14 Organic Vegetable Gardening Tips

Gardening is one of those pastimes that is more than a hobby - it's personal! And to complicate it, Mother Nature doesn't always help you out. How, then, do you succeed with your vegetable garden? It's never a sure thing, but these gardening tips and bits of advice might help.

1. Keep a journal. Record when you plant, how much you planted, how much you harvested, any bug or disease issues and what you think you might do differently next year. Then next year, refer back to what you wrote. You'll be surprised by how much you can forget in a year if you don't write it down.

Raised bed of lettuce, tomatoes, 6 different types of basil, marigolds, zinnias, garlic chives, zucchini. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

2. Keep a positive attitude. That total fail with your tomatoes this year? It will make a good discussion piece with other gardeners. And next year can only be better. Hopefully.

3. Tis better to cover your tender plants before the heavy rain and hail starts, not during. Keep your eye to the sky and take weather forecasts seriously.

4. Every year is different. Don't ever think you've got this thing in the bag, because if you do, you're jinxing your next crop.

5. Plan for moderation. When planning out your garden during the winter, reduce the size and number of plantings you think you want. Looking at those seed catalogs makes you go overboard - I know from experience!

6. It starts and ends with your soil. (I would double-bold that if I could.) The health of your soil is more important than you might realize. Healthy soil makes healthy disease-resistant plants that give a good yield.

Also, it's soil, not dirt.  :-)

7. Kitchen gardens are placed near the kitchen for a reason. Gardeners who break their backs digging, hoeing and weeding, don't want to walk too far to pick a few things to go in the dinner.

8. When seed packs say not to plant outside before the first frost date, they mean it.  But sometimes you can get away with starting before the approved planting date by using row covers, cold frames, or Wall O' Waters. It's up to you if you want to take your chances.

9. If you're planting a seedling, peat pot and all, tear off the bottom of the pot. The pots are supposed to decompose but that can take a while and you don't want your seedlings to become root-bound.

10. Pole beans aren't the only thing that can climb a trellis; so can cucumbers, melons and squash. Think vertical - especially when you're space-challenged.

11. If you have raised beds, you can use an old window or door screen to cover small seedlings so they're protected from birds, bunnies and bugs.

Powdery Mildew on a tomato plant. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

12. Worms in your garden are a good sign. Slugs are not.

13. Your tomatoes will never taste exactly the same from year to year; it's going to depend on the weather and water conditions.

14. Water your vegetables in the early mornings. Midday watering can mean evaporation in the hot sun, and can sometimes burn the leaves if they get wet, and nighttime watering might give your plants powdery mildew problems from being moist all night.

These vegetable gardening tips should give you a leg up, but they're only the beginning. For more, get yourself a gardening app for your phone or iPad, read gardening books and magazines, talk to experienced old-timers, and get out there and experience it firsthand. There's nothing more rewarding than growing a successful garden!

Product Review: Forest City Yimby Tumbling Composter

Composting is one of those things that all gardeners know they should be doing, but a lot avoid. Most say they don’t know how to set up an area to compost, they don’t know what to do, or they simply don’t have anywhere to set up a compost pit. One of the easiest ways to compost is with a tumbling composter.

A tumbling composter is basically a canister on its side. You put all of the things you want to compost in there and you can mix it by spinning the chamber. With a normal composting bin, turning your compost is by far the most unpleasant part of the entire experience. 

I have an Envirocycle, but I don't think they make these anymore, so I wanted to find one I could recommend to our readers, and this one seems to be a highly-reviewed model.

Features of the Forest City (Yimby) Tumbling Composter

Dual canisters mean you can start using your compost sooner. Once you start seeing good soil in the first canister you can start putting your vegetable matter in the second canister. By the time you finish up using the first batch the second will be well on its way to being ready.

A sturdy steel frame means you don’t need to worry about it falling over as you fill up the barrel.

Easily remove the compost by opening up the door of the chamber that’s ready and turn it so it can pour out into your cart, wheelbarrow, or bucket. (I do wish my Envirocycle had this feature - since it's not on a raised frame, it gets very hard to empty when it's full and heavy.)

This one can hold up to 37 gallons which is enough for the average family even if you eat a lot of vegetables.

Adjustable air vents mean you can control how much airflow is going through the compost.

The tumbler is built to resist rodents. No one likes rats in their compost! Raccoons shouldn’t be able to get in either.

Are There Any Downsides?

You will need to do some assembly. It’s mostly just setting up the legs and then attaching the barrel. Some people say it’s difficult, others say it was a breeze. It probably depends on how good you are at putting things together based on paper instructions.

I’ve noticed some people complaining about an odor from the composter but I doubt it’s actually the tumbler. Any compost will smell if you’re only using food scraps and not also adding enough yard clippings, shredded paper or leaves, and stuff like that. 

While you won’t have issues with rodents, this composter isn’t water proof. A little rain won’t hurt your compost but a lot of rain will slow it down because it won’t be dry enough to decompose. Make sure you put it somewhere sunny so if it does get rained on it dries quickly and can get back to doing what it needs to do.

