Anyone who is interested in organic gardening in NJ should consider the benefits of digging and prepping (or refreshing) the garden beds during fall. This makes sense for several reasons: It’s easier to dig garden beds in the fall. In early spring, the ground is slowly thawing out of undiggable, frozen conditions. In autumn, the soil […]
Why Dig Organic Garden Beds During the Fall? Read More »
by Amy Todisco, Green Living Expert and Organic Farmer Have you given much thought to where to plant your organic vegetable garden? It’s a very important first step. You don’t want to go through the hard work of creating a garden designed to grow healthy organic food only to find out that there is some toxic
Where Does Your Garden Grow? Read More »
When is it safe to plant vegetables in my NJ Zone 6 garden? A friend in NJ asked me when it would be warm enough to plant the veggies and herb plants that they’re selling at Home Depot and Walmart right now. My answer is, that depends on what type of garden situation you have
When is it Safe to Plant Nursery Plants in My NJ Garden? Read More »
In February, the soil is usually frozen and therefore can’t be worked. So if you intend to plant an early spring garden, then the best time to ready your garden beds for planting is before the second week of March. You want the soil to be prepared in time for that first spring planting, traditionally
When and How to Start Prepping Your Garden Beds in New Jersey Read More »
Being relatively new gardeners (this is our fifth year of growing organic vegetables here in NJ Zone 6), we occasionally still have to research certain aspects of gardening before being able to write about them. Mid-summer planting was one of them. My mother has been gardening for most of her life, and I remember that
What Vegetables Can You Plant in Mid Summer? Read More »
Thinking of putting in a raised bed garden this spring? Low maintenance and high yield make this a perfect choice, especially if you don’t have a lot of experience or time to devote to growing backyard veggies, but you still want to try. As compared to row gardens, raised beds are better for a few good reasons.
What Type of Soil is Right for My Raised Garden Beds? Read More »
What is Direct Sowing? Best Vegetables to Direct Sow in Your NJ Garden Are you new to gardening? Then you may wonder what it means to direct-sow garden seeds. To direct-sow simply means planting your garden seeds outside in the soil, as opposed to planting them in little, peat-filled containers indoors. Either method of planting seeds can
What is Direct Sowing? Best Plants to Direct-Sow in Your NJ Garden Read More »
New Jersey is reputed as being the ideal climate for growing fine, fat tomatoes that burst with flavor. Even the most casual or inexperienced of NJ gardeners will probably put at least one tomato plant in come springtime to see what becomes of it. Tomatoes are most definitely a hot-weather plant, and do not fare
Tomatoes Planting Instructions for NJ Zone 6 Read More »
Thinking about creating a garden this year? Then take a lesson from the Chinese, who successfully cultivate prolific, raised bed gardens in miniscule backyards. High, mounded garden beds yield nearly twice the amount of produce than traditional row gardens. The plants also tend to be bigger and bear more fruit. Here are a few more
The Advantages of a Raised Bed Garden Read More »
Prior to this past summer, I was never able to grow carrots. They emerged from the ground looking like… well, God forgive me, let’s call them my little orange Thalidomide babies. But then I tried something different. First, I did some research on how to grow carrots. Then I employed some of the new techniques
Sacrificial Carrot: How to Make Your NJ Carrot Crop Go the Distance Read More »