1. Start with the basics. Don’t be tempted to spend an enormous amount of money on your first supplies, materials, and tools. There’s no such thing as a magic bullet, and you’ll only end up with very expensive vegetables. Organic gardening can actually be done much less expensively than conventional gardening. Compost, manure, and other soil additives replace expensive fertilizer, and natural control methods keep pest levels down.

2. Grow your plants in the right spot. Take the time to plan which vegetables you’ll be growing and find out what kind of sunlight requirements they have. Take the time to find an area of your yard that will provide the amount of light and the soil qualities that these plants need. The right conditions can help you avoid many problems before they even begin.

3. Prepare the soil correctly. Check the pH, moistness, and type of soil you have available, then add amendments to make it what you need. You might need to add in compost, animal manures, grass clippings, ashes, or other substances to improve the condition of your soil. This might seem like a lot of work to start with, but it will help your garden grow, and will keep on working for you down the line. Setup of an organic garden is the hardest part.

4. Start your own compost pile. Compost can be purchased cheaply, but you don’t know what goes into it. Composting your own kitchen scraps and yard waste can help you dispose of these substances cheaply and in an ecologically friendly way, plus you’ll get great free fertilizer that you know is organic. You’ll be amazed at the difference that a good compost pile can make for your garden. Composting might seem like it’s a complicated process, but it really isn’t. Almost anyone can do it.

5. Don’t ignore your garden. Once you’ve tilled and planted your organic garden, it can be extremely tempting to ignore it. This isn’t a good idea in conventional gardens, either, but it can be disastrous if you’re growing organic. A little daily weeding and pest removal, a careful check over all plants, and some regular attention will do more to help your garden than any product you can buy. If you take the time to love your garden, you’ll be rewarded with wonderful results.

By Whitney Segura

Whitney Segura is an expert in agriculture and specializes in greenhouses, hydroponics, and organic gardening. Whitney writes many home and garden articles which have been published all over the web.

Thank you for visiting NewGardener.com. Our goal is to provide you with helpful tips and information that will make your garden a great one. Whether you are a new gardener getting ready to start your first garden, or an veteran gardener starting a new garden and hoping to learn something new, we think gardening should be fun and personally rewarding.

If you have any comments or questions about NewGardener.com, I invite you to email me personally at grow@newgardener.com. And don’t forget — you can always follow us on Twitter.

Thanks!
Tim Lundie, Editor

Sure, most people mow and edge their lawn, and some even do lawn fertilization and treat their lawns chemically, but very few are aware of the benefits of lawn aeration.

Why should you aerate your lawn?

Over time, your lawn can become compacted from human activity, pets and mowing. This can cause the soil to become compressed. As your lawn solidifies, it reduces the pore space within the soil so air, nutrients and water cannot enter the lawns roots.

Grass roots require oxygen, and need to soak up the necessary minerals and water to stay healthy. If the roots don’t receive these important elements, this can result in poor development and lawn deterioration.

When aerating and fertilizing your lawn, the roots receive everything they need to help your lawn to be as lush, green and healthy as you want it to be.

So from this point, knowing that aeration is beneficial to a healthy, beautiful lawn is simply an important part of lawn care. You just need to learn more about it.

So when and how often should you have your lawn aerated?

In general, you should have your lawn aerated twice a year. The first lawn aeration of the year should occur between early spring and early summer, the second service should happen in the fall sometime between August and no later than October. However, this may vary depending on your property conditions and soil type.

Depending on where you live, you’re likely to have varying types of soil. Lawn care varies right along with that. A professional lawn aeration company will be able to help you identify what type of lawn aeration is needed for your land.

For example, if you have a clay soil, you may need your lawn aerated more frequently because it is usually more compacted and requires additional maintenance. The opposite is true of a sandy soil, because it allows more air to move through it. In addition to the area where you live, conditions can affect your need for these services.

If you plan on fertilizing your lawn, it is good to have it aerated prior to fertilization to allow the nutrients to be absorbed with maximum efficiency. In addition, avoid lawn aeration during high heat, drought, during times of weed infestation, and prior to good root development in a newly sodden or grassed area.

