Grow

Herbs add so much to the organic garden, everyone should devote some space to these forgiving plants. Herbs are useful in culinary and alternative medicine preparations, and herbs are ornamental in the flower and vegetable garden.

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Minnie Moore makes the garden her classroom.

Moore, a special education teacher at Patrick Springs Primary School, and her students have an organic Bowl of Lettuce Garden in a school courtyard.

Moore described her work with students and her two decades of organic gardening at Saturday’s “Rivers and Bugs Summit” in Axton.

A green carpet of lawn adds beauty & functionality to a landscape. It can also wreak havoc on both the environment and the homeowner's wallet.

Synthetic fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides only appear to help lawns thrive. In reality, they degrade the soil, pollute the water, and pose serious health risks to children, pets, birds and wildlife.

Read on for five easy & inexpensive natural lawn treatments and solutions to common lawn problems.

The ongoing crisis in Prince Edward Island’s agricultural sector has prompted Island New Democrat Leader James Rodd to call for a wholescale conversion to organic farming. But he doubts if either the current Liberal government or the opposition Conservatives will move in that direction.

Canadian farmers are worried that a ruling prohibiting the planting of genetically engineered alfalfa in the United States may soon be overturned.

Several farmer and consumer groups are urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) not to permit the introduction of GE alfalfa in the U.S., saying the move could have an irreversible negative impact on the future of organic food and farming in Canada.

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Maybe someday, people won’t use fertilizer to grow grass, pesticides to kill bugs and two-stroke engines to blow leaves and trim hedges.

It might seem unfathomable to the average Joe, but that’s the goal of the Organic Land Care program, a new initiative by Oregon Tilth to extend organic farming practices into home and commercial landscaping.

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More and more home gardeners are interested in growing their own food this year. Plant nurseries and seed companies are already showing sales of vegetable seedlings and fruit trees on the rise this spring. For the most part, this is fantastic news. Bring me more garden geeks! But here's my dilemma. Are home gardeners going to be hoodwinked into buying more chemicals to feed their crops and contaminate their entire zip codes or will they smarten up and go organic?

Growing organic food is all about not doing things, says Harriet Kattenberg, a certified organic farmer and owner of Seedtime and Harvest Inc. in Hull, Iowa.

Organic growers do not apply pesticides, fungicides, herbicides or chemical fertilizer, Kattenberg says.

It's a mindful treatment of the environment and food we eat, and it's an easy way to ensure the produce you and your family eat is safe, says Guy McPherson, professor emeritus of natural resources and ecology for the University of Arizona.

Ahhh, spring! When a young heart turns to ... soil?

Well, it does if you're a Master Gardener. Our training, which includes classes on growing everything from trees to ornamental plants to vegetables, concentrates heavily on soil preparation, the key to creating a beautiful garden. Yes, the dirt in our gardens is soil. We speak of it with respect because it is the most important component of a successful garden; however, it is still dirt when it gets on your clothes.

Deciding on organic garden fertilizers may be an overwhelming task for the novice gardener. A garden soil test kit will make the decision easier. Purchase a soil test kit at any home and garden supply store and follow the instructions to determine the soil pH. Knowing how each natural fertilizer interacts with the soil, is the next step in deciding which organic garden fertilizers are best.