Organic Food Gardening

Mulch your way to great soil and happy plants

>> Sunday, December 7, 2008

If you have looked at what kind of soil you're working with, how to improve and feed the soil, transplanting young seedlings and watering, then the next thing to consider is how to keep the water in the soil, right where the plants need it.
I think the best way to prevent moisture loss is to mulch. There are so many materials that we can use as mulch, because essentially any material placed over the soil can be called a mulch.
But because we are gardening organically, it's important to make sure that the mulching material we choose is organic and if possible that it has been produced organically.
I like to use a combination of a layer of compost on the soil, covered with a layer of pea straw.

Some of the benefits of using an organic mulch such as pea straw are:

that it slows down evaporation from the soil
need to water less often
it prevents soil erosion
as it breaks down, it feeds the soil
it helps prevent weeds
keeps your plants cleaner
So you can see it really is worth the effort of mulching. I don't even find it that much effort. It kind of tidies up my vegetable garden as it's laid down.

You'll find more detailed information on watering and mulching in Julie's e-book "Organic Food Gardening Beginner's Manual" by clicking here

Acid-Loving Plants

Mulch any acid-loving plants with a thick layer of pine needles each autumn (fall). As they break down the soil becomes more acidic.
Something to be aware of though: pine needles exude a substance that prevents many seeds from germinating. That's one reason why you don't usually see other plants growing under pine trees. For more tips, click here

The 10 Easiest Vegetables To Start Growing With

>> Thursday, December 4, 2008

Hey there,

By now I'm guessing you've done quite a bit of work setting up your vegetable garden... well, at least a little work???

Have you worked out what kind of soil you've got? Sorted out where your patch is going?

If you have, then I want to share with you my top 10 easiest vegetables to get started with. From my experiece anyway.

Here they are:

Radish
Silverbeet / Spinach
Capsicum (Peppers)
Cherry Tomatoes
Zucchini (Courgettes)
Pumpkin
Leeks & Spring Onions
Bush or Dwarf Beans
Peas
Beetroot

You need to plant them at the right time of year for your area, but they really are quite easy to grow and are good vegetables to get your kids to grow if you want to get them involved in organic gardening too.

You'll find detailed cultivating information for my top 10 vegetables in my e-manual to get you started. Click here Taken from Julie's 1 Stop Organic Gardening site.

Tips On Transplanting Your Established Plants

>> Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Transplanting other plants. They might be plants you've brought home from your local nursery, or bare-rooted trees, or maybe you have an established plant in your garden that you need to move for some reason.
Or perhaps a friend or neighbour wants to give away one of their plants that you'd love to have in your own garden.

These plants can be treated similarly to seedlings, but there are a few pointers to remember that are different. If you stick with these simple steps your plants will reward you with strong, vigorous growth. For more tips on how to successfully transplant established plants, click here

Planting Trees

When planting trees, think of them and their locations as the walls and roofs of your outdoor rooms. Always consider their mature size before you plant. For more tips, click here

Growing And Saving Your Own Seeds

What wonder is it to plant a tiny seed and see it burst forth into the world? It is one of my greatest joys in the garden.

Collecting, saving and growing your own seed is one of the best skills a gardener can learn. There are many benefits to growing seed that you have saved yourself from the previous season. Some of the benefits are:

It's free - you'll save a great deal of money
Your plants will become more and more suited to your climate
It's very rewarding
You'll have something to exchange with other gardeners
You know that it's been grown organically

There are a few tricks to saving your own seed though. You'll need a basic understanding of plant families, whether they are self pollinated or need cross pollinating, the life cycle of the plant, how long the seed remains viable and how you need to store them.

Saving your own seed really is a great way to save yourself heaps of money and learn about plant cycles.

If you want to know more about saving seed and growing your own seeds, you'll find great information in the e-manual "Organic Food Gardening Beginner's Manual"
Plus one of the bonuses you will get when you buy the e-manual is a stand-alone e-book called Seed Saving Tips & Techniques.

Have a lot of fun growing your own plants from seed.
Taken from Julie's 1 Stop Organic Gardening