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Vegetable Gardening Guide – To Help You in Having a Simple But Productive Garden

ben — Sun, 23 May 2010 09:53:00 +0000

Author: Clint Sidney

Vegetable gardening can be very stimulating. If you are just
planning to have you own organic garden, here is a vegetable
gardening guide to help you along with the new pastime and get
you started. First you need a space at your disposal, if you are
an apprentice it is advisable not to start with a big space. You
must begin with a single raised bed of 9'x12'. Then as you learn
all about organic gardening, you can add number of beds to dwell
upon.

Prepare the bed early in the season then it is time to sow, you
can first plant the kind of vegetable which your family needs.
This doesn't mean you have to supply vegetable for your family
for the whole year. Be contented with small achievement that you
can little by little increase. You can search the internet, read
gardening books and catalogues to assist you in deciding on what
kind of vegetable to grow in certain time of the year or season.

The next significant step you must do after planting is
uprooting the weeds surrounding your crop. Weeds are obstacle in
making your vegetables grow healthy. You have to hoe on a
regular basis even if you do not see weeds among the plants.
Avoid walking on the beds. Another method to exterminate weeds
is by mulching. Organic mulches like pine needles, grass and
straw are advisable to use, you just apply it when the soil is
wet. You can preserve the dampness of the soil as well as
enhance the temperature through mulching.

Another important aspect in vegetable gardening is watering the
plants. Frequent watering supports root formation, steadiness of
the plants and revival of nutrients. It is best to put in
sprinkles or drip irrigation. It is essential and a must for
seeds and transplants to be watered every day. Water the plants
before it withered.

The last thing to deal with is the problem with pest and
diseases. You should never use pesticides for the basic reason
that they terminate bugs that are useful too along with the
damaging ones. The common strategy to overcome this trouble is
to grow other plants along with your main crop. You can plant
onions and garlic together with carrots. Grow flowering plants
around the beds because it draws beneficial insects.

Hope this vegetable gardening guide will be of great help in
creating your own organic vegetable garden. You can also learn
more from browsing the internet, by reading books on gardening
or talking about it with neighbors. Have fun on building your
own garden.

About the author:
Clint Sidney is a gardening enthusiast and enjoys giving
information about Vegetable Gardening Guide. You can learn more about
gardening at GreatGardener.eHelpsho
me.com.

Planting Garlic

ben — Mon, 17 May 2010 00:14:00 +0000

Garlic can be planted from fall to early spring, although hardneck varieties prefer to be in the ground during a cold winter.

Garlic grows best in deep, fertile well-drained soil. To plant, separate the cloves from each bulb and place pointy end up 1-2 inches below the surface of the soil and about 3-4 inches apart. Mulch the area and keep the garlic moist.

Garlic will be ready to harvest in summer when the flower stalks of hardneck garlic stand up straight or when the leaves of softneck garlic begin to turn yellow. Allow garlic to dry for several weeks before storing or using in your cooking.

Spring Garden Vegetables

ben — Mon, 10 May 2010 00:25:00 +0000

n addition to the four new vegetables being added to the White House garden, there’s a nice variety of spring greens, onions and peas.

* Red Romaine lettuce
* Geen Oak Leaf lettuce
* Spinach
* Sugar Snap Pea
* Butterhead lettuce
* Fennel
* Red Oak Leaf lettuce
* Radishes
* Shallot
* Shell peas
* Broccoli
* Onion
* Chard
* Kale
* Collards
* Carrots
* Rhubarb

Read More: Hail to the Peas - Vegetable Gardener

How To Grow Lemon Balm

ben — Mon, 03 May 2010 00:23:00 +0000

Lemon balm is easy to grow from seed, rooted cuttings, or by root division. It prefers light soil, but will adapt if some amendments are worked into heavier clay soils; soil should also be fairly fertile and well balanced. Balm thrives in full sun but can be grown in partially shaded areas. (The cultivars ‘All Gold’ and ‘Aurea’ have variegated and yellow foliage, and need some shade since the full hot sun tends to burn them.)

A member of the mint family, balm looks and grows much like mint, though it does not send runners. It will compete for space and is best planted next to other vigorous perennials that will hold their own against this sweet, yet invasive herb. Balm grows from 2 to 2-1/2 feet tall, bushing out laterally, so give each plant 2 feet all around.

Trim plants to help maintain their handsome bushy appearance. The hardy root system will survive the coldest winters if the plants are well mulched.

