Tips for good garden design and landscaping

Good creative skills are essential for the specialised fields of garden design and landscaping. Consequently, it is important to have a comprehensive understanding of the industry and be able to apply acquired skills in a theoretical and practical manner. Lifestyle Learning Direct, one of the Gold Coast’s premier online learning and correspondence course providers, suggests that in order to be a good garden designer or landscaper you need to be able to:

Evaluate a design project, have a clear understanding of a designer’s role, and be able to conduct a meeting with a client.

Be knowledgeable about the historical influences on modern garden design.

Be able to identify the various ‘hard’ components of landscaping and design, such as garden structures and walls, fences and gates.

Have a good general knowledge about soils and plants, and other landscaping products such as compost, gravel, sleepers, pavers, cement, sand, rock and slate, and so on.

Be familiar with the pricing structure of various landscaping supplies.

Have had practical experience in several areas of landscape design and its allied industries, such as nurseries and landscaping supply yards.

Have an awareness of different styles of gardens, as well as lighting and water features and the various types of surfacing materials available for use in garden design.

Be knowledgeable about earthworks involved in landscaping and design.

Have a broad knowledge on the basics of starting a business, business plans, market analysis and ongoing management.

How can you become a better Garden Designer and Landscaper?

To gain professional garden design and landscaping proficiency, it is best to undertake a specialised course that teaches you the essential skills. Lifestyle Learning Direct. is a leader in the provision of writing distance education courses that aim to give students a broad understanding of the industry competency regarding both the theoretical and practical application of this knowledge.

Apart from understanding the application of good garden design ideas and landscaping elements and principles, you need to be conversant with other necessary components such as earthworks, marking out and job costing, as well as basic drawing skills and client/designer communication. As a result, you should develop the ability to apply this knowledge in a broad variety of situations, as well as recognise and correct all manner of design errors.

If you dream of being your own boss, as well as the theory of garden design and landscaping you also need to know the practical aspects of how to set up in business.

For more information in relation to fashion design and dressmaking, please contact Lifestyle Learning Direct.

Robyn Lee Burrows
http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/lifestyle-learning-directs-garden-design-and-landscaping-tips-and-tricks-95459.html

Being a stay at home mom means you’re there to set a great example for your children. Wouldn’t it be nice to show them how important you consider helping our planet to be?

Admittedly, being a stay at home mom can be pretty environmentally friendly in some ways. You don’t drive to work every day or to the daycare. But in other ways it isn’t always so good.

You may regularly use harsh chemicals to clean your home, for example. Not only are these really not so good for you or your family, they aren’t so good for the planet. It’s not the kind of pollution you’d notice right off hand, but it is there.

Consider replacing some of your household cleaning chemicals with more environmentally friendly alternatives. A vinegar and water mixture can be amazingly effective as a cleanser.

Another great example to set for your children is to start a garden. If you start a compost pile over time you won’t need to use so many chemical fertilizers. My family sometimes does the quick version of composting by taking fresh fruit and vegetable scraps and throwing them into the blender with some water. Pour it over the soil and it won’t take so long to break down as unblended scraps would. Very useful if you don’t have the space for a full compost heap like us.

A garden serves multiple purposes. You’re growing fresh food for your family and you have control over whether or not chemicals are used. Your children are learning where fruits and vegetables come from. They’re learning how to treat plants to make them grow. The exposure is likely to encourage them to eat their vegetables even if they’ve been reluctant in the past.

We live in a very disposable culture. Try not to fall for it. Fix broken items whenever reasonable. Mend clothing. Buy rechargeable batteries. Buy less stuff. Believe it or not, your children do not NEED every hot new toy that comes along.

As light bulbs go out replace them with more environmentally friendly ones. There are some great options out there that cost more initially but last longer and are more energy efficient.

Limit your children’s use of electronics as a whole, and turn the electronics off when not in use. I know how easy it is to leave the computer on all the time, but most computers can now cope quite well with being turned off regularly, and it saves electricity. Have the kids go outside and play more.

