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Gardening is a most satisfying hobby and skill.  And, as with most hobbies and skills, there is always something to learn and something to improve.  Perhaps one of the most overlooked, yet one of the most beneficial things you can do for your backyard vegetable garden is to mulch.  Is the extra labor of mulching necessary?  What is “mulch” exactly?  And, what are the overall advantages of adding mulch to your garden?  Follow along in this article, for there is “mulch” to learn and glean!

Basically, mulch is a layer of organic matter that is used as a soil cover to preserve soil moisture, control weeds, and improve soil fertility.  You can create rich and fertile soil in your garden from unwanted plant materials, such as grass clippings, straw, leaves, etc., mixed with aged manure.  It is very important to used aged manure, as fresh manure may be too “hot” and literally “burn” your young plants.

The benefits of mulching your garden are numerous.  One advantage to mulching is that it helps conserve soil moisture by holding the moisture in and next to the plant.  By providing your plants with a constant water supply, your plants will be more robust and healthy, thereby producing tastier and bigger fruit!  Another obvious advantage of conserving water for your plants is if there is a drought or water shortage conditions.  You will have a decided advantage for your garden! In dry or arid climates, a thick mulch will help prevent soil erosion in the event of a wind storm or a sudden rain downpour.  In addition, mulching around your crops will help keep those pesky weeds at bay.  And if a weed does pop through, it is easily removed due to the moist earth underneath.  Also, a heavy mulch in garden aisles will keep those weeds down as well as provide a nice walkway and dry path after a spring or summer rain!  Mulch also helps improve the soil because an organic, not plastic, mulch will decay and compost right back into the soil and add back those essential nutrients which are being used up in the growing process.  Mulches also serve as wonderful and natural fertilizers, as well as cheap fertilizers since it is basically free to begin with!  And, if you have seen the prices of fertilizer at the garden supply store lately, cheap is a very good price!  Further, a nice, thick mulch helps maintain the correct and constant soil temperature needed by soil bacteria to do its stuff…that is, breaking down the plant and manure mulches in order for the proper nutrients to be released back into the soil.  Another wonderful benefit to mulching is that mulch helps prevent fruit rot of such plants as squash and melons, by keeping the fruit from direct contact with the soil.

As you can see, there are many benefits to mulching your vegetable garden.  So, is the extra labor of mulching necessary?  Well, if you want to start having the most successful and productive backyard garden ever, I don’t think there is “mulch” more to discuss!  By the way, if you would like further tips on where to obtain organic mulch ingredients, or gather other garden tips, please visit the links listed below.  A hearty “green” thumbs up to all and happy gardening!       

If you have a fruit or vegetable garden, chances are you will eventually encounter the problem of certain pests, most notably insects that can become a real problem somewhere down the line. This is why it is always good to have ways of getting rid of them while still maintaining environmental integrity. This article will give you practical tips on how to get rid of unwanted guests in your garden before it is too late.

Butterflies can sometimes become a problem in just about any garden, so you will have to know how to take care of them if you do encounter some. By putting up some simply butterfly netting, you will be able to keep your cabbage far away from harm. This way you won’t have to use any dangerous chemicals that could possibly poison other animals that happen by.

Another common problem in vegetable gardens in the rabbit. To keep your pest control methods humane, you will want to set up a cage that has galvanized wire netting, allowing you to capture them on your own and keep them out of your garden for good. If you do not address this problem right away, it can mean trouble for whatever your have planted.

One method that a lot of farmers and gardeners use is predator utilization. This means that you encourage predatory insects that are useful in the sense that they will eat the pests you have in your garden, without contributing to the ravaging of your crops. One of the best insects to choose to help you out is the dragonfly, because of the wide range of insects that it consumes on a daily basis. It can really help you out and keep your garden free of pests

Another option to consider is biological pest control. This involves using certain predatory insects, such as dragonflies and green lacewings to feed on pests that are causing trouble in your garden. By utilizing these insects, you are using a pesticide-free method of pest control that will allow you to grow whatever crops you want while remaining environmentally responsible.

Whenever possible, it is always good to use a natural organic herbicide that will not endanger other living things, including yourself or the environment. You can find these in many different stores, and even make your own. The internet is filled with great recipes to concoct your own organic mixture that will allow you to keep pests away and at the same time staying green.

You can dive into planting a basic herb garden in sublime blissful ignorance. Especially if you choose chives plants as your path into herb gardening. I speak from earthy experience. Despite a bucketful of blunders and missteps, my chives plants were thriving and bountiful.

I admit a happy chance landed chives plants into my life some years ago. Yes, I stumbled into beginning my basic herb garden by planting chives plants aplenty! Usually people are led into planting an herb garden by their love of cooking with herbs. Nope. Not in my case. Although an avid novice gardener, herbs were totally lacking from my cooking. But, an encounter with chives plants in my herb garden changed all that. The entire experience drew me to introduce you to chives as an herb plant for your garden and share my tips and discoveries gardening with chives herbs taught me.

Typically people think of chives as these dried up little green pieces that look like cuttings from your lawn. Sadly little taste survives in this dried version. Most of us get introduced to using chives as an herb simply as a condiment for a baked potato…sour cream with chives. Due to its past classification as a common household herb, the fascinating features of chives as a plant and herb have been much maligned. Here’s what I unearthed as a beginner planting an herb garden when I somehow mistakenly ordered 9 chives plants, but intended to get only 1.