Read More: Herbal Harbingers of Spring: Lemon Balm - Vegetable Gardener

How Much Space Do You Need For A Vegetable Gardene

ben — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 09:00:00 +0000

Not much. Truthfully, it depends on the types of veggies you want to grow and how many. But you'll want to know what you have to work with before you choose your vegetable seeds or seedlings. For example, if your kids really want to grow giant pumpkins, a good-sized part of the yard or a large raised bed could easily be devoted to pumpkins. But, one thing is for sure, you absolutely do not need what is referred to to as "land" to plant a vegetable garden. Not even close.

Starting Rosemary From A Clipping

ben — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 09:13:00 +0000

Rosemary is usually propagated by cuttings. Seeds can be difficult to germinate and often don't grow true to their parent. It's much faster to start with a cutting and you will be sure of what type of plant you will get. It's possible to root rosemary in a glass of water, but a bit more effort will give more dependable results.

Snip about a 2 inch cutting from the soft, new growth of an established plant.

Remove the leaves from the bottom inch and dip that tip into a rooting hormone. Rooting hormones can be found in any garden center.

Carefully place the dipped end into a container of dampened, sterile seed starting mix. Choose a mix that says it is well draining, like something containing peat moss and vermiculite or perlite.

Place the container in a warm spot with indirect sunlight.

Mist the cuttings daily and make sure the soil does not dry out.

In about 2-3 weeks, test for root growth by very gently tugging on the cuttings.

Once your cuttings have roots, transplant into individual pots about 3-4 inches in diameter.
Pinch off the very top of the cutting to encourage it to develop branches.

Begin caring for your cutting as a rosemary plant.

Source: About.com

5 Spring Vegetables That Like Cool Weather

ben — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 08:46:00 +0000

Asparagus
Lettuce
Peas
Rhubarb
Spinach

Herb Gardening Essentials – Gardener Guide

ben — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 09:41:00 +0000

By: Matthew Hick

Herbs are a greatly popular result of gardening - just as popular as flowers, shrubs, trees, fruits and vegetables. Herbs are used to spice up or add a nice spark of flavor to all types of food dishes. They are used for medicinal purposes as well as for their pretty flowers. These are just a few reasons why herbs are so popular among gardeners all over the world.

Have you ever reached for a spice when cooking only to realize you were out of it? Wouldn't it be nice to just go over to your plant and clip off what you need, instead of running to the store or doing without? You can have fresh basil, thyme, sage, chives, dill, rosemary or tarragon right at your fingertips from your very own herb garden.

Herbs can be annuals, biennials or perennials. Annuals will flower one season and then die. Biennials will live two seasons, flower one and then die. Perennials will die in winter but return to blossom each season. If you do choose perennials, make sure you plant them in a place they can be kept year after year.

Herb gardens need little space. You can plant them by seeds or plant clippings. Seeds should be planted in shallow boxes in late winter and can then be transplanted outdoors in spring. Soil is a determining factor of whether your herb garden will thrive or falter. Herbs will not grow in wet soil. So it is important you provide adequate drainage. If you do not have good drainage you can correct this by adding compost and sand to your soil, or digging out 15-18 inches of dirt and adding crushed stone under it to assist in this process.

Herbs also do not need much fertilizer. The more fertile the soil, the less foliage will occur and the resulting herb will have little flavor. There are also very few diseases and insects which will attack herbal plants.

Harvesting herbs should take place in the morning and only after the plant has enough foliage to maintain growth. When picked, they should be washed immediately in cold water. They can be used fresh or dried for winter use.

To dry herbs, after washing, hang until drops of water evaporate. Tie the stems together and place in a bag with the stems at the bag's opening. Close the bag with a rubber band and hang from a line in a cool, dry, dark place. Basements are too damp, so the attic is a better choice. After two to three weeks, remove herbs from the bag and crumble the leaves. Place in a shallow pan and put in an oven on the warm setting. When the crumbled leaves are crispy, store in glass jars or an airtight container in a cool place. They will be ready for you whenever you need them.

There are almost sixty different varieties of herbs to choose from when deciding on what herb to plant. Each variety comes with its own unique flavor. Cooking with herbs livens up bland foods naturally. Add some gusto to your life and use some of the herbs from your very own garden, next time you are preparing a meal.

About the Author

More Herb Gardening Articles at http://www.eGardening-Today.com. Learn how to operate a Successful Adsense Website Network at http://eWebCreator.com. Matthew Hick has been designing profitable Niche Adsense Websites for over 5 years.

(ArticlesBase SC #88658)

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ - Herb Gardening Essentials - Gardener Guide

A Mini Herb Garden That Goes a Long Way

ben — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 09:38:00 +0000

By: Eustache Davenport

Any great meal starts with fresh ingredients, so it is said and has been proven time and time again. So, imagine that if instead of using store bought herbs to add some zest to the meal, you could simply pick the herbs you need while preparing a meal, a snack, a salad directly from the plants in your mini herb garden on the kitchen windowsill.