The key to aeration is to do it when you put good things down into the earth, and not to open it up when bad things can get in. The bad things can include dryness and weeds. Using this information in addition to consulting your local aeration company will help you have a greener, healthier, happier lawn.

by Jason Smith

Thank you for visiting NewGardener.com. Our goal is to provide you with helpful tips and information that will make your garden a great one. Whether you are a new gardener getting ready to start your first garden, or an veteran gardener starting a new garden and hoping to learn something new, we think gardening should be fun and personally rewarding.

If you have any comments or questions about NewGardener.com, I invite you to email me personally at grow@newgardener.com. And don’t forget — you can always follow us on Twitter.

Thanks!
Tim Lundie, Editor

March is one of the most important months of the year for fertilizing because it is the start of the growing season. Feed (16-16-16) fruit and ornamental trees, groundcovers, shrubs, perennials and annuals that have been in the ground at least six weeks. Feed your container plants also

Shrubs and Trees

o Remove the winter mulch from existing roses and prune as needed. Consult a good rose book for the best methods to trim your type of rose since timing and methods vary

o Prune your trees especially fruit trees (except walnut, maple and birch trees). Do not prune flowering shrubs.

o Fertilize deciduous and evergreen trees. Protect deciduous trees from mites, scale and aphids by treating with horticultural oil.

o Start watering trees and shrubs that you planted in the fall. Begin when you see new leaves appear. A slow, steady watering is best. Try using a hose on a slow trickle or a soaker hose to water deeply and well

o Plant new fruit trees, rose bushes, berries, spring flowering shrubs and other deciduous plants. Not the best time to transplant unless tree or shrub is still in dormant stage.

Flower and Bulb Beds

o Test the pH levels in planting beds. Adjusting the pH level of soil is the single most important garden task you can perform to get healthy plants.

o Cut back perennials that you left standing for winter

o This is a great time to buy and plant perennials as the soil is still cool. Also if you are ordering in bare root plants from mail order, this should be done early in month. When things arrive, bare-root woody plants will take priority in planting, so think ahead.

o Bulbs such as lilies and Canna should be planted now for summer and fall color.

o Annuals that enjoy the cooler weather March offers may be planted. These include pansies, snapdragons and calendulas.

o Tulip and daffodil bulbs require a light application of fertilizer (a high- nitrogen, quick-release fertilizer)

o Cut smooth hydrangeas all the way to the ground. Thin last year’s growth on peegee hydrangeas, and remove dead wood at the base of oak-leaf hydrangeas

o Get a step ahead by edging and weeding your beds. Dig them, roots and all, before they set seed which will lessen their numbers later

o Now is when you should cut back your ornamental grasses. Hold or tie the old growth with twine and cut the grass 4-6 inches from the ground. New growth will appear in a few weeks.

Other Stuff

o Check garden tools. Fix, sharpen or replace them as necessary.

o Clean out your birdhouses get them ready for spring nesting

o Take the mower in for a tune-up.

o Broken or weak arbors, fences and trellis should be repaired this month

o Cleaning and repairing drip irrigation lines

o Remove leaves from the bottom of ponds or other water features

o Start over seeding bare spots in the lawn. Seed once a week and water lightly twice a day until spots fill in. But don’t fertilize until Memorial Day. Apply pre-emergent crabgrass control to your lawn

“Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush.” – Doug Larson

L.B. Masoero is an avid gardener and bird lover. If you are looking for outdoor patio furniture, decorative birdhouses, outdoor garden fountains, tuned wind chimes and much more for your backyard go to YourGardenRetreat.com. To discover ideas for your backyard living such as grill recipes,gardening tips, attracting wildlife, lawn care, decorating and maintaining your outdoor living space, go to My Backyard

Thank you for visiting NewGardener.com. Our goal is to provide you with helpful tips and information that will make your garden a great one. Whether you are a new gardener getting ready to start your first garden, or an veteran gardener starting a new garden and hoping to learn something new, we think gardening should be fun and personally rewarding.

If you have any comments or questions about NewGardener.com, I invite you to email me personally at grow@newgardener.com. And don’t forget — you can always follow us on Twitter.

Thanks!
Tim Lundie, Editor

ALKALINE SOIL
Alkaline soil, common in light-rainfall areas of the Southwest, is soil that is high in calcium carbonate (lime) and certain other minerals. Many plants will grow well in a moderately alkaline soil, although camellias and other acid-loving plants will not. Areas with softened water are quite likely to have alkaline soil. The sodium in soft water is good for household use hut poor for plants. Hard water, on the other hand, is ideal for garden watering.

