What to Look for in Bulk Organic Herbs
July 19th, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed
If you wish to buy quality herbs in large quantities for your home or restaurant, consider purchasing bulk organic herbs. Bulk organic herbs are herbs grown without the use of harmful chemicals, such as pesticides, that have harmful effects on those who consume them. Studies seem to indicate that consumption of these chemicals can lead to devastating consequences, such as cancer and other life threatening health problems. Consuming them daily over a lifetime can cause you to die before your time. It is no wonder that many people are turning to bulk organic herbs.
Choosing a Good Supplier
If you are considering buying bulk organic herbs, make sure you are buying them from a quality supplier. Unfortunately, there are companies out there that stick the word organic on their products, when they really are not. So here are some things to look for when choosing a bulk organic herb supplier.
You want to purchase herbs that are certified as organic. This means that they have passed the criteria to be certified. Some herbs cannot be grown this way. If your supplier does not have certified herbs, ask why. If the reason is sufficient, you can still look to them for your herb needs. Another sign of a good supplier is a supplier that only sells bulk organic herbs that have not been sprayed with sterilizers. These are supposed to make the herbs safe, but can cause problems. An example of a sterilizer is ethylene oxide.
A company that is willing to answer your questions about their products is usually a good choice when buying bulk organic herbs. If they have something to hide, you will not get your questions answered. Also, good companies are going to be active in educating their consumers and the community about the benefits of eating organic.
Storing Your Herbs
Remember that organic herbs do not have an infinite shelf life. If you are working with bulk organic herbs that have been dried, keep them in a dry place, because moisture will cause problems in the storage of these herbs. It is not a good idea to buy fresh herbs in bulk because you will have trouble using them before they go bad.
The exception to this rule is restaurants, because restaurants use much more quantity of their food sources than the average home. In this case, bulk organic herbs might be a good way to save money when using organic food, because when buying products in bulk, the price is generally much lower.
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Made for Small Spaces: Organic Container Gardening
July 15th, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed
If you want fresh organic veggies and flowers but don’t have a garden space, you’re in luck. Organic container gardening fits just about anywhere, and it’s even easier than having an organic garden plot.
Containers
Anything that you can put soil in can be a garden container. Some organic gardeners prefer to use natural containers, such as those made from wood or clay, but you can use anything. You can put a plant in an old toilet, a worn-out shoe, a milk carton or any other container that will hold dirt and won’t fall apart when it gets wet.
Make sure the container will drain; few plants like too much water. If necessary, you can drill a few drainage holes in the bottom of almost anything. Add about an inch of gravel or broken clay pots to the bottom of the pot. If you want to, you can put a layer of torn up newspaper or leaf mold on top of the gravel. The gravel helps ensure good drainage, and the leaf mold helps retain the water so the soil stays slightly moist.
Soil
Organic container gardening relies on organic, living soil. With a regular garden, you start with the soil you have and add organic material to it. With organic container gardening, you have to start out with organic soil.
Because you don’t have any subsoil, you need organic soil that will hold water without letting the plant’s roots get too wet. The best way to do that is to add peat moss to your organic soil. Compost and composted manure, mixed with peat moss, make great soil for organic container gardening. You can also use straight peat moss.
Plants
You can plant the same things in organic container gardening that you would in regular organic gardening. You can plant beans, tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, herbs, eggplant - anything you want to – just that they will be in containers. Make sure you have room for the plant, and that you use a container of the appropriate size. Zucchini takes up the same amount of room on your patio that it does in the garden - and it needs a pot big enough to contain the plant.
Technically, you should use organic seed and/or plants for organic container gardening. Unless you’re planning to sell organic produce, however, the choice is yours.
Organic Practices
Organic container gardening is well suited for organic gardening practices, especially where pest control is concerned. It’s much easier to pick tomato hookworms off of a container tomato than it is in a large garden. You can easily wash each leaf and stem of a plant with aphids when it’s in a pot on your patio. You will rarely have problems with cutworms in organic container gardening. Slugs will still go for your plants and diatomaceous earth will still deter them; just sprinkle it on the surface of the soil in the pot.
You can even use insect control with organic container gardening. Instead of buying a package of ladybugs or a praying mantis egg sac, just catch a few and put them on the plants that have insect infestations. Ladybugs will stay wherever there are aphids, and they will make short work of the aphids.
Organic container gardening will allow you to have plenty of healthy organic produce to feed your family. If you have a sheltered area and can provide enough light, you can have vegetables from organic container gardening all year round.
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What to Look for in Bulk Organic Herbs
July 12th, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed
If you wish to buy quality herbs in large quantities for your home or restaurant, consider purchasing bulk organic herbs. Bulk organic herbs are herbs grown without the use of harmful chemicals, such as pesticides, that have harmful effects on those who consume them. Studies seem to indicate that consumption of these chemicals can lead to devastating consequences, such as cancer and other life threatening health problems. Consuming them daily over a lifetime can cause you to die before your time. It is no wonder that many people are turning to bulk organic herbs.
Choosing a Good Supplier
If you are considering buying bulk organic herbs, make sure you are buying them from a quality supplier. Unfortunately, there are companies out there that stick the word organic on their products, when they really are not. So here are some things to look for when choosing a bulk organic herb supplier.
You want to purchase herbs that are certified as organic. This means that they have passed the criteria to be certified. Some herbs cannot be grown this way. If your supplier does not have certified herbs, ask why. If the reason is sufficient, you can still look to them for your herb needs. Another sign of a good supplier is a supplier that only sells bulk organic herbs that have not been sprayed with sterilizers. These are supposed to make the herbs safe, but can cause problems. An example of a sterilizer is ethylene oxide.
