Grow-It-Organically Blog

Jul 17, Springpots and Fabric Burners are the Best Fabric Pots!

Mon, 17 Jul 2017 18:02:08 -0400

Springpots, Fabric Burners, and Sequoia Tree Pots offer the best value in fabric pots. Superior materials and design at a great price.

Mar 4, Eat Your Dirt Summit Goes Live Tomorrow!

Sat, 4 Mar 2017 15:18:35 -0500

A reminder for those who have signed up for the Eat Your Dirt Summit--We go LIVE tomorrow!

The Summit features 30 Edible Landscaping, Organic Gardening, Permaculture, and Sustainability experts.

It's not too late to sign up! YOUR FREE PASS gives you rolling 48-hour access to ALL the conference content.

I'll be speaking on Vermicomposting and Potting Soil Mixes on Sunday, March 5th, at 9 pm EST (6 pm PST)

On Monday, March 6th, at 6 pm EST (3 pm PST), I'll be speaking on Container Gardening and Growing in Raised Beds.

I'll also be available on Live Q & A Sessions on Monday, March 6th at 11 am EST (8 am PST) and Thursday, March 9th at 3 pm EST (Noon PST). Call with Questions!

Feb 26, Eat Your Dirt Summit, March 5-11, 2017

Sun, 26 Feb 2017 18:14:36 -0500

Join Me at the Eat Your Dirt Summit, March 5-11, 2017!

The Summit features 30 Edible Landscaping, Organic Gardening, Permaculture, and Sustainability experts. YOUR FREE PASS gives you rolling 48-hour access to ALL the conference content.

I'll be speaking on Vermicomposting and Potting Soil Mixes on Sunday, March 5th, at 9 pm EST (6 pm PST)

On Monday, March 6th, at 6 pm EST (3 pm PST), I'll be speaking on Container Gardening and Growing in Raised Beds.

Live Q & A Sessions on Monday, March 6th at 11 am EST (8 am PST) and Thursday, March 9th at 3 pm EST (Noon PST). Call with Questions!

You won't want to miss this conference! Get your FREE PASS HERE!

Feb 4, Best of Houzz 2014 Award for Customer Satisfaction

Tue, 4 Feb 2014 14:17:34 -0500

I just won a "Best of Houzz 2014" award for Customer Satisfaction! Thanks to all my clients, especially those who wrote reviews for me.

Dec 22, "Balancing" a Carrot Bed

Sun, 22 Dec 2013 19:20:49 -0500

"Balancing" a Carrot Bed© Steve Masley
(Click IMAGE to Enlarge)

Just added some photos on "balancing" a carrot bed to my Growing Carrots page. Carrot beds tend to be "clumpy", with knots of dense seedlings, and wide gaps in between. While the seedlings are still small, you can carefully "prick out" clusters of seedlings with a fork, to thin them out and fill in gaps in the bed. See Growing Carrots for more information.

Dec 18, New Broccoli Photos, 'Blue Wind' and 'Arcadia' Side Shoots

Wed, 18 Dec 2013 11:37:02 -0500

**Click Any Image to See a Larger Version**

I just added a couple photos from a client's garden to my Growing Broccoli page.

The photo on the left is 'Blue Wind', a very early broccoli variety with good side shoot production.

It remains to be seen if its side shoot production can match that of 'Arcadia', the photo on the right. The main head was harvested 3 weeks ago, and this plant produced 9 side shoots, each the size of a small broccoli head on its own.

Jul 25, Growing Tomatoes in Containers, Growing Tomatoes in Pots, Container Tomatoes

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 17:36:28 -0400

Growing tomatoes in containers is often the only option for apartment-dwellers, but container tomatoes have advantages even when you have space for a garden.

Apr 4, Dragonflies as Garden Predators

Thu, 4 Apr 2013 13:26:02 -0400

There was a great article on dragonflies as predators in the New York Times yesterday. They're probably the most efficient predators in the animal kingdom, capturing up to 95% of the prey they pursue. If you live near water, you'll find them patrolling your garden in lazy figure-8's, zigging and zagging to snag flying insects or chase rivals or mates. You can encourage their presence in the garden by adding a water element.

Jan 24, Tomato Diseases

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 18:31:27 -0500

'Western Yellows', a.k.a, 'Curly Top'
© Steve Masley...Click IMAGE to Enlarge

I just put up one of the ugliest pages on my site, a new page on Tomato Diseases. This is one of the only pages on my site where most of the photos are not mine.

