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Grow Vegetables in Your Garden

Ipreneur — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 05:17:23 +0000

We get pleasure from our gardens in many ways. Perhaps you like the simple life with simply flowers to look at, a table and chairs and lawn space for the kids to play. You may get pleasure from breeding your own plants and flowers and maybe even passing these onto friends and family or even selling some at local markets etc. However, one of the pleasures that a lot of people get from their gardens is through growing their own vegetables. There is something quite rewarding about making Sunday dinner in the full knowledge that some or maybe even all the vegetables on your plate were taken fresh from the garden that morning. Just going outside on a Sunday morning into your own garden and picking your own carrots, peas, cauliflowers, brussels sprouts and potatoes can leave you with a great sense of satisfaction.

Certainly if you go to the shops to buy your vegetables they will never be as fresh as the ones you pick yourself from your own garden. Many of the vegetables you pick ready for including in your Sunday dinner are also very tasty to eat in their natural state. In fact I have often found myself nibbling on peas while I have been picking them for dinner. They taste great fresh out of the pod. If you have a greenhouse, why not have a go at growing your own tomatoes and other things like peppers and chillies. In fact, it’s great to be able to wander outside and just pick yourself a fresh tomato to eat whenever you like.

There is another advantage to growing your own vegetables too and that is that you know exactly what went in to creating them. You can be 100% certain whether or not pesticides and other chemicals were used on your crop. This is great knowledge to have, especially if you have children and want to be careful about exactly what you are feeding them. No matter what the labels say in the shops, this is something you may never be 100% sure about when you buy vegetables from the shop.

There are some sprays you may want to use to keep pests and diseases at bay but even so, you are in control. Make sure you read the labels and you can be sure exactly what you are spraying on your plants. Wherever possible though, try and go for a natural solution. For example, when growing tomatoes one of the most common problems is white fly. You can reduce their impact quite a lot though by growing French Marigolds close by. This is because the Marigold’s pungent odour will mask the scent of the tomato plants and therefore they will not as easily attract the pest. There are other companion plants you can use to keep different pests away from your other vegetables as well.

If you are concerned about disease then it is within your control to select the variety of vegetable to grow that will flourish in your environment and also be resistant to disease. It is this control that allows you to do anything you want in your garden. So, if you have a spare piece of ground in your garden, why not consider growing a few vegetables for yourself. You will be rewarded time and again if you do.

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5 Tips to a Healthy Organic Garden

Ipreneur — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 12:37:12 +0000

So you have gone through the trouble to plant a garden to be proud of. You have planned it, collected the proper supplies, and sown your seeds. You are all done now, right? Wrong! You have to help that organic garden thrive.

There are five simple things that most new gardeners overlook when they plant their first garden. Once everything is planted, the real care begins. You have to tend your garden well in order to produce the best results.

Tip #1: Water your garden. Watering is the number one responsibility you have when it comes to a garden. The best practice is to get into a routine and water consistently every day at about the same time. Don’t let a rain fall get you off track, you still have to water the next day.

Tip #2: Water in the morning. I know this goes hand in hand with number one, but this one is equally important. If you water in the afternoon, the heat from the sun can evaporate the water before your plants have fed. It is best to water prior to 10 am when possible.

Tip #3: Weed your garden. It sounds like a no-brainer, but weeds are a vampire to your garden. They suck the nutrients and the water out of the soil. You have to get out there every day and pull weeds before they are allowed to take root. Dig them out when possible to remove all traces.

Tip #4: Rid yourself of pests. Since you are growing an organic garden, over the counter pesticides are a no-go. You can make your own homemade pesticide though that will assist you if your garden is being overrun. Mix two teaspoons of dish soap with one cup of vegetable oil. Add a couple of teaspoons of this to a spray bottle with water in it. Then spray the heavily infected areas with this solution to control pests.

Tip #5: Care for your spot all year round. If you let the garden just be overrun with weeds, leaves, etc in the off season, you are asking for trouble. Even if you are just seasonally growing, you should keep that patch of earth clean. Caring for your garden area all year round will lead to a more bountiful, disease free harvest the next season.

Armed with these 5 tips and a “can do” attitude you are well on your way to a healthy organic garden.

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How to Grow Tomatoes

Ipreneur — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 17:24:57 +0000

While the debate about whether the tomato is a fruit or a vegetable continues, there is no waning in the popularity of this fruit/vegetable. With over 100’s of varieties and many different types to choose from, an average American eats around 22 pounds of tomatoes every year, and this includes the tomatoes present in soups, sauces, and ketchup. Buying tomatoes in the supermarket can turn out to be fairly expensive, and one never really knows how fresh the batch in question is. With the entire country facing tough fiscal times, an increasing number of people are beginning to grow their own produce, and tomatoes feature on almost every of these lists.
Growing tomatoes can be accomplished fairly easily, and if done right, you can have your own batch of juicy succulent tomatoes. What you would essentially need is a good pot or some space outside your home, good drainage, and some dirt/compost In growing tomatoes, try and get a loose dark soil. Acidity levels of around 6.2pH are good especially if you want big tomatoes.
If you intend to grow the plant/s in pots as opposed to the ground, make sure that you do not add to much fertilizer; a rule of thumb is that around one tablespoon of fertilizer should be enough for a ten gallon pot, and this fertilizer should ideally be added to the soil a couple of weeks before planting the plant.However, please consider the label recommendations for the particular fertilizer you are using.
Buying your young plants is an important aspect in the final outcome. It is important that you get your young plants from a trusted source, as this would largely affect the produce of your efforts. While there are scores of trusted providers to choose from, try and get you requirements met by providers who specialize in their given field. For instance, if you wish to buy Organic Heirloom Tomato Plants, your best bet for getting some great plants at great prices would be tomatoheirlooms.com. Not only do all their plants come with a replacement guarantee, they also have a number of offers running from time to time, and also offer free shipping anywhere in the US.
Once you’ve planted your tomato plants, it is a good idea to stake your plants as this improves the production and also makes getting to the tomatoes after they’re ready easier. In doing so, use minimal force in pushing the stakes beside the plant because excessive force could hurt the plant’s roots. Use a yarn or a soft twine to tie the stake to the plant, and ensure that you leave some room for the plant to grow.
If you are growing your plants outdoors, make sure that you plant them at least 24″ apart, as planting them too close to each other could result in reduced air circulation, and can result in diseases breaking out. Since tomatoes have a very high percentage of water (around 95%), it is necessary that you water your plants every day. In growing your tomato plants outdoors, try and cover the soil with hay, mulch, etc, so that evaporation in minimized.
With the following details taken care, you should have your own batch of fresh tomatoes in no time, and might probably never have to buy a tomato again.

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