Conclusion

If you live somewhere where it rains nearly every day this might not work to well for you, though if it rains that much you may have trouble composting no matter how you do it. Otherwise, this is a great tumbler that doesn’t take up much room.

The dual chambers are something that sounds really cool. Being able to load up one and just let it decompose while I’m still adding to chamber two would be a great asset.

As an added bonus, the Forest City (Yimby) Tumbling Composter is priced just right for someone getting into composting for the first time or just looking for a more efficient way to make enough compost for their own gardens. I wouldn't see why it couldn't provide a lifetime of composty goodness for your garden!

Organic Tips for Keeping Harmful Bugs Out of Your Vegetable Garden

There's nothing more annoying than working for hours and hours preparing and planting your garden - only to have those annoying pests move in and destroy what you worked so hard to build! Insects can damage your plants within a matter of hours once they’ve found the fruits of your labor.

The best way to control these bugs is to keep them out of your garden to begin with. There are many pesticides that you can use to keep the bugs away, but you need to make sure they’re safe to use.

A ladybug eating aphids on a weed. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Some of the sprays can be harmful to the health of other animals and possibly small children. Even some organic insecticides aren't healthy for you to breathe in, so take care when applying these, even if they are all-natural - and don't use anything that's not marked "OMRI Certified," or "Safe for organic gardening".

When getting rid of insects from your garden, you also want to make sure you don’t get rid of all of them, since there are some bugs that you actually want to keep in your garden.

Some of these helpful insects, such as ladybugs and spiders, feed on the annoying insects that damage your plants. They’re essentially the best bodyguards you could have for your garden.

In fact, one of the best ways to control the insects and pests that damage the plants in your garden is by allowing helpful buts in that will drive the harmful ones away - or eat them.

By planting inviting plants or “homes” for the helpful insects, you can keep the harmful ones at bay quite efficiently. Check with your local gardening center on which plants attract the good insects.

Another thing to keep in mind is to keep your garden clean. The harmful pests are often attracted to piles of leaves, and dense spots of weeds. These pests can thrive in those areas, so weed your garden regularly.

Some organic gardeners use a natural hot pepper wax that they lightly spray on the leaves of their plants. The oils from the spicy contents of this wax wards off the harmful insects and other pests as well.

The wax solution is safe for most plants and doesn’t affect the produce at all, so don’t worry about “spicing” up your vegetables. As long as you properly clean them before consuming them, you won’t notice any residue.

Borage. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There are some plants that give off a scent that repels harmful bugs and keeps them away from your precious produce. Such plants - like marigolds and the borage herb plant - are very effective at keeping those pests away from your tomato plants. Plant them nearby and watch your tomato plants grow to be healthy and robust.

Every gardener wants to see their garden thrive after putting a lot of hours of hard work and dedication into it. No one wants to see that labor go down the drain by losing their plants to those annoying pests that move into your garden.

Before planting your garden, do your research and find the best companion plants to repel the annoying pests, as well as the ones that invite the good insects in according to your geographic location.

Provide Safe Food for Your Family By Growing An Organic Vegetable Garden

Organic gardens are gardens that produce plants and vegetables that are grown and handled naturally - without any chemical inputs. There are many people who are understandably concerned about the chemicals that are sprayed on commercial fruits and vegetables and the additives that are used to keep them fresh.

We all know that fruits and vegetables are healthy for our mind and bodies, but what about those chemicals and additives that are placed on commercially grown food? They sometimes cancel out the benefits they provide because they cause damage to our systems.

Growing an organic vegetable garden. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Organic gardening helps to ensure that we’re consuming fresh, natural foods that provide the necessary nutrients for our bodies. Organic gardening doesn’t use any chemicals or additives, so you can enjoy an all-natural diet, without polluting the environment or your body.

Many commercially grown fruits and vegetables use chemicals to keep the insects and other pests away from the food, and additives are used to keep them fresher longer from the harvesting field to a consumer’s table.

In truth, there are other ways to produce food for the population without tainting it with chemicals and additives. In fact, if you grow your own organic garden, you have the benefit of eating the produce right away, which would eliminate the need for any additives or preservatives.

There’s also no need for chemicals to rid the plants of pests. With the proper use of plants in your garden that deter harmful insects and attract beneficial ones that will rid your garden of insects that would harm the food, you can grow vegetables without the use of chemical pesticides.

Red earthworm in soil from organic garden. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There’s also no need to use artificial fertilizers to help the plants grow. You can use natural fertilizers that you can recycle over and over, keeping waste under control as well as feeding your garden. And it's easy - all you need is leaves, grass clippings and table scraps to be stored for composting!

One of the biggest advantages of having an organic garden is that because there are no chemicals used in your soil, there’s less danger to the plant life, wildlife, water supply, and humans.

Organic gardening allows you to put food on the table for your family and know exactly what you’re putting on the table instead of just taking a chance, and hoping that you’re not putting anything harmful into your family’s mouths.

Take control and make sure your family is safe with the food you prepare for them. Do you want to risk harming them with traces of sprayed chemicals - or do you want them to benefit from the nutrients an organic garden provides?

Be sure to check back next week, as we will be providing some helpful tips for growing an organic vegetable garden this month.