organic vegetable gardening

Spin Bin compost tumbler

June 29, 2010 by Vegetable7 1 Comment

If you’ve been a vegetable gardener for very long, you’ve probably discovered the importance of compost for gardening. Compost improves any type of soil, whether it is clay or sandy. The rich organic materials from compost help increase soil fertility, and also give the soil a more sponge-like consistency that soaks up water, and releases it as plants need it.

What’s not to like about composting, right?

The Spin Bin is a compost tumbler that was introduced for the 2010 season.

Tumblers have both advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages:

Materials are off the ground and sealed away, keeping pests and rodents out.
Easy to keep your materials aerated and mixed — a key to successful composting
Don’t need tools for mixing.
Can be faster at composting, when used correctly.

Disadvantages:

Tumblers sometimes have a smaller capacity than regular compost bins, or piles.
Tumblers don’t always generate as much heat when composting, if the user isn’t skilled.

So although you’ll often see ads for “compost in 14 days!” with various tumblers, it’s unlikely that a regular person will get results like that. Typical results will be several months.

With that being said, I still like the convenience of using a tumbler — especially the pest proof part. I live in an urban area where rats and squirrels are both a reality, and I had trouble with them getting into my regular compost bin. There’s nothing creepier than running into a rat!

And FYI, the best way to avoid rodents if you are composting in a pile or unsealed bin is to make sure any kitchen scraps are buried way down in the pile. If you just throw them on top, it’s like sending a written invitation to every pest in the neighborhood for free dinner.

5 Tips on How to Grow Vegetables

May 11, 2009 by Vegetable7 1 Comment

Let’s face it: growing a vegetable garden rocks! So much, it could even become your hobby. Just think, every growing season you can harvest fresh vegetables. And remember, there are several growing seasons, depending on your climate. That’s almost growing your own food year round! Here are some simple tips that will help you on how to grow vegetables.

Tip #1: Rotate your crops.

Just change your plant’s growing location each year. Plants that come from same family like peppers, eggplants, tomatoes, and potatoes must be rotated in different locations in the garden. Rotating them will prevent your plants from pests and diseases.

Bugs are pretty smart. They lay their eggs at the bottom of the plant, so the hatching larvae will have food. But, the garden pest will not survive if it doesn’t have the right food source. Just rotate those crops every year. That way you don’t feed the larvae!

Tip #2: Plant your vegetables with proper spacing.

Don’t plant vegetable plants too close to each other. You don’t want their roots to compete for soil nutrients and water, and you want enough room for their hidth and width of a mature plant. It’s easier if you plant your vegetables according to their height and width.

Once you get use to growing vegetables, you can stray from the vegetable spacing recommendations just a little. Check out this page on intensive gardening, and this one on square foot gardening.

Tip #3: Water plants properly, meaning consistently.

We all know that water is very important in all growing plants, really to everything! It starts with the seeds. They must keep moist to generate properly. And make sure not to over water your plants, or else you will not achieve the desired outcome with your vegetable plants. Just water deeply and regularly. You don’t want to underwater, then overwater. Trust me, they won’t like that.

Tip #4: Stake your vegetable plants.

There are plants that cannot support themselves, like vine tomatoes, cucumbers, peas and pole beans. Provide a cage, stake, or trellis that will help keep them off the ground. Keeping vegetables off the ground, keeps them from getting dirty, rotting, or getting pests.

Tip #5: Mulching is a great tip, too.

Don’t forget to mulch. Mulch comes in many forms. It will serve as a protective covering that will also reduce evaporation, maintain the soil temperature, enrich the soil, and prevent it from weeds.

Vegetable gardening is a wonderful idea! Plus, at the end you can reward yourself for achieving the successful garden you’ve wanted. Aside from that, you’re also giving your family the best vegetables in the town! Sit back on that patio, slice that tomato, and enjoy looking over your vegetable garden!

Achieving Successful Vegetable Gardening

May 11, 2009 by Vegetable7 Leave a Comment

We all want to save even a single cent on buying foods at the market, right? Especially nowadays with the economic situation. One way to save more money, with the consideration of quality and nutrients your family must have, is to have your own vegetable garden.

Before you plant, think of the variety of vegetables your family enjoys eating. It would be a good start for choosing the right seed for the right season. Consider the following information on planning a vegetable garden.

Sun light is very important when growing plants. The usual required range per day of sunlight is about 6 hours, but there also some plants that need 8 hours. Also, maximize your vegetable garden space by planting quick growing plants, such as, radish and lettuce in between other vegetables, that take a while to mature (example: beet and corn).

During dry season, be sure to water your plants more often. Keep in mind that plants benefit from an inch of water every week, most especially during there stage of fruiting.

Watch out for pests and other insects that may destroy your vegetables. You have a better chance of saving your vegetable plants, if you found out about it earlier. Unless it is absolutely necessary, do not use pesticides or insecticides with chemicals. It will affect the quality of your vegetables. Since organic gardening uses environment friendly methods, use organic pesticides or insecticides. It’s safer for you, and your food.