If at all reasonable, walk the kids to school rather than driving them. Weather and distance permitting, the walk to school is a great time to just talk with your children. And if the distance isn’t all that great, driving it is really not the best thing for your car.

Similarly, if it’s reasonable to walk to an errand, why not do so? I’ve been known to take a wagon down to the grocery store rather than drive there. Just chain it to the bike rack and go in. The wagon can carry small children and groceries.

If that’s not reasonable, try to combine errands as much as possible. It’s both more fuel efficient and less time consuming.

Make sure your home is properly insulated. This will help your energy bills in both summer and winter. Know when to open your blinds. On sunny winter days open blinds can help just a little with heating your house if the sunlight is aimed right at them. Close the blinds as the sun moves away to help keep the heat in.

There is much more you can do at home to be just a bit greener. As you work on being more environmentally conscious you may find it easier to tell yourself that you don’t need all the extras and even find that you don’t miss them so much. And if you bring your children into it they may appreciate it too.

anonymous
http://www.articlesbase.com/environment-articles/turning-green-as-a-stay-at-home-mom-88192.html

In what should be one of the most simple acts of our complicated and overstretched lives, putting the rubbish out continues to add to the stress with ever more complicated rules by the day. In days gone by, people would collect their food scraps to put on the compost heap and the rest of the rubbish would be thrown into a litter bin and never given another thought.

However, in this area of so-called global warming as much as possible needs to be re-cycled. The trouble is no-one wants to pay to have the re-cycling sorted so we get different coloured bins and different areas to take all our rubbish to. So, what we save in pollution by re-cycling, we make up for in fuel emissions by driving around the various re-cycling centres!

On top of this, we have the health and safety police who now say that bins that are too heavy should not be lifted by bin men or how they shouldn’t have to walk too far to retrieve a litter bin. I thought these were big, burly, strong men? Apparently not, as a pensioner was recently told that if she wanted her rubbish taken away, she had to drag her own wheelie bin half a mile down a hill because the council were stopping the bin lorry driving that far!

This woman also has a neighbour who has to share his wheelie bin with their other neighbours who live two miles away and they have to make the 25 minute round trip down to the main road for the bin men. The bin men are no longer allowed to drive the 0.6 miles to collect it but the pensioners are allowed to wheel the 360 litre communal litter bins down the hill, negotiate a 45 degree bend which becomes treacherous in the bad weather and across a cattle grid. A true case of bureaucracy gone mad!

The residents have lodged a complaint with the council who suggest they leave the bins by the road and take their rubbish down in smaller quantities more frequently. This isn’t much help to them and they also run the risk of being fined for overfilling bins when fly tippers realise this is an easy spot to dispose of rubbish.

More crazy news from the world of rubbish comes the news that some households are having their rubbish inspected and all their food waste retrieved, weighed and analysed. Without informing those who own the wheelie bins, spot checks are being made through a supposed fact-finding mission to see how much food is being wasted.

They can find the 1,700 pounds to pay people for a totally worthless task but not to collect the rubbish from pensioners? Not worthless according to some because this could well lead to people being charged for ‘improper use of litter bins’. Concerns have been voiced that we don’t know who these people are, we are never informed when the inspections are going to take place and on top of that, some people still put confidential paperwork in their bins. Although shredding is recommended, should we assume that some council official is going to come rummaging through our bins on a day when he has nothing better to do? Is the amount of food we throw away the only thing they are looking for?

Catherine Harvey
http://www.articlesbase.com/environment-articles/what-a-load-of-rubbish-457375.html

The thing to think of while gardening is to start small. A little plant layer, around 25 or 30 feet square is perfect, is good enough room for just about 30 plants. These will give you an opportunity to try out your green thumb and whenever you get that you enjoy your garden you may be all of the time expand and step-up your plantings.

