This article was originally published in 2017, it has been updated with new information and product links. As always, please leave us your comments below! -Pam Scott- I love tomatoes! Canning them, freezing them, drying them, pickling them, roasting them and saucing them is my idea of fun. Tomatoes, basil and mozzarella define the taste of summer for me. Growing up in cool, dry, New England, I spent most every August canning tomatoes with my mother. You can imagine my despair when … [Read more...] about A Guide to Healthy, Organically-Grown Tomatoes 2023
Organic gardening
Bacteria-Based Fungicides for the Organic Garden
-Mike Weeks- We are entering the time of the growing season where it becomes especially important to protect your outdoor plants from all sorts of incoming pressure from insects, bacteria, and fungi. The moisture and heat of summer create perfect conditions for these pathogens to grab hold of your plants if left unchecked. This post will focus on organic fungicides, specifically the living, bacteria-based ones, that can help you keep your garden healthy and productive. For many years … [Read more...] about Bacteria-Based Fungicides for the Organic Garden
Getting Started Seed Starting
-Dan Toot- It can’t be April again! It’s STILL April! (March 413th as of the time of this writing.) Still, the wonderful deja vu of this time of year is seeing the rush to the seed rack and our soil amendments as gardeners prepare for a great year of growing. Seeing this, I decided it was time to join the fun and start plants from seed myself! If you dig back, you’ll see I first dipped my toe into organic gardening with some Golden Ghost Pepper seedlings -- which I cloned and am … [Read more...] about Getting Started Seed Starting
How to build a Johnson-Su Bioreactor
-Mike Weeks- It’s that time of year again when activities in the garden have come to a near standstill and the holiday hustle and bustle is over. Any gardener knows there’s always something to do with the garden whether that’s taking inventory on your seed stock, planning and designing new beds, or even sharpening your tools. But, those unusually warm winter days in between the cold ones like we recently had are perfect for tackling projects that will give you a leg up on spring gardening. … [Read more...] about How to build a Johnson-Su Bioreactor
Organics: A Better Way to Grow
-Tim Leisman- Organic growing can be intimidating to the newcomer. When I came to Fifth Season, I wasn’t exactly new to organic gardening - I’d helped my mom in the garden many summers, complained about the smell of the manure she would buy to till into the soil every so often, then watched as plants thrived under her care. However, I never took the time to learn exactly how and why she put bone meal into the garden. Have you ever wondered why organic products cost much more in the stores and … [Read more...] about Organics: A Better Way to Grow
Ghosts on the Balcony: A Novice Grows Golden Ghost Peppers Organically
-Dan Toot- We’ve seen the labels in the grocery store, and maybe we’ve looked into the overall benefits of organic growing, but many of us have not put it into practice ourselves. This may be especially true for those of us living in an apartment. But as quarantine encourages us to lean into our hobbies and interests, even an apartment dweller like me can dip their toes into the soil of organic gardening and understand firsthand the allure and benefits of growing organically. I got my hands … [Read more...] about Ghosts on the Balcony: A Novice Grows Golden Ghost Peppers Organically
Some Helpful Tips for Growing Squash
-Pam Scott- Spring is in full swing. Most of us have our seeds and seedlings tucked safely in the ground as we head full speed towards summer. On these 80-90 degree days it's hard to imagine that it was only weeks ago that we were hit with a heavy frost. Summer vegetables like tomatoes, peppers, okra, beans, squash, and cucumbers are growing quickly due to warm sunny days and rainy nights. One of the most frequently asked questions we hear these days is “How do I keep bugs and mildew from … [Read more...] about Some Helpful Tips for Growing Squash
Building a Raised Bed
-Ryan Blankenship- Whether you live in the city or out in the country, the best way to have complete control over your garden is by building a raised bed. I say this because everyone’s soil is going to be different. It could be very sandy, loamy, high or low in nitrogen, or even solid red clay like mine is. The best way overcome challenges presented by your soil is by building a garden bed on top of your existing soil. The first step is determining the size bed you would like to … [Read more...] about Building a Raised Bed
Roots Organics: Terp Tea
“Activate the aromatic power of your garden’s natural terpenes.” If you’re looking for a versatile, organic, easy to use nutrient for your heavy-feeding plant varieties, Roots Organics: Terp Tea is the nute for you. We decided to test out this one-part grow and one-part bloom formula on our current batch of Citrus Cherry smokable hemp, and we couldn't be happier with the results so far. The 7-1-1 Grow formula, which we tried first, is derived from sustainably-sourced bat guano, fish bone … [Read more...] about Roots Organics: Terp Tea
How to Tell if Your Garden Soil Is Ready for Planting
-Ryan Blankenship- The very first step in determining if your soil is ready for planting is to simply dig yourself a small hole where you would like your planting site to be. By digging this small hole, you will be able to determine if you have loose or clay soil. Like many people in our area, we typically have a lot of red clay where we would like to plant. I also like to send a soil sample out to our state agricultural extension program to get tested to understand the NPK … [Read more...] about How to Tell if Your Garden Soil Is Ready for Planting
