Spring Is Here! So Are the Squirrels...

I think we can safely say that spring has finally arrived! My garden is as happy as I am about this fact, and things are growing well. Flowers are popping up everywhere, and my little salad bed is doing well under the netting I applied to ward off the squirrels (thanks Mom - for the great idea!) - growing slowly since the soil is still cool, but it should take off here soon, as we are getting more and more warm days.

As you may know, I face a nearly constant battle with the squirrels, who love to dig up absolutely everything I plant - for no apparent reason other than - I am convinced - to drive me crazy! I have tried so many different things, from human hair (ick - I know, but desperate times...), to pepper, bloodmeal (an organic fertilizer), and cinnamon. The cinnamon and bloodmeal seem to work fairly well, but they don't last long - a few days in the sun, or a short rain, and you have to reapply. And in a freshly prepared bed, even that doesn't keep them away entirely.

My mother recently suggested placing squirrel netting over hoops to keep them out, and since I only have one garden bed this year, I figured it was worth a shot. Two weeks later, not a single intruder has disturbed my little radishes and lettuce, so it's working well so far! Since I will probably be moving this summer, hopefully my new garden spot will be less plagued by these little furry beasts....

Meanwhile, tulips and strawberries are growing like crazy, and so lovely! I will share more photos soon....

What are you into in the garden this year? Feel free to share below!

What You Should Know About Organic Farming

When did farming become more than just farming? Now there's farming and then there's organic farming. But what is it that makes organic farming a better form of farming than anything else? Here's what you need to know about organic farming to understand the benefits you are receiving from these crops.

1. Organic farming is a holistic approach to farming. Organic farmers use ecologically-balanced agricultural principles to control pests, tend to the soil, and manage crop rotation. Simply put, it lets nature take its course.

2. Organic farms include everything from vegetables to grains, to meat, dairy, eggs, and even cotton. To be considered organic they must remain as close to their natural state as possible without the use of synthetic pesticides or fertilizers. And when raising animals, they do not use synthetic growth hormones or antibiotics on their livestock. The animals eat only organic feed and in some cases, are allowed to roam outdoors.

A USDA map of the United States showing the number of organic farms per state in 2007. 0–100 organic farms 101–200 organic farms 201–500 organic farms 500+ organic farms. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

3. When organic farming began being monitored and tracked in 1994, there were 2500-3000 certified organic farms in the United States. Today there are more than 10,000 certified organic farms in the United States which provide 2% of the total food supply.

4. The basis of a good organic farm is the soil. It must begin with the right mix of soil that leads to healthy crops and animals. This reduces incidence of disease, and makes the farm more productive overall.

5. To create this productive soil, farmers need three basic things.

* Compost. This is organic materials that are decaying such as yard trimmings (wood chips, grass, and leaves), food waste (coffee grounds, tea bags and fruits and vegetables), and manure. Using compost allows beneficial bacteria and fungi to grow which creates a nutrient-rich moist soil.

* Green manures and cover crops. Cover crops are plants grown specifically to benefit the crops and are used to help protect the soils surface from water and wind, maintain soil structure, and maintain the healthy organic matter in the soil. Green manure is a cover crop that is grown and tilled in to the soil to add nutrients back into the soil. Cover crops also keep weeds at bay and to distract pests. They constitute a natural fertilizer/pesticide.

* Crop rotation. This is done by using different fields for different things each year. So one year a field could be used to grow pumpkins and the next field be used to graze sheep. The next year these fields would be switched. This way the nutrients are not depleted in one field, and it also minimizes the buildup of pests and diseases common to a specific crop.

Pig farming, Stancombe Down. Part of Sheepdrove, a large organic farm. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

6. Livestock is handled with the same level of care. They often may live in habitats similar to their natural habitat, and receive humane treatment. They don't receive hormones that promote growth and they don't receive antibiotics for any reason. They do receive vaccinations, though, as preventative care. Their diet consists of 100% organic food.

Organic farming really goes back to the roots of farming before intensive mass production was encouraged and expected from farmers in order for them to succeed. It's the way our food should be grown so we don't have to worry about pesticide poisoning or the alteration of our hormones due to the hormones that are fed to animals.

Clearly it's also becoming much more common and easier to find organic foods, even in your local supermarket. The price tag might be a bit higher for these organic foods, but it's worth it - not just for your health, but for the health of the farmers who grow the food, the planet, and future generations to come.

Feeding Your Spring Garden Plants

The best time to start feeding your garden is in spring. At this time of the year the ground is still moist from the winter and early spring rains. As the ground warms up with the warmer spring weather you get ideal growing conditions in your garden.

This is a crucial time for growth in the garden and you will need to ensure that your plants have the necessary nutrients to benefit from this period.