The succeeding thing you’ll prefer to do is decide a site. Gardening must be set in an area that gets at least six hours of sunlight. Try and remain away from big trees that will take your plants water and foods, and at least three feet from any fencings or buildings. In hot climates it’s a good idea to select a place that will have shade from a part of the intense afternoon sunlight. It’s possible to get a healthy garden with even ten to twelve hours of sunlight, for more details visit to www.101-save-money.com but the type of plants must be adjustable. As soil may always be improved, a place with fine soil is an advantageous. Avoid areas that have rough soil, steep slopes, or areas where water stands.

Now comes the entertaining part: start digging. Gardening isn’t a fair hobby; you’re going to have to get some dirt under your nails. First move out the rocks, dust, and any grass and weeds then dig the place up about one foot deep. Level up the dirt and add compost or minerals if necessary. If your soil is too acidic, add lime; if it is too sandy, for more details visit to www.art-of-astrology.com add peat moss. Plants will expand in neutral to acidic soil with a little added fertilizer.

If you purchase seeds then plant them according to the guidance’s. If choosing plants, pick out ones with green, healthy looking leaves and stems and healthy roots. Arrange the smaller plants towards the front of the layer and larger ones in the back. The key to a successful starting in gardening is planting at the right time. Make certain and wait until the frosts are over before planting. If you are planting seeds the packet will normally tell you exactly when you can plant them to achieve maximum growth.

Once you’ve begun and entered gardening, making sure your plants get enough water is essential to their growth. Hand watering works well if you only have a few plants. Other alternatives include sprinklers or sprinkler hoses. Irrigating is more effective during the cooler parts of the day. The type of plant will depend on how Greater water is needed, but most require about an inch per week. During the hottest periods plants will be need irrigating about three times per week.

One of the most helpful things to add to a garden is mulch or compost. Only a few inches of organic mulch will improve fertility and help the soil hold moisture. Wood chips, grass clippings, leaves, manure, and pine needles are all things that can be used as mulch. 

LEOP HALL
http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/inclusive-guidance-to-gardening-683259.html

If you can create a sense of nature, patience, and an appreciation of work they’ve done themselves in your children, you will have accomplished something great. This will have provided them one of the longest lasting gifts you could give them. One way to accomplish this is to encourage them to learn vegetable gardening. All that is needed is a small patch of earth, some seeds, and water. Some other things that may be added along the way will be wonder, laughter, and dirty faces. All of this will be mixed together to provide a very memorable project and experience.

Obviously, it is best to have your vegetable garden outside. That is if you have the space available. With a good shovel, you can cut an outline of the garden in the grass. Your child can then pull the sod away and set it aside it for composting. This will be another great lesson involving the cycle of nature that can be saved for another day. After you have bare earth, your child can help turn the soil with a spoon or trowel until it’s workable by hand. Have your child place the seeds on the top of the soil, cover lightly with earth, and add water. You have just taught your little one the basics of vegetable gardening!

How Can I have A Vegetable Garden In the City?

Even if you do not have a backyard, you can do vegetable gardening. A perfect place for a container garden are apartment balconies. They will get plenty of sun and they will be pretty displays until the vegetables are ripe and ready for harvest. Rather than using plot of earth, your child can fill a container with soil you have purchased from the store. To provide for drainage, you can use a recycled margarine container. Punch holes in the bottom for drainage. Your child can sprinkle on seeds, cover lightly with soil and be responsible for watering the plants every day.

Vegetable gardening can help teache children patience. This is because they have to wait for the seeds to sprout. Once the plant has broken above the soil, they can watch the daily growth of the sprouts. They can follow the growth until the plants are full sized. Because this can be a long process for little kids that may have short attention spans, you might plant something new every week. This will keep them entertained for the whole summer. After the plants have bloomed, you and your child can read about how they will soon grow food. Your kids will be excited to finally see little red tomatoes or green peppers appear on their plant.

It can be a satisfying experience for the children of today’s throwaway society. Returning to the olden days, when we raised our own fruits and vegetables. Not just for the hard work but for the feeling of accomplishment. When children know that what we buy in the store is not the only option as to how we get our food instils a sense of responsibility. They will carry this feeling and knowledge with them all their lives. As they grow older, they will think back on their vegetable gardening with fond memories. And they will probably share the experience with their own children.

