Organic Gardening Articles Directory

I am going to write about soil preparation whether it is indoors or outdoors.

For indoor herb garden it is very simple: All you need to do is to get a potting soil (it is better to use organic potting soil) and put it in to the pot (not to the top. It is better to leave about 1 inch of space).
Use small pots if you want to plant home garden seeds. They don’t need big pots. And that’s all for growing herbs indoors.

When it comes to outdoor soil preparation, what you need to do once you have your location ready:

1) Make sure that it is completely clean.
2) Then you have to loosen your soil using shovel and then follow it with the rake. It will help you to release roots from other plants that were in the soil. Try to remove them completely.
3) Sprinkle it a little bit with potting soil from the market and mix it up using rake.
4) Select the area where you want to plant your home garden seeds and dig small holes.
The soil will be dry and it’s ok for it to be like that as you have to control the water drainage for most of the herbs.
Add a little bit of potting soil in the holes.
That’s all! Easy isn’t it?

Read also:
How to grow plants from seeds
How to grow your own herbs indoors
How to plant home garden seeds
A Few Words About Container Gardening
Growing tomatoes in pots

Help the world! Use paper pot maker!
Have a look on my home garden seeds for sale!

(c) Home Garden Seeds

We all have to plant organic garden seeds in to potting soil. What is it? Potting soil is a mixture used to grow plants, herbs and vegetables in a contained garden environment. The first recorded use of the term is from an 1861 issue of the American Agriculturist.

The most common ingredients used in potting soil are composted bark and/or other plant materials, peat moss, sand, and perlite (for drainage). Some potting soil mixtures contain particles of vermicompost, while other contain vermiculite for water conservation. Most commercially available brands of potting soil have their pH fine-tuned with ground limestone, and some contain small amounts of fertilizer and slow-release nutrients.

So basically the potting soil is a combination of elements and despite its name, little or no soil is used in potting soil because it is considered too heavy for growing house plants.

Can it be organic? I know only two companies who sell organic potting soil -  “Organic Mechanics Soil Company” and “Scotts Organic” . Their peat-free potting soil is sold in retail garden centers, supermarkets, botanic gardens, and farmers markets.
Their products are 100% organic.

Why they sell peat-free soil?

Well, because harvesting peat destroys unique ecosystems for both flora and fauna, and is particularly damaging to insect and migratory songbird populations. They use coconut coil instead. This renewable resource is comprised of a 40% to 50% lignin fiber or more and 20% to 30% cellulose fiber.

What about benefits?

Apart from helping songbirds population to survive and minimizing pollution you’ll grow bigger and healthier plants than your neighbour.
Living soil contain higher levels of nutrients, and many taste better than their conventional counterparts.
So be green and use organic soil! It is helpful for nature, helpful for yourself and helpful for plants!

You can buy Scott’s Organic Potting Soil on Amazon for very low price at the moment. 20LB costs just $2.26.

Scotts Organic Potting Soil
Click here to order on Amazon for $2.26

Read also:
How to Plant Home Garden Seeds
How to grow plants from seeds
Organic weed killer or 4 tips for organic weed removal
How to prepare garden soil
Growing tomatoes in pots
Help the world! Use paper pot maker!
Have a look on my home garden seeds for sale!

(c) Home Garden Seeds

We all like to use herbs in cooking to provide the that special flavours and aroma in our food. It will be interesting to know that most professional chefs prefer to use fresh herbs in their cooking. So why not to do the same and grow herbs indoors?

It is very easy to grow herbs indoors using home garden seeds and grow the most commonly used ones. Most of them require average soil and just some of them need rich soil, for example oregano.
Most of the herbs grown in a basic organic home garden such as parsley (note that this herb is biennial in nature. This means the first year it is grown it will not be useful for seasoning), sage, rosemary, thyme (this is a very forgiving plant and if it dries out will likely come back when an appropriate amount of water is given), oregano and basil are tolerant of direct sun, and will need minimal amount of water to survive. You can harvest leaves, sprigs and twigs from any of your herbs as they are growing giving fresh organic herbs for your kitchen.

