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Vegetable gardening

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Everything is lined up for a beautiful fresh tomato sauce. It will only take a few minutes to cook, but this meal has been months in the making.

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Start seeds six to seven weeks before your last frost. For my area, that means the end of February or the first part of March. Sure, you could buy plants in April when it is time to plant, but if you start your own, you'll have hundreds of varieties to choose from, instead of a handful, plus you'll save a lot of money, if you plan to plant several.

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Looking back across the new bed and toward the rest of the garden, you can see that I'm pretty well sold on raised beds. This is the eighth one in my garden now, and that is not counting some terraces that are more raised bed than not.

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Filled, mixed and raked out. Now it just needs to rest a few days, get watered a few times and get topped off with more compost after it settles. Then it will be ready to plant.

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I have more or less done the filling in thirds (working toward the camera). I've got the first two thirds done, and now have my rotten wood base in the bottom of the last section. Now I'll add some compost and sand and then chicken litter and rice hulls.

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I am mixing each addition with the rest of the soil. The chicken litter and rice hull mixture is mixed in heavier in the upper two thirds. The lower third is the sand/compost mixture filling in around the rotten wood.

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Now comes a ticklish question...what do you put in it? If you have to buy everything, thousands of people are successful with a blend of one third compost, one third vermiculite and one third sphagnum peat moss. This mix will need a healthy dose of fertilizer every year, but so will most things. I am using compost that I have made myself, river sand and rice hulls that were used as bedding in my chicken coop.

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Here's something I have been successful with, but isn't a necessity. If you happen to have access to some really rotten wood -- like an old pile of firewood that hasn't been used and is rotting -- Scatter some in the very bottom of your raised bed. When worms and fungi start working on the wood it becomes a sponge, absorbing water when it is plentiful, and slowly releasing it when things dry out. The more rotten the better.

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Another pass with the rake and the site is weed free and fairly level.

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I'm pulling the weeds and vines out and exposing the ones that still have a grip.

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I've cut out all the weeks around the perimeter of the bed. There are still some in the middle, but I need to get some of the mass out of my way. Time to switch to a rake.

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I am going to clear away all the weeds with a mattock.

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The points should be the corners of the box (roughly). I want to clear away all weeds and grasses and get a good foundation for the box, so I'll be digging all the way to the points, so I marked each corner again a few inches away from the corner.

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Last corner.

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The new bed is going to be 4 feet by 4 feet, just like the old ones, so I measured 3 feet from the two corners. If you happen to blast your tape measure with the marking paint, a little WD-40 and a shop rag will get it off, if you do it right away. I keep them handy when I'm marking.

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I want a three foot aisle between the existing raised bed and the new one, so I'll start by marking the first corner away from the old bed.

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This little corner of my garden has never grown anything well. You can see that even the crazy vining watermelon are going around this little patch. My garden is mostly raised beds anyway, so this looks like the best spot for the next one.

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Sustainable organic botanical gardens could happen only if people know how to use and preparation of organic material. READ MORE http://org-gardening.blogspot.com/2012/07/sustainable-organic-vegetable-gardening.html

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you've been long curious about organic gardening, may now be aware of how things happen in this process. But even so, you should never tire of learning new things to help you with this project. READ MORE http://org-gardening.blogspot.com/2012/07/steps-to-success-with-organic-gardening.html

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OA is the trend these days because it is cheap and is a friend to the environment. Before you begin, you need to get some supplies organic botanical gardens from your local store. READ MORE http://org-gardening.blogspot.com/2012/07/organic-vegetable-gardening-supplies.html

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In the United States, is the agriculture industry $ billion 6. To keep it that way, and with the health and welfare of the public in mind, the Ministry of agriculture has taken steps so that farmers switching to organic agriculture. This not only save money but also has some health benefits. READ MORE http://org-gardening.blogspot.com/2012/07/organic-vegetable-gardening-is-way-to-go.html

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Is organic botanical gardens. This is because people are more health conscious about food they eat, and in some places, there is already a shortage of some plant foods decided to grow these on their own. To help you get started, here are some organic vegetable cultivation information. READ MORE http://org-gardening.blogspot.com/2012/07/organic-vegetable-gardening-information.html

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Organic gardening is not just for farmers or people who have patios. This is because it can be done using containers.READ MORE http://org-gardening.blogspot.com/2012/07/organic-vegetable-gardening-can-be-done.html

