Dear friends,
Just a little bit of explanation about this blog. It's a continuation of my writing I did for another garden site which shall remain nameless since they didn't pay me! I've transferred my original garden stories and photos as well as new ones here to this blog. They aren't always in order by date, but you can always use the handy search feature on your browser to find certain topics. I hope you'll come back often, because I'll be posting almost daily.
I'll also be posting supplemental pages, sources and longer garden stories on my personal website HERE.
I'll be talking about organic gardening–the modern way. We’ll learn all sorts of cool stuff like WHY bother to garden organically, HOW to make a garden so it’s kind to the earth, and the elements that make up a good organic garden. I’ll scout around for great sources for supplies, plants, seeds, other information, etc. I’ll also share stories and tips from my own garden, as well as inspiring photos and what-not.
And since my lovely readers have indicated that many of them have small gardens, or almost no space at all, I’ll be sure to talk about container gardening, too! I'll share tips and ideas from my own garden, talk about what works and what doesn't.
I hope you enjoy reading The Earthly Gardener as much as I love writing it for you! And I'd love hearing from you and about your earthly gardens!
Dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2005-2007 Bobbi A. Chukran
Showing posts with label organic gardening. Show all posts
Showing posts with label organic gardening. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Another great organic gardening resource...
The Earthly Gardener by Bobbi A. Chukran
February 13, 2007
Dear friends,
The winter weather continues here. It was 17-degrees when I woke up, NOT something that this thin-blooded Texan wants to even think about. I comforted myself by rushing into my office and looking at the wee little basil seedlings struggling along here. They are coming up, slowly, mostly because this room gets chilly at night. I’m thinking of adding a warming mat to my stash of seed-starting tools!
Here’s a great website I just discovered….it covers info. on organic gardening, farming, sustainable agriculture, heritage (heirloom, or antique) vegetables, organic food on a budget, etc.
Even though the site is maintained in the UK, the information applies to anyone, anywhere. Enjoy!
Dig it!
bobbi c.
All text and photos Copyright©2005-2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran
February 13, 2007
Dear friends,
The winter weather continues here. It was 17-degrees when I woke up, NOT something that this thin-blooded Texan wants to even think about. I comforted myself by rushing into my office and looking at the wee little basil seedlings struggling along here. They are coming up, slowly, mostly because this room gets chilly at night. I’m thinking of adding a warming mat to my stash of seed-starting tools!
Here’s a great website I just discovered….it covers info. on organic gardening, farming, sustainable agriculture, heritage (heirloom, or antique) vegetables, organic food on a budget, etc.
Even though the site is maintained in the UK, the information applies to anyone, anywhere. Enjoy!
Dig it!
bobbi c.
All text and photos Copyright©2005-2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran
Wild bees and rosemary
The Earthly Gardener by Bobbi A. Chukran
February 20, 2007
Dear friends,
I’m sitting gazing out the window to my garden, and am happy to see that my little swarm of wild bees are back! They disappeared for a few months, and I was worried about them. I have no idea where they live, but a beekeeper friend identified them for me soon after they appeared here a few years ago…turns out they are honeybees! He told me he’ll help me capture them and put them into a hive, but I’m not sure I want the responsibility of tending a beehive. The bees seem to be doing fine on their own.
One surprise…they LOVE rosemary! My rosemary plants bloom off and on year-round here, and I never thought about that being a good source of pollen, or nectar. Apparently the bees think otherwise. I see a handful of them swarming the plant this morning, but last August there were thousands out there. The idea of rosemary-flavored honey is intriguing, I will admit.
I was glad to see the bees in the garden because they help the plants with pollination. One reason I have a totally organic garden is so that the beneficial insects can thrive in it and aren’t killed off by pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. Too many of our native pollinators are disappearing because of widespread spraying of crops. For me, that’s reason enough to go organic.
Until tomorrow….dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 bobbi a. chukran.
February 20, 2007
Dear friends,
I’m sitting gazing out the window to my garden, and am happy to see that my little swarm of wild bees are back! They disappeared for a few months, and I was worried about them. I have no idea where they live, but a beekeeper friend identified them for me soon after they appeared here a few years ago…turns out they are honeybees! He told me he’ll help me capture them and put them into a hive, but I’m not sure I want the responsibility of tending a beehive. The bees seem to be doing fine on their own.
One surprise…they LOVE rosemary! My rosemary plants bloom off and on year-round here, and I never thought about that being a good source of pollen, or nectar. Apparently the bees think otherwise. I see a handful of them swarming the plant this morning, but last August there were thousands out there. The idea of rosemary-flavored honey is intriguing, I will admit.
