You might not have listened in the beginning of the summer…

…Or in September when I told you it’s not too late to start your garden.

It’s now October and guess what?

It’s still not too late to start your garden
For most of you in the US, your time is running out this year, but you still have some. Utilize it!

The selection might be small, but there is a selection.

Just grow one thing right now. Then come the spring, you’ll be more comfortable and be able to grow that much more.

It’ll be easier to handle and much less overwhelming.

What can you grow?
To figure out what you can grow, you should use my Veggie Virgin Formula.

That will help you to figure out what you can start from seed today.

Still need help?
If you still need help starting your fall garden, then enroll in my Fall Gardening 101 course and I’ll walk you through the steps.

Mint is a weed…

…that means it grows like crazy and should be kept in a container.

If you are growing mint, you likely have more that you know what to do with. You can easily harvest it to encourage more growth too.

There are lots of posts out there that give you dozens of ways that you can use mint. How many of them can you actually use everyday though?

How to use mint from your garden…everyday

That’s why I wanted to write this simple and practical post for you.

Let’s begin. Here they are:

Hot tea

This is a simple one. Put some mint leaves in a mug. Boil up some water. Pour the water over the mint leaves and let it sit for a few minutes. That’s it.

Mint tea is good for upset stomachs and helps with digestion.

Spa water

We should all be drinking more water. It’s essential for our health and well-being.

Some people complain that drinking water is too bland and boring.

You can add some flavor to it pretty easily. This is slight variation of the tea. All you have to do is fill up a large pitcher with water and add in mint leaves.

It will give the water a minty flavor.

Chewing gum alternative

Face it, your breath stinks. I can smell it through my computer.

So why not pull off some mint leaves and chew on them. It’ll help to freshen your breath and help you to make more friends.

Your turn

Share this post with friends and family that have so much mint they don’t know what to do with it.

Summer is gone and September is upon us.

You think you missed your chance to start your garden and will start it next year…

…That’s just a lame excuse though.

You’ve made dozens of excuses why you can’t start. I’m sick of them and you should be too.

It’s not too late to start your garden
That’s true for most of you in the United States.

Yes, your options are limited, but you can still start something.

It’s all about getting over the excuses and starting. You’ve made enough excuses that have kept you from starting.

Now is the perfect time to begin.

What can you grow?
To figure out what you can grow, you should use my Veggie Virgin Formula.

That will help you to figure out what you can start from seed today.

For those of you that wind up in being in Zones 3 and 4, you are out of luck. The rest of you can still plant something.

The veggie that nearly all of you can start right now is spinach. If you want variety, use the Veggie Virgin Formula to see what else you can plant.

So channel that inner-Popeye of yours, get over your excuses for not starting and get that spinach planted.

Still need help?
If you still need help starting your fall garden, then enroll in my Fall Gardening 101 course and I’ll walk you through the steps.

Do you strive for perfection in your garden?

Is it important for you for everything to be just so?

Are these questions that you ask yourself and beat yourself up about?

I don’t want an organic garden

People will often tell me that my garden isn’t “organic” because I am growing in plastic containers and the containers might be leaching BPA in the soil.

They will tell me that because of the water that I’m using and it’s not filtered in a certain manner that it’s not truly organic.

People will say that they don’t want to start unless they have the ideal conditions to grow their food in.

I usually wind up asking them, “Is it really that bad to grow in “non perfect” conditions as opposed to eating who knows what that we buy at the grocery store.”

Don’t be perfect

If you have been waiting for the perfect conditions and time to start, I challenge you to not be perfect.

I challenge you to do the best that you can with the conditions and knowledge that you are given to start and maintain your garden.

Your turn

In the comments below, tell me one thing about your garden that isn’t perfect and share this post with friends and family that are waiting for the perfect conditions.

What is the simplest thing you can grow?

Which vegetable is pretty much failproof?

What is the one vegetable that is recommended for beginner’s to start with?

These are questions that I often get and the answer is pretty simple.

It’s not tomatoes

I’ve been very vocal and shared why most of your garden’s will fail before.

One of those reasons is that when you are first starting out, you want to grow tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and eggplant.

These are all possible to grow, but they are more difficult when you are first starting out.

Why?

Because they require more sunlight, fertilizer, time and attention. That’s a lot to give when you are first starting out.

My top recommended crop

That’s why I always recommend that people who are first starting out to keep it simple and grow some greens.

Any kind of green – lettuce, spinach, chard, kale…any leafy green will be pretty simple.

Here’s the deal – we all know what to do with greens and can sure eat more of them in our diets.

Once you successfully grow them, then start with your tomatoes and peppers.

For the experienced gardener — those of you that have been gardening “longer than I’ve been alive” (which you love to tell me so much), this post isn’t for you.

Still need help starting your garden?

If you are still feeling overwhelmed and want step-by-step instructions on starting your garden, then enroll in my Fall Gardening 101 course today.

Your turn

In the comments below, share which leafy green you are going to start in your garden.

Seed starting.

Who thought that it could be so intimidating…

..but there are lots of questions and things to take into consideration when starting your seeds.

We’ve already covered some basic seed starting tips and tips for those of you starting indoors, but I want to make it even more simple and basic.

Because that’s how I do.

One-liners to help you start your seeds

On the Urban Organic Gardener Facebook page, I’ve been sharing gardening tips.

They’ve been pretty popular, mostly because I think they are so simple to follow and easy to remember.

I thought that they’d make for a great post…so here they are:

Thanks to my sponsors SeedsNow.com and Thrive for the tips.

Your turn

“Share” this information with your friends and family to help them to get their seeds started.

Hard to believe it’s already August.

The summer is flying by.

Despite being the summer, it’s time to start thinking about your fall garden.

This past past, I planted some seeds in my new garden that’s alongside my building.

How to decide what to plant

To figure out what I should plant, I used my Veggie Virgin Formula.

It’s a simple 4-step process that will show you what you can start from seeds right now.

What I got planted

Since the summers are traditionally hot here in LA, my choices are still limited.

I went a little crazy for me. I usually stay away from the peppers and squashes. They require more sunlight, fertilizer and attention. Definitely don’t recommend them if you are starting out.

Here is what I got planted with much more coming in September:

• Georgia southern collard greens (Cornucopia)
• Yellow summer crookneck (Ferry-Morse)
• Squash, blackbeauty (SeedsNow.com)
• Pumpkin Jack Be Little (Botanic Interests)
• Sweet cherry red peppers (from a friend
• Pepper (HOT), jalapeno (SeedsNow.com)

If you still need to get your seeds to plant for this fall, check out SeedsNow.com’s Fall/Winter Harvest Kit. You can get 10% off by using the code URBAN10.

You can also check out these other reputable seed companies to get your vegetable seeds from.

Still need help starting your garden?

If want to start your fall garden, but feel overwhelmed or want step-by-step instructions in easy to understand English, then enroll in my Fall Gardening 101 course.

Your turn

In the comments below, let me know what you planted in your garden this August.