~ What Exactly is it to Garden Organically? ~

Well, I have to honest and upfront first and foremost...I have been an organic gardener for as long as I can remember.  My Mom especially was an avid gardener of anything she could get seeds or plants to grow, and my Dad was more of a substance gardener...gardening to eat, potatoes and corn specifically, my Mom would and did grow anything, vegetable or flower.

One of my favorite sights...corn tasseling.

 Organic gardening...gardening without the use of synthetic herbicides or pesticides.  It's not as difficult as some make it.  Now, I have no formal degrees or certifications, I simply have lifelong knowledge of what I was taught by many 'mentors', and by what works for me.  It doesn't take a lot of money, and sometimes, well often, I think that organic gardening was born out of necessity.  Necessity years and years ago by people of native lands using what was immediately available to them, and now in modern times by people who either have to or want to use what is immediately available to them.  This can range from anything organic that can enrich soil, protect plant life by adding nutrition as it breaks down and moisture and insulation to their roots.  I use what's available to me...newspaper, cardboard, hay, straw, discarded weeds, kitchen scraps...yes, kitchen scraps can be added directly to the garden and it will compost throughout the growing season, and act as mulch at the same time. 

Brussels's Sprouts...love them or hate them.  I love them!!

I don't think a weed free garden is a good thing anyway.  Certain pest bugs feed on weeds like burdock and other weeds, plus these weeds are usually native to their specific area, and wildlife depends on these weeds for food or shelter, so not all weeds are bad, just usually in a bad place when we plant our gardens.  I've never had a weed free garden...not for lack of desire, but because they are just so resilient!   I have learned over the years to be more tolerant of certain weeds, and that some weeds are edible.  Dandelions anyone?  I just read a teaser on our internet home page about how dandelion beverages are making a comeback!  that strikes me as funny, because I have always know people who love to make Dandelion wine!  The entire plant is edible.  I'm pretty sure that dandelions will populate the earth long after humans are gone, and that's just one nuisance weed!  So weeds are a bad thing next to your tomatoes and lettuce, but at the perimeter of the garden, or away from it a bit, they serve a valuable purpose.

Cockscomb Celosia...one of my favorite flowers and one of the easiest to grow!

I plant both vegetables and flowers interchangeably.  They often benefit each other, plus they look pretty, not to mention the pollinator's they attract right to your garden, and your plants that depend on those insects!  Several flower varieties either attract pests, such as nasturtiums attracting aphids, and marigolds and mints deterring many pests by masking the scent of desirable plants, or simply by being unappealing to them.  I personally love the scent of marigolds!

This apple tree was planted by my mom when  I was a kid, and now my kids harvest the apples!

Organic gardening can come in many shapes and sizes too.  Fruit and nut trees are often grown along tree lines, and abundant wild berry bushes, at least around here, and can be harvested by humans and animals alike.  Another thing about gardening organically, or living on an organic farm, be prepared to share with nature.  It's bound to happen anyway, so making it a more pleasant experience for all involved is best.  Now they can't devour your entire crop, but native animals are just as crucial to an ecosystem as plants.  Animals eat and scatter seeds and the loot they leave lying uneaten, either gets eaten by another animal or insect, or acts as a fertilizer where it was left, or new plants sprout.  I personally enjoy watching wildlife, so the thought of trying to completely keep them away is counterproductive to me.  If a food source, such as an apple tree and wild berry bushes are planted far enough away from the garden, most critters would prefer to feed away from humans anyway!

Flowers grow harmoniously in my garden along with vegetables.  Here sunflowers are dual task, they are beautiful to look at, plus great at attracting bees and butterflies to pollinate other plants, and birds to eat and spread the sunflower seeds.  The birds eat slugs and garden pests too!

So in a nutshell, it's not hard to garden organically, it just requires the desire to do so.  Once the desire is there, it's possible.  Once the understanding is there that gardening this way is time consuming, it shifts from being a task to being a thing of leisure.  It's best to start gardening small.  Plant what you will be certain to eat first.  Once you have success at what you will eat, think about something you like to eat and consider growing that.  For instance, most people don't have any idea of how much goes into planting and harvesting broccoli or cauliflower, it can take a few trys to get it right, so don't get discouraged.  Don't overwhelm yourself, if you do, you'll never get the part of gardening that is leisure instead of a task. And doing things for leisure is a lot more fun that task oriented work!   It's still work, but all good things require work.  The reward is wonderful, healthy food to enjoy by family and friends.

