Handy Advice For Gardening The Organic Way The organic craze that's currently sweeping the nation is a good thing in many ways. However, there is one area where organic foods are failing the average person, and that's with the incredibly high price of the produce. If you want to produce some home-grown organic food, these tips will help you do it. Planting a bare-root rose. Bare-root roses are best planted at the beginning of their dormant period to lessen the shock of transplanting. If the roots look dry, soak them in a bucket of water for a few hours before planting. Remove diseased or damaged stems, and trim any thick roots by a third. Place the rose in a freshly dug hole, spreading out the roots and checking that the bud union is slightly above ground level. Backfill with soil and water thoroughly. If you live in an area with clay soil, coat your shovel or gardening trowel with flour or car wax before you start digging your garden. This will prevent soil from sticking to the blade of your shovel, making your work much easier. It also lengthens the life of your shovel by preventing rust. If your tomato plants have long branches that are not flowering or producing fruit, go ahead and pinch them off. It won't hurt the plant, but will actually help. Pruning back the branches that are not producing fruit, allows the plant to focus its energy and nutrients on producing larger and more flavorful fruit. When gardening, be sure to use proper posture. Don't lift with your back, and try to bend at the knees instead of at the waist. Keep your back straight when bending over. This allows you to use stronger and more flexible muscle groups to lift, and also protects your