The small feeder roots that will be developing will seek the nutrients that you need to supply them. By choosing the correct foods for your plants they will have better foliage, they will be stronger plants and will also have more abundant flowering and fruiting.

Rich compost fertilizer for soil. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There are three key factors that are needed in a balanced plant food, and they are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.

A plentiful supply of nitrogen will ensure that your plants have healthy foliage. Phosphorus improves the plants root health, and potassium will encourage the plant to bloom and fruit.

As you can see they are all needed for the overall health of the plants and you should always check on the packaging of the fertilizer to see whether the chemical analysis is suitable. Be sure to ONLY choose naturally sourced, organic fertilizers, and the more balanced they are, the better.

These fertilizers usually come in three forms - controlled release, liquid and soluble.

Controlled release formulations have the nutrients inside a semi-permeable membrane that allows the nutrients to be released into the soil in a controlled manner once it reacts with the soil moisture and temperature. One application can last months and it is ideal for containers and indoor plants and established plants and trees.

Liquid formulations are similar to the soluble ones but they have been mixed with water and can be sprayed on the plants leaves for rapid response. (Compost tea may also be used in this manner - be sure to dilute it with water first so it won't burn the leaves, and apply in the early morning or evening so the sun won't cause leaf burns.) Fish emulsion is also a good natural liquid fertilizer.

Soluble formulations are applied dry and dissolve once the area receives water, which will dissolve the salts and make the nutrients available for the roots of the plant. Blood meal is a good example of a nitrogen-based organic fertilizer that is soluble.

All applications have their benefits and you need to decide which is best for the plants you are feeding. Just make sure to choose organic, naturally based fertilizers, and ideally you want a good balance of all nutrients (such as compost), although this can depend on your soil composition and what nutrients it needs most, so you will want to test your soil first before applying any fertilizer.

Landscaping With Garden Safety In Mind

We often overlook the possibility of danger that can lurk in the garden. Everything from rotten limbs on trees that can fall on top of us to slippery surfaces that are covered in moss can present dangers.

There are certain times of the year when there seem to be more problems of safety in the garden and these are generally the wetter months.This is the time when moss can grow on walkways, causing dangerously slippery surfaces.

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There are products on the market that can eliminate moss but some of these can also cause damage to your plants.

Water blasting will get rid the slippery surfaces and it is possible to buy relatively cheap and good quality water blasters that are suitable for the home handy person.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Once again you will need to take care not to damage plants as the pressure from the water blaster can destroy a garden in a matter of minutes.

Even the weight of plants can change over the wetter months particularly those in hanging containers and the additional weight from the water might just be enough to cause them to come crashing down.

Palm fronds can have very sharp and potentially dangerous spikes that can be lethal if you happen to get one in your eye while leaning into the garden. It is always recommended that you wear safety glasses when getting amongst your plants in the garden because it is so easy to damage your eyes.

Wearing gloves is something that goes without saying to protect your hands, not only from cuts and scrapes, but also from potential infection.

And you might be quite surprised to learn that the biggest danger in the garden, and the cause of most injuries is from garden implements that are left lying around in the garden causing injury when someone falls or stands on them. A tidy garden is generally a safer garden.

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Controlling Your Garden Environment

Plants are a lot cleverer than we might think. If you are aware of the changes that occur with the plants in the garden, you can sometimes predict everything from the coming weather to the changing of the seasons without ever having to consult the weather forecast!

The weather can, however trick plants into 'thinking' there has been a change in the weather or even the season.

Halloween Poppies: The unseasonal weather of 2007 fooled some wild plants into thinking that spring started in August! (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This can be seen when there is unseasonal hot weather after a cold snap in winter. Plants can 'assume' that it is the start of Spring and bulbs will start flowering.

In recent years many areas throughout the world have experienced unseasonal weather and extremes of weather and this has caused many problems for people growing crops.

Creating sheltered areas on your property can help you to control your plants and ensure that you get the flowers or fruits when you expect them to be ready. Another benefit is that this will also help you to reduce damage that might occur from extreme weather conditions such as hail or heavy rain.

Shading plants can also create a false reduction in daylight hours, which will affect the plants growth patterns as they measure the seasons by the amount of daylight.

Hothouses can also create a false environment and this can be beneficial if you want to produce plants throughout the year for flowers or fruit.

Temperature in a hothouse can be adjusted to control plant growth, and to a lesser extent this can also be done outside the hothouse by the placement of your plants in various different positions on your property depending on their exposure to sunlight, wind, cold and rain.

Designing your garden by taking into account all these factors will help you to keep your plants "thinking" as you do, allowing you to get what you want, when you want, from your garden.

It will also allow you to better plan the progression of plants from one season to the next.