Organic Gardening Info & Ideas

Design Your Dream Garden & Include an Outdoor Garden Fountain
If you want to design your dream garden but are having trouble trying to figure out where to get started, do give this site a look. You will get guidance through all the steps in taking your garden from the idea stage to the planting stage. Discover why you want to plan your garden out on paper first and don't be afraid to get some gardening books for ideas about style. Part of the design is determining where your outdoor fountain (if you are including one) will be located. Color is key to the effect you want to achieve, and by adding certain combinations of flowers, you can get the precise look you want. Once you have considered all of these steps, then you can start planting your garden.

Organic Gardening for Beginners
Learn about kaolin, the new product used as an insect repellant, and browse gifts for organic gardeners. Topics include, milk as a fungicide, noxious weeds, composting, organic rose gardening, pesticide formation, organic gardening laws and regulations, composting, worms, organic gardening products, horticultural oils, chemical salts and fertilizers. A database of organic gardening links and resources for growing are included, as is a discussion forum.

Organic Gardening Certification
Organic gardening revolves around preventative pest management, rotations, soil fertility and nurturing the natural enemies of the pests in your garden. This website talks about the two types of vegetable production in North Dakota: certified vegetable production and non-certified vegetable production. Includes information about growing organic vegetables, rotating organic vegetables, attractants, repellents and fertility. Includes information on organic insect control using cabbage worms, cucumber beetles, slugs and aphids.

A New York Organic Gardener
Personal website of a New York organic gardener who grows vegetables such as onion, parnsips, peas, broccoli and carrots, and grows herbs such as dill, chamomile, basil, sage and oregano. Gardener discusses composting and staying organic with your garden. There are several methods that can increase your rate of decomposition. It is always important that you have a large enough pile - probably about 3' cubed. Smaller or larger and you won't get the right temperature and air circulation. You need a balance of 'green' and 'brown' waste (hint: if your soil needs improving - soil too acid or alkaline, certain minerals lacking, compost is a great help; not just in and of itself, with its mixture of nutrients, but also because through the items you add to it you can add the balance you need in a natural manner). And it should be turned regularly - if you want, use a thermometer to check the temperature, and when it's 'hot' enough (about 130F), give it a good toss to mix it up. It also needs to be kept moist all the time (but not soggy). This method should give you great usable compost in only a few weeks. Some gardening links included.