Dave Owen
http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/your-children-should-learn-vegetable-gardening-109453.html

How can this be achieved, what do we need to do? Is there a need to change really or is it just governments screwing up again and political buzz words? Is climate change a myth or accurate predictions of the future of planet earth? Consider also the impacts of our actions on the other living creatures that exist on Earth, do birds want to breathe in fumes from fuel?

Let’s consider the current reliance of our planet on oil, it produces our fuel for all travel and has many side uses, like producing plastic. Oil is formed by the degradation of dead organisms over thousand’s of years and exists in pockets underneath the Earth’s crust. So what happens when oil is pumped out of the earth? Well the holes appear to be filled by water, a technique used by drilling companies to recover all the oil in that particular well.

Then we come to how much is left, where there are estimates ranging from 10 years through to 30 years, but no-body can be entirely sure of this, due to demand increasing with the likes of China & India becoming more westernised. And what happens when Africa is then exploited by large corporate companies for cheap labour? Improved standard of living equals higher oil demand.

Then consider the environmentally impacts of burning oil, which releases carbon dioxide, making the greenhouse effect worse, warming the planet and causing freak weather conditions. This all seems like doom and gloom but with the advances in technology that have been made over the past 20 years then surely we can devise sustainable renewable energy, harnessing the weather?

Another big problem in our society is waste, just think how much is generated and goes to landfill! We have hundreds of sites with thousands of tonnes of waste that will degrade very slowly, would you do this in your back garden? Think about all those used disposable nappies and consider the methane that gets released as some items degrade, another greenhouse gas that is affecting our climate.

Something else to consider that has been around for many years is the reduction in forests that has been happening, cutting it down for timber and to provide more farm land. The impact of this is to also reduce the CO2 absorbed by our fossil fuel usage as well as changing the shape of our landscape. There have been big steps forward in this area by moving towards sustainable wood, where for every tree chopped down; one is planted, ensuring we maintain our planets’ forests. Another recent development is the use of bamboo as a fabric which has great eco friendly properties as it’s a renewable resource and uses less water than cotton in the process.

A final element of our daily impacts on planet earth is the high use of chemicals which get pumped into the ground everyday through our household drains and that of industry. These are all man made, but where do they go? Back into our water stream? Into our food chain? With the advances in medicine, everyone is living a longer life than say 100 years ago, but there are still big killer diseases around, cancer for example. Why? Surely we would have eradicated all of these, but don’t you think chemicals and fuel fumes have played a part in this? So why do we use chemical laden cleaners or eat food that has been sprayed & washed in chemicals? Taste the difference between home grown food and cheap supermarket food, but how do we balance that with our hectic lifestyles? Eating organic food and using natural cleaners, which appears to be more expensive?

This then seems quite daunting if you sit and consider all the information and basically our futures are in the hands of governments & scientists. However, as individuals we can make our own small impacts within our lives, helping towards keeping our lovely planet healthy and a great place for the human race to live.

So let’s start with fossil fuel usage, we all use it in our cars and homes, either as petrol/diesel and gas or indirectly as electricity. As a householder we want our running costs to be as low as possible so with vehicles it’s a balance between lower CO2 emissions and slightly lower running costs with diesel, and considering the other harmful gases emitted from diesel engines. Whatever the choice, the cost effective way is to accelerate smoothly, keeping your speed to the road limit and reduce the urge to overtake. Consider the purchase of a hybrid car if you do a lot of town driving, this becomes very economical and is so much better for the environment. We still have a long way to go on developing the vehicles for the future that run on renewable energy based around the sun, wind & rain.

