I really wish the Natural Garden Inc., in St. Charles, IL, had a better website. As it stands, I’m looking at tables of their plant lists, trying to figure out what to plant this fall to restore my lawn to prairie. It’s a long, arduous process. On the plus side, Natural Garden is only about twenty-five miles away from me, and claim their native plant nursery stock is from seed collected within a 90 mile radius sometime in the seventies. We’re talking local genome here folks.

Prairie Nursery has always had an informative and well-organized website. I’ve ordered from them before when I was establishing my woodland garden a couple of years ago, and was happy with the result. The only drawbacks were that the plants reeked of smoke when they arrived and the Virginia Wild Rye (Elymus virginicus) was a bit more invasive and weedy than I would have liked.

Prairie Moon Nursery used to have a somewhat dis-functional site, but they recently re-vamped it and it’s now much better and more user friendly. So far, this is the only place I have found that sells native plants bare root (I haven’t been looking very hard…). This Spring I took advantage of their bare-root clearance sale and, though it was a bit late in the season for it, the unpromising looking twigs they sent me all took off quite impressively. This is the way to establish some really impressive stands of Prairie Blazing Star, Prairie Larkspur, and Sweet Joe Pye Weed. I will definitely be making a larger order this Fall and spend a good weekend in October planting. Spring 2010 should be spectacular.

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First, some vegetable gardening basics. Most vegetables need full sun, well-tilled soil, and the right fertilizers to bear fruit (or vegetables). Using the wrong soil enhancements will cause your plants to produce leaves and flowers, but little fruit. Most vegetables need long and deep water – water the roots, not the leaves. Pick your harvest regularly to encourage more fruit or vegetables. Finally, know when to plant, and when to harvest. This information will be found on the seed packet or the plant container. As you gain more experience, you will be able to rotate crops based on how early they mature.

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Organic gardening does not just mean no chemicals, fungicides, insecticides, or herbicides, it means creating a natural balance in our gardens. Organic gardening starts with soil and that means recycling; recycling plants, weeds, flowers, vegetables, kitchen waste, newspapers and anything else that will break down into compost. Compost is the heart of organic gardening. What goes into the soil comes out as beautiful vegetables, flowers, shrubs and trees. Building and maintaining soil quality is the basis for successful organic gardening.

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Compared to conventional gardening, going organic will bring you more responsibilities like effectively creating, managing and utilizing compost and effective water management.

Some of the tools for organic gardening have a long and storied history while others are technologically advanced wonders of modern science. Unfortunately the plethora of choices can easily overwhelm neophytes and experts alike.

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