Home Gardening Guidelines

These days, more and more people are discovering the joys of playing in the dirt—though grown-ups might prefer the term “gardening.” Food gardening is especially hot, with nearly 20 percent more households hopping on the food-growing train during the past five years. Renewed interest in gardening may be due in part to the local food movement. Locavores are interested in having greater access to healthy, high-quality food, knowing where their food comes from, and supporting the environment and the local economy. Gardening (especially organic gardening) certainly fits the bill! Gardening has also been shown to have significant health benefits. For starters, it encourages people to engage in other behaviors and activities that promote wellnessTrusted Source. For example, gardeners consume more fruits and vegetables than non-gardenersTrusted Source. When gardeners choose to grow food organically, they’re reducing their exposure to pesticides and potentially eating produce with a higher nu...

Growing your own vegetables is both fun and rewarding. All you really need to get started is some decent soil and a few plants. But to be a really successful vegetable gardener — and to do it organically — you'll need to understand what it takes to keep your plants healthy and vigorous. Here are the basics. "Feed the soil" is like a mantra for organic gardeners, and with good reason. In conventional chemical agriculture, crop plants are indeed "fed" directly using synthetic fertilizers. When taken to extremes, this kind of chemical force-feeding can gradually impoverish the soil. And turn it from a rich entity teeming with microorganisms insects and other life forms, into an inert growing medium that exists mainly to anchor the plants' roots, and that provides little or no nutrition in its own right. Although various fertilizers and mineral nutrients (agricultural lime, rock phosphate, greensand, etc.) should be added periodically to the organic garden, by ...

There are tons of different vertical gardening systems and supports to choose from, and it’s fun to get ideas for your garden. Below, I’ve broken my vertical gardening ideas down into a few different sections so you can easily find what you’re looking for. First I share a few of my favorite hanging gardens, wall mounted planters, and living walls. Then I move on to inspiring ideas for DIY vertical planters, trellises and vine supports. Hanging Garden Ideas Hanging gardens are a popular way to grow flowers and other ornamental plants, and they’re also a wonderful way to grow food. The best part about these hanging vertical garden ideas is that you don’t even need a yard! You can display these projects hanging just about anywhere. And not only will you be able to garden in places you never considered before, it will look amazing too. how to get rid of bugs in houseplants soil https://www.justhomegardening.com/how-to-get-rid-of-bugs-in-houseplants-soil 1. Hanging Cone Planters This verti...

Gardening can be a great way to enjoy the outdoors, get physical activity, beautify the community, and grow nutritious fruits and vegetables. If you are a beginner or expert gardener, health and safety should always be a priority. How to Revive An Air Plant https://www.justhomegardening.com/how-to-revive-an-air-plant Below are some tips to help keep you safe and healthy so that you can enjoy the beauty and bounty gardening can bring. Dress to protect. Gear up to protect yourself from lawn and garden pests, harmful chemicals, sharp or motorized equipment, insects, and harmful rays of too much sun. • Wear safety goggles, sturdy shoes, and long pants to prevent injury when using power tools and equipment. • Protect your hearing when using machinery. If you have to raise your voice to talk to someone who is an arm’s length away, the noise can be potentially harmful to your hearing. • Wear gloves to lower the risk for skin irritations, cuts, and certain contaminants. • Use insect repellent...

Thinning carrots is one of those tedious garden tasks that, although necessary, isn’t much fun. But why do we need to thin carrots anyway? It’s because carrot seeds are very small and it’s easy to accidentally plant them too thickly when sowing the tiny seeds. If carrots are spaced too close together, there isn’t enough room to develop large healthy roots and they may become stunted or misshapen. Carrots can be planted every few weeks from mid-spring to mid-summer to ensure a long season of super-sweet homegrown roots How to plant carrots Carrots grow best in a sunny site with deep, well-draining, clump-free soil. Of course not all of us have perfect soil, myself included, so I grow most of my vegetables in raised beds. If your soil is shallow or heavy, stick to compact varieties of carrots like Red Cored Chantenay, which has short, thick roots that only grow about five-inches long. Or, baby varieties like Little Finger that have slender four-inch long roots. And while I generally gro...

Wouldn't you love to grab a fresh, juicy peach or a handful of strawberries from your own backyard? Below are some of the best fruits to grow in your own fruit garden, even if you have limited space. Before you plant, give some thought to where you want to place your fruit garden. Fruit trees and shrubs will be around for many years. Make sure you can provide the following: • Full sun: Fruit trees and shrubs need lots of sunshine and warmth to set flowers and develop sweet fruits • Well-draining soil: Roots that sit for days in soggy soil will rot • Air circulation: Most fruit diseases are caused by some type of fungus and damp leaves are an invitation for the fungus to take hold • Protection from cold winds and late frosts: Even if your fruit variety is frost-hardy, frigid and drying winds can kill their tender buds, resulting in no fruit for the season. The same can happen when the buds are hit by a late spring frost. You can't control the weather, but planting your fruits i...