To Plant, To Grow, To Taste.............Organic Gardening.........

I am an avid Gardener and love being outside with the dirt, bugs, and worms creating my landscape.  I thoroughly enjoying seeing my new creations come to life growing and blooming - just like a picture.   Whats even better than that?  Watching your own fruits and vegetables growing!    

When growing your own food, you can choose to do it in a pot, and small area in your yard, or larger.  It is basically based on where you live, and how much you would like to grow.   Some neighbors have community gardens, in which they plant and maintain gardens together.  It can be very addicting, so be ready!   The only tools needed would be a pot & watering can if only having a few plants and indoors, packages of seeds, a shovel, rake and hose.  When finding a suitable place for your garden, look for a sunny spot.   If planting in the ground you will also need to make sure there is good drainage and you may need a fence, like chicken wire, or possibly a cover net, to protect from hungry birds and squirrels.

When planting in pots, you should buy ready-grown plants of sweet pepper, zucchinis, climbing beans, cherry tomatoes, strawberries, eggplant, or herbs.  You will want larger sized pots for blueberries, figs, peaches and apricots.  Make sure your pots have drainage underneath, and always check the plant labeling for soil and growing instructions.  Rich potting soil you can purchase, should be sufficient.

*When growing herbs in a pot, remember the proper way to enjoy them is to pick the amount you want, wash them and hang upside down.   When they are dry, you can store them in airtight containers (glass preferably) away from any sunlight or heat and enjoy within that year.

If you are planting in the ground for a fruit and vegetable garden, make sure your food groups are planted in ‘family' sections.  This means to group them when planting where they are with other vegetables or fruits who have the same feeding and growing schedules.    This will enable richer soil, and also control diseases and hungry pests.  What are some healthy Veggie Familys?

1.  Chives tend to have have a onion scent the helps deter aphids from sunflowers, fruits, carrots, and those hearty tomatoes.

2.  Onions, leeks and carrots can be planted together to protect against many pests.  These repel different flies and moths.

3.  Asparagus contains asparagin the repels tomato pests.

4.  Cucumbers and carrots also do well with radishes being planted close by.   For cucumbers, when radishes are harvested, they fill out the area.  For carrots, the radishes loosen the soil for carrots, and when the radishes are harvested, the carrots can fill out the area. 

5.  Peas, lupins and beans can fix nitrogen - they convert it by way of bacteria that live in roots.  This is wonderful for healthy plants.  Peas do well with carrots, radishes, cucumbers, lettuce, turnips and corn.

What about Fruits?  Many fruits tree's that thrive in a warmer tropical climate, can be purchased from nursery's and wholesalers.  This would include fruits such as orange, peach, grapefruit, and apricot tree's.  Once planted in a good location and rooted, the maintaining and growing process is simple. Like some vegetables, fruit trees and vines seem to benefit from being planted alongside herbs such as rosemary, thyme, sage, chives, and garlic. In addition to discouraging fruit destroying insects the herbs are believed to improve the flavor of the citrus.

I love berries and a good choice for gardeners who live in rainy climates is growing berries. Berries don't need pesticides or chemical fertilizers to grow as they are very hardy.  Here are a few tidbits with different berries:

- Black Berries  - A blackberry bush is very invasive, has suckers that spread far, long trailing branches and may be difficult to control.  They are yummy and are one of my favorite berries, but keep in mind a cultivated bush, may not have the sweetness of one that is allowed to grow extensively.

- Strawberries - You won't find better tasting strawberries than your own grown outside in the sunshine. They grow on the ground and thrive in places with lots of sun and are well-drained. 

- Raspberries - They grow on canes, so you will need to tie branches routinely and give them more care than other berries plants, but they will gift you with big crops and incredibly delicious fruit. Make sure not to plant them anywhere near any nightshade plants such as tomatoes, potatoes, peppers or eggplants. Don't even plant them in the soil that these plants have grown over the last few years because they will not thrive.

- Blueberries- There are many varieties of blueberries to choose from and some more flavorful than others. You have Highbush and Rabbiteye strains of blueberries.  These both have different types within their families too. If you live in a climate that is cool and has regular frosts, then Highbush types will be better for you to grow. If you live in a climate that has hot, dry summers and a heavy, less acidic soil, Rabbiteye varieties would grow better for you.

Myself being an avid Gardner, there is nothing more rewarding than growing my own fruits and vegetables.  The peaceful security of knowing I am not eating something that because of pesticides, might be more harmful than helpful. The pure enjoyment of seeing  my healthy crops, tree's and vines growing and flourishing.  Everyday being able to look at all the beautiful colors and then finally being able to walk out, pluck and taste the scrumptious flavors of my work.  

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