Spring Around the Corner

The last weekend in February, and I'm looking at seed catalogs and gardening magazines! The first day of spring is 21 days away, but I can get a head start on my summer garden, even in fickle Colorado, with a couple of easy steps.

First I'm going to take stock in the state of my trees and shrubbery. We haven't had any BIG or heavy snows (comparatively), but I know there's some winter 'kill' out there that should be attended to while they are still dormant. This will reduce the chances of disease and bugs from entering the cuts. We're supposed to have sixty degree weather this week, so it should be a perfect time to stroll around the yard and do some trimming.

The second thing that I'm going to do is that while I'm walking in the garden, I'll be wearing Lawn Aerator Shoesto aerate the lawn. These will help air and moisture get to the roots of the grass for a good head start on the growing season.

The third thing I'm going to do this month is check the soil in my garden and designate an area where I can sow some cool-season vegetable seeds. As soon as the soil can be worked I'm going to toss down some spinach, lettuce and Swiss chard seeds right into the garden. Peas and radishes can also be sown at this time, as all these plants will survive frost and flourish in chilly weather. And since my soil has so much clay, even though I've been amending my garden soil with compost for years, I may opt for sowing these vegie seeds in my raised garden bed. Another option for those of you out there who do not have raised beds is growing spring crops in large containers. Salad days, here we come!

Fall Cover Crops for Better Spring Soil

With a good 1 to 2 inch layer of organic compost over your garden bed, and a cover crop of green manure planted from seed in the fall, you will be on your way to improving your garden soil for next year's planting. Sown from seed, cover crops germinate very quickly and will grow all winter long. Then simply till the cover crop in once it flowers in spring. The cover crop's foliage will help protect the soil from getting compacted, which can happen in constant winter rain or from blanketing of snow. And when you till it in, the foliage adds organic material that will improve soil structure, increase nutrients and help your soil retain moisture.

Plants in the the legume family, commonly known as the pea family, bean family or pulse family, include soybean, alfalfa, vetch or fava beans. These are some of the best cover crops available (check online seed companies and nurseries). Legume plants are special in that they will retain nutrients that will then be returned to the soil when tilled in, thereby providing nutrients for your spring and summer crops next year. These crops have assertive root systems, which are helpful in breaking up hard soils. They are also very hardy and frost tolerant.

Cover crop seeds can be broadcast in mid-October right over that one to two inch layer of compost and all around the fall crops that are currently growing in your garden. Fall cover crops will grow quickly and reduce weed problems, but won't grow tall enough to overwhelm existing plantings.

Making organic compost for your fall cover crop is easy with tumbling composters. Look for models with more than one section inside: one for new compostable materials and one section for completed compost. If you live where there are temperature extremes, consider one of the Jora tumbling composting machines. They are manufactured in Sweden, and insulated to withstand temperature extremes.
Happy Composting!

Preparing for Winter - Reviewing Your Garden Journal

I wrote in June about keeping a Garden Journal, which might include a map of your garden, what was planted and where, how often it was watered, even details about amounts of sunlight it received and the temperatures it experienced. Written down should also be information on the yields you've experienced from your vegetables, what you liked and what you weren't so crazy about. These bits of information can help you prepare your garden for winter.

Preparing your garden for the winter should include planning for next year. It doesn't have to be exact, but a general idea can help you decide where to put the bulk of your compost. Plants should be grown in different areas of the garden every year, most especially tomatoes, as they absorb different nutrients from the soil. But most will benefit from a fresh place in the garden. Plants that need more fertilizer and water should be grouped together for most effective use of both; an example would be peppers and tomatoes; squash and beans.

After pulling up annuals and weeding, the next step is a good layer of compost to condition the soil for next spring's planting. Our tumbling composters have been busily making nutrient rich organic compost all spring and summer, so we have plenty of compost to spread around. We'll put down a two inch deep layer of compost to enrich the soil and act as a mulch, conserving moisture and reducing the odd winter weed. We use our Fold-A-Cart to get the compost where it's needed. It's pretty easy to park our Fold-A-Cart under the compost machine, dump the compost in and wheel it to wherever in the garden we need it. This cart is especially nice because it is so easy to clean up afterwards, and it has two ten-inch pneumatic rubber tires that give it a great center of gravity and prevent tipping like our old wheelbarrow used to want to do. When we're done spreading the compost layer, we'll give everything a good soaking to provide the moisture that our garden worms need in order to do their jobs. Another spray with the hose and the Fold-A-Cart is ready to be folded down to 20% of its usable size and hung in the garage.

