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Organic Gardening Simplified


This group is for those who want to grow their vegetables, fruits
and flowers without the use of harmful chemicals. Join gardeners
who are experienced and those who are just starting out; we'll
share our experiences and ideas and invite you to share yours.
There are no stupid questions here and we all have dirt under our
nails. Let's have fun together growing healthy gardens.

Latest Group Announcement

September is National Honey Month

Be good to your bees, they give you honey and help your plants produce tasty food.
September days are shorter and not often as hot. A great time to get into the garden. Make sure that you plant late blooming plants for the nectar sippers that frequent our gardens.
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5 days ago

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butterfly bush

i googled it to see when to prune it and the site basically said do anything to it at anytime. yes? do i lop off the dead flowers or prune it back or wait until another time. this bush(tree) flowered in the summer.
photo of prismebh
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Apple Trees

I bought 2 of those 5 in 1 apple trees a few years ago. They are doing very well but the fruit is spots and bugs.Any tips on pruning and spraying. What should i be doing now ?
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Express yourself

Eons is contemplating some major changes to the appearance and functionality of the group home pages. One change will be the virtual elimination of graphics from the group's home page. Please join the Whaddya Think Group view link and express your opinion about the changes being contemplated.
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The Garden is in

I'm up to my ears in tomatoes and peaches!!! I've canned spaghetti sauce, tomatoes, and now have some ketchup about ready to put into jars.

Peaches are everywhere. We had to pick them while still a little green to keep the branches, already propped up, from breaking and the deer from getting all the ones on the lower branches. So, they're lined up on my porch to get the sun. Already have 4 pints of brandied peaches and 4 more to come. Then just canned peaches.

If anyone needs any just come on over!
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World Food Garden

I learned about this website from the Planet Earth group and wanted to share it with you. The website is brand new and many of the links don't work, but keep checking back, it looks like it will be a good resource for us gardeners. view link
photo of collieflower

Hello

I love gardening and have not put anything except organic materials on my plants since, shoot, I can't remember. I grow tomatoes that are so prolific I can not get rid of them all. This year my summer squash seems that way. I am just giving it all away. I let many of my herbs flower so they will come up again the next year. I bought a cute little rosemary once and now that thing is huge! I really need to cut it into a nice shape. But since there are stray cats around here and they sleep in my rosemary, I just leave it alone. The cats keep the squirrels down. A nice gopher snake does the trick also. I had a three footer in my garden two weeks ago. Everyone says I have such nice vegetables. I only fertilize and water. Living in the desert is tricking getting some things to grow. I tried cabbage once, the rabbits and lizards ate it. (I caught a lizard eating on it. Thought it was after bugs but heard it crunch into the cabbage.)

I have found some great information here already. Can't wait to try lots of them next year. Like the bales of hay. There are lots of places here that sell them and lots of people who own horses. I can get manure anytime I want. LOL I will take a picture of my little garden some day. I have flowers and vegetables growing. It is not filled yet. I did absolutely nothing to it for two years. This year it is so nice. I think organic is the only way to grow things. Food plants taste so much better.

Thanks for letting me talk.
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Mexican Bean Beettle

My green beans are being savaged again this year by the Mexican Bean Beetle. I know there is a small (about the size of a gnat) wasp that you can purchase that is supposed to be effective, but it costs over $40 plus overnight shipping and takes a couple of years to really take care of the problem. That's a little steep for a home gardener, and too late for this year.

I was told that a tea made from the leaves of the black walnut tree, strained and sprayed on the plants would be effective. Our concern is that the black walnut may be toxic to the plants and us as well (have you ever noticed that nothing grows under it). Also, what would it do to the beneficial insects. Does anyone know about this, and/or have other suggestions?

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Before the end of Peach month...

Here is a link to a bunch of peach recipes. view link

Enjoy and feel free to post your favorite peach recipes here.

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Zucchini solution

Today is National Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor's Porch Day.
Start sneaking; how else are you going to get rid of all that zucchini?
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Seed/plant exchange

In another gardening group, some people are posting wants/haves in order to exchange seeds. Since some plants are going to seed now, would the members of this group like to engage in an organic seed/plant swap? Let me know what you think and if you want it, I will figure out a way to facilitate it.

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