I'll post more on specific areas of organic gardening, but is there something specific you would like to know? If I have an answer or solution, I'd be happy to share my experiences!  None of us know everything, so gardening and farming is a community task sometimes, we rely on the knowledge of many for our successes!

'Til next time, have a great day!  :)

~ How Do YOU Save? ~

Okay...First, I'm showing all of the photos on this post in the 'xlarge' option because it's cold outside, and it's February 12th, and at least in Pennsylvania, winter should be letting go of it's tight grip by now, but that hasn't happened yet, so, extra large summery pictures to tie in with 'How do you save'! I'l touch on a few things I do at the farm in this post to save money and put healthy food on our table.  In future posts, I'll focus on specific money saving tips and ways I've found to stretch a dollar, but this post is a 'memory post', something to look forward to in the months to come!

Cosmos growing my my garden at our family farm.

This might be one of my biggest long term goals:getting myself back to the country full time!  I grew up on this farm, and love it, country life is in my blood.  In order to make this possible, I have to get very serious about saving money and paying down debt, and make a lifestyle of frugal living.  That will involve several steps, and I think sometimes that can seem overwhelming, but taken one at a time, with a short term AND long term goal in mind I think will help to keep me focused.  The short term goal to set up and achieve to have small successes along the way to keep my focused and going and moving towards my long term goals.

These are 'Ruth's Perfect' heirloom tomatoes from my garden.  They are a beautifully, almost perfectly round slicing tomato is both delicious and a good keeper.  A very good choice for the garden.  I ordered this variety because it shares my Mom's name.

Growing a lot of the food my family eats in my garden, preserving and freezing enough to last through the winter is both short and long term success.  It's actually a lifestyle, much like some of the other things I'll learn as I strive for financial health that is easy for me since I've gardened all of my life.  Just like gardening, discipline with spending, spending responsibly, and the wonderful habit of saving will become my lifestyle too.  They will be automatic, and I look forward to that so much!

Mason jars that I use for canning...some very old, some new.  All contain fresh garden goodness from my garden!

I love mason jars as much as the contents I fill them with!  I have mason jars that were my Mom's and the other ladies of the house at our family farm.  When we moved in in the mid 1970's, there were many jars on the shelves in the basement.  I still use them today, holding them is like reconnecting with the former ladies of the house, who amazingly we were in close contact with until their deaths years ago, those ladies taught me so much.  A farm wife is a frugal and resourceful woman. Mason jars can be found pretty easily at garage and estate sales, for a cheaper price than the grocery stores or online.  Some great deals are to be found at those places, but I have the best luck on Saturdays while wandering around!  Actually, this Saturday, my Valentine's Day gift will be heading to an auction near here that is advertising 30 dozen canning jars!  My kind of present!!

You can put all sorts of things in a canning jar too.  The apples pictured above are from trees my Mom planted years ago and were almost forgotten. While my Mom was alive, most of my time was focused on her care and taking care of my kids, since her death, I have been able to visit and in the process of resurrecting these wonderful trees!  After all these years, they still produce wonderful and delicious apples!  We made 10 pints of applesauce this past fall, my first attempt, and it was a huge success!  Homemade applesauce is wonderful, and I control how much sugar is added...if any!  We ended up with delicious sweet/tart applesauce.  We'll double our canning goal for this year too.  I use applesauce not just for snacking, but we add an equal amount in place of oil in cakes and quick breads...less fat, healthier option, and a fraction of the cost of oil.  The taste is wonderful too, you'll never know the difference, except that your cake will be more moist!

I don't really have any reason for showing this picture above, except that it's green and lush!  This is the view of the woods behind our house from the backyard.  It's wonderfully peaceful back here any time of day, but the sun hits a special way in the late afternoon.  That's a good time to reflect on my day, to figure out what  I accomplished, and what the next day holds.  I guess it's a good thinking spot for assessing short term goals. This is how I relax and think the best.  I guess to keep a clear mind is crucial in keeping goals and keeping discipline in order.  So make a point of finding time to relax.  That's sometimes the best time to think and assess how your life plan is going, taking time to breathe, allow your mind and body to rest, can do a world of good for you and those around you too.  I already feel relaxed just looking at this picture and imagining myself sitting on the swing listening to the birds in the trees.  Ahhhhh.  :)

'Til next time...have a wonderful day, dream of the future, and your place in it.  :)