Even though I still have lots of vegetables in my garden (the warm weather still hangs on!): tomatoes, beets, beans, chard and spinach, I'll be updating my garden journal this weekend on what worked in the garden and where I need to move things next year. When we finally do get cold weather, all the refuse from the garden will go back into the tumbling composters to help make more compost for the spring planting.
Happy Composting!

The Benefits of Nurturing Your Soil

Nuturing your soil by adding organic matter is the number one foundation of gardening the organic way. Adding organic nutrients to the soil simulates what happens naturally. One of the best ways to provide organic nutrients to the soil is by adding mature compost.
This critical step to growing food organically by maintaining a supply of nutrients ready for your plants to take up as they need them is easy to do with a tumbling composter. Just add your organic kitchen scraps, yard refuse and BiOWiSH™ Compost Boost to your tumbling composter, give it a turn or two and plan where you'll be using the wonderful, rich compost that will result. Using organic compost, your plants will grow healthy and vigorously, which helps prevent attacks of pest and disease. You will also enjoy larger yields and quicker growing times.
Some of the other benefits from nurturing your soil with organic compost include:
1. It will improve the ability of your soil to retain moisture
2. Compost releases nutrients evenly and slowly
3. Your soil's microbiological activity will increase
4. Improved conditions and structure of your soil will mean a better environment for earthworms and healthy micro-organisms
5. It helps dispose of your organic waste
6. It reduces the loads on landfills
7. Composting will also reduce your water consumption

A tumbling composter will provide you with the above benefits and a continual supply of organic compost with which you can nurture your soil and plants. It's easy, healthful and cost effective, too. Stop by www.BestComposters.com and pick out a composter that will fit your budget and your gardening needs! Happy Composting!

Readying the Garden for Fall

This was the perfect weekend for preparing my garden for fall. Today's temperature hovered around 70 degrees, with a little breeze and the bluest sky. I've harvested the lettuce and the beets, and a bush bean that hadn't done so well. Now I have room and cooler temperatures to allow for some more spinach and chard. But the soil looks like it needs a lift. It's a good thing that we've been composting all summer, putting into our tumbling composter all our kitchen scraps, some shredded newspaper and alittle hay. Now I have plenty of organic compost to amend my garden soil. As a mulch, it will retain moisture, so I can water less. It will also keep down the weeds that have sprouted up so prolifically in my walkways and rocks this year. Need I mention the nutrients that my organic compost will provide to the vegetables I'll plant? I can hardly wait for some fresh spinach salads!

I'm convinced that the biggest reason that we've been so successful with our composting is because we've used BiOWiSH™ Compost Boost regularly. It's kept the temperature of the compost at a regular 130 degrees to allow the organic matter to decompose at just the right rate. With all it's powerful enzymes, BiOWiSH™ Compost Boost has also prevented the odors that sometimes accompany compost. It doesn't mask the odor, but actually digests it.

Check our website for a variety of tumbling composters, paying particular attention to the Jora models for year round composting. And don't forget to order some BiOWiSH™ Compost Boost for your own compost piles for faster, better smelling, 100% organic compost for your garden. Happy Composting!

Container Gardening

With times as they are in this economy, having vegetables and herbs grown at home can really stretch a budget. I’ve been spending a lot less at the grocery this summer with the produce from my garden as a supplement. We’re fortunate to have room in our yard to have a sizable garden, but you can grow your own fresh organic vegetables in containers very easily.

I like to set up a drip irrigation system for my container garden, ala my husband, since plants do much better if they are on a set watering schedule. We feed them regularly, as well, and nip off dead or yellowed leaves. I recommend tomatoes in sunny locations, whether upright or hanging ones. There are so many different types of tomatoes you can choose from, too, and a plethora of recipes that can accommodate this versatile veggie.

Some of the benefits to container gardening, aside from the fresh produce are:
- bugs and slugs are virtually non-problematic
- weeds are usually not a problem either
- you can have as many as you can fit or as few as you want to deal with
- almost anything can be used as a planting container, as long as it holds soil and has adequate drainage
- potting soil can be used with confidence, since they have the proper pH balance
- containers can be brought indoors when the weather turns cold so you can prolong your growing season
- container gardening beautifies your patio, porch or balcony with color and foliage
- even small, tight spaces like as window sills and steps can be utilized to grow herbs
- they love the compost that you've, hopefully, been making!
Happy Composting!