Taking care of your vegetables, also, means protecting them from wandering animals. You can build a fence that will serve as protection for your garden from your pets like cats, dogs, rabbits and others. The damage done from those wandering animals could be equal to the amount it costs to build a fence. Especially, when you consider how much work you do in the garden. Plus, fences double as a great trellis or support for growing peas, beans, tomatoes and other crops.

To achieve the plentiful vegetable garden, protect your plants. After all, you want your hard work to be rewarded with a successful vegetable garden.

Organic Vegetable Gardening Tips for Beginners

May 10, 2009 by Vegetable7 1 Comment

Organic vegetable gardening had been around for a long time. There are people who practice organic methods, but are unaware that they’re actually organic gardening. Growing plants without using any artificial chemicals, like fertilizers and pesticides, is known as organic gardening.

When you garden organically, you can make sure that you only feed the best vegetables to your family. Plus, you can cut your food budget without compromising the quality. Aside from that, you don’t need to spend more money to buy those artificial chemicals for your vegetable garden.

Composting is a lot better than the usual fertilizer you buy at the gardening store. You will also need to protect your plants from harmful effect that an industrialized chemical could do. That’s one advantage of organic gardening. They don’t harm your plants because they are purely natural and don’t contain chemicals that may harm the immune system of your vegetables.

The following are some important tips you should know:

1. Soil: The soil you use in your vegetable garden will determine your success. Before planting your vegetables, make sure that your soil is healthy it should have a pH value of 6.5 or around neutral, but then again, pH value will depend on the different kinds of vegetables you are going to grow. So, just check specifics for each vegetable, but you are usually pretty safe with a neutral pH.

2. Water and Sunlight: Other important needs of your plants is water and sunlight. They are both essential for growing plants. However, too much and not enough of both will affect the healthy growth of your plants. For sunlight, make sure you chose the area which receives at least 6 hours of sunlight each day; otherwise, it will not get the maximum growth it should have. For water, be sure to water deep. This means water the roots. Don’t focus on watering the leaves.

3. Controlling the Pests: Since you want a vegetables garden that is free from artificial pesticides, you could use beneficial gardening insects, like ladybugs, wasps, and praying mantis. They’re an effective alternative for pesticides and insecticides. If they can’t be found just around your garden, you can always purchase them from nurseries or even on line.

And, don’t forget–

For weeds, pulling them using your hands is more effective than killing them with weed killer.

There’s no harm in sacrificing a little portion of your harvest to bugs to be able to provide your family with natural, organic foods.

Composting kitchen scraps will definitely reduce the amount of waste that is deposited in landfills. Composting is a big help to your environment!

7 Tips for Successful Organic Vegetable Gardening

May 10, 2009 by Vegetable7 Leave a Comment

Are you satisfied with the last season you harvested? All those tomato plants you had, and got 6 beef steak tomatoes. Did that happen to you? This year, the number one your plan is to have a garden with tons of vegetables to harvest, and not just TOMATOES!

And this year, you even up the ante! because you are aware of what those chemicals, like fertilizers and pesticides, could do to your health, you only want an organic garden. Well, now, forget about last season. If you follow these simple tips, you can say hello to a great garden you’ve always wanted!

Tip #1: What vegetable should I plant? First, you should think of what vegetables you and your family usually love to eat. Then, throw in some expensive vegetable to really save money at the market.

Like, those lettuces in a mesclun salad, they’re much more expensive than iceberg lettuce, orange peppers and the red ones are more expensive than the green ones. Aside from that, why don’t you try some of the heirloom tomatoes like the popular Brandywine? Really, have fun with it.

Tip #2: Raised Beds— Instead of digging beds into your garden soil, why not build or buy a raised bed? This will save you a lot of time, believe it or not. Fill it with the appropriate soil and compost.

Raised beds are great for proper water drainage, and you control the soil conditions. You have healthier soil, and less weeds. If you don’t make your own compost, you can buy some bagged compost.

Read our page about raised bed gardening.

Tip #3: Keep it small— The more you plant the more you have to work. So, keep your organic garden small and manageable. Learn more about which vegetables work well in a small garden.

Tip #4: Garlic Bulbs are a big help— This will help deter pests away from plants. You know the ones you see lurking beyond the garden gate. Or, perhaps the little ones you don’t see that are hiding under the leaves.

Garlic is a companion plant to some vegetables, like beets, tomatoes, and lettuce. Learn more about companion planting.

Tip #5: Put up a fence—This will keep your plants safe from pests and other animals. Learn more about garden fencing options.

Tip #6: Soil Temperature—Make sure that your soil is the proper temperature for the vegetables before planting. If you have a short growing season, start your seeds indoors or build a coldframe to start the seeds.

Tip #7: Water, water—we all know that water is essential for plants to grow. Water consistently and water vegetables deeply! Water the roots! You don’t take a shower without washing your feet, right? Here’s a good guide to watering a vegetable garden.