Large scale chemical treatment of extremely alkaline soils is expensive and complex. A better bet is to plant in raised beds and containers using a good soil mix.

ACID SOIL
Acid soil is at the other end of the scale from alkaline soil. It is most common in areas of heavy rainfall and is often associated with sandy soil (but ocean beaches are rarely or never acid). Mildly acid soils cause little trouble, but an intense acid condition is highly undesirable for most plants.

Ground limestone will help to neutralize an acid-reacting soil, since all acid soils are low in calcium (lime). Your choice of fertilizers can be another very important factor in controlling acidity; some fertilizers can actually increase soil acidity. Some plants—azaleas, rhododendrons, and camellias to name a few—prefer soil that is moderately acid.

SALTS IN THE SOIL
An excess of salt in the soil is a widespread problem in arid and semi-arid regions. It can prevent germination, or, if plants are already growing, it stunts them and in advanced cases burns the foliage and finally kills them. Its presence can usually be detected by a white deposit of salt on the surface of the soil. Salts in your water and fertilizer can remain in the soil. Periodic slow, deep watering will help wash the salts beyond plant roots.

NUTRIENT DEFICIENCY
Most soils, left to themselves, yield the three major plant nutrients—nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium—only   very slowly. Even the richest soil cannot continue to provide an ample amount of these vital elements year after year.

Fertilizers—either chemical or organic—are the quickest and easiest answer to a nutrient deficiency. Many balanced fertilizers containing all three major elements are available.

There are also formulations of nitrogen, phosphorus, or potassium compounds that provide these nutrients separately. Manure and well rotted compost are also beneficial in varying degrees to nutrient-shy soils, but are more effective in their ability to build up the soil’s humus supply.

CHLOROSIS—LACK OF IRON
If the leaves of some plants turn yellow, but veins stay green, it may be caused by an iron deficiency. Chelating (pronounced key-lating) agents or iron sulfate can help to control chlorosis. Buy either one at a nursery or garden store and follow label directions.

COMPACTED SOIL
When you build on filled land, the soil has been compacted purposely to certain standards. Also any trucks and bulldozers used in the construction of your home may have caused accidental packing of soil. Little will grow in compacted soil. To counteract the effect, grow a crop of deep-rooted grass such as annual rye, then plow it under before adding amendments. If you’re planting trees, have a well digger dig some 3-foot-deep holes, then improve the removed soil with amendments and refill around the root ball.

SHALLOW SOIL
If there is a layer of hardpan within the top 18 inches, plant roots won’t grow and water won’t penetrate. There are two possible solutions: either drill through shallow hardpan to make a vertical gravel drain, or get advice from an engineer on how to install drain tile horizontally. 

Thank you for visiting NewGardener.com. Our goal is to provide you with helpful tips and information that will make your garden a great one. Whether you are a new gardener getting ready to start your first garden, or an veteran gardener starting a new garden and hoping to learn something new, we think gardening should be fun and personally rewarding.

If you have any comments or questions about NewGardener.com, I invite you to email me personally at grow@newgardener.com. And don’t forget — you can always follow us on Twitter.

Thanks!
Tim Lundie, Editor

SPADE OR SHOVEL?
The hard work of turning up the soil will seem a little easier if you use a spade. It should be square, sharp, and straight or nearly straight in its shank. When you push it into firm earth with your foot, you want all the force to go straight down the blade. And if you use a file to keep it sharpened, roots and clods of soil won’t be major obstacles. A scoop-shaped shovel, with its pointed blade, should be used for mixing or turning loose materials. You handle it as if it were a combination of a spade and scoop. The point on the shovel helps you to slide it into the material and the concave blade keeps the material from sliding off as you lift and turn. A shovel blade is set at an angle to the shaft so it stays flat when you push it horizontally into a pile of material. 

In spading up small areas of soil, many gardeners make the mistake of turning each spadeful of earth completely over. If you make the same mistake, any weeds, leaves, or other debris in the soil will form a one- spade-deep barrier that cuts off air and water. Instead, you should lay the dirt on its side (against the previous shovelful) so the original surface is vertical to the ground (see sketch below). 