In our homes we need to do all the normal things that have been said many times over the years by governments, like loft insulation, door draught excluders and turning the heating down 1 degree. Then every time you purchase a new electrical item, look at the efficiency rating, and ensure you pick a low energy rated one (normally A+). Purchase a low cost energy metering unit and find out what each of your electrical appliances consumes and then switch off those that are the highest users. Don’t get caught by thinking that these standby busters save you loads of money, they don’t! Gradually switch light bulbs to either low energy ones or even better to LED bulbs, these last up to 20 times longer and use about 1/50th of the energy consumed by normal bulbs. Further to this there are good developments in the use of wind turbines & solar panels but at the moment they are not proving to be economically viable, but given time this will be the way forward for our source of energy in our eco homes.

Think about all the waste you generate, does it all go into bin bags for landfill or can you segregate it into items for recycling & composting? Try collating items for recycling in separate bins and having a kitchen compost bin to collect vegetable & fruit waste, tea bags, egg shells etc. This can then be used in your garden to help grow your own products which not only taste better but give you great satisfaction. Aligned to this is the consideration of purchasing items that have less packaging, not using plastic bags and shopping for recycled gifts and stationery. For anything that uses wood, try to buy Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) approved items, this indicates that the timber comes from a sustainable forest.

Finally, try and move away from using chemical laden cleaning products to natural or organic cleaning products but always check the contents as not all products are as eco friendly as they claim. If you are unconvinced, just check out the ingredients list of a well known retailers own dishwashing liquid which contains formaldehyde! Most good natural cleaning products are actually concentrates, meaning the cost per use is the same or better than high street brands that are packed full of bulking agents & chemicals. Consider eating organic food as it hasn’t been treated with fertilisers or chemicals and look at organic pet foods for your furry loved ones. Another thing to consider are the products that you use on your baby & children, there are some decent organic and natural items, ranging from shampoo to nappies.

In summary, even though times are hard with costs rising, investments and property dropping, there are many ways in which you can save money by taking a “lets go eco” view. You will also feel like you are doing your bit to help towards the environmental cause even though we are in the wake of the credit crunch. We can all do our little bit by making our lifestyle a little bit more eco friendly and buying eco products for our homes.

Nigel Plant
http://www.articlesbase.com/environment-articles/go-eco-in-the-wake-of-the-credit-crunch-by-changing-to-an-eco-lifestyle-672247.html

Lots of people are concerned a lot while it comes to caring for their plants. When talking regarding house plants, there is no requiring worrying. There are just a few things you require to think about.

1. Watering Overwatering kills nearly all houseplants. Looks can be deceptive, so to observe if your soil is dry sufficient to water, try the finger test. Put in your index finger up to the primary joint into the soil. If the soil is damp, do not water it.

2. Feeding Foliage plants more frequently than not have high nitrogen wants, while flowering plant, K2O is wanted. Slow release fertilizers can be mixed with the compost. Though, certain plants similar to cacti and orchids require particular fertilizer. Feed plants through their most active growth era.

3. Lighting Plants similar to Sanseveria and Aspidistra need no sun. They can be placed away from a window. Spider plants require semi-shade. You can put plants similar to these close to a window that does or does not get sunlight. Check the label to observe what your plant requirements.

4. Temperature Houseplants can survive in cool or warm temperatures, but drastic fluctuations of temperature may not be good quality for them. One thing that most plants cannot survive is gas heating. If you have a plant that likes warm circumstances, do not put it close to an air conditioner in the summer.

5. Humidity some houseplants need a humid environment. One tip to maximize humidity is to put the pot inside a larger pot and fill in the gaps with stones or compost to keep in the moisture. Grouping plants jointly frequently creates a microclimate that they will benefit from. If you desire, you can spray them with water once or two times a day depending on the temperature.

6. Re-potting some plants need re-potting for optimum growth but there are others that resent having their roots disturbed. Or their roots system may be small sufficient that they do not need re-potting. One way to check if your plant wants re-potting is to turn it upside down. Tap the pot to release the plant and make sure its roots. If roots are all you observe, then re-pot. From time to time the roots will come out of the pot. You should also cut them off or re-pot the plant.