I was glad to see the bees in the garden because they help the plants with pollination. One reason I have a totally organic garden is so that the beneficial insects can thrive in it and aren’t killed off by pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. Too many of our native pollinators are disappearing because of widespread spraying of crops. For me, that’s reason enough to go organic.
Until tomorrow….dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 bobbi a. chukran.
Disappearing bees
The Earthly Gardener by Bobbi A. Chukran
February 28, 2007
Something a little more serious this morning….In more than 24 states across the country, bees are disappearing at an alarming rate. According to Ann Johansson of the New York Times and other journalists across the country, this is not only threatening the livelihood of beekeepers, but is also a threat to many of our important crops, such as the almond industry in CA. Not to mention our entire food supply!
Researchers aren’t sure where the bees are going. Some hives have died off, some have simply vanished.
For sure, widespread pesticide spraying of agricultural crops can kill bees, as can small doses of spraying, such as a homeowner might do in their gardens or yards. That’s just another reason that organic gardening is friendly to the environment.
Our entire food supply relies on pollination by bees and other such insects. There are many alternatives to synthetic pesticides on the market today. Next time you’re at your local garden center, look for the natural or organic section…see what’s there, and follow the directions on the label.
dig it!
bobbi c.
February 28, 2007
Something a little more serious this morning….In more than 24 states across the country, bees are disappearing at an alarming rate. According to Ann Johansson of the New York Times and other journalists across the country, this is not only threatening the livelihood of beekeepers, but is also a threat to many of our important crops, such as the almond industry in CA. Not to mention our entire food supply!
Researchers aren’t sure where the bees are going. Some hives have died off, some have simply vanished.
For sure, widespread pesticide spraying of agricultural crops can kill bees, as can small doses of spraying, such as a homeowner might do in their gardens or yards. That’s just another reason that organic gardening is friendly to the environment.
Our entire food supply relies on pollination by bees and other such insects. There are many alternatives to synthetic pesticides on the market today. Next time you’re at your local garden center, look for the natural or organic section…see what’s there, and follow the directions on the label.
dig it!
bobbi c.
Catch some rain!
The Earthly Gardener by Bobbi A. Chukran
March 2, 2007
Dear friends,
We haven’t had rain for months here, and we desperately need some. Not only for our garden and landscaping, but also because we drink rainwater! Yep, that’s right….we collect rainwater and use it for ALL our water needs…we cook with it, bathe with it, wash our clothes in it, AND drink it. It’s filtered out the wazoo and treated with UV light, so it’s safer than the local city water or well water out here.
Rainwater is great for plants because it’s pH neutral…not too acidic, not too alkaline. To catch rainwater, you don’t have to have two humongous fiberglass tanks like we do, holding 17,000 gallons. You can buy yourself a cool galvanized bucket (I love that galvanized stuff!) and plop it outdoors next time it rains. Store it covered so that insects don’t get in and use it for a breeding ground. Next time you need to water a houseplant, dip into it and give that green baby a drink! Use it to water seedlings; they’ll appreciate the clean water. There are also larger systems that you can buy from online garden suppliers to collect rain from the gutters of your house, etc. if you want to tackle it on a larger scale.
Start small, see how well your plants do when they get to drink rainwater. (And ya know, it’s GREAT for human hair, too!)
dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 by bobbi a. chukran.
March 2, 2007
Dear friends,
We haven’t had rain for months here, and we desperately need some. Not only for our garden and landscaping, but also because we drink rainwater! Yep, that’s right….we collect rainwater and use it for ALL our water needs…we cook with it, bathe with it, wash our clothes in it, AND drink it. It’s filtered out the wazoo and treated with UV light, so it’s safer than the local city water or well water out here.
Rainwater is great for plants because it’s pH neutral…not too acidic, not too alkaline. To catch rainwater, you don’t have to have two humongous fiberglass tanks like we do, holding 17,000 gallons. You can buy yourself a cool galvanized bucket (I love that galvanized stuff!) and plop it outdoors next time it rains. Store it covered so that insects don’t get in and use it for a breeding ground. Next time you need to water a houseplant, dip into it and give that green baby a drink! Use it to water seedlings; they’ll appreciate the clean water. There are also larger systems that you can buy from online garden suppliers to collect rain from the gutters of your house, etc. if you want to tackle it on a larger scale.
Start small, see how well your plants do when they get to drink rainwater. (And ya know, it’s GREAT for human hair, too!)
dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 by bobbi a. chukran.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Obesity--another reason to grow organic!