The Basics -Chives Plants In Your Herb Garden

Chives are part of the onion family but the flavor is much milder and more subtle. Until you’ve tasted fresh chives you won’t believe the difference in taste from those dried up commercial counterparts you buy at the store! Chives grow in clumps, which is why they’re always referred to as plural. The upright green shoots that grow from the clumps are really called the leaves of the plant.

Growing chives is a dream for beginners in basic herb gardening. I’m prime proof of how easy it is. In fact, for ease of growing I put them in the category of daylilies because they’re so indestructible no matter the amount of rain or scorching heat. I was clueless how to plant my chives plants (or any herb) in the garden when they arrived. Somehow they’ve survived in the clay soil of hot Kentucky summers for almost a decade now. You can even dig up their roots (actually little onion-like bulbs), divide them, and replant them just like daylilies! Although chives plants are best planted in a healthy mixture of soil, peat, sand and compost, my ignorance proves chives plants do well as long as they have plenty of sun and some water now and then.

In my accidental adventure in herb garden planting, I discovered chives plants are perennial! That means, the plant dies back through the winter and sprouts new leaves in the spring. Perennials make a gardener’s life far easier simply because they do automatically emerge every year without my help. Also in the spring, the chives plant produces a bounty of beautiful purple “pom-pom” flowers that sprout up on tall stems. Who knew growing chives produced beautiful flowers as well? The flowers, similar in shape to the flowers in clover but bigger, can be used in dried ornamental bouquets, too. The bees happen to love those flowers. Just by growing my chives plants, there’s this added benefit of attracting the bees for pollinating some of my other garden plantings. The flowers are edible, but frankly I haven’t given that a try.

Another side benefit for my outdoor garden is the chives plants actually protect my other plants and flowers from unwanted insects–like aphids. Insects apparently find chives to be repulsive. You can also use the juice of the leaves as a repellant. The juice is equally repugnant to pests. The chives plants themselves are very hardy and don’t seem to be prone to diseases (or pests).

Chives Herb Garden Basics – Culinary Gems

Chives are chock full of vitamin A and C, plus calcium and iron. A great choice to flavor foods, cut chives are fat free and combine well with more than sour cream and cream cheese. I found them a winning alternative to salt seasoning. Harvesting chives is a simple task. Simply snip some of those leaves (the soft green shoots) down to the base. The chives plants will continue replenishing itself by regrowing the leaves continuously during its growing season.

Chop the leaves into smaller pieces and use them fresh. The oils of the plants are its seasoning source. By chopping the leaves, the oils are released to flavor your food along with an arresting aroma. Store what you don’t use in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for about a week. Postpone washing the chives until you use them. The extra moisture will make them wilt and decay rapidly.

Add them for flavoring to perk up your soups, sandwiches, fish, vegetable dishes, sauces, and salads. The vast variety of culinary uses can ignite those creative juices and rock your recipes. For instance, I have a friend whose family loves to enjoy ‘chives sandwiches’ every spring. Avoid the mistake of growing chives as a basic garden herb simply for a garnish…it’s so much more versatile. Try using them to make an herb vinegar. A low cost gift exhibiting your new talents in herb garden planting without revealing you’re a beginner!

Trying to reduce your carbon footprint or the four little footprints from your pet can be difficult, especially during tough economic times.  But it is times like these where you have to be a little more creative and do a little extra research to discover there are plenty of ways to be eco-friendly when it comes to taking care of your pet.  Here are a few simple ways to do this:

Adopt- Adopting is cost-effective and may even save the life of a pet.  The animals can come in a variety of breeds and most are healthy vet-approved pets.  Along with this, get your pets spayed or neutered.  Over 70,000 pets are born each day in the U.S. alone and there just aren’t enough pet lovers out there to take care of all of them.

Be Inventive - Make your pet’s toys for instead of buying them.  Many pet toys contain chemicals that are not intended to be ingested.  Small amounts of these chemicals over time can be damaging to your pet.  Use durable organic materials from old clothes and a sewing machine to transform something old into something inexpensive, safe and fun for your pet.

No More Lint Rollers - Instead use Fur-Zoff.   Fur-Zoff is an eco-friendly product that removes pet hair from all types of fabrics at http://www.FurZoff.net.  It’s made of 90% recycled materials and a lifetime guarantee.  So you pretty much get the bang for your buck with this one for $10 and you’re not being wasteful going through all of those sticky sheets. 

Change That Litter – Switch to using a biodegradable cat litter or baggies for dog.  You’ll reduce the amount of waste in landfills or you can even use it as compost for your garden.  It doesn’t sound very pleasant but it sure does make the flowers bloom! 

 Green for Dinner – Try natural and organic pet foods.  They are hormone free, contain vitamins, and spell out how each ingredient is processed right on the packaging.  If organic food isn’t in the budget these days there are dozens of easy recipes you can make for your pet with ingredients you would find in your own kitchen.  A good website would be http://www.simplypets.com/pet-recipes/.

Each and every effort you can make towards becoming “green” is not only healthy for the environment but extremely healthy for your pet.  You’re little, or big, guy will feel better, live longer, and be more then appreciate of the effort you’re making.  It’s not difficult to become a “green” pet owner; you just have to start somewhere!