You just require having a little care for your plants and in turn, you will reap the benefits. Indoor plants not only add to the beauty of your decoration, but also provide much pleasure to the inside gardener.

getallabout
http://www.articlesbase.com/internet-articles/troublefree-tips-on-gardening-718063.html

Recycling is a very important step in slowing down and eventually stopping wasting of earth’s natural resources. Scientist worldwide are exploring new ways to have better fuel efficiency and lowering pollution emissions. In an attempt to reverse the effects of overusing earth’s valuable natural resources, everyone is called upon. Recycling is a big part of the effort to re-use and limit the use of our resources.

There are many categories of products people can recycle. Paper and its derived products such as carton are now being recycled successfully everyday.

Other resources like metals are being recycled daily. Such metal objects as tin cans, aluminum cans and tinfoil plates. Before recycling metal items, they have to be rinsed and free of food residue as this can cause toxic problems in the recycling process.

Another very useful way of giving a second life to metal products is to use them for storage or making crafts. By creating crafts with our children with used metal objects, we are showing them that many uses can be found and wasting is not the only solution.

Recycling glass has also been around for a while as bottles and jars are getting a second life everyday. Again, all these glass containers need to be rinsed before put in the recycling bin.

Plastic is now part of our lives and is very useful. The quantity of plastic we are discarding everyday is a major problem nowadays. Recycling and reusing plastic containers are the best way to ensure we are not polluting earth. Plastic bags can be also recycled. The easiest way to recycle them is by putting them all in one plastic bag.

Another very important point is to rethink our packaging methods and realize we are overusing wraps and seals unnecessarily. We have to honestly ask ourselves if a brand new music recording requires all this plastic wraps and sealing to conserve its “freshness”. It is more commonly accepted to walk out of a convenient store with a very small item and refuse the small plastic bag offered knowing it will be thrown away a couple of minutes later.

Not everyone is aware that milk cartons and juice cartons are recyclable and can be put in the glass/plastic/metal section of the recycling bin. They need to be rinsed out of their food residue first of course.

Another good way of recycling is to have consignment refunds on tin cans and bottles. Not every American state offers a valuable refund and recycles soda drinks bottles and cans. It is every citizen’s duty and right to ask their governments in power to implement such recycling politics.

If everyone starts recycling and takes environment seriously, we can have hope that our children and grandchildren will be able to enjoy nature’s resources as we did.

Important items that cannot be recycled for now are: diapers, used toys, dishes, soiled pizza boxes, food leftovers (although they can be easily turned into composting), clothing and many more.

Hopefully, there will come a time in the future when we will be able to enjoy the commodities of life without sacrificing any of earth’s natural resources.

Nathalie Fiset
http://www.articlesbase.com/environment-articles/recycling-saving-earths-ressources-130096.html

You go to the supermarket and various bookshops and you will see many different magazines on every subject. For gardeners the magazines to browse through are the gardening ones. How can you tell from the glossy cover, if the gardening magazine in your hand will be worth your buying it?

Well firstly the glossy cover will give you a preview of what to expect in the gardening magazine itself. There will be the titles of certain subjects that are known to attract the attention of new gardeners and other more experienced gardeners.

To have a well kept garden is a joy. To watch your garden spring up almost magically is a wonderful feeling. Gardening services provide many different services that will keep your garden maintained without any hassle for you. Gardening doesn’t get much better than this.

A quick look at the table of contents shows what the magazines are actually offering you. You can find the standard articles on gardens and how their owners achieved that particular look. There may be articles that give expert advice on how to cultivate a new type of flower, vegetable or even a fruit hybrid.

For the new gardener there will be tips and mini projects in the gardening magazine on how to make their dream garden. They can also find articles dealing with matters like mulching and making your own compost. A new gardener can be inspired by the fantastic photographs depicting beautiful gardens. Articles pertaining to the picture in the gardening magazine will describe in detail what was done to the garden to achieve that look.

You can also look up ways to grow your plants in different garden forms. These articles may describe indoor gardening or show you how to plan a Japanese garden. You could also receive gardening tips from experts in the gardening trade. They in turn will introduce you via the gardening magazine to suppliers who have the expertise and knowledge to help you transform your humdrum, plain looking garden into a masterpiece.