What to Do About Powdery Mildrew on Squash Leaves

There seems to be a lot of 'talk' on gardening websites about this common problem, but not many folks have a sure fire answer about what to do when your zucchini, yellow squash and cucumber plants develop a white, powdery mildew on their leaves. Some gardeners have said that it's a natural occurrence as temperatures begin to drop. Others say not to plant too closely together, as overcrowding can lead to the fungus. Still others have said their plants just develop this at the end of the season, so they do nothing.

Here in the Denver area we've had pretty steady high temps...fortunately for my veggies, but unfortunately for me! And I certainly hope that mid-August isn't to be considered close to the end of the growing season! Can't do anything about overcrowding at this point, unless I just want to get rid of otherwise healthy and productive plants. So my husband and I decided to try a product from BiOWiSH™ that is newly available in the US: BiOWiSH™ Crop. As always, we strive to make our gardening 100% organic, and so we're happy to be able to use BiOWiSH™ products because they're all 100% organic and environmentally safe. Some of the benefits of Crop include:
•Increases nutrient availability
•Reduces habitat for fungal spores
•Improves yields
•Improves plant health
•Increases total number of crops per annum
•100% natural and biodegradable
•Non-toxic and chemical-free
We saw a huge difference within 24 hours! The Powdery Mildew was almost completely gone. And we've got lots of lovely flowers on the plants, which I hope will turn into even lovelier zucchini and yellow squash...since I haven't made a single batch of zucchini bread yet!
Happy Composting!

It's Been A While

I took some time off from blogging to attend to chores and a project that took many more hours than I'd planned for. But it's done and I'm back to write about the second planting!
Our lettuces did splendidly and we've been enjoying them with our meals. I wish that I could plant more at this time, but the heat of summer isn't conducive to new lettuce sprouts. Instead I planted more snap peas,green beans, spinach and beets. (The first planting of beets are doing well, and I am so tempted to pick and eat the greens! But you know how it is with greens...it takes a lot to make a meal, so I'll wait a while and build anticipation.) We've tried an experiment which I will duly note in my garden journal. Hubby suggested that I lay the seeds on top of the soil and cover them with compost. I'm confident that the rich, warm organic compost that we've been making will provide an excellent medium for seedlings to prosper.
And speaking of compost, it is NOT too late to get a batch started for your fall planting! Our Jora composters can turn your table scraps and yard waste into usable compost all year long. These composters are fully insulated and enclosed, allowing the microorganisms to break down your composting materials into a rich soil amendment that will nourish your plants continually. Compost is useful worked into the soil and as a mulch. My roses and clematis seem to have appreciated the compost mulch and started blooming like crazy!
So there is no reason to wait on that tumbling composter purchase. Take a look at the different sizes and models of Jora Composters at www.BestComposters.com. Happy Composting!

Keeping a Gardening Journal

Successful organic vegetable gardening doesn't happen by accident. The three "P's" are essential to the process: planning, preparation and persistence.

You will enjoy higher yields and better results over the years by paying attention and keeping track of what works and what doesn't work in your garden. It's one of the things I love about organic gardening - it's a continual learning process. Some of the success in your garden depends on factors outside our control, like the date of the last frost, how much or little rain falls, extreme weather, temperatures and infestations. Yes, and a certain amount of luck. But we can do a little research to find out what grows successfully in our region, and so control what we plant. We can also have a lot of impact on the quality of our soil by testing and amending it, or by using raised beds and pots.

A vital element of organic gardening is maintaining a good supply of nutrients for your plants to take up as they need them. We provide nutrients organically to the soil by adding compost, mulch, green manure cover crops, mature or well composted animal manures, or mixed organic fertilizer. In this way, your vegetables will grow robustly, which will help deter pests and diseases. And having healthy plants will also provide you with bigger yields and faster maturing plants.

When you have a list of plants that typically do well in your region and growing season, and have tested and amended your soil to provide those plants with the nutrients they need, I suggest keeping that information in a gardening journal. Record what you plant, where in the garden it's planted, when and how. Add an entry whenever you need to in order to record what's happening in the garden. Next year refer back to that journal and see what worked, what didn't, and hopefully, why.
Happy Composting!