by Ned Conwell

Anyone who has ever grown a vegetable garden will agree that pests can do horrible things. The plants we were hoping would produce beautiful fruit or flowers end up having big holes in the leaves, mold growing all over the plant or sometimes they simply disappear. All that hard work ruined can entice anyone to use pesticides. But there is no reason to use them in your family’s home garden. Rather, organic pest control can easily solve garden challenges.

Organic gardeners view plant protection in a holistic way. Pest problems are not isolated attacks but disruptions of a garden ecosystem. Working within the garden ecosystem is the key to organic pest control. First and foremost, organic practices focus on building and maintaining the fertility of the soil and growing healthy plants that are better able to withstand pests. Healthy soil equals healthy plants. (more…)

by Cindy Kerschner

Spring is here! Like most gardener’s I’m automatically drawn to the outdoors. But before venturing outside, I survey my yard from a warm vantage point. My favorite survey spot is my kitchen window. From there at this time of year, I can see trees and shrubs which are my “plantation foundation”.

I don’t really have a plantation, but the view from inside your home is one aspect to consider when planning your landscape needs. Early spring is the best time to assess any changes you want to make in the foundation of your plantation.

Healthy landscapes start with healthy foundation plants. It is impossible to tell a tree or shrub to stick out its tongue and say, “Ahhhh”, but we can do the next best thing. We can practice preventive medicine by putting a suitable plant in a proper location. (more…)

by Cindy Kerschner

Take a deep breath in. Hold it. Hold it. Now let it out. Phew! Carbon dioxide in. Oxygen out. Don’t panic. I’m talking to my Philodendron.

We spend a lot of time indoors and often with the doors and windows closed. There is little exchange of fresh air. Along with our loved ones we share the inside atmosphere with chemicals such as formaldehyde and benzene found in everyday items like pressed wood and fiberboard furniture, plastics, cleansers and personal care products. Fortunately we also share the air with our houseplants.

During photosynthesis there is a constant exchange of gases through the plant leaves. A plant absorbs everything in the air and filters out what it needs to survive. Some of the byproducts travel through the plant and are stored in the stems or released through the roots into the ground. (more…)

by Cindy Kerschner

Every Valentine’s Day we agonize over getting the perfect gift for our special someone. So how should we express our love? Candy? Jewelry? Dinner and a movie? If you can’t decide which gift to pick that communicates you’re true feelings, why not let plants decide for you?

I’m not suggesting you should walk up to a maple tree and ask its opinion. I’m talking about using Floriography, which is also known as the “language of flowers”.
Throughout the ages, men and women have used flowers as symbols to convey love, faith, grief, congratulations, remorse and even as warnings of danger. (more…)

by Cindy Kerschner

I have busy neighbors. They seem to work 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Some of them are in the construction business, others in waste removal or development. These engineers really understand complex science and chemistry. Did I mention that my neighbors live underground? They are part of an ecosystem maintained through organic gardening.

We have all heard of organic gardening, but what exactly does that term mean? Gardening organically in its purest form means we adopt a set of guidelines that incorporate the following principles:

• We’re all in this together. Anything we do to our yard and garden not only affects our health and well-being, but the health and well-being of other living creatures. What we put in as well as what we take out has an impact on the soil, water and air. (more…)
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  by Cindy Kerschner
  

  Someone painted pictures on my
  Windowpane last night –
  Willow trees with trailing boughs
  And flowers, frosty white,
  And lovely crystal butterflies;
  But when the morning sun
  Touched them with its golden beams,
  They vanished one by one.

  When I read this quote from Jack Frost by Helen Bayley Davis, I envision a beautiful but colorless winter landscape. Shades of winter don’t need to be limited to white, brown, black and green. There is an alternative to add drops of color to your winter landscape. Consider planting fall or winter bearing fruit. (more…)

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  by Ned Conwell

  The first step in designing a vegetable garden is choosing a site. The garden should be as close to the kitchen as possible. Making frequent trips to cut greens or harvest fresh herbs makes sense when the garden is as close as possible. Choose a site with a lot of sunlight. Most vegetables need a minimum of six hours of sun and eight hours is even better.

  Soil is an essential component of your garden. It is the building block of all that is to come. Annual vegetables need rich soil with lots of organic matter. If your soil is loose and fertile already, keep it that way. If you are gardening in a depleted soil or in a yard that had its topsoil scraped away when the house was built then you will have to build your soil.

  Now that you have a site in mind, it’s time to choose vegetables and varieties. The most important things to grow are your favorite kitchen ingredients. Look for varieties that grow well in your climate. The Sunset Western Garden Book, by Sunset Books gives useful climate information organized by growing zone. (more…)

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