In addition to these articles of interest you will find many advertisements in the gardening magazine. The will range from seed distributors to gardening equipment dealers. You may even find nurseries that will sell you seedlings and quality transplants.

There is sure to be a page or two that is devoted exclusively to future gardening magazine subscribers. You will be advised how much your subscription rate will be and how often you can receive your magazine. You may even be offered a chance to subscribe to a year’s worth of gardening magazines. In addition you could be offered a preview of what is in store for the gardening magazine next month. What a tantalizing thought.

As you can see the glossy cover to the gardening magazine is there to invite you into buying the magazine. Looking inside the magazine will let you know if this is indeed the right magazine to start you on your exciting new journey through the many different faces of gardening.

Dtm
http://www.articlesbase.com/ebooks-articles/the-gardening-magazine-57352.html

Imagine biting into a perfect ripe strawberry, still warm from the summer sun without having to worry about chemical or pesticide residues. More people are turning to organic gardening for the peace of mind it provides, knowing that their home-grown food is free of potentially dangerous chemicals. By following a few simple guidelines and with little cost, you can have your own organic piece of gardening paradise.

At it’s most basic, organic vegetable gardening is a way to grow plants without the use of chemicals. In practice, what makes organic gardening different is that it uses a variety of natural methods to support the growing needs of plants.

What’s wrong with using chemicals?

Most pesticides that are used to kill insects also kill many beneficial insects and bacteria. Continued use of chemical fertilizers actually reduces soil quality, requiring the use of larger and larger amounts of fertilizer to provide the nutrients that are normally present in the soil. A vicious cycle begins, with more chemicals being added to a soil that is increasingly void of life.

Fertilize Organically

Every garden soil is different, so before you start to fertilize, it’s important to know the nature of your soil. The best way to find out what your soil needs is to have it tested by your local cooperative extension office. Be sure to ask that recommendations be in the form of organic amendments rather than for agricultural chemicals.

The most important nutrients a plant needs are nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium. Nitrogen can be obtained by adding manure, alfalfa meal or fish emulsion. Bonemeal, a by-product of animal slaughterhouses, is rich in both phosphorous and calcium. Potassium can be supplied by kelp meal, made from dried seaweed. There are also many natural fertilizer products available that supply the right balance of the nutrients, all in one package.

Start with the Soil

There is a saying among organic gardeners, “take care of the soil and the plants will take care of themselves”. Soil is the foundation for plants which is why so much of organic gardening focuses on improving soil. A sure-fire way to improve your soil is by adding lots of organic matter such as compost. This improves the soil’s ability to store nutrients and helps retain moisture during droughts. Add as much compost as you can and you will be amazed by the results.

Putting Weeds and Insects in their Place

There are a number of ways to control insects without having to resort to pesticides. One way is to encourage beneficial insects, like common ladybugs, that feed on problem insects such as aphids. You can attract beneficial insects by planting marigolds, yarrow, fennel, parsley or Black-eyed Susan. Use physical barriers to keep problem insects from your most susceptible plants by using row covers and netting. If necessary, use natural pest control products such as insecticidal soap to let them know who’s boss.

What is the best way to control weeds organically? Mulch, mulch and more mulch! Mulch is a thick blanket of material such as leaves, grass clippings, straw or bark chips spread over the soil. It’s benefits include retaining moisture, moderating soil temperature and blocking sunlight from reaching the soil, which helps to reduce weeds. Any weeds that do grow through the mulch will be weaker from lack of sunlight and should be easy to pull out by hand. Besides, pulling weeds is good exercise and gives you an excuse to skip the gym! If weeds do start popping up in unwanted places such as between paving stones or interlocking brick there are many natural weed killers available at your local garden center.

You are now on your way to enjoying the fruits of your labor. Organic gardening doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. Anyone with a patch of soil and some inspiration can grow healthy chemical free vegetables. Start this Spring and enjoy a healthy bounty by Summer.

Andrew Delroy
http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/organic-vegetable-gardening-getting-started-139142.html