Garden Wisdom Blog — category: Organic Growing

About Compost and Composting Composting is the process of breaking down organic material. It is one of the basic principles of organic and biodynamic gardening, and has been in practice for a surprisingly long time. Pliny the Elder refers to composting in his writings from the early Roman era in the first century AD. But it wasn’t until the 1920s when forward-thinking scientists and social philosophers such as Rudolf Steiner began to see the profoundly important role composting could play in a modern society. And only now are municipalities in North America contemplating large, industrial scale composting programs to deal...

Plants need water – that’s a fact. And many vegetable crops need quite a lot of water (along with sunshine and nutrients) to produce the tasty roots and fruits that nourish us year round. Part of the goal of organic gardening is to grow food sustainably. We want to have minimal impact on the environment, and leave the soil healthier than we started with. So what are the ways we can use good watering practice in our sustainable garden and farming models? 1. Whenever possible, water early in the morning. This is when the soil is coolest, so the water...

What the heck is xeriscaping? Simply put, xeriscaping is a system of landscaping with water conservation as the priority. In areas that receive little rainfall in the summer, some thoughtful xeriscaping will allow flowering plants to thrive, adding visual appeal – as well as important forage for pollinators. While most communities have watering restrictions in the summer, places like the Gulf Islands are restricted to well water - which makes it a seriously valuable commodity. There are five principles that are key to xeriscaping success: Plant selection is fundamental to xeriscaping because different plants have different needs when it comes...

In our relatively short growing season, we need to grow most food crops in a fairly intense way. We need to select crops that mature quickly. Some crops, like mescluns and salad greens grow so fast that we can take several harvests in a single season. Other plants, like pumpkins, use most of the growing season to produce masses of foliage, and then bloom and form fruits as autumn approaches. Whatever the case, the plants we cultivate in our food gardens take nutrients from the soil and energy of the sun in order to perform. Many crops require full sun...