Can't get any fresher than that, right! Fresh herbs will add a ''zestier" burst of flavor that you will definitively notice. Think of great meals in a many-stars restaurants you might have enjoyed so much that you can almost feel the taste in your mouth when reminiscing about them. You can be sure that they insist on fresh supplies and it definitively includes fresh herbs.

A lot of folks live in small apartments and lack space as some people just don't wish to get into a bigger size garden project for lack of experience or might not dispose of much time, no matter the reason, a mini garden is a fantastic solution to consider. It is an occasion to start small and let you test your skills at this highly rewarding hobby. Some parents initiates the young ones to life, evolution and the practicality of cultivating and the rewards to reap through a mini herb garden for kids.

These kitchen herb gardens have been gaining in popularity for some time now, certainly for the fresh, healthy and flavorful value they add to any prepared dish but also for the economical alternative that assure a constant fresh supply.

Of course, once you have a good experience with your initial project and see how easy it really is, you may wish to add a few more plants and expand.
Big or small garden: Same rules apply
The mini garden requires the same basics care as larger gardens do. Lots of sunlight, a good soil that drains well and regular appropriate amount of water. Of course, a small scale garden will require only minimal maintenance. Another advantage is the miniature garden is the next-to-nothing space they occupy. The 1 to 3 pot making-up your garden can occupy the kitchen windowsill is very handy when preparing dishes. The biggest downfall of growing only a few plants restricts the choice of fresh herbs you can use.
The choice of herbs
Considering the large choice of herbs to choose from, the biggest dilemma you might have to deal with is which ones to grow. Start with a choice that is practical and can be used for multiple purposes or the one you use a lot in your cooking. Take full advantage of the work you will be doing to give provide good care to those plants.
Herb Garden Kits
The variety of choice is considerable and can pretty much live up to most needs. A herb garden kit require a one-stop purchase, is easy and quick set-up and contains all you need to start a mini herb garden. The only other element to provide is water. If the space you can provide for the garden is more in height, a stacking herb garden is available but usually contains more herbs.

Once the first steps are taken in this adventure, expanding to numerous mini gardens adds variety to you choice of herbs for cooking but also for other purposes. Consider a little garden for tea herbs or, grow a few medicinal herbs that can be what the doctor orders.

About the Author

Eustache Davenport is a gardening enthusiast and author. He lives in Montreal and enjoy teaching his gardening secrets to work groups on how to setup, optimize and maintain an amazing herb garden. For more great tips and information on kitchen herb gardens, visit http://www.herbgardeningonlineguide.com.

(ArticlesBase SC #1619697)

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ - A Mini Herb Garden That Goes a Long Way

Tips for Growing Vegetable in Your Kitchen Garden

ben — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 10:50:00 +0000

Author: John Marcova
:
Veg growing all by you is not only money saving option, but there are many health benefits related to it. In case there is ample space in your house, you can Grow Your Own Veg as well as sell some of the produce in the market. The vegetables grown in the garden will be fresh, free of preservatives and additives. Thus, you can be assured that the food you are eating is not causing health problems to you or your family members. In
case you have decided to grow Vegetable Plants, the very first thing to consider is the soil or the land for plantation. Most of the residential areas don’t have good quality soil because it contains cement and stones.

Make sure that there is 10-20 cm top soil on the land for growing vegetables. You can use tools for separating stones from the area. Using a container with proper drainage will be another good idea. If you are planning the Veg Growing on ground, make adequate measures for irrigation. Raise the level of soil by about 15-20cm, which is called a ”bed”. Then, add fertilizer to further improve the quality of the soil. In case you want to grow organic vegetables, add organic fertilizer. Next step is to plant seeds into the bed and water them at least twice a day, especially in hot weather. In order to avoid excessive dryness, you can cover the bed with dried leaves or gardening plastic cover. You should also look out for bugs and pets. Snails can eat the shoot or kill the plant. Therefore, you should use biological control or insecticides to keep them away.

Having a garden where you can grow lots of fruits and vegetables will make you feel good. It will not only save money but give you a healthy lifestyle also. Therefore, utilize the space in backyard of your house to enjoy eating fresh vegetables all season all.

About the author:

Grow Your Own Veg, whether you are having your own massive plot or a small planter. Pippagreenwood offers best quality of Veg Growing. Just choose the crops you’d like to grow from Vegetable Plants.