As a gardener and photographer, ugly is hard for me to do. Brown is the color of failure in a garden. When I've seen tomato diseases in the past, I've identified them, then done what I could (if anything) to help the plant recover. Usually, I just yank the plant and throw it in the trash.

Fortunately, University extension services are good at ugly photos. So for this page, I reviewed several publications on each of the main tomato diseases. Under each disease, I used photos from the best publication on that disease, then linked to the publication from my site.

This page should be useful for gardeners looking to diagnose sick tomato plants. It has photos of the main tomato diseases, all in one place, with links out to detailed information on each disease.

One disadvantage of extension services is that they usually recommend chemical fungicides to deal with tomato diseases. That's where my section on organic solutions to tomato diseases comes in.

Jan 18, Now You Can Purchase Photos from Grow-it-Organically.com

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 00:22:59 -0500

We get a lot of requests for prints of photos from Grow-it-Organically.com, so now you can purchase prints of our best pictures. You can get canvas, acrylic, metal, and art prints, in sizes ranging from 8" x 5" (gift cards) to 30" x 20" and larger. You can order without frames, or select from a wide range of colors, shapes, and sizes of frames.

The images are perfect for brightening up a kitchen, dining room, outdoor dining area, or office. If you order a frame that matches your window casings and delete the mat, it will look like you've added a window looking out on a garden.

This is a great resource for interior designers and people staging properties for sale. A sure way to make a space pop is with high-quality, clear, stunning images. If you know an interior designer or real estate stager, send them a link to this page.

Check out All the Available Images

Jan 6, New Pepper Photos from 2012 Garden

Sun, 6 Jan 2013 17:32:02 -0500

I'm just getting around to posting photos of last summer's peppers. Here's a gallery featuring 'Carmen', a red Italian bull's horn (Corno di Toro) pepper I tried for the first time this summer. I'll be growing this one every summer from now on! You can see other recent additions at my Pepper Varieties page.

**'Carmen' Bull's Horn Peppers: Click Any Image to See a Larger Version**

Jan 2, Worm Farms in the News--New York Times Article

Wed, 2 Jan 2013 13:49:17 -0500

Jim Robbins had a piece in the New York Times about worm farms and the benefits of vermicompost. As I've said for years, the worm gut is loaded with beneficial bacteria and fungi, and the castings are inoculated with these microbes as they pass through into the soil.

These beneficial microbes enchance plant immunity and outcompete pathogens in the soil. I've used fresh worm castings in my salad tray flats, potting mixes, and seed starting mixes for years, it's part of why my plants are so robust and healthy.

The only disadvantage of worm castings is they're expensive to buy. If you use a lot of them, like I do, you'll want to set up your own Worm Composting System. That way, you can turn kitchen scraps and shredded paper into worm castings, a probiotic for your soil. Fresh worm castings are even better than bagged castings, because you get a few worms with them, and the worms help cycle nutrients in container vegetable gardens.

The link below goes to Jim Robbins' New York Times article on worm farms:

Jan 1, Harvesting Broccoli, How to Harvest Broccoli

Tue, 1 Jan 2013 13:36:07 -0500

Harvesting broccoli is all about timing. You want the heads to grow as large as possible, but harvest before the florets swell too much.

Dec 24, Starting Tomatoes from Seed, Growing Tomatoes from Seed

Mon, 24 Dec 2012 16:55:31 -0500

Starting tomatoes from seed is the best way to explore new tomato varieties, and the cheapest way to grow a lot of tomatoes. Here are three keys to success.

Dec 18, Tomato Hornworm, Tomato Worms, Tomato Horn Worms

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 00:36:46 -0500

The tomato hornworm is the most visible insect pest of tomatoes. Tomato worm infestations may start small, but quickly become damaging as the tomato worms–and their appetities–grow.

Dec 6, Growing Basil in Containers

Thu, 6 Dec 2012 14:03:20 -0500

Growing basil in containers is a no-brainer for most gardeners.

May 24, Best Watering Wand

Thu, 24 May 2012 15:51:52 -0400

Seedbeds and delicate seedlings need gentle watering the first couple weeks. The Gardena Soft Spray Wand is the best tool for the job. It has a soft, rain-like spray that doesn't blast leaves or disturb roots. I've had mine 12 years, including 2 years of abuse in the student garden at Stanford.