A company that is willing to answer your questions about their products is usually a good choice when buying bulk organic herbs. If they have something to hide, you will not get your questions answered. Also, good companies are going to be active in educating their consumers and the community about the benefits of eating organic.
Storing Your Herbs
Remember that organic herbs do not have an infinite shelf life. If you are working with bulk organic herbs that have been dried, keep them in a dry place, because moisture will cause problems in the storage of these herbs. It is not a good idea to buy fresh herbs in bulk because you will have trouble using them before they go bad.
The exception to this rule is restaurants, because restaurants use much more quantity of their food sources than the average home. In this case, bulk organic herbs might be a good way to save money when using organic food, because when buying products in bulk, the price is generally much lower.
What You Will Find in Books on Organic Gardening
July 10th, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed
Organic food is a growing concept that is being adopted by people around the world in order to seek better and healthier lifestyles. Eating organic food can be done in two ways: buying it from grocery stores or growing your own organic vegetables. Gardening is a hobby that provides stress relief and now it can provide you with healthier vegetables as well. Here is how books on organic gardening can help you start and maintain your own organic garden.
Getting Started
Organic gardening is a bit different than traditional gardening as you need to be careful about the soil, fertilizers as well as the way you take care of the fruits and vegetables. From planting to watering and providing the right source of light, books on organic gardening will explain step-by-step how to ensure that the soil in which you will be planting the vegetables does not contain any chemicals and how you can take care of your vegetables everyday.
Books on organic gardening also help you understand what vegetables will grow best in organic soil and what to expect from them. This is because they will be growing slower then those vegetables boosted by chemicals and other artificial fertilizers.
Finding the Right Books on Organic Gardening
Depending on how much you know about gardening, there are plenty of books on organic gardening to choose from and here are some examples. If you don’t know anything about gardening choose a book like one from the Dummies series (Organic Gardening For Dummies), which explains everything and thus answers all the basic questions. However, if you know a bit about gardening and a bit about organic gardening, then you may want to pick a book that is targeted to your needs such as, Maria Rodale’s Organic Gardening.
Before buying books on organic gardening ask yourself what you want from the book and then try to find a book that provides you with those answers. It is usually best to get books on organic gardening that cover more than what you are interested in even if you feel you know that particular subject, as at times you will be surprised how little tips and suggestions come in handy.
It is probably best to look online if you’re looking for bargains on organic gardening. However nothing can replace the pleasure of shopping in a book store where you can go through several books before you finally decide to buy a few.
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Where to Find Organic Garden Supply
July 6th, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed
You have decided to try an organic garden, good for you! However, it is important that you find a place for organic garden supplies because you aren’t going to be able to do it all on your own. You need to find a place that you can trust to provide you with the best supplies possible in order to make your organic garden a success.
What to Look for
You need to find a place for organic garden supplies that you can trust. First of all, you should make sure that you have found a place where the people are friendly and are willing to help you. Gardens that are organic might be quite a chore and you are going to have a lot of questions, especially at the beginning. You need to be able to feel that you can trust the people you are working with to provide you with the best organic garden supply possible. Find a place where the people will talk to you and where there is other information, such as books about organic gardening, available for you to use.
Also, you should find a place that actually sells supplies. There are many things that are made today, such as bug repellents and fertilizers, which are totally natural and made without chemicals and you can safely use these things on your organic garden. Just make sure that your organic garden supply sells a good variety, so you can try out several different things.
Also, make sure that you find an organic garden supply store that sells seeds that have come from organic foods. If you want to make your garden completely organic you should make sure that it has started with the seeds. You might also need to buy some potting soil that is completely organic as well to make sure that your garden ends up being purely natural.
Be Accessible
No matter where you go for your organic garden supply make sure that it is a place that is accessible to you. . Compare their business hours with others in the area, what suits you the best and whose prices are the most competitive? Do your research and then settle on a store. You never know when you might have to run back to the store to ask a question or to get something you have forgotten. You should have an organic garden supply store near to you so that you aren’t very far away from help at any time
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Learning How to Grow an Organic Garden
July 3rd, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed
Learning how to grow an organic garden is actually quite easy. The basic rule is to use 100% organic products that are chemical and pesticide free. You should first test the soil to determine the health of your soil. You can take a sample of the soil where you intend on planting your organic garden. You want to find the best soil possible to plant your garden. The sample should be sent to a lab where all of the different levels are checked and recorded. With the results you can make the proper adjustments necessary to the soil for you organic garden. The next step in learning how to grow an organic garden is the seeds. There are several outlets for gardeners to find the exact seeds they are looking for. The type of garden you choose to plant is entirely up to you.
Maintaining Your Garden
Regular maintenance is necessary for the best results. Learning how to care and grow an organic garden is very important. You should weed your garden whenever weeds appear. This will enable the soil to grow at its best. Watering your organic garden is another important task, and it is easy to learn how to water and grow an organic garden. Soil should be watered regularly; however it should never be over watered. This will wash away all the nutrients you have been trying so hard to accumulate in the soil. Fertilizing is the key to figuring out how to grow and fertilize an organic garden. Garden centers have fertilizer for purchase or you could mix your own fertilizer with products from your home. The best times to fertilize are in the spring, and then again during summertime. This will ensure that your organ garden will achieve the desired results you are trying to achieve.
What Will You Grow?
Learning how to grow an organic garden is easy, with a few tips your garden will blossom in no time. Deciding on what you will plant is a different story. Some choose to learn how to grow an organic rose garden, while others may choose to grow herbs or vegetables. Using seed guides, you can determine what items would grow better in your region. Some seeds need to be planted at certain times to ensure optimal growth. With a little research and a touch of a green thumb, you can learn exactly how to grow the perfect organic garden.
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