Healthy fresh organic food is easily available. An innovative horticulturist shows us how to save money, save time and grow organic vegetables in our back yard.
I want to let you know that I ordered and received the organic gardening ebook and videos that you recommended, from www.organicfoodforless.info. I have since planted my garden. It is wonderful, and has so far had no insects and is requiring little water. I'm so enjoying seeing everything come up. Thank you again for sharing what promises to be a bountiful approach to a self-sufficient food supply.
For the first article in this series, I will give a little story about how I got introduced to organic gardening. It was in Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada where (you may have guessed this) IT RAINS. And it rains and then again, it rains some more. There I was, a new wife trying to provide good quality foods for my husband. The only resource I knew of was a huge volume of over 1000 pages called "An Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening," by J.I. Rodale, who was probably the grand-daddy of books published on this subject.
So I chose the organic gardening mulching method to protect the young plants from pests. The only problem was the persistent and pervasive moisture in Vancouver. I might as well have issued written invitations to all the slugs in the neighborhood, since in fact they promptly descended upon my garden and ate up all the young plants-right at the stem line.
How we handled the slug smorgasbord is a story in its own right: we thought of trying chopped up glass (harking back to the J.I. Rodale Encyclopedia) but we thought, who wants glass in our garden? The thought of kitty litter to deter the slugs produced similar concerns. So we finally opted for dishes of beer to dehydrate the slugs. (Our neighbor said we should call it "cocktail hour for the slugs"). Well that worked! But since buying beer was so expensive, we started to brew our own in the basement. And the slugs weren't the only beneficiaries of that plan!
Since you must have some desire to do it right, we can cut to the chase: please check out the following, very helpful website: http://www.organicfoodforless.info. Barbara Ellingson is a survivor of advanced spinal cancer diagnosed 3 1/2 years ago. She has had no chemo, radiation or surgery, and is handling this with nutrition. She is an author, and is avidly interested in people's health, and in the practice of sustainable gardening and other sustainable practices that will ensure a long-term future for all of us on this planet. She will appreciate hearing your stories and comments made directly to this blog.
It is springtime in the northern hemisphere, after one of the roughest winters in many many years. (Note to those in the southern hemisphere: this will be applicable to you next spring.) This IS the time to plan - and plant - your organic garden. According to the principles given at www.organicfoodforless.info, some of this set up work does not need to be done again and again. Some maintenance is required of course, but the initial actions do not need to be duplicated continuously.
How is this different than getting out the tools and knuckling down to another year of shoveling dirt, applying fertilizer, watering, sowing seeds, weeding, battling the elements and the condition of the soil as well as the garden pests, all to get one's share of produce to eat and/or sell? Whew--a normal gardener can practically get tired before he starts out. Though many adventurous souls keep at it for the love of the earth, and the carrot (literally) at the end of the stick.
Contributed by Dan T. of San Diego, California: "One of the pieces of true independence. These are the folks we would be turning to if (God forbid) there ever was an economic failure (or a disruption large enough to shut down local food distribution).
P.S. from Jim - delicious organic vegetables do not require such an extreme approach. This horticulturist has it all worked out and is more than willing to show you all the details. http://www.organicfoodforless.info G.D. of Ventura, California says "I did today receive the link and it looks great. What a wonderful program! I've just completed reviewing the videotapes and I' excited to start putting in my garden. Thank you for sharing this wonderful information!"
