your growing season is (basically, the length of time between estimated last frost in Spring and first frost in Autumn) you can choose what plants will work in your area.  Any reputable seed company will list approximate growing times for the plants they carry.

Choosing Your Seeds

It seems like there are around half-a-billion seed companies out there (a bit of hyperbole, perhaps).  A lot depends on whether or not you are concerned about what types of plants you grow.  There are 3 main types that I’ve found:

Heirloom:  an heirloom variety is any variety that has been preserved, mostly unchanged, for at least 50 years.  Heirlooms are important because they help to preserve genetic diversity (the more varieties available, the greater the diversity).  Some places, but not all, test some of their seeds for GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) genes.

Organic: The term organic has, unfortunately, recently become a media buzzword, just like “green”.  Basically organic means produced without any harmful chemical pesticides or fertilizers, and also produced using sustainable growing methods.  Organic also means non-GMO.

Conventional:  Standard seeds you can buy in any hardware or big-box store (like Walmart or Ace).  Typically some form of hybrid (not all hybrids are bad; it only gets bad when the hybrid is all that’s left in the world) and rarely organic.

I plant only organic and heirloom varieties, both to preserve genetic diversity, and because I believe that they are safer for my family.  And honestly, they taste better too, regardless of what Monsanto-sponsored scientists want you to think!  Buying organic produce in the store, or even at the farmer’s market, can be pricey.  It is MUCH more cost-effective to grow your own!!  For example, a packet of conventional corn seed may run around $2 - $2.50, while a packet of organic seed costs around $3.  The same savings typically apply no matter what you want to grow.  Organic plants are more labor-intensive, though (which we’ll cover later).

In Part II, we’ll take a look at some places to buy seed and some things to think about when planning the size of your garden.

The tomatoes and huckleberries are really taking off.  My sweet peppers (Golden Cal) are doing well, and some of my hot peppers (Pasilla) are finally sprouting!  I just hope the rest of them do, too!

The weather is getting consistently warmer, sunny days are here more often.  And I’ve started my seeds!  This year, my starts are tomatoes, huckleberries, sweet peppers, and hot peppers.

I’m making the garden a good bit bigger this year.  Last year was 20′x30′, but this year will be 40′x50′!  That’s quite a bit bigger, but I wanted to give my summer and winter squash plants more room to spread out.

I’m also planting some new and interesting plants that I’ve never tried before.  My dad likes kohlrabi so I’m planting some for him.  I’m planting some broom corn, too (the link goes to a great site for organic and heirloom seeds, The Seed Saver’s Exchange.  But I actually bought my seed from Baker Creek.  I just liked that picture).

What are your plans for gardening this year?  What things have you started?

Yeah, honestly, it is.  But flip it around for a second.  If 1 in 5 can’t find work, the other side of the coin is that 4 in 5 still have jobs.  Still have the means to make a living.  Still have opportunities to take care of their families.

Yes, the economy is hurting right now.  It may get worse still.  No one really knows (despite what some leaders might tell you).  If they knew how to fix the economy, they would have known how to keep it from getting this bad.

But the fact remains that life goes on.  Even if the world as we know it collapses around our ears, fear only harms us.   It paralyzes us.  It sends us into the depths of despair.

Face each day with courage.  (And courage, by the way, is not the absence of fear; far from it.  Courage is doing what is necessary in spite of fear).  Understand that this life is only temporary.  A single drop in the ocean of Eternity.  The knowledge that when this is all over, I’ll spend eternity with God helps me to keep going.

But most of all, in these difficult times, do whatever you can to help those around you.  Whatever you sow, you will reap.

I’d like some feedback from you, my loyal readers.  I’m considering a new weekly feature in which I profile a “green” business or merchant.  It could be just about anything from a local sustainable farm, a magazine, a seed company, or anything else.

What I’d like to hear from you is whether or not you would be interested in such a feature, and if you have any suggestions for merchants to be profiled.

I’d like to do this to get the word out about companies and individuals that are committed to sustainability and making the world a better place, not just profit.  Word-of-mouth is the best advertising, and it’s free!  The more we support companies like this, the more we all benefit.

So, send me an email or leave a comment and tell me what you think!

But is it?

There have been many studies about the effect of HFCS, with a lot of conflicting results.  Some link increased consumption of foods with HFCS to increased likelihood of obesity, while others that are more recent seem to disprove this link.

Although HFCS itself doesn’t seem to be the culprit, the fact remains that many of the foods that are sweetened with this product are foods that aren’t very good for you.  Soft drinks, snacks, fruit drinks, etc. all contain HFCS.  And, HFCS is often made from genetically-modified corn (if you’ve read this blog for any length of time, you know how much of an opponent of GMO stuff I am!).

Although the industry, and the FDA, consider HFCS to be natural, I do not, simply because of how it is made.  First, it’s made from GMO corn.  Franken-Corn is not natural!!  Second, it goes through a complex process involving three different enzymes to convert it to a sweetener (see this article for more info).

The bottom line:  In my opinion, although HFCS isn’t outright harmful, it’s not natural, it’s made from GMO corn, and is often found in highly-processed foods.  So although HFCS isn’t necessarily to blame for the obesity epidemic, I think it’s something to consume sparingly, just like any other sweetener.

Here are some links to articles I read for this article:

Stonyfield Farm Newsletter

Myths about HFCS by The Corn Refiners Association

Mayo Clinic Q & A on HFCS

Apparently, Feedburner, the service I use to burn my RSS feeds, is having difficulties.  I’m only showing one subscriber, which I take to mean that Feedburner lost all of my subscriptions (although Kelly thinks it’s because no one likes me).

So, if you happen to get the feed for this like you’re supposed to, and you know anyone who would just die if they didn’t get to read my blog, please let them know they may have to re-subscribe.

Thanks!

A reader, whose husband installs and services furnaces, told me that he said it really doesn’t help to save energy because any energy savings from lower temperatures are offset by increased costs to bring the temperature back up when we are home.

I left it at that, partly because he installs the things and I’m afraid to change the filter on mine, and partly because his arms are as big as my legs.  But today I read an interesting snippet on the Consumer Reports Home & Garden blog.  Here’s the relevant section:

Programmable thermostats
Our report on programmable thermostats found they can cut your heating bills by as much as 20 percent. Some highly rated models cost as little as $35, and you can install them easily with our step-by-step instructions. During winter, program your thermostat to automatically lower the temperature 5°F at night (while you sleep) and 10°F during the day (when no one is home) to realize savings. “These simple adjustments should not affect comfort yet can cut your heating bill by as much as 20 percent,” says Jim Nanni, manager of the appliance and home-improvement testing department for Consumer Reports.

Multiple thermostats let you deliver different amounts of heating to different parts of the home, if you can concentrate your activities in a single zone and leave the others unheated for as long as possible. For every 1°F you lower a thermostat setting, you will save about 3 percent on your heating costs.

Again, I’m no expert, but this seems fairly convincing.  I’d be very interested to hear more from both sides of the debate, so feel free to chime in!