Please Ask For Help, First

I listen to a three-hour radio garden show on Saturday mornings, Greenhouse Garden Show, on KSL FM 1o2.7. After listening to this guy for four years now and reading magazines, books, etc, it’s getting to the point where I can almost always answer the callers questions myself but am still surprised by some answers given by the expert. And I always defer to him because I don’t feel I am an expert yet.

Anyway, I am still blown away by the number of people who call in saying they have some problem or other and have already tried all sorts of chemical pest controls BEFORE asking for help. In some cases they have used two or even three different chemicals. Some of them learn that what they have been spraying for is not even a pest but a disease or vice versa. Very different treatment requirements.

I just want to toss out a quick reminder that there is nothing wrong with asking experts to identify a problem before applying what ever fix is called for. It is very important to not use chemicals just because of what you heard a chemical company advertises.

Especially at this time when we are seeing an increase in the number of new gardeners we don’t need to see an equal increase in the sales of chemicals. There are many very viable organic alternatives to common problems. But first the problem needs to be properly identified.

PLEASE, ask for help FIRST. We have got to keep these chemicals out of our food chain. This stuff gets washed into the road gutters and then into the sewer and finally into rivers and streams.

If you can start your garden on an organic path from the beginning everyone will be better off. Also, learn what you can about how to attract beneficial insects as well and you may not even need to resort to any other type of control. It requires a bit of knowledge on how to properly balance your crop diversity but it can be done. Also, attracting birds to your yard will go a long way to keeping down the insect population.

Okay, now that I have had my say on that subject, here are some great sources for learning about common problems, their causes and good organic methods of treatment.

Your area Cooperative Extension Office specializes in all manner of crops that grow in your state. They also offer services such as soil testing, insect & disease identification and their proper control and they will be happy to tell you what time of year to expect outbreaks in your area.

Natural Insect Pest Control for the household

Organic Pest Control Guide

Tips on how to get rid of pests the natural way

Tips on Organic Fertilizer plus

Organic Fertilizer and Soil Amendment Guide

Information on Organic Fertilizers

Beneficial Insects

Make Friends with your good bugs

Beneficial Insects & Biological Pest Control

Project Wildlife: Attracting birds to your backyard

Attracting birds to your feeders and Backyard

This should help you get started. Now go out and have fun. Oh, and start a blog so we can all share in your successes.

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Websites of Interest

In my constant search for knowledge of plants, gardening design and techniques, I have compiled a list of what I consider to be very useful resources. Hopefully these will help you as well. The list is updated periodically so come back often.

Backyard Gardener

Features a botanical encyclopedia, list of seed sources, gardening forum, a blog called Garden Ideas, and they boast the largest gardening store in the world with over 60,000 products.

Cultivating Life

Form their website: Cultivating Life explores how we’ve all moved out of our houses and into our backyards. Each week, we celebrate how Americans are reconnecting to the land. With easy-to-do projects and inspiring ideas relating to garden, home, table, craft, and land, Cultivating Life provides simple solutions and timely ideas for outdoor living, cooking, gardening, and entertaining.

Earthworm Digest

The #1 earthworm information website in the world. Where every article published includes something about earthworms.

Excerpt from their mission statement: “We are working together in a global context to disseminate earthworm information in a responsible way. We want to spearhead action in the world regarding earthworms that has genuine impact on the environment and issues of technology, scientific research, business, agriculture, literature and education.”

Eco Backyard

Your Guide to Restoring the Urban Environment

From the site: Although urban sprawl and habitat loss continue to happen throughout the U.S., I believe that we as urban dwellers can help to restore our environment so that wildlife returns, watersheds are protected, and the effects of urbanization are minimized. Thus, this site is a guide for those who wish to take a few simple steps to make a big impact on the environment, starting in your own backyard.

Farmers Almanac

Time-tested and generation approved, the Farmers’ Almanac is a compendium of knowledge on weather, gardening, cooking, remedies, managing your household, preserving the earth, and more. Anyone can give you advice -- Farmers’ Almanac goes beyond today’s experts and enlightens you with generations of perception, experience, and common sense.

Food First

The purpose of the Institute for Food and Development Policy - Food First - is to eliminate the injustices that cause hunger.

Greenview Calendar

A commercial landscape design company based in Illinois, I find their garden calendar very useful. They also provide information on a host of plants, trees, shrubs, groundcovers and bulbs you may not find elsewhere. There is a section called Plant Uses listing plants that offer food and/or shelter to wildlife, displays exceptional fall color, low maintenance plants, as well as plants with attractive fruit, foliage, bark or texture.

Grist

News about green issues and sustainable living doesn't have to be predictable, demoralizing, or dull. We butter the vegetables! And add salt! And strain metaphors! We exist to tell the untold stories, spotlight trends before they become trendy, and engage the apathetic. We're fiercely independent in our coverage; we throw brickbats when they're needed and bestow kudos when they're warranted. And while we take our work seriously, we don't take ourselves seriously, because of the many things this planet is running out of, sanctimonious tree-huggers ain't one of them.

Growth Spurts

Farmers Market Online. Great resource for a wide range of agricultural topics from how nitric oxide regulates plant growth to sudden oak death to racing the genealogy of popcorn.

Mother Earth News

America’s leading source about sustainable, self-reliant living. Covers green homes, organic gardening, natural health, modern homesteading, sustainable farming, etc.

National Gardening Association

The National Gardening Association (NGA), founded in 1973, is a nonprofit leader in plant-based education. Their fields of emphasis is plant-based education, health and wellness, environmental stewardship, community development, and home gardening.

Old Farmers Almanac

Since 1792, The Old Farmer's Almanac has published useful information for people in all walks of life: tide tables for those who live near the ocean; sunrise tables and planting charts for those who live on the farm; recipes for those who live in the kitchen; and forecasts for those who don't like the question of weather left up in the air.

The Almanac, North America's oldest continuously published periodical, comes out every year in September. The latest edition is on sale now wherever magazines and books are sold.

Organic Gardening

We've gathered the basics of organic gardening for you here. You'll be able to find where to get your soil tested, learn how to manage pests without using chemicals, and read growing guides for vegetables and flowers.

P. Allen Smith

Quickly becoming one of the most widely known authorities on home gardening, P. Allen Smith covers everything aspect of the home gardening lifestyle.

Victory Garden

A member of WGBH Educational Foundation for more than three decades, the website is the companion site to the popular PBS series.

More to come…

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