The Earthly Gardener by Bobbi A. Chukran
March 14, 2007
Dear friends,
I was horrified when I read a news item yesterday that links the use of chemicals in our environment to obesity. It seems that scientists have found a link between certain chemicals and obesity. If so, then we’re all doomed. I shouldn’t be surprised, though. I’ve felt for quite some time that chemicals, pesticides and such in our environment was bad news, and cause many of the diseases and health problems that we all face these days. I myself have lingering health problems as a result of a chemical exposure in my home years ago–a supposedly “natural” product that was anything but natural.
This news story has links to the Washington Tribune and the Columbia Tribune, where the story was first reported. And it’s not just the chemicals in food that are problematic; chemicals in other things, such as plastics, are also blamed for numerous maladies.
I know how hard it is to avoid plastics, but we can avoid chemicals in our foods. Grow organic, use organic seeds if at all possible (I’ll be talking about that in a future blog post), buy and eat organic produce, and suggest to your favorite restaurants that they also buy and use organic foods. Every little bit helps!
dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran
March 14, 2007
Dear friends,
I was horrified when I read a news item yesterday that links the use of chemicals in our environment to obesity. It seems that scientists have found a link between certain chemicals and obesity. If so, then we’re all doomed. I shouldn’t be surprised, though. I’ve felt for quite some time that chemicals, pesticides and such in our environment was bad news, and cause many of the diseases and health problems that we all face these days. I myself have lingering health problems as a result of a chemical exposure in my home years ago–a supposedly “natural” product that was anything but natural.
This news story has links to the Washington Tribune and the Columbia Tribune, where the story was first reported. And it’s not just the chemicals in food that are problematic; chemicals in other things, such as plastics, are also blamed for numerous maladies.
I know how hard it is to avoid plastics, but we can avoid chemicals in our foods. Grow organic, use organic seeds if at all possible (I’ll be talking about that in a future blog post), buy and eat organic produce, and suggest to your favorite restaurants that they also buy and use organic foods. Every little bit helps!
dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran
A simple method of gardening...
Dear friends,
A few years ago, I noticed that more books were out on the whole simplicity movement. Since I've always considered myself a "simple gardener" or one who likes doing things the easy way, I proposed a book to my publisher at the time on simple gardening. The editor told me that the "simple movement" was out of date, and that people didn't want to do things the simple way.
EXCUUUUSE ME? LOL!
Well, I disagreed with her vehemently. After writing the Earthly Gardener blog for several months now, I find that people need easy and simple solutions for their garden more than ever. We don't have time to putter in the garden all day, or at least, most of us don't. And if we do, we want to do the fun things, not the back-breaking stuff.
So I decided to start this blog to talk all about natural, simple gardening---done the organic way, the easy way, the sustainable way. Why make gardening harder than it has to be?
So please bookmark this site and come back to see what's going on in my garden! And please, help me spread the word by telling your friends, too!
dig it!
bobbi c.
A few years ago, I noticed that more books were out on the whole simplicity movement. Since I've always considered myself a "simple gardener" or one who likes doing things the easy way, I proposed a book to my publisher at the time on simple gardening. The editor told me that the "simple movement" was out of date, and that people didn't want to do things the simple way.
EXCUUUUSE ME? LOL!
Well, I disagreed with her vehemently. After writing the Earthly Gardener blog for several months now, I find that people need easy and simple solutions for their garden more than ever. We don't have time to putter in the garden all day, or at least, most of us don't. And if we do, we want to do the fun things, not the back-breaking stuff.
So I decided to start this blog to talk all about natural, simple gardening---done the organic way, the easy way, the sustainable way. Why make gardening harder than it has to be?
So please bookmark this site and come back to see what's going on in my garden! And please, help me spread the word by telling your friends, too!
dig it!
bobbi c.
Welcome to the new Earthly Gardener blog!
Dear friends,
Hope you can make this a daily stop on your visits around the 'net! I'll be writing about natural and organic gardening, why it's important, and simple solutions to your home gardens. I'll be covering container gardening, and gardening the easy way! Book and product reviews, fun photos and more to inspire you in your gardening projects.
Until tomorrow....
dig it!
bobbi c.
Hope you can make this a daily stop on your visits around the 'net! I'll be writing about natural and organic gardening, why it's important, and simple solutions to your home gardens. I'll be covering container gardening, and gardening the easy way! Book and product reviews, fun photos and more to inspire you in your gardening projects.
Until tomorrow....
dig it!
bobbi c.
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