Video - Crop Rotation Planning Tool

This video shows how to design your own crop rotation plan using a simple piece of free computer software. If you're a "techie" gardener, you'll love this!  If not, no worries - you can do the same sort of thing on a piece of notebook paper. If using the paper method, you'll want to have a garden notebook to keep track of which crops are planted where each year, so that you have the proper number of years between certain kinds of crops.

This video is also helpful in showing the different vegetable families, and which should follow which in the rotation. (Eliot Coleman's excellent book, The 4-Season Harvest also has great information in the vegetables section about what to grow before and after a particular crop.)

Check out this cool video, and start planning out your crop rotation for the season!
How to rotate your vegetable crops! Crop rotation HD
IMPORTANT: TURN ON ANNOTATIONS!!! This is a Sketch on how to make your own crop rotation. It is the tool for organic gardeners, to prevent harmful pests attacking your plants. It is the cornerstone in any natural pest control. for organic pest contro...

Garden Planning: Crop Rotation for Vegetables

When growing vegetables in the garden most people tend to grow the same crops year after year. This is not surprising really, as we grow the crops that we prefer to eat and we also tend to repeat the plants that we have the most success growing.

One thing that most gardeners seem to do is grow the same vegetables in the very same place in the garden each year.

You will tend to have a spot for your tomatoes and a spot for your pumpkins and so on.

Crop rotation on a small scale at The Ecological Garden at Odder.  (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The problem with planting the same crops in the same place each year is the effect it has on the nutrients in the soil - not to mention buildup of pests and diseases.

Plants will extract the nutrients that they need from the soil for their specific requirements each season. By planting the same crops in the same places you can get nutrient deficiencies.

This is where crop rotation can enhance the value of your soil. By rotating where you plant your vegetables each season you will be giving the soil the opportunity to produce better results as there won't be the same demands on the nutrients in the soil when there is a different plant growing their from last season.

To improve the soil quality even more, you should dig in the remains of the crops once the season has finished allowing some of those nutrients to be put back into the soil. In the off-season you can also grow cover crops in the garden. These are crops that are grown specifically to add nitrogen to the soil. These crops have high nitrogen value in their roots and when they are ready, you dig them into the soil. (We'll cover these crops soon in a future post.)

In doing this you can expect a better harvest each year as the new planting of vegetables will have more nutrients to feed them. You will also control soil-borne disease causing organisms, and reduce pests naturally, since the pests won't be able to find the plants they like in the same spot every year.

Plotting out your rotation of crops for the coming season is an important part of the garden planning process each year. You can do this in a notebook, or on the computer, and there are even garden planners and software you can purchase to help with this task. Check out the helpful resources below for more info on crop rotation.


Helpful Crop Rotation Resources:
   

Video - Building A Lasagna Garden Bed

This quick video demonstrates the basics of building a lasagna garden bed. It's pretty simple - you just have to make sure you have collected enough materials to make your bed. You want it to be at least a foot and a half to 2 feet high when finished, as it is going to "cook" down to about 6 inches when ready to plant. The best time to build a lasagna garden bed is in the fall, so it can cook down over the winter and be ready to plant in the spring. But if you want to plant in it right away, just be sure there is quite a bit of compost close to the surface of the bed, so there will already be a place to plant your plants.

The book listed below the video is a great resource for how and what to grow in a lasagna garden.

How to Set Up an Organic Lasagna Garden
Using recycled materials and a little time you can create a beautiful garden using the lasagna garden technique. In this how-to video from About.com, learn how to set up a lasagna garden.


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Lasagna Gardening For The Perfect Organic Garden Bed

I got a book on lasagna gardening for Christmas this year, and I can't wait to try it! You may have heard of lasagna gardening, but if you're not quite sure what it is, or you haven't tried it yet yourself, you may be wondering just what is lasagna gardening, and how do you do it properly?

Newspaper layer. (Photo credit: jessicareeder)

Lasagna gardening is a method that suits organic gardens very well, because it creates a naturally rich, loose soil that is perfect for growing without heavy fertilizers or soil additives. It also works very well for people who do not have a lot of time to spend on their garden. Basically, it is a no-till, no-dig garden that builds beds in layers - hence the name.

When you are preparing a lasagna gardening bed, you do not dig it. Instead, you add layers of organic material on top of the ground that will slowly decompose to form the perfect growing environment. You do not even have to remove weeds because you will kill them by stopping the light reaching them, and they will break down into more compost.

To form the first layer in your lasagna garden bed, cover the whole bed area with brown (unbleached) carton cardboard or inch-thick layers of newspaper (wet newspaper may be easiest to work with). Be careful to cover all existing growth completely, so that weeds cannot poke through and survive. Then water this layer to dampen it (if you haven't already used wet paper). This will attract worms, who will do the real work in your lasagna garden.