MACHINE POWER
Using a spade to turn the earth is fine for small areas, but for really big jobs you may want to rent or buy a power tiller. Because a tiller is adjustable, it can either scratch the surface or dig down several inches. If you want to add amendments to packed soil but find it hard to make the tiller dig deep enough, start tilling at a shallow depth. Go over the area a second time (or even a third) with the tiller at a deeper setting each time. (Generally, the more powerful the tiller and the higher its horsepower, the deeper it can dig into the soil.)

In adding amendment, you should mix in a quantity that is from a quarter to a half of the finished volume of soil. Don’t pile up so much amendment that the tiller can’t penetrate the soil. To avoid this, start by adding the amendment in 2 or 3-inch layers, tilling in each layer. If the amendment you choose needs nitrogen, add part of the amount with each amendment layer. Finally, don’t till in the same direction each time you add a layer of amendment. For the best mix the furrows should be at right angles to the furrows you made on your previous run.  Planting hole should look like this in cross section. Widen the water basin as plant grows so it is always wider than outer plant branches. 

Thank you for visiting NewGardener.com. Our goal is to provide you with helpful tips and information that will make your garden a great one. Whether you are a new gardener getting ready to start your first garden, or an veteran gardener starting a new garden and hoping to learn something new, we think gardening should be fun and personally rewarding.

If you have any comments or questions about NewGardener.com, I invite you to email me personally at grow@newgardener.com. And don’t forget — you can always follow us on Twitter.

Thanks!
Tim Lundie, Editor

Shady backyards, courtyards, and terraces are soothing respites from the heat of the summer. On the other hand, for us gardeners, these low-sun spots create challenges as well as wonderful opportunities. We have to learn the tricks of the trade if we want gardens in these areas.

Numerous colorful, leafy, and fragrant plants will thrive in shade as long as you know what type you have and how you can create the right conditions to get shade-loving plants to grow and do their best.

WHAT KIND OF SHADE DO YOU HAVE?
There are as many different misinterpretations of shade types as there are books written about shade. For the sake of consistency, I am using shade definitions from the American Horticultural Society.

Light
Light shade is a permanent shade cast by the shadow of a building, wall, hedge, or tree on a site otherwise exposed to the sky and open to light. It offers the most opportunity for blooming plants that otherwise like the sun.

Partial
After light shade, partial shade provides the next best opportunity for flowers in shade. Under these conditions, an area receives up to six hours of direct sun, with four or more of those hours being in the morning, and the rest of the day being in shadow. It is the most beneficial for a variety of plants. (Note that if four or more of the six hours of sun are in the afternoon, it is considered to be full sun.)

Dappled or Filtered
Dappled, or filtered, shade is created by sunlight filtering through the canopy of open tree branches or through latticework structures, with the pattern of light shifting all day. This is probably the most common shade in suburban backyards and is also the most common woodland shade-garden environment.

Deep or Full
Deep, or full, shade is the dense kind of shade found under evergreens or closely spaced shrubs and trees that do not allow any direct light to penetrate. This is the most cooling kind of shade but is also the most difficult: it takes effort to find plants that will bloom here. But it also can be the most interesting, because the plants suited to it tend to have the best leaf structure.

DRY SHADE OR MOIST SHADE?
This can be a critical question. It will be to your advantage to figure out which you have.

* Dry shade can be challenging but not impossible. If you are under a great leafy tree, such as a maple tree, you are in dry shade. Many plants won’t make it here. Yes, you can water over and over and over, but when there is a drought or a water restriction, it is difficult to grow plants under trees in dry shade.

* Moist shade is best described as an area that is evenly moist over most of the season. There is no gigantic maple tree overhead, and rainwater can penetrate to the ground. You can grow most of the shade-loving plants we mention if you have a moist shade area.

FOR BEST RESULTS
As you begin your garden, dig a two- to three-inch- thick layer of organic matter, such as compost, corn- posted manure, or shredded leaves, into the soil, If you are struggling with tree roots, do your best to scratch these amendments into the soil around the roots, and leave a thin layer on top of the soil.  After planting, add a two- to three-inch-thick layer of mulch to hold in moisture. My favorite shade mulch is made up of compost, shredded leaves, and what is known in the landscape trade as double-shredded bark.

