Growing Organic Gardens

Perfect Small Bucket Carrot Garden

LIST OF MATERIALS YOU NEED TO MAKE A SEED SPROUTING TRAY

Why Lettuce and Tomatoes Make Great Companion Plants

Companion planting is a gardening technique where certain plants are grown together to benefit each other in various ways. Lettuce and tomatoes are classic examples of companion plants that thrive when grown together. Here’s why:

1. Efficient Use of Space

• Reason: Lettuce is a low-growing plant with shallow roots, while tomatoes are tall, with deep roots. This difference in growth habit allows them to occupy different levels of the soil, making efficient use of space both above and below ground.
• Benefit: You can maximize your garden’s yield by growing two crops in the same area, allowing for more variety in a limited space.

Mosquitoes are not just annoying; they can also carry diseases that are harmful to our health. Fortunately, nature has provided us with a variety of plants that not only beautify our gardens but also help repel mosquitoes. Below is a list of 12 plants that can help keep these pests away, along with tips on how to grow them, the conditions they need, and how to prepare the ground.

Perfect Small Bucket Carrot Garden

Home-grown carrots offer a variety of nutritional benefits, making them a valuable addition to a healthy diet. Carrots are rich in beta-carotene, an antioxidant that the body converts into vitamin A.

This nutrient is essential for good vision, a healthy immune system, and proper cell growth. Carrots are an excellent source of dietary fiber, which helps to maintain digestive health, regulate blood sugar levels, and reduce cholesterol.  In addition to vitamin A, carrots provide significant amounts of vitamins K, C, and B6, as well as potassium. Vitamin K is important for blood clotting and bone health, while vitamin C boosts the immune system and aids in the absorption of iron.

A microgreens grow light box kit is a fantastic addition to anyone's health regimen. This DIY grow box not only offers a way to enhance your diet with a rich source of nutrient-dense vegetation but is also versatile enough to be used for a variety of seed-starting plants. By teaching people how to build their own grow box, we empower them to cultivate fresh, healthy greens at home, ensuring they have access to nutritious food year-round.

Gardening in temperate climates offers a wonderful opportunity to grow a wide variety of vegetables throughout the year. By selecting the right plants for each season and following best practices for planting and care, you can enjoy a continuous harvest. Here’s a guide to help you plan your vegetable garden year-round:

When embarking on the journey of gardening, there are crucial elements to grasp for a successful and rewarding experience. Understanding the foundational principles can make the difference between thriving plants and frustrating setbacks. From soil health to proper watering techniques, here are the ten most vital things to know as you begin your gardening adventure.

Exploring cost-effective methods for constructing an outdoor greenhouse on a budget can offer an enjoyable and fulfilling experience. Below, you'll find a variety of inexpensive greenhouse construction ideas that enable you to fashion your own plant haven without straining your finances. From utilizing recycled materials to embracing innovative designs, these suggestions empower you to embark on a greenhouse project that not only saves money but also nurtures your gardening ambitions.

How to Harvest Lettuce Seeds

Autumn presents a wonderful opportunity to collect seeds from your garden for future spring planting. Discover a simple method to harvest lettuce seeds, ensuring a bountiful supply for next year's planting. By delicately extracting the seed pods and storing them in a cool, dry container, you can sustain your lettuce garden with fresh, homegrown seeds. I've personally relied on this approach for over five years, eliminating the need to continuously purchase lettuce seeds each season.

For more information on the best seed starter kits selling on Amazon you can also checkout our blog article below:

Best Seed Starter Kits
https://www.greenlivingoffgrid.com/our-store/best-seed-starter-trays/

Starting Seeds in Early Spring

Purchasing a simple seed starter tray to germinate seeds for your garden early in the year can be a great way to boost your  vegetation growth to ensure a bountiful harvest later in the season. A few of the durable starter tray kits that I have used are listed below:

• Park Seed BioDome Seed Starter Tray - This grow kit provides a water reserve below the seed tray that allows the roots of your seeds to grow down through the seed pods to aid the transplanting process.  Although it is sold with a 60-cell, 40-cell and 18-cell seed planting blocks, my preference is the 40-cell because that size accommodates both small and large seeds.
• Growfriend Seed Starter Tray - Great option for an all-in-one grow kit with a heat mat, lights and grow tray
• Verdenu Seed Starter Trays - 10 pack of small, simple seed starter trays, perfect size to organize a variety of seedling starts.
• Best Seed Starter Trays with Lights - Amazon's best selling seed starter kits

The following step-by-step guide will help you successfully start your seeds indoors:

Whether you are dealing with a chilly spring morning or watching the weather turn cooler during the fall and winter months, an outdoor fire pit can provide the warmth and comfort you need to enjoy your outdoor patio garden longer.  They can also help to extend your garden season if you have a shelter like a greenhouse or back deck nearby benefiting from the heat generated by your patio fire pit. There are many advantages to a gas firepit over a wood firepit.

First they are easy to start and extinguish with the flip of a switch or a simple ignition system. They can be controlled and adjusted easily, allowing you to regulate the flame height and heat output as desired, and there's no need to gather, stack, or ignite wood, making them more convenient for quick and hassle-free fires.

How Can You Incorporate Thistles In Your Home Garden?