On top of the cardboard or newspaper, you can put all of the same types of matter that you would put on a compost heap, i.e. leaves, prunings and grass clippings, fruit and vegetable peelings, coffee grounds, shredded paper, sawdust etc. Just like in a lasagna, you should aim to alternate layers of dry or 'brown' material such as dead leaves, shredded paper and sawdust (the 'pasta') with layers of moist or 'green' material such as food peelings and grass clippings (the 'sauce'). It is better not to use weeds unless you are sure that there are no seeds. You can also use hay, straw, compost, barn litter, seaweed, or whatever other materials you may have access to.

Repeat the layers until the bed is about two feet high. To have enough material to do this, you will probably need to concentrate on a small area of garden at one time. You really do need this much, because it will break down and become a lot smaller over the weeks ahead.

Compost layer. (Photo credit: jessicareeder)

If your intention is to plant in your new bed right away, you will need to add layers of soil or compost and finish with one of those layers on the top to plant in. This will mean that your plants have something to establish themselves in.

But most people build their lasagna beds in the fall or early winter when there are plenty of fallen leaves and waste material from the garden to use. Then you can simply use the brown and green layers without additional soil or compost, and leave it for several months. Winter rain and frost will help everything to be ready for spring planting.

Lasagna gardening is a great way to establish new garden beds. You are saved all of the heavy work of digging into uncultivated land. There are hardly any weeds because the cardboard or newspaper that you used as a first layer will have killed them off. The soil that is produced is soft and easy to work as well as being naturally rich in nutrients, and the worms will work everything into the soil under the bed, so you'll end up with a lovely garden bed with almost no work. All in all, lasagna gardening is perfect for any type of garden, but it is especially great for starting a new organic garden in a new area - it sure is a lot less work than doing all that heavy digging!

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Video - Indoor Organic Vegetable Gardening Tips

Winter blues got you down? Get your spirits up with an indoor garden! This video rambles a bit, but it does give you some inspiring tips and ideas for growing beautiful organic veggies indoors throughout the winter. (Check out all the snow outside his window later in the video!) From shallots and garlic to tomatoes and more, there are a number of things you can grow inside in the winter, with just some sunny window space. You can also make your own lights quite cheaply as he demonstrates, if your plants need more.

Indoor organic vegetable growing TIPS!
The proof is in the results I guess. Well here we go with some results that I'm sure you'll enjoy. It's fun, entertaining and actually very useful info for growing organic vegetable plants indoors during the cold winter months. Hyacinth blooming in D...

Organic Vegetable Gardening: How to Begin

Vegetable gardening is one of the mainstays of American gardening. During World War II, citizens planted “victory gardens” to help the war effort, save money and add healthy food to their tables. Recently, organic vegetable gardening has become popular with those who want to help preserve the environment and who also want to eat healthier and have the experience of eating food grown in their own gardens.

Cover via Amazon

Anything you can grow in any garden can be grown organically. Vegetables are especially nice to grow in an organic garden because you can eat the bounty without having to worry about ingesting pesticides and other chemicals.

Beans, melons, tomatoes, squashes and cucumbers are all easy vegetables to grow in an organic garden. Conditions need to be right if you’re choosing to garden organically. Be sure to prepare the soil properly with composts and other natural fertilizing methods such as waste from plant-eating animals. (Check our archives for lots of great composting tips and how-tos.)

Using the fundamental basics of organic vegetable gardening produces an abundance of benefits, including helping the soil retain water and nutrients more effectively. It also helps the soil use its natural microbiological activity to grow healthy and abundant plants and helps the vegetables to be less susceptible to stress.

Also, be sure that your organic vegetable garden will receive the right amount of sun and practice rotating plants from season to season. Check out the resources on this blog or at http://www.newholisticliving.com/sustainablegardening.html or your favorite nursery to discover the best method of rotating plants for the most effective yield.

Organic vegetable gardening can be incredibly rewarding. If you’re used to purchasing vegetables from a supermarket, you’ll be surprised and delighted at the extra flavor and zing that organically grown vegetables provide.

Organic vegetable garden with squash plants (Photo credit: louisa_catlover)

If you’ve had vegetable gardens in the past, but this is the first time you’ve tried organic gardening, you’ll rest assured knowing that you’re helping the planet as well as helping your own health by eating vegetables that aren’t laden with chemicals.

Organic vegetable gardening takes a little more planning and preparation than a conventional vegetable garden, but the rewards are enormous. Vegetables rich in vitamins and minerals and harvested at the exact moment they’re at their maximum potential will give you extra health benefits and self-satisfaction.

Even the exercise and fresh air you’ll get when preparing, planting and tending to your organic vegetable garden will be satisfying and fulfilling. Try organic vegetable gardening for an experience you’ll want to continue throughout your life.

Garden Planning: Using Topiary In Your Garden

Topiary can be a fun addition to your garden or growing space if you have an imagination and some patience. Topiary is the art of shaping trees and shrubs into shapes of all types and sizes.

There have been some quite outstanding topiary shapes created by garden artists over the years and many people get pleasure from practicing this art in home gardens across the country.

