Gardening Vegetables

Organic Ways to Rid a Vegetable Garden of Pests

Whether they’re the big, four-legged variety or from the creepy-crawly family, garden pests are a pain the butternut squash. Here are some quick and easy organic ways to rid a vegetable garden of pests and keep your vegetables healthy.

The Big Pests

Deer, rabbits, cats and similar may not be insects but they can do a real number on your vegetable garden. To get of these guys try:

Installing chicken wire around the perimeter of your garden. You’ll need it fairly high to keep deer out and buried at least two to three feet below ground to keep the rabbits at bay.
Scatter human hair around your garden. You can get this at your local salon (just tell them what it’s for and they may collect it for you to pick up). Men’s hair with no hair products works best, as it has more “human” scent on it instead of hairspray and such.
Buy some bottled coyote urine and squirt it at the perimeter of your garden. Yucky but effective.
Orange peels are said to repel cats so lay some of these around the garden to avoid digging up “surprises” left by your local feline.

Creepy Crawlers

They may be small but they can chew through your vegetables in pretty short order. Here are some organic ways to rid your vegetable garden of insects:

Encourage toads and snakes to move in. Yeah, they may creep you out, but they’re hungry little buggers and they’ll eat away your problems. Leave empty plant pots lying on their side or build a rock garden with crevice for your hungry pals near your garden. Build it and they will come—and eat.
Make a mixture of pureed hot peppers or garlic and dilute it with water. Spray this on your vegetables to ward off insects
Plant marigolds. Bugs hate them. Enough said.
Plant cilantro or sweet alyssum in with your vegetables to invite ladybugs to come a calling. Ladybugs have voracious appetites and will make short work of an aphid infestation in no time.

Getting rid of vegetable garden pests doesn’t mean having to break out the harsh chemicals. Use what nature herself invented and you’ll have safe and healthy vegetables without any chemical side effects.

Join me next time for a list of quick, but helpful, vegetable gardening tips.

Until Next Time—go plant something tasty!

How to Install Landscape Edging Around Your Garden

Using landscape edging around the perimeter of your garden is both aesthetic and practical. The edging gives a defined and visually pleasing boarder for your garden and also helps keep grass and weeds from your surrounding lawn from creeping into your vegetable garden.
Here’s a quick guide to installing your own landscape edging:

1. Remove any weeds or roots from your garden that may get in the way of your edging.
2. Loosen your garden’s soil and dig a 6-inch deep trench around the perimeter of your vegetable garden.
3. Set the landscape edging into the trench and trim to fit the length of the trench, if needed. A serrated bread knife works well.
4. If your garden is longer than one roll of landscape edging use the provided connectors to piece together multiple rolls of edging.
5. Use the provided stakes to secure your edging into the ground.
6. Fill in your trench with the soil you dug up until only the top third of the edging is visible above the ground.
7. Tamp down on the loose soil with your foot to secure the edging. Give the soil around the edging a good watering to further compact the soil.
And that’s how to install landscape edging around your garden. It’s a quick, afternoon project but it will make a big difference to the look of your vegetable garden.
Join us next time when we reveal organic ways to get rid of unwanted garden pests.

Until then—go plant something tasty!

Tackling Those Fall Garden Chores

photo courtesy of Flickr and theothermonalisa

The dog days of summer are over and now you can sit on your butt and relax, right? Not so fast. Before you snuggle in for a long winter you’ve got some fall garden chores to tackle. Taking some time to prep your garden in the fall will mean better soil awaits you in the spring.

Pick the Stranglers

Quite often you’ll have some vegetables, such as tomatoes or peppers, on the vine that haven’t ripened yet. With fall’s diminished hours of sunlight they’re not likely to complete the task, either. Pick them all, place them in a paper bag, and store them somewhere cool and dark in your house—they’ll ripen up in no time.

Ready Your Soil

Remove all the remaining vegetable plants in your garden to make way for next year’s crop. If possible, put them in your compost bin and they’ll make a great soil nutrient when doing next fall’s garden chores.

The fall is actually the best time to fertilize your garden for two reasons. One—you never have to worry about the fertilizer coming in direct contact with your plants and burning them and, two, the fertilizer will have all winter to slowly break down in your vegetable garden’s soil and create a nutrient-rich growing environment for your young plants next spring.

Before fertilizing your soil you should always do a soil test to determine the exact pH level of your soil. What you used last year may not be what your soil needs now, so always double check in order to achieve a balanced pH. Once you know your soil’s pH level add the required fertilizer and/or a little of that lovely compost you’ve been brewing.

Last, but certainly not least, show your garden tools some love. Wash the dirt off everything, dry them well and store them in a safe place for next year. If anything needs replacing, now’s a good time to have a look as gardening supplies are likely on sale in the fall.

There you have it—a short, but necessary, fall garden chore checklist. You’ll be glad you took the time to do it now so all that’s left in the spring is planting those yummy new veggies.

Join us next time when we’ll show you how to install stone garden edging. This is another great fall project that you’ll be glad you tackled before spring arrives.

Until next time—go plant something tasty!

How to Grow Vegetables in Containers

photo courtesy of Flickr and Thomas Pix

If you haven’t tried to grow vegetables in containers you may want to rethink that after reading this article. There are many reasons why container gardening is becoming so popular. Thos with little to no yard, who were once left out in the cold as far as vegetable gardening, can now grow a few fresh veggies right on their patio. You may also want to grow vegetables in containers if you live in an area cursed with heavy, clay soil or if you get early and long winters and want the option for bringing a few veggies and herbs inside when it gets cold.

Getting Started

Your first step is to get some containers. These can be large, built-in, wooden planters, or various sized plant pots. Just keep in mind that if you want the option to bring your vegetables or herbs inside for the winter the pot can’t be so big and heavy that, when filled with soil, it becomes immobile.

Next you need to buy your vegetables or herbs. Look for smaller versions of your favorite vegetables so they’ll fit into these containers—many of the standard vegetables have been “bred down” in size for this very purpose. Also, just about every kind of herb will grow well in a container or pot. Simply ensure the pot is large enough to accommodate your plant at maturity and give enough room for it to develop a healthy root system.

Planting Vegetables in Containers

Now that you’ve got your pot and your plants you need to fill said pots with a good quality top soil, compost or a mixture of the two. Add any necessary fertilizers your vegetables or herbs may need and plant according to that plant’s specific directions (which should be included with your young plant or seeds).

All that’s left is to plant your vegetables or herbs and water them well. Keep in mind that you’ll probably have to water more frequently than you would with a traditional garden, as there’s less soil to hold the moisture. Just be sure not to over water your plants. You want most vegetables’ soil to remain moist, but not soggy and you should let your herb’s soil dry out completely between watering to encourage the production of their essential oils, which is responsible for the taste and flavor of the herb.

By now you can probably see why container gardening is such a hit. You can use containers exclusively, or as a supplemental system in conjunction with your traditional gardening. I like to keep my herbs in containers so I can bring them in when it gets cold and enjoy their flavor all year round.

Join us next time when we’ll discuss your fall garden chore checklist. How to prepare your garden, in the fall, for the upcoming winter months.

Until then—go plant something tasty!

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