Since some have different soil requirements and can grow under slightly different conditions, having them separated by variety can help get them started and keep them growing throughout their life.

Whenever possible, plant the organic garden seeds close to where the plants will be used.

In most cases it is easier to grow herbs indoors close to the kitchen (on the window, for example) for easy harvesting of the fresh crop. Note that you don’t have to cut and use the entire growth at once. With the right care, the herbs will grow and be usable for the entire season. You may want to dry or freeze the extra cuttings at the end of the season. It will supply you with the herbs throughout the winter.

A home garden of herbs is a great addition to your kitchen supplies and won’t take too much of your time to look after.

Read also:
Save home garden seeds.
Grow Plants From Seeds

(c) Home Garden Seeds

Today I want to write about my recent discovery which can truly have a price as “The Best Discovery of The Year.”

This is a “must have” thing for all gardeners who want to use organic products for their gardens. And not only for them. For those who count their pennies this is also a “must have” tool as it will save a lot of money.

Ok, lets cut the long story short. Here it is:

Plant Paper Pot Maker
(click on the link above to order on Amazon)

As we say everything of genius is simple. And this is the example. But by using this tool you’ll be able to:

• Turn strips of old newspaper into biodegradable planting pots. Save money and be green!
• Transfer plants into the ground whilst still in the paper pot without damaging roots. Hassle free procedure!
• Easy to make and great fun for children, recycle your waste paper.
• Valuable lesson for sustainable living
• Can be used over & over again to manufacture your own seed pots. Cost effective, isn’t it?

You can buy it on Amazon for just $16.95. Cheap price for the tool that will serve you for years.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Updated on 10/04/2009
I am proud to write that I am now selling a next generation pot maker for just 9.95$! And this is currently the cheapest price on the web! Please read about this super tool!

(C) Home Garden Seeds

I’ve found nice tutorial on Youtube about growing plants for you garden from seeds in your home.
I’ll publish the short text below the video in case someone wants to save and print it.

Today we will talk about starting your plants from seeds. Where do we grow our plants?

Most people are going to rely on a south basing window. Because that’s going to get the sun from East to West. That’s a great way but bare in mind: your plant is going to follow the direction of the sun as the day goes on.

Before you go to work, make sure your plants are well watered as a sunlight coming through the glass creates tremendous amount of heat and you don’t want your plants to dry out and die.

In my opinion the best way to grow plants from home garden seeds inside is make the investment in a grow light system.

I try to combine both elements: position near the sunny window so you can have a natural light from the sun and grow light. There is a reason for that: the grow light doesn’t reproduce the sun light exactly.

When we start we have to have a plants three or four inches below the light.

As I mentioned before, when you have a plant on the window sill it’s going to follow the light. In the case of grow light system installation, the plants will grow inward, toward the light. So once a day just turn your container with the plants around. That really helps to straighten up the plants too.

With this 41 grow light system you need to expose your plants to this grow light for about 16 hours per day. You can either turn it up when you wake up in the morning and turn it off before you go to bed or you can install a little timer which is what I like to do. It simply plugs into the grow light system and turns the light automatically.

Since we’ve started our seeds, and plants are up an growing we will no longer need the humidity knot. You can adjust the light but keep an eye on it because once the plants get too high and start touching the lump you can burn them. Raise your light when they grow.

When the plants are big enough, transport them in the bigger pots.

Don’t plant them outside until the last frost.

Another thing you want to consider when you choose a location is the temperature in which your plants are growing. Most plants prefer the environment of 17 degrees or more. Don’t put your system near the draughty window – it will kill your plant very quick. And don’t adjust the heating too low when you go to work.

Put a small fan near by too. Just to keep air circulation going and keep the plants healthy. It is going to reduce the chance of fungus appearing as well.

(c) Home Garden Seeds