DIY: Landscaping Your Yard with Edibles

If you’re looking to landscape your yard why not landscape with edibles? These edible plants will not only provide you beautiful surroundings to look at, but some healthy and nutritious food to eat.  These days a lot of people are finding ways to put their yard to work for them by planting edible trees, shrubs, and vines which will provide their family with edibles year-round.

Before you go laying all new sod or traditional hedges/bushes think outside the “norm” by focusing on herbs, vegetables, edible vines and ground covers, maybe even some fruit trees.

Try planting in a wheelbarrow.

“What you plant depends on the depth of the wheel barrow. Carrots may not work because they need plenty of soil to grow in. But shallow-growing greens such as Swiss chard as well as strawberries and most herbs, including thyme and basil, should all be right at home in a wheelbarrow garden.

Finally, before filling it with dirt, drill several drainage holes in the bottom of the wheelbarrow to help keep the soil from getting — and staying — too wet.”

Try herbs as borders.

“Consider planting herbs such as bay or rosemary instead. Not only will they provide a year-round screen, thrive in full sun and require little water or other maintenance once established, but you can use the leaves while cooking.”

Try planting veggies in the front yard.

“For example, ornamental sweet potato vines, are popular for their attractive leaves, but the sweet potato tubers they produce tend to be bitter. How about planting pumpkin, melon or cucumber instead? They grow well in full sun, all produce long, interesting vines that, at the end of the growing season leave you with something good to eat.”

To read the rest of the article and find more ways you can landscape with edibles, visit: “ExpressNews.com”

source: http://www.urbanorganicgardener.com/2016/01/diy-landscaping-your-yard-with-edibles/

Gardening Guru is Getting Children Hooked on the Joys of Gardening

One man, Tom Moggach, is teaching children all about the joys of gardening from a small urban garden located at a London school. They have several raised beds, and the school even built a polythene-covered greenhouse.  At this school, every Wednesday, the children get to spend time in this garden growing vegetables and herbs and for those really interested there’s even an after school program.

“It’s all about the power and potential of outdoor learning,” he says. “And eating.” This year they have plans to build a compost pile as well.  400 children in the school have the experience of growing their own food.

To learn more about this gardening guru, you can read the full article at: “TheIndependent.co.uk“

source: http://www.urbanorganicgardener.com/2016/01/gardening-guru-is-getting-children-hooked-on-the-joys-of-gardening/

Urban Farm Grows More Than 800 Pounds of Produce for Local Food Banks

This urban farm in Detroit is growing more than 800 lbs. of fresh fruits and vegetables annually and then donates it all to local food banks.  The farm is completely ran by volunteers and within the park you’ll find over 200 varieties of plants, vines, and fruit trees, which make a wonderful habitat for bees and butterflies.

“Lafayette Greens also provides an example of a successful and sustainable public-private partnerships. Compuware and the City of Detroit, who owns the land, negotiated a cooperative lease agreement that benefits the public.”

Read the full article here: “asla.org“

source by : http://www.urbanorganicgardener.com/2016/01/urban-farm-grows-more-than-800-pounds-of-produce-for-local-food-banks/

Disabled Marine Pursues New Goal of Aquaponics Farming

In Florida, a disabled marine has started up a new aquaponics operation where he grows “herbs like fennel, dill, cilantro and chives, as well as a wide range of greens including Bibb lettuce, Tokyo bekana, Cressida cress, mizuna, red Russian kale, Swiss chard, bok choy and red giant mustard greens.”

Besides the fresh produce, he’s also raising 300 tilapia fish which in turn feed the plants that he is growing in a closed-loop aquaponics system he built himself.

“The way I grow food here and give it to people is the way I eat it, the way I want to eat food, free of pesticides, the most natural way of growing things,” Mickell said. “This is a place where we take pride in what we grow and we care about what people are consuming.”

You can read the full article here: “MilitaryTimes.com“

Source By : http://www.urbanorganicgardener.com/2016/01/disabled-marine-pursues-new-goal-of-aquaponics-farming/

DIY How To Make a $15 Indoor Greenhouse

Here’s how to make your very own environmentally-friendly indoor green house.

Green house Equipment

• 3 x 23W Compact Fluorescent bulbs (CFLs)
• 3 Recycled light hoods
• 2 window boxes
• Triple mix and soil
• Seeds
• Hooks
• String

Method

We simply wired the hoods together and popped in the light bulbs. We turned the hooks into the wall and hung the hoods with string so that we can adjust the height of the lights as the plants grow. The three lights run for ten hours a day. You can substitute foil for the light hoods if you can’t find recycled ones.

Read the full article with more detailed instructions at:GreenMoxie.com

Source by : http://www.urbanorganicgardener.com/2016/01/diy-how-to-make-a-15-indoor-greenhouse/

Lasagna Gardens, Perfect for Beginners!

Do you dislike tilling? Have you heard about lasagna gardening yet? If not, you may want to read up on this popular gardening technique that allows you to do more with less work. It’s also referred to as “sheet composting” or “layer gardening”.  It’s a no-dig, no-till method that provides the gardener with rich and fluffy soil, perfect for vegetable and herb gardening.