While it is not quite as popular as it once was it is still something that can create a focal point in any garden and is an alternative to other forms of garden sculpture.

A topiary dinosaur. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If you decide to try your hand at topiary you will need to have the right plants for the job.

The best plants to use are those that are evergreen. The plants should also have small leaves and the foliage should be as dense as possible to make shaping easier and the final result will look more professional.

From there it is time to start shaping the plant using your cutting shears. As this is generally done freehand it can take some time to get the experience needed to create even lines and curves. Until you have the experience to do this, many people use shaped wires to assist as a guide.

You will need to be patient and only cut off small amounts while you let the shape develop, as a cut too large will result in delays while the plant grows back again.

There is an alternative method that some people use in their garden where the shape is already determined by the use of a wire cage and plants such as ivy are left to grow over the wire giving the impression that it is topiary. This is the easy alternative but you will have to wait for the ivy to completely cover the cage before you have the desired effect.

The benefit of using this method is the fact that you have a lot more control over the shape of the structure and there is less skill involved other than creating the wire cage.

Even just a couple of topiary plants can be a uniquely fun and whimsical way to add visual interest to your garden area.

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Garden Planning Tips: 6 Ways to Add Visual Interest to Your Garden

When planning how to lay out your garden space, here are many creative ways of adding visual interest to a garden. Anything that becomes a focal point in the garden will add interest. That can range from garden sculptures to the particular types of plants that you choose. Here are six helpful ideas, from popular to unique, for making your garden stand out.

#1: Block planting of a particular specimen can become a focal point in the garden. Even adding areas of variegated foliage can have the desired effect.

(Photo credit: jo.marshall)

#2: Seats are another item that can easily add interest to your garden. Additionally, of course, they offer a nice place to rest and relax while you admire your work!

#3: Mirrors that are strategically placed can enhance the garden, although they do require periodic cleaning. They can bring reflected light to dark corners. They can also give the impression that the garden is bigger than it really is, or they can offer the same benefit for a particular area of the garden.

Placed at strategic angles, mirrors can add a lot of fun and interest to a garden and help to lead a visitor through to other areas, giving a magical, whimsical feel to the space.

#4. Consider planting low hedges to add interest to the garden while offering protection to the plants, especially when growing shade-loving crops. Higher hedges can be used to divide a large garden. Hedges are also an excellent way to gain privacy without feeling claustrophobic.

#5. Water features are a favorite for many people. The sound of running water in one corner can make the garden feel calm and relaxing.

Water features can also be good for the birds in the garden particularly in the summer months when they might find it difficult to find water lying around to suit their needs.

# 6: Like sculptures, stones, rocks and pebbles can add interest. You can also create paths from them so that you can walk around even when the surrounding ground is too wet. Shells can also be used on the ground for bordering paths and beds.

There is such a wide variety of items that you put in your garden to add interest, you are limited only by your imagination! Everything from old cartwheels to wind chimes, aviaries or anything else that strikes your fancy, can be used to make your garden a unique and even magical place to spend time.

Video - Building A Mini Greenhouse Cheaply

This short video demonstrates how to build a mini greenhouse right over parts of your existing garden. It's great for protecting plants in your organic garden into the fall and even winter months. It can be used as a season extender for your veggies, or even for winter gardening or an early spring start to your garden in February or March. This is probably one of the cheapest greenhouses you can build - each part will only cost a couple of dollars, and you can protect quite a few plants with each greenhouse.

Check it out!

Organic Gardening - Building a Miniature Green House
To view the next video in this series click: www.monkeysee.com

Choosing A Greenhouse for All Seasons

In many climates growing plants in the winter months can become quite frustrating, and if you are finding that you are in that situation then it might be time to consider getting or building a greenhouse.

Medium-sized greenhouse (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Greenhouses are available in many different sizes and there are some very compact versions that will suit most budgets.

Having one of these greenhouses tucked away in a sunny corner of your garden will be a godsend when the weather dictates that you would normally have to stay inside rather than venture out into your garden.

And with the added benefit of being able to control damage that might have been caused by birds, insects and the weather, greenhouses can also save you a lot of money in the long term.

They are excellent for growing seedlings and also for extending the season that you will be able to grow particular plants by controlling the climate.

You should always set your greenhouse in a position that gets the maximum amount of sunlight throughout the day while allowing easy access to water and electricity. If you have a particularly windy property make sure that the door to the greenhouse is facing away from the prevailing wind.

When deciding on the size of greenhouse that you need always try to get the biggest one possible as once you see the benefits of having a greenhouse you might find that you will be wanting more and more room. Also you will be able to spread out your plants giving them more room to breathe and reducing the risk of disease.

Most good greenhouses come with in-built ventilation systems, which are essential to reduce the temperature when it begins to rise.

If you decide to build your own greenhouse, ventilation is one of the most important factors that you need to consider. Stay tuned to this blog for more tips on building a greenhouse coming soon! And if you want to purchase one that is pre-made, see below for some suggestions.

Greenhouses & Kits: