“New garden? No sweat! Skip the stress and enjoy instant success with no-dig gardens that are good to grow. Gardening is made easy with these interesting—and effective—alternative gardening ideas.” Whether it’s straw-bale gardening, herb spirals, growing in bags, or even growing succulents in cinderblocks…here’s a GREAT article...
“Beans are a spring garden must-have! They’re easy to grow, they require almost zero maintenance, and they’re incredible high-yielding (you can expect to find and pick fresh ones every day). Though you could grow them in bushes, you’ll get much more bang for your buck by growing them vertically with a support system, like one of these pretty...
“Save water, grow food crops through drought and heat, and spend less on your summer water bills by using soaker hoses, drip irrigation, rainwater storage and other efficient garden watering systems in your plots.” “The best watering methods will depend at least partly on planting arrangement and crop type. Planting leafy greens, onions and other...
“Straw Bale Gardening provides many advantages over traditional soil gardening, some of which have already been alluded to: no weed seeds, no disease or insect carry over, and a neutral pH which allow you to grow essentially anything with roots. ” “The raised height of the bales is a big advantage, eliminating the need to get down on the ground...
“With the loss of the Little City Gardens commercial farm last year and a fast-paced development boom, San Francisco’s commitment to urban agriculture is being put to the test. But the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday recommitting The City to urban agriculture and calling on city departments to evaluate parcels of land that could...
When you join Urban Organic Gardener (UOG) you will be assigned a dedicated Garden Guru. Each month he/she will ship you a customized package for your garden. We include everything you need. Your seeds and garden supplies are delivered to you at just the right time of the year to plant the seeds. Your package is customized based on your USDA Hardiness Grow Zone –...
“The trees had waited a whole year for this. First potted as seedlings last spring, hundreds of them on Saturday got shucked from their small homes and upgraded to roomier accommodations thanks to the efforts of some 25 volunteers celebrating Earth Day. The effort was only the next step, however, in preparing those trees to reforest an overused Delaware campground...
“Urban farming, the name alone may sound a little strange but this unique way of cultivating produce may be the way of the future. Using warehouses and artificial light instead of farmland and the sun an urban farm allows the farmer to control the environment. This can result lower water usage, eliminate the need for herbicides or pesticides and increase the...
“One hundred miles, give or take, from farm to table, is the ideal maximum distance for produce to be considered local. But there are some companies that are greatly improving on that goal — instead of triple-digit mileage, they’re offering produce that’s grown within just a few miles. Even better, when there’s a short distance involved, delivery...
“It started with a lemon tree. Kelly Carlisle didn’t grow up gardening. She didn’t have a windowsill herb garden. She knew about farming, of course, but in her mind there was a disconnect: food just sort of showed up at the grocery store. She worked a corporate job, wearing fancy clothes and heels to work. But she had gotten laid off during the recession,...
“Dying eggs this time of year is a tradition for many families. Instead of purchasing kits at the store, try using natural ingredients you may already have growing in your own garden or stored in your kitchen pantry. You’ll feel better about dying your eggs using organic and natural products that you already have at home.” Read the FULL SET...
“Meet Nita Kurmins Gilson, the woman bringing fresh fruit to thousands of San Diegans in need. In 2009, Nita learned that 1 in 6 people in her county were going to bed hungry. She also saw an abundance of fresh produce going to waste all over the city. So, she connected the dots to be part of the solution for both food waste and hunger. She began by picking...
Sun, Soil, Light, Pests & Timing Sun: Tomatoes need lots of sun, so be sure to pick a spot without too much shade. Water: Give your tomatoes about two inches of water every week all season, and give them extra water in the first few weeks. Soil: Tomatoes do best in loamy, acidic soil, and it’s a great idea to plant them in soil that can be well-drained. Timing: Shoot...
“Meet Brian Blum, a busy dad with a full time corporate job, who still makes time to create a sustainable paradise in San Diego. He has a small house on a small lot, but manages to do a lot with it. He grows healthy, organic food for his family and has planted close to 20 fruit trees, which are part of his permaculture food forest. In his aquaponics system,...
When to Plant Pepper roots don’t like to be disturbed, so plant them indoors in Seed Starting Soil Pods about two months before your last frost date, usually three or four seeds to a pod. How to Plant Peppers love full sun, but don’t plant peppers where tomatoes or eggplants grew previously, because all three are members of the nightshade family...
“It’s therapeutic in a way,” Sioco explained. “Psychiatrists recommend this type of hobby to depressed patients, kasi looking at green things make you more calm.” “…maintaining even just a small garden for people with more hectic schedules. Watering and sunlight, he said, are the usual problems. “Usually they don’t...