“Just like the lasagna you cook, your lasagna garden has to be layered in a general order.

• The first layer of your lasagna garden is either brown corrugated cardboard or three layers of newspaper. The space underneath the cardboard and newspaper will attract earthworms to your lasagna garden because it is dark and moist. Earthworms help make the waste into soil. Worms will also help keep this new soil loose.
• Lay the cardboard or newspaper directly on top of the grass or weeds where you want your garden. The grass or weeds will break down fairly quickly because they will be smothered by the newspaper or cardboard, as well as by the materials you are going to layer on top of them.
• Wet this layer down to keep everything in place. Water also helps waste break down.
• Put a layer of browns (leaves, shredded paper) on top of the cardboard or newspaper. Put a layer of greens (vegetable scraps, grass clippings) on top of the brown layer. Layer until your lasagna garden is about two feet high.

In general, you want your “brown” layers to be about twice as deep as your “green” layers. There is no need to get this exact. Just layer browns and greens, and a lasagna garden will result. What you want at the end of your layering process is a two-foot tall layered bed. The layers will ‘cook down’ (compost) in only a few weeks.” -via “GreenThumbscedwvu.org”

Read the full article here: “Accessible Gardening: Lasagna Gardening”

 Source by : http://www.urbanorganicgardener.com/2016/01/lasagna-gardens-perfect-for-beginners/

How to Use a Mason Jar as a Cloche

The original source of this post can be found at SeedsNow.com

What is a garden cloche? It’s basically a fancy term for a glass bell or dome that you place over young seedlings or plants to protect them from cold weather, hail or in some situations…snow.

Simply place a mason jar over your sensitive seedlings or plants that you want to over-winterize.   You can even place them over plants in the garden if you want to get an early start in spring. Use them when you suspect that the elements might damage your young seedlings, if they had no protection.

Watch the weather and keep them on your plants if freezing temperatures are in the forecast.  Remove the cloches if the temperatures will rise in the morning or afternoon. You don’t want your plants to get too hot in the morning or mid-day sun.

Don’t have any mason jars? Milk jugs work great, too!

Learn more Season Extension Techniques from SeedsNow.com

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Source by : http://www.urbanorganicgardener.com/2015/12/how-to-use-a-mason-jar-as-a-cloche/

In the Garden: Top trends for 2016

Planting more trees, ripping out lawns, growing more fruit and vegetables and generally finding an easier, less time-consuming way to have a garden — these are just a few of the top trends expected to shape our passion for gardening in 2016.

In Greater Vancouver, the prospect of another hot, dry summer with more water restrictions is making many gardeners rethink the kinds of plants they will buy this spring.

Hydroponic Garden Shows the Possibility of Indoor Farming

Lettuce, strawberries, kale; all of this is growing in December in the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food building in Salt Lake City.

 

This small garden shows how hydroponics works: a system of pipes and water grows plants without soil.

In the Ag building, they are using Aquaponics too.  Fish are fertilizing the plants that are either suspended in water or the water is dripping into the plants.

The Benefits of Organic Gardening

Environmental and personal health are the two main benefits of organic gardening that are gaining popularity. Despite the misconceptions it is by far the best option for every aspect. Yup, it gets flack...mostly from companies who profit from the sludge they spray all over our food. But I'll address that below too.

The Health Benefits of Organic Gardening:
Do you know that chemical pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers have been linked to-

Tide Turning Against Harmful Chemicals

Pesticides singled out as dangerous, especially to mothers and children.

 Will we look back at 2015 and see it as the year public health institutions and the public at large demand changes when it comes to the use of agricultural and industrial chemicals?

The reaction to recent studies that declare all of us are at risk from compounds that can harm human health, but especially children and those in the womb, seems to suggest that the momentum for giving priority to people over chemical company profits is growing.

How to Grow Organic Lettuce from Seed

About Lettuce

Lettuce can be grown practically anywhere. Lettuce it is a cool-season vegetable, with an ideal temperature of 50-60 degrees. It does poorly in hot weather, and is tolerant to some frost and light freezes. The leafy types mature quickly and are more suited for warm climates. Cos is also more heat tolerant. It will prefer a little shade during the warmer part of the season. It can be grown year round with proper varieties, and some additional winter protection. Lettuce will generally grow best in the spring and fall seasons.

 

Lettuce doesn't do well in very acidic soils, and some say the pH shouldn't be lower than 6.5. A rich, muck "celery" soil is excellent for lettuce, but the crop will also do well in average garden soil. The best crops are grown in soil that is deeply enriched with well-rotted manure and is well-fertilized before planting, especially with high nitrogen (leaf-stimulating) fertilizers such as 10-8-4, cottonseed meal, or blood meal.

