Comments on: Best tips and steps to making an organic garden?

By: ishi

ishi — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 02:21:33 +0000

I love to garden but I don't so much like digging and turning and weeding and the really intense work it takes to create a good garden space so during an urban farm course I learned this technique of turning lawns into garden space. and it requires NO digging! Lay down newspaper or cardboard then cover the entire thing in straw (not hay, hay has seeds). Create holes in the straw and fill with organic soil and plant your plants. This obviously works best for tomatoes, squash, peppers and such that you plant one plant or a mound of plants. The next year/season the straw will start to be broken down into soil and you just apply another layer of straw and more soil. Heavy mulching (straw) helps to hold moisture and moderate temperatures. The newspaper kills the grass by blocking light but plant roots can grow through into the subsoil and this creates a virtually weed free garden space. I think the key is to start small, buy starts rather than stressing over tiny seedlings and plant easy to grow plants (for your area). Your local extension office can tell you whats easy. Compost is the best fertilizer (its free and reduces landfill). Chickens are also great for a backyard garden, producing fertilizer and eggs and are allowed in almost all cities (start with just a couple). Find a local gardener and talk to them, they'll probably love to tell all they know. Remember you'll learn a lot just by doing it - so get dirty!
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By: Tony

Tony — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 22:51:38 +0000

Visit http://www.dirtdoctor.com. Howard Garrett preaches organic gardening.
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By: foxyroxy

foxyroxy — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 21:09:23 +0000

because you live in heavily populated area, spaceis your biggest thing, and also, if you live by a road, make sure you protect your garden from fumes and litter, a green house may be the best deal for you, it will stop any air polution from harming your plants. good luck. p.s. ladybugs are great for keeping aphids away.
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By: diane l

diane l — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 20:31:58 +0000

Go to your local Agricultural Extension and ask for the Master Gardener's program. The program is usually free or taught for a very small fee. You will learn more from that about organic gardening than from any other resource. At the very least, the Master Gardeners and the Agricultural Extension will have mass quantities of information specific to your area about organic gardening that will be helpful for you.
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By: Jabberwocky

Jabberwocky — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 19:21:18 +0000

i use raised beds, but my climate is mild and rainy, so i'm not sure if this would work for you. i would recomendreading about permaculture - the term is an amalgamation of 'permanent agriculture' and was pioneered by an australian called bill mollison. the idea is tpo create a whole system in which nothing is wasted, and everything has more than one purpoes (eg a worm farm both disposes of household compost waste and creates awesome organic compost for your garden). there are heaps of books, or just gogle 'permaculture'.
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By: hertsengland

hertsengland — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 18:52:53 +0000

Read ‘The One Straw Revolution’ by Masanobu Fukuoka. He is a Japanese farmer. I have a link to the USA Amazon below. It does not matter what environment you live in as long as you respect it. I live in England and gardeners here seem to be at war with nature, always trying to trick it into producing more. I find that fruit tree and bushes grow them selves over here. I recently started a wild fruit tree map in google, it has trees and bushes local to me on it, it is open to be edited by any one, so please if you have some fruit tree in Florida do add them. There is a link to this below as well.
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http://www.amazon.com/One-straw-Revolution-Masanobu-Fukuoka/dp/8185569312/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1199569087&sr=8-1 http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=113375141945407260574.00043fc54f3a9cb75375e&z=12&om=1