With the costs of living rising all the time, it may be possible to save money and increase your family’s health at the same time by growing vegetables in your backyard.

It’s a good idea to choose your favourite vegetables to grow and plan beds for early, middle of the season and late varieties.

Most vegetables require at least 6 hours of sunlight per day, some need 8. Some quick growers like lettuce and radish can be grown between the rows of plants that take longer to mature, like beet or corn, thus making full use of the area available.

Throughout dry periods, vegetable gardens need extra watering. Most vegetables benefit from an inch or more of water each week, especially when they are fruiting.

During the growing season watch for insect pests. If you discover a bug problem early it will be much easier, but be careful to not use pesticides once the vegetable are close to being picked unless it becomes an absolute necessity. Organic gardening is one healthy and environment-friendly option. Once you have reaped your crop, put the vegetable waste into your compost pile so that it can be recycled for next spring.

It is important to protect your vegetable garden from wild animals looking for a tasty treat. Make sure your garden is surrounded by a fence that will keep out dogs, rabbits, and other animals. The harm done by wandering animals during one season can equal the cost of a fence. A fence also can serve as a frame for peas, beans, tomatoes, and other crops that need support.

Protection is needed in order for your vegetable garden to yield a bountiful harvest. Hard work will pay dividends if necessary precautions have been made.

Nicky Pilkington
http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/vegetable-gardening-tips-10081.html

Organic Gardening For: Beginners

Organic gardening will give you peace of mind and a great sense of satisfaction when you and your family sits down to eat. Imagine the sense of excitement you’ll get when you first see those little green shoots peering through the soil!

So What Is Organic Gardening?

Many gardeners wonder what exactly organic growing means. The simple answer is that organic gardeners don’t use synthetic fertilizers or pesticides on their plants. Think natural!

Organic gardening is using recycled materials to grow crops. You can and should use animal waste, kitchen scraps, and vegetable waste to mulch and compost. Common household items like vinegar and soap are used to prevent pests and weeds.

Organic growing is the working together of nature. Using naturally cultivated soil to grow natures seed.

Planning Your Organic Garden

Choose where to plant your garden. Ideally you want an area that will get plenty of light and be protected from the wind.

How big do you want your plot to be? Don’t start off too big – you want to enjoy your gardening not resent how time consuming it can quickly become if you start off too grand!

Draw a scale plan of your gardening area and work out how much of each crop your going to use and where to plant them. Think “groups” rather than rows as they are more productive and easier to attend to.

Getting The Soil Ready For Your Organic Growing Plot

You need to look into testing your soil before you begin. Tests are available from your local gardening center. Good soil should be pleasant to the touch, eye and nose. Once you are satisfied with your soil you can begin.

Planting In Your Organic Garden

Your going to be best served growing from the seed rather than buying plants as they could have been sprayed with pesticides at some point. Also you’ll feel a lot more like a gardener using seeds! Obviously patience is needed to grow from the seed.

Weeding Your Organic Garden

Use a hoe to stop weeds developing into large competitive monsters to your plants! Just simply dig around your crops with a hoe once a week or so.

Once your crop seedlings are larger, the soil is warm and drenching rains have ended, put down a layer of mulch to hold in moisture and smother weeds. Mulch is material that can be laid down around the plants to control weeds.

Pests In Your Garden?

Don’t despair at the sight of insects on and around your crops! To start with just have a watch of them and see if they are actually causing damage. A lot of bugs will just nibble small enough amounts that good healthy plants can resist and recover from, so don’t be too hasty!

Creating Compost For Your Organic Garden

So what are the benefits of compost? It should be used as mulch to reduce evaporation, reduce weed growth, insulate the soil from extreme temperature and keep soil cooler in the day and warmer at night time!

Good compost should be made up of balanced materials. It should be balanced between carbon materials – washed egg shells, milled grains, dried grass, straw and leaves. And nitrogen materials – most kitchen scraps, fresh grass and other plant matter.

David Stuart

www.organicgardening4u.com

David Stuart
http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/organic-gardening-and-organic-growing-useful-info-88763.html

You may love to garden, but perhaps the weather does not allow you to grow the flowers that you love most. Or, you may live in an apartment complex that does not have a yard area available for your hobby. You may even live in the midst of a large city, with no green grass in sight! In these cases, indoor gardening is always an option. This way, you can grow the plants you want right inside the four walls of your home, no matter where it happens to be located.

As we all know, plants remove carbon dioxide from the air and put oxygen back into it. This is a health benefit and another reason to pursue indoor gardening. In addition to this, plants also remove toxins and pollutants from the air. So, not only is it healthy for you, it may just get rid of some of the dust and allergens in the air which cause you problems.

Since lighting is so important in a plant’s life, as it is needed for growth, it is a major consideration when beginning indoor gardening. The amount of light your home receives naturally, and how much it has, will determine which plants will be able to survive. Usually plants requiring medium to low light do well in homes, unless you plan on using artificial lighting. It is also important to condition your plant after you buy it. Since your house has limited light, slowly adjust your plant to this situation by initially providing a maximum lighting for it and gradually decreasing this over several weeks, until a desired condition is obtained. With this in mind, during summer months put your plant outside for direct sunlight exposure. This will energize its growth pattern. Also, if you watch, you will notice a plant will turn toward sunlight, so unless you want a plant pitched in a certain direction, rotate it on a regular basis.

When heating your house in winter, humidity indoors will decrease. Plants require moisture in the air. So during these months you will want to increase the humidity levels. Using a humidifier, or spraying the plant’s leaves with water can do this.

As in an outdoor garden, an indoor garden also needs to be watered. Too little watering, as well as, too much watering is likely to be detrimental to your plants. You should also provide your plant with a container that drains out through the bottom. This allows excess fertilizer and salts to drain out of the soil and the plant has access to its nutrients. Fertilization is based on the type of plant you have. It can be done every two to three months, although never during the dormant season.

Plants do well in temperatures between 65-75 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and 10-15 degrees cooler at night. Make sure your plant is not placed where either hot or cold drafts occur. Sudden temperature changes can damage the plant. Placed on a cool windowsill, in the middle of winter, may cause the plant to freeze.

If you enjoy having a piece of the outdoors in your home all year round, you will enjoy indoor gardening. Indoor gardening provides everyone with an opportunity to develop a green thumb. By following the different amounts of light, fertilizer and water, your plant requires, you will successfully beautify your home with a thriving indoor garden. You no longer have to wait until summer to see your beautiful flowers blossom again.

Matthew Hick
http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/indoor-gardening-weather-permitting-87410.html