Thank you for visiting NewGardener.com. Our goal is to provide you with helpful tips and information that will make your garden a great one. Whether you are a new gardener getting ready to start your first garden, or an veteran gardener starting a new garden and hoping to learn something new, we think gardening should be fun and personally rewarding.

If you have any comments or questions about NewGardener.com, I invite you to email me personally at grow@newgardener.com. And don’t forget — you can always follow us on Twitter.

Thanks!
Tim Lundie, Editor

A mulch is simply a covering for the soil. Gardeners have used almost any material as a mulch, including old newspaper, foot-deep straw, grass clippings, tree leaves, roofing paper, and plastic. These and many other materials will work if they satisfy these two basic conditions: The mulch should help to retain water in the soil on hot days, and it should smother weeds. A third but less important condition is that it looks attractive. (Mulch can also insulate plants in cold weather.)

If you leave soil uncovered, hot sun and wind will quickly dry it out, forcing you to water more often. The additional water may also produce unwanted weeds. Another disadvantage of bare soil is that the top layer often gets too hot for good root growth. Even if you manage to keep the soil moist, your plants won’t grow as well as they should.

Three inches of mulch keeps the root zone of a plant cool and moist even in hot weather. Mulched plants may grow twice as big as those without a mulch, produce better flowers and fruit. Plant roots grow thicker, and water won’t evaporate as rapidly. Weeds may grow on mulch surface, are easy to pull out.

Even though sun will heat the surface of a mulch, the soil below is insulated because the mulch holds air. And any moisture in the soil has a hard time evaporating through the differently textured mulch. Because the soil is kept cool, the roots stay near the surface, ready to take fertilizer. Most weeds are smothered, but those that grow are rooted in the loose mulch and come up easily. You should not let mulches build up against the trunk or stem of a plant (commonly called the “crown”) because the trunk may rot if it stays moist too long.You can use any of the materials mentioned here as mulch. When you choose a mulch, consider the following:

• It should be fairly easy to wet. For example, peat moss dries out quickly, and once dry it may become impermeable.

• It should be dense enough not to blow away.

Fir bark is a good choice for a mulch, since it meets all of the above requirements even when finely ground (for certain very windy areas, you may wish to use large chips).

Most organic mulches should be dug into the soil every year or two and a new layer added. Spade the mulch under as winter begins and replace it just before weed growth starts in spring. Where winters are mild and rainy, you may want to replace the mulch immediately to maintain weed control. To measure the effect of mulching, scientists in Connecticut used four different cheap mulching materials around petunias. They used old grocery bags, double layers of newspaper, roofing paper, and 3 inches of grass clippings. The mulched plants grew better than those in bare earth, but those with a grass clippings mulch grew twice as big. There were also more flowers on the mulched plants. Surprisingly, nematode worms (a common pest in some soils) were less numerous under all the mulches except the roofing paper.

One disadvantage of a grass mulch is that it tends to rot and breed flies. A 2 or 3-inch bark mulch is a good substitute for grass.Mulches can also be used around trees, in play areas, or in other areas where you don’t want to plant grass or ground cover but don’t want to pave either. You can use rock, gravel, or the largest size of bark chips. Because these mulches do not shut out light, weeds may be a problem. You can solve it by covering the ground with black polyethylene plastic before spreading the mulch.The same black plastic is also valuable in the vegetable garden. It tends to absorb extra heat and warm the soil, so root growth is fast at the beginning of the season and the amount of the crop is greater at the end.

Before spreading the plastic, prepare the soil by adding a complete fertilizer and watering thoroughly. Leave enough room between the sheets of plastic for planting rows of small seeds (carrots, lettuce, or radishes). For larger seeds (beans, peas, or squash) make planting holes in the plastic. The gaps and holes will let water through, and because moisture evaporation is cut down by the overall covering, you won’t have to water as much.

Thank you for visiting NewGardener.com. Our goal is to provide you with helpful tips and information that will make your garden a great one. Whether you are a new gardener getting ready to start your first garden, or an veteran gardener starting a new garden and hoping to learn something new, we think gardening should be fun and personally rewarding.

If you have any comments or questions about NewGardener.com, I invite you to email me personally at grow@newgardener.com. And don’t forget — you can always follow us on Twitter.

Thanks!
Tim Lundie, Editor