Posts Tagged ‘vegetable garden’

The Number of Vegetable Gardeners is on the Rise

Thursday, January 14th, 2010

There are 7 million more households involved in home vegetable gardening in 2009, compared to last year, says the National Gardening Association. Last year, home gardeners spent $2.5 billion on seeds, plants, fertilizer, supplies and garden tools to grow their own food. Given the investment, on average, a well-maintained home garden yields a $500 return. These findings come from the January 2009 Impact of Home and Community Gardening in American study, which surveyed 2,559 households.

So just who are all these new gardeners? “The demographics of today’s food gardening households include a broad cross-section of the U.S. population. There are few other outdoor activities where virtually every demographic group is so well represented, no matter what their age, education, income, marital status, household size, gender, or regional location,” concludes the NGA report.

The food gardening experience is enjoyed primarily by women (54%), those ages 45+ (68%), college students (43%) and married couples with no children at home (67%). The gardeners are pretty evenly spread across the South, Midwest, West and Northeast. Those making $35,000 - $49,999 in household income are the most common gardening group (24%), although many who make over $75,000 (22%), under $35,000 (21%) and between $50,000 and $74,999 (16%) are also represented.

Garden Landscape 101

Friday, October 16th, 2009

A garden landscape is a wonderful and relaxing place to be in away from the hassle and bustle of the noisy downtown. Garden landscaping is usually laid out in a large area but still some gardens are also made in limited space.

Formal Garden Landscaping was Popular in Europe during the Renaissance Era and in 1880s in the United States. Formal gardening landscape are made of geometric patterns that has boundaries that are defined by stone walkways, walls, hedges, fences, fountains, and statuary. Still Formal gardening landscape exists today in Botanical gardens and large estates. While the Modern/Domestic Garden landscape are the ones made on limited available space especially for people who live in urban areas. The following are the types of Garden landscaping that are widely use today which are the Organic, Herb, Roof, Vegetable, Rock, Water, Flower, and Public gardens.

Organic garden landscape nowadays is highly emphasize because it does not use artificial pesticides and fertilizers that can harm living things. In this garden landscape it only use biological fertilizers and pesticides to keep plants healthy.

Simple Herbs to Grow in Your New Herb Garden

Tuesday, August 12th, 2008

If you are just starting out in herb gardening for the first time, you may not be sure which herbs are best for your garden. Well, there are many herbs that you can choose from; however, there are some that are a bit harder to grow. The following are a few great simple herbs that you can easily grow, even if you are a beginner.

Parsley - A hardy, easy to grow herb is parsley. You can grow curly leaf and flat leaf parsley easily, and they grow wonderfully without you having to give them a whole lot of care. They do well in either light shade or full sun, and they prefer moist soil that is nice and rich. However, it’s important to note that parsley doesn’t do overly well in the heat.

Cilantro - Cilantro is used in many Spanish dishes and has a distinct flavor. This is an annual herb that grows well both in the shade and the sun. You’ll find that it is very easy to care for and it will grow pretty well in just about any type of climate.

How To Turn A Lawn Into A Vegetable Garden

Saturday, April 26th, 2008

Lawns may look good, but they are unproductive, require a lot of care, and are environmentally unfriendly due to the high use of pesticides and fertilizers necessary to maintain them. As even the White House has discovered, turning a lawn into an organic vegetable garden is a much better use for the land.

Oftentimes owners of a lawn would like to turn all or part of it into a nice organic vegetable garden, but they don’t because of the perceived workload, especially because they are put off by the idea of having to do all that ploughing. But there is a much easier way.

First, delimit the lawn area for your organic vegetable garden with some thread, or with chalk. You can make it as big as the White House veggie garden patch, thirty by thirty feet, or smaller. Water this area generously, making sure that the ground is thoroughly soaked.

Next you need to add an area of ground mulch that contains some slow-release nutrients. A good mix is half-finished compost, grass clippings from the lawn, manure, rock phosphate, and sand. Finish off by covering the whole area with four to five overlapping sheets of newspaper.

Organic Herbal Gardening In Small Apartments

Monday, February 4th, 2008

Having an organic herbal garden is a pleasant way to have an always-ready, fresh supply of delicious kitchen supplies at the ready. Your guests and family will be impressed by the fresh herbs, as well as the beautiful effect of the plants growing on your balcony or in your kitchen.

By growing organic herbs indoors, you will be able to enjoy out-of-season delicacies and not worry about a sudden spell of cold ruining your crop. Another great advantage is that you won’t need a huge amount of space; just a few pots will allow you to improve your cooking with fresh and free produce.

Regarding the herbs that you can use, most of the varieties that you can grow outdoors are also good indoors. There are many themes around which to plan indoor organic herbal gardening, and of course you can combine these. Here is an example.

For instance, for a fragrant note you can grow angelica, bergamot, catmint, chamomile, thyme, lavender, lemon balm, and mint. This organic herb garden is also a great organic air freshener, ideal for indoor gardens in small flats.

Save Space With Succession And Companion Crops

Thursday, January 31st, 2008

One way to save space is by means of succession crops. On our plan we use the letters “f.b.” meaning “followed by. For example, the first row at the west end of our garden this year will produce an early crop of peas to be followed by a late summer crop of beets and carrots. The earlier crop of beets and carrots will be grown near the middle of the garden where no succession crop will follow them because, by the time they have been pulled and eaten, the vines of the squash and muskmelon in the adjacent row will be spreading over the space they occupied.

Although it has not been shown on the plan, a third sowing of beets and carrots will probably follow either the potatoes or the earlier planting of sweet corn. Companion crops afford a third means of conserving space. They involve nothing more complicated than raising two or more crops simultaneously in the same row. The classic example practiced by many generations of our ancestors was growing pumpkins in the cornfield. In our plan, we intend to raise radishes between the cucumber plants.




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