Soil, Your Garden's Engine Room

Soil is the engine room of the garden and healthy soil will help the garden perform at its best. One of the most important things that gardeners can add to their soil is organic matter. Organic matter provides some fantastic benefits:

• Absorbs moisture like a sponge so helps to increase the water holding capacity of soil.
• Helps improve soil structure by binding mineral particles together and creating additional spaces for air and water and allowing easier root growth.
• Encourages earthworms and beneficial microorganisms which enrich the soil and help create plant available nutrients.

Yates Dynamic Lifter Organic Plant Food is pelletised composted manure so is an easy to use, concentrated source of organic matter. Dynamic Lifter is rich in organic nutrients to gently feed plants over several weeks and is also boosted with the goodness of blood and bone, fishmeal and seaweed.

What’s In a Number?

Confused about fertilizer numbers? What value do they have in organic gardening? A plant needs nutrients to survive. Most of these are provided by the soil, but soil varies tremendously in nutrient amounts, soil type, pH, and nutrient availability.

The three main nutrients that have been identified as absolutely necessary for plants are nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (K). These three are also known as macronutrients, and are the source of the three numbers commonly found on organic fertilizer labels. The numbers found on our All-Purpose Fertilizer, for example, are 5-5-5. This is the percentage by weight of the N, P, and K found in the fertilizer.

Grow Fresh Vegetables This Winter With a DIY Vertical Garden

If you’re craving your own fresh winter vegetables but don’t have the space for a garden, you’re in luck.Here are a few ways you can create your own vertical garden.You don’t need a lot of space for many winter plants. Though some plants, like broccoli and cauliflower, take a larger space and aren’t necessarily recommended for a vertical garden. However, spinach, lettuce and strawberries can be a great start to your new-found green thumb.There are a number of items sold at garden centers to help plant your vertical garden. Some felt hangers, much like shoe hangers, can be purchased. Hang your garden in an area where it’ll get plenty of sunlight, but where the harsh winter winds won’t do damage. The advantage to this garden – move it when a freeze is coming.

Organic Gardening Tips For Houseplants

              Provide your indoor plants with a modicum of care, and they will reward you by staying alive and healthy.

• Observe their “body language” so you can respond to problems (like wilting leaves) fast.

This Robot-Run Indoor Farm Can Grow 10 Million Heads Of Lettuce A Year

When a sprawling new "vegetable factory" opens near Kyoto, Japan in 2017, it will be the first farm with no farmers. Robots will plant lettuce seeds, transplant them, raise the vegetables, and automatically carry the fully-grown lettuce heads to a packing line, where they can get ready to be sent to local grocery stores.

In a single day, the farm can harvest 30,000 heads of lettuce. On a traditional farm, a field of the same size can grow about 26,000 plants—but only harvest two or four crops a season.

Spread, the Japanese company planning the factory, opened its first indoor farm in 2006, and already supplies lettuce to 2,000 stores around Tokyo. But it saw the opportunity to make its process even more efficient. It sees the new farm as a model for the future of farming.

"There are several reasons vegetable factories will be needed in the future in order to create a sustainable society," says Kiyoka Morita from Spread. Like other indoor farms, Spread's new factory uses far less water than traditional agriculture; the factory's new technology also allows them to recycle 98% of that water. Because the factory is sealed, there's no need for pesticides or herbicides. The ultra-efficient lighting system can run on renewable energy. Japan imports about 60% of its food each year, but the factory can supply it locally.

Finger Limes

The fruit of the Australian finger lime Citrus Australasia is sought after by top restaurants around the world. Often described as ‘lime caviar’ for its small bead-like crystals of tangy juice, it’s used to pep up drinks, in desserts, as a garnish and even to make marmalade. For the home gardener, it is also an attractive tree, growing to six meters, and its thorns provide a perfect habitat for small birds. It is native to the rain forests of south-east Queensland and north-east New South Wales, but will grow elsewhere.

 Planting schedule for warm, temperate and cool areas of Australia

Anytime except the height of summer when it can be too hard to make sure they get enough water.

Position

It is a good idea to protect trees from prevailing winds as the fruit can be damaged by the plant’s thorns. Finger limes thrive in dappled light as well as full sun. In cooler climates, a partly shaded north-facing site is preferred. They are able to withstand light frost.

Finger limes, along with other citrus, make good hedges and espalier well against fences and walls.

How to prevent organic food fraud

A growing number of consumers are willing to pay a premium for fruits, vegetables and other foods labelled "organic," but whether they're getting what the label claims is another matter. Now scientists studying conventional and organic tomatoes are devising a new way to make sure farms are labeling their produce appropriately. Their report, which appears in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, could help prevent organic food fraud.

The Benefits of Organic Gardening

Environmental and personal health are the two main benefits of organic gardening that are gaining popularity. Despite the misconceptions it is by far the best option for every aspect. Yup, it gets flack...mostly from companies who profit from the sludge they spray all over our food. But I'll address that below too.

The Health Benefits of Organic Gardening

Do you know that chemical pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers have been linked to:

•     Breast cancer
•     Damaged brain function
•     Birth defects
•     Parkinson's
•     Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
•     Miscarriages
•     Prostate cancer
•     Infertility
•     Childhood leukemia
•     Autism
•     Depression
•     And much, much more...