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It doesn't take a rocket scientist to grow vegetables. But if you want to do it the old-fashioned way, which proved to be very effective, you should know the basics of growing organic vegetables.READ MORE http://org-gardening.blogspot.com/2012/07/organic-vegetable-garden-basics.html

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If there is anything better veggies yield prevents your organic garden, pests infesting and surrounding region. Now, if you are really serious about combating the pests and keep them out of your garden for good, a volume of materials available to you be equipped and aware of the different types of pests that can threaten your crops easily.READ MORE http://org-gardening.blogspot.com/2012/07/organic-garden-guide-to-controlling.html

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If you are thinking about gardening, preserving it. Not many people like you who think that these reasons in favour of nature. Nature's smile may be you right now. With solutions to all the problems with the world around us, specifically global warming, these simple steps to relieve the biggest problem actually leap out.READ MORE http://org-gardening.blogspot.com/2012/07/helping-nature-through-organic-gardening.html

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If you are thinking about gardening, preserving it. Not many people like you who think that these reasons in favour of nature. Nature's smile may be you right now. With solutions to all the problems with the world around us, specifically global warming, these simple steps to relieve the biggest problem actually leap out.

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Growth Control for Efficient Gardening of Vegetables Growth Control for Efficient Gardening of Vegetables You should know that the cultivation of good garden aficionado or weeding effective growth monitoring. Herbs are the most persistent enemy and overfeeding your garden. You'll be able to learn how to deal with herbs to enhance growth monitoring to your organic garden. If you leave the control of weeds, they will obliterate your capacities fully yield the number of rich vegetables.READ MORE http://org-gardening.blogspot.com/2012/07/growth-control-for-efficient-gardening.html

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Fertilization : Growing Vegetables in Your Organic Garden Fertilization : Growing Vegetables in Your Organic Garden Fertilization When we talk about fertilizing your garden vegetables in effective your organic gardening, it's almost as attributed to the thalamus. But there are also other aspects such as the introduction of fertilizers that can naturally be available or commercially. Simply defined, it includes the development of the matter, whether organic or non-organic, around your plants.READ MORE http://org-gardening.blogspot.com/2012/07/fertilization-growing-vegetables-in.html

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If you are a vegetable garden has been for a while, you may be feeling a little disgruntled at how easy to look at. I also started my gardening with Botanical Garden, but I decided that it wasn't quite as pleasing to look at as I would have liked. I heard from a friend that using perennial flowers can be a great way to liven up my garden without adding any extra work for me. READ MORE http://org-gardening.blogspot.com/

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A very pretty flower garden at my old house

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Paint a crate, line it with landscape fabric, et voila. I'm suddenly way less depressed about my container garden.

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As anyone can tell you, once you grow (and eat) your own tomatoes, you'll never look at a supermarket tomato the same way.

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There are tomatoes for slicing and tomatoes for cooking. The beauty of life is that you can cook with slicers, and paste tomatoes are pretty darn good fresh off the vine, too.

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I avoid using pesticides and herbicides around my garden. This little guy will eat his weight in bad bugs everyday, but he'll die if I start squirting bug killer every time I see a hole in a leaf.

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It will seem to take forever for the first green tomatoes to ripen. I've done it for years, and it still drives me nuts. Don't worry, unless you're in a serious drought and/or heat wave, once they start ripening, you'll be covered the rest of the season.

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Here's a homemade tomato cage that is supporting the plant well, but it sometimes takes contortionist moves to reach a ripe tomato or do any pruning. I may give the trellis another chance next year. The point is, you will have to support the plants, whether by trellis, cage or other method.

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When you transplant, bury the entire stem of the seedling right up to the nurse leaves. Here I am using professional flats. They're a little hard to find, but when you do, they're cheap and very efficient on your shelf space. This picture was taken about a week after potting up. You can see the nurse leaves right at the soil surface.

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In another week to ten days, you will see the first true leaves open (the first two are called "nurse leaves"). When the first set is fully formed and you can see the beginnings of the second set, it is time to transplant from the germination tray to larger containers.

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About a week after you plant them, you'll have tiny sprouts. Keep the germination tray moist and keep the light as close to the seedlings as possible.

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I used rice hulls as a soil amendment even before I got chickens and started using it for bedding. It aerates the soil and breaks down slowly. Lace it with chicken litter and you have something very special for your garden.

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