How to Start a Fruit and Vegetable Garden

Vegetable gardening can be a very rewarding experience. But if you've never had a vegetable garden before, the task can seem overwhelming. Here are several easy ways to start your first fruit or vegetable garden.

First, some vegetable gardening basics. Most vegetables need full sun, well-tilled soil, and the right fertilizers to bear fruit (or vegetables). Using the wrong soil enhancements will cause your plants to produce leaves and flowers, but little fruit. Most vegetables need long and deep water - water the roots, not the leaves. Pick your harvest regularly to encourage more fruit or vegetables. Finally, know when to plant, and when to harvest. This information will be found on the seed packet or the plant container. As you gain more experience, you will be able to rotate crops based on how early they mature.

One of the easiest ways to begin to grow vegetables is in a container. Buy your plant from a good nursery - don't try and start with seeds. Select a planter large enough to hold the full grown plant, and fill with potting soil made for vegetables. Follow the directions on the plant container for watering and sunlight needs. Plants that do well in containers include tomatoes, strawberries, herbs, and peppers.

Another easy way to start a garden is to pick a few easy vegetables to grow, and start with plants, not seeds. You will need to choose a sunny area of your yard to prepare. Use a tiller to break up the soil, and add organic material if your soil has a lot of clay. Then, decide what plants you will grow. Once you know how big the mature plant is, you can figure out how many you can grow in the space you have prepared. Plants that are easy to grow include tomatoes, squash, peppers, herbs, cucumbers, and strawberries.

Trees and shrubs can also be an easy way to start fruit gardening. Again, you will begin with a plant. In this case, however, you need to take a little more time preparing the soil. Some berries, like blueberries, need a very acidic soil to grow well. Raspberries need a lot of space to grow and will usually multiple fairly rapidly. The easiest way to begin this project is to choose which fruit you want to grow, and research exactly what kind of soil and environment they need. Start with one plant or tree, and once you are growing that successfully, add another variety. Because you only plant them once, not year after year, the time you spend to plant them correctly will pay off in the long run. Plants to consider include apple or peach trees, or blackberry and raspberry bushes.

Seeds are usually more difficult to start a garden with than plants. But, there are some seeds that easier than others. Carrots, lettuce, and peas are all easy seeds to plant and harvest. You can plant the seeds directly in the ground, and keep them well-watered until they sprout. Thin according to the package directions, and harvest at the proper time.

There's nothing better than fresh from the garden produce, and hopefully these ideas will help you start an easy vegetable (and fruit!) garden.

Mike Batey
http://www.mjbmarketing.info/gardening

Organic Gardening: Controlling Insects and Weeds Naturally

The only difference between regular gardening and organic gardening is that no synthetic fertilizers or pesticides are used when gardening organically. It might be a little more work to grow plants this way, but it is well worth the effort.

The biggest problems with growing things organically are insects, disease and weeds. But there are natural ways to protect your plants from these three killers.

Organic gardening starts with the soil. Rather than adding chemicals to the soil, organic gardeners regularly add organic matter in order to keep the soil healthy and productive. In fact, compost is essential to the well being of plants grown organically.

If you do not already have a compost pile or compost bin, one can be made with leaves, dead flowers, manure, fruit rinds, vegetable scraps, grass clippings and many other things.

What you need is soil that is dark in color and that has a sweet smell. So be generous with the compost, choose a spot that drains well so that water does not just sit around the plants, follow the guidelines in this article, and your plants should stay healthy and productive.

You might have healthy soil to start with and only need to add some compost. But some soil might need more natural additives than compost provides. Natural additives include things such as rock phosphates and bone meal. By purchasing and using a simple soil test you will know the soil's pH balance and be able to determine which nutrients you need to add.

One of the things that makes organic gardening more difficult is keeping insects off the plants. Most gardeners simply reach for a pesticide and spray the plants. But organic gardeners who truly want to stay away from chemicals must find other alternatives. Instead of using pesticides, the best way to defend your plants from insects is to use preventive measures.

Since unhealthy plants are more likely to be attacked by insects, one of the best natural ways to protect your garden from insects is to make sure your plants are healthy.

There are several things you can do to encourage healthy plants. Keeping them not too wet and not too dry is one thing.

Another way to protect your plants from insects, however, is to encourage insect predators into your garden. These include:

*lizards
*ladybugs
*frogs
*birds

These creatures can be attracted to your garden by keeping a source of water nearby, such as a pond, and by growing plants that attract them. There are also some household items that fight against insects, such as hot peppers and garlic, as well as insecticidal soaps.

Many diseases spread because the site of the garden does not drain well or does not allow for good air circulation. Another way to prevent disease is to start with disease resistant plants and plant them in their prime.

Besides diseases and insects, another annoying and frustrating problem faced by organic gardeners is weeds. Organic mulch can act as a weed barrier, but for even better protection put a layer of cardboard, construction paper, or newspaper under the mulch. Spreading a layer of corn meal gluten to slow the growth of weeds is another idea. Do this early in the season before planting.

Lastly, for weed control there is also the trusty hoe. Regular hoeing and hand pulling the weeds will help a great deal, and it requires no sprays that can hurt your family or the environment. Overall, persistence will beat the weeds for good after a few seasons of hoeing and pulling.

Organic gardening is an excellent way to assure that your plants will be free and clear of all pesticides and, if taken care of properly, will be as healthy as possible. Organic gardening may require more time and care than regular gardening, but your family and the environment will greatly benefit.

Mike Batey
http://www.mjbmarketing.info/gardening/