While thistles are often considered weeds by some due to their ability to spread rapidly and take over areas, yet they can actually offer several benefits if placed under controlled conditions in your garden.  Thistles provide a critical home for the young larvae of the painted butterfly as well as other insects that are beneficial to garden plants.  So before you use grab your weed controlling tools to irradicate them, you might want to consider how you can incorporate them in your garden design. Here are some of the potential benefits of having thistles in your garden:

Finding the best container for best container for planting strawberries involves considering several factors to ensure the plants thrive.  Since strawberries are prone to root rot, it is important to find a strawberry planter that allows for good drainage.  You will also want to fill the container with loosely packed potting soil to prevent roots from getting too compacted in the soil.  Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you choose the right strawberry garden beds:

Creating a raised garden bed is an excellent way to grow plants with improved soil drainage, better control over soil quality, and reduced weed growth. Raised Garden Beds come in a variety of shapes and sizes.  Some have tiers with higher levels to provide deeper soil depth for larger plants, while other raised garden beds are all one level.  It's your choice to see which style best fits your gardening needs.

Hail can be a significant threat to plants, causing damage to leaves, stems, and even fruits. While it's challenging to completely prevent hail damage, there are measures you can take to minimize its impact on your plants. Here are some strategies to consider:

Quick Hail Prevention for Baby Plants

Another way to help prevent hail damage is to choose plants that are naturally more resilient to hail. Look for varieties that have smaller or more flexible leaves, or those with thicker foliage that can provide some protection. Additionally, consider planting taller and sturdier plants around more vulnerable ones to act as a shield.

Building a Garden Watering Grid

Garden vegetables can be fun to grow and harvest, but when drought hits your region, watering can turn into nightmare, especially if your plants are large.  Deep watering is most important with fruiting vegetables as light watering cannot penetrate the soil deep enough to saturate the roots of these vegetables.  If left to a light sprinkle once a day, your fruit will crack, form brown or yellow spots or dry up with tip rot.  All these are the signs of nutrient or water deficiency that can be prevented with a deep watering system like our Garden watering grid.  Because the watering wand separates easily from the watering grid, this system is weather and wind resistant and can be easily and quickly winterized without the  use of an air pressure tank.  You can learn how to build a Garden Watering Grid by signing up for our video course at the links below.

Growing Black Raspberry Bushes

If you know anything about regular Red Raspberries, they tend to take over gardens, but not with Black Raspberries.

Growing Carrots the Easy Way

Carrots are easy to grow if your soil is soft and rich in nutrients.  If your soil isn't prepared properly, your carrots will come out thin and spindly as they won't be able to expand well if your soil is too dense.

Strawberries are some of most delicious berries you can grow in your vegetable garden. If you prepare your soil beds with heavy organic or manure compost, and plant the strawberry crowns 4 to 6 inches apart, you will be able to grow strawberries perennially from year to year.

Growing Zucchini and Protecting Against Hail Damage

Zucchini is one of the hardiest crops you can grow as it can handle a variety of weather conditions and pests.  With prolific growth and prickly leaves, pests find zucchini leaves less desirable than other garden vegetables.  Yet, hail is one menace to zucchini that can eradicate whole crops of zucchini and vegetables alike if it strikes during the young seedling stage when all gardens are most tender.  Here in the mountain conditions of Colorado, we have found that a simple metal basket and/or garden netting placed over the seedlings for the first month of growth can make all the difference in the protecting against the early spring hail storms we often receive.

Planting Squash and Zucchini

Learn how to start zucchini and squash seeds indoors for an early start in your organic garden using Park seed's Bio Dome seed starter system. I'll show you the proper spacing for zucchini seedlings in your garden and how to water them effectively through the growing season.

How to Start Potatoes

Potatoes are a great crop to grow in containers. If you plant spouted potatoes in early spring, they will grow quickly, beginning to provide potatoes in as early as 2 to 3 months. Learn how to start potatoes in container garden trash cans.

Planting Peas in Garden Soil

Peas are a great addition to any organic garden. They are easy to plant and grow with just a little support. Since peas are a cool weather crop, they grow well in summer in higher elevations and are best grown in late winter or early spring in warmer climates. In this video, I show you how to plant peas around the base of tomato cages which I am using to support the plants as they grow.

Enriching your garden soil with fresh manure or compost in the winter will greatly enhance the growth of your flowers and vegetables in the Spring. With the harsh winter snows we have here in Colorado (4-5 feet deep snow over my garden beds), I find that a 4-6 inch layer of fresh manure on top of my soil will decompose during the winter, providing a thick layer of mulch by springtime to reduce weeds in my garden next summer. In warmer climates, such as zone 6-8, you may want to cover your beds with a layer of clover, pea, vetch, rye, or oats plants which will keep the weeds down over winter and help to maintain soil nutrients and hydration over the winter. 

Potatoes are easy to store over the winter. If your soil is isn't too clumpy, you can easily bush them off prior to storage, or if you wish to wash them, just make sure that you dry them well before you place them in an open storage bin or box. To allow for proper "curing" (drying) of any damage done to the potatoes while harvesting, keep them for a minimum of two weeks in temperatures that are approximately 55-65 F degrees and humidity between 85-95 percent. After the damages have properly "cured," they can be moved to storage areas as low as 35-40 F degrees with moderate humidity and excellent ventilation which will allow them to stay fresh for up to 8 months.

Digging potatoes up from the ground can be a difficult process, especially when the native ground we have in our area consists of a mix of clay and granite. Not only is container gardening with a mix of potting soil and organic waste a lot easier to work with when it comes to harvesting potatoes, it also provides them with more room to grow because the potato roots do not have to fight against the compact soil of native Colorado Rocky Mountain soil.