If you’re like most organic gardeners, you want fresh, healthy, pesticide-free food and plants for yourself and your family. Given the current trend in agriculture for growing genetically-modified organisms (GMOs), it’s getting harder to find seeds that are not genetically modified by a major corporation, in particular, Monsanto.
The average seed found in garden and hardware stores or catalogs comes from plants that have been genetically modified, via gene insertion or deletion. GMO seed produces new varieties that are bigger, more insect resistant, or more desirable in some other way. Even Breck’s Bulbs, Burpee, Seeds for the World, Spring Hill
Archives for June 2012
Correct Watering (Math for Gardeners)
by Dennis Mayer June 28th, 2012 | Gardening, Vegetables
As we're moving into the warmest months of summer, watering your vegetable beds becomes more and more important. This is a deceptively easy job; you take your hose and make the plants wet. But how much should we water? How much is too much? We can find a fairly scientific answer to that question, but we're going to need to know a couple of things. And we're going to need to do some math.
Not fun, I know, but bear with me.
The first thing we need to do is to measure how fast water comes out of our hose. To
Not fun, I know, but bear with me.
The first thing we need to do is to measure how fast water comes out of our hose. To
Container Gardening – Trellis Squash
by Jessica B. June 27th, 2012 | Container Gardening
Squash may seem like the last vegetable you might imagine planting in a container garden. The one thing they need is a lot of space. With their climbing vines and heavy vegetables, it can be difficult to grow squash larger than zucchini on your balcony. But make room for butternut squash, spaghetti squash, and even smaller pumpkins with a bit of a creative touch. While you cannot host many plants, you can take care of one or two.
To grow butternut squash or other larger squashes, you are going to need a large container and nutrient rich soil. You might
To grow butternut squash or other larger squashes, you are going to need a large container and nutrient rich soil. You might
Wild Flowers
by Jessica B. June 26th, 2012 | Flowers
While a tamed garden is usually what many gardeners and landscapers aim for, sometimes a little bit of wild atmosphere is the perfect touch to an otherwise ruly garden. It adds a slight element of surprise, and it makes your backyard seem a little more ‘natural.’ But even if you don’t have your own yard, you can try a little bit of kamikaze wild flower sowing, a practice growing in popularity in different urban areas around the globe. Here are a few tricks for getting the most out of wild flowers.
1) Get a cheap package of mixed wild flowers
1) Get a cheap package of mixed wild flowers
Sprinkler Solutions
by Jessica B. June 22nd, 2012 | Landscaping
I love my garden, and I have always enjoyed spending the evening with my hose, tending to my vegetables and flowers. But to be honest, lately I just don’t have the time. I’ve got a two year-old running around, a business to run, and at the end of the day, the idea of going out and doing more work isn’t as relaxing as it used to be. So we started looking into a good watering solution.
We had three criteria: 1) Not very expensive 2) Good for the environment 3) Reliable. In the end we found a solution that hopefully
We had three criteria: 1) Not very expensive 2) Good for the environment 3) Reliable. In the end we found a solution that hopefully