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You must have both patience and skill to grow an organic garden. When you enjoy this hobby, you often have a goal of growing healthier foods for your family to enjoy. This particular hobby may not be as easy as it sounds. Review the tips in this article and you'll be on your way to creating a wonderful organic garden.



Design your garden so that your harvest is staggered over as long a season as possible. Use cold-tolerant root crops and greens in the fall, for example, and plan to pick and preserve early strawberries in June. This way, you will have the space and time in your life to store everything you grow.



Keep your plants thriving through the winter by bringing them inside. You may be able to save your most resistant or expensive plants. Cautiously avoid the roots while digging, and put your plant into a perfectly sized pot.




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Save money by drying the seeds from your annuals to plant next year. Petunias, zinnias and impatiens are just a few of the flowers from which it is easy to extract and save seeds. You will have to extract the seed pod from some flowers, and wait for it to split open. With others, such as marigolds, you will have to open the flower and extract the seeds yourself. After extracting the seeds, let them dry for at least a week. Place them in a jar with a rubber seal, and add silica gel pouches to keep them from absorbing moisture. Store them in a cool, dry location until you're ready to plant them next year.



Give your plants an appropriate amount of water to optimize growth and plant health. Different varieties of plants require varying amounts of water so you cannot water your entire garden at the same rate. Instead, determine how often each type of plant needs water and how much before planning your watering schedule.



There are many common household items that can be used to good effect in the garden. Try using duct tape to remove aphids from the leaves of infested plants. Wrap the tape around your hand, http://www.finance.yahoo.com/news/local-tree-pros-launches-website-160000974.html/ out, and press it to the leaves to remove the aphids. A lint roller can be used for this tasks as well.



When gardening, it is wise to rotate your crops, especially if you are growing more than one crop of fruits or vegetables in your garden each year. This helps to conserve the nutrients in the soil. It also helps to avoid diseases in the soil. Even with crop rotation, nutrients needed to be added back into http://mikesbackyardnursery.com/2010/07/tree-pruning-tips/ after each planting season.



Make sure to pick the right seeds for your location and zone. Certain crops grow better in certain locations. Seed packets usually have information regarding USDA zones. Information regarding USDA Plant Hardiness Zones is also available online. A good example of this is growing oranges in warmer climates and apples in cooler climates.



Plant for fall color. A lot of gardeners see fall as the time to wind things down in the garden, but with some plants the opposite is true. Certain trees and shrubs really 'come alive' in the fall, offering vivid displays of color through their foliage. Trees and shrubs for fall color include maple, cornus, gingko, dogwood, sumac and viburnum.



Make sure your seeds have enough room to grow. It is fine to have many seeds in one container before they sprout, but you will have to replant them as they grow. Use containers that are actually big enough for one plant, and avoid having more than one plant in each container.



For those new to gardening it is suggested to experiment with annuals. The following varieties are hardy, thrive in average soil, and take minimum care: sweet alyssum, marigold, zinnia, sunflower, nasturtium, petunia and verbena. Just remember to deadhead them frequently to encourage new flowers to grow.



Be sure that you have earthworms in your soil. Earthworms are vital to good organic gardening, because they aerate the soil. Also, the by-products of earthworm digestion are actually great plant food. Earthworms encourage soil bacteria that provide needed nutrients to your plants while competing with harmful insect pests, reducing the need for chemical pesticides and fertilizers.



Attract positive bugs to your garden. Bugs like lady-bugs actually hunt natural predators to your plants; aphids and caterpillars are just some of the nasty critters that can go through a garden and eat the leaves of the plants. Lady bugs are the natural predators to such pests and help the growth of a good healthy garden by consuming pests.



A healthy garden is created more easily than you might think. This article provides some advice to guide you in gardening most effectively. While there are a great number of gardening tips out there, the ones in this article are a great place to start and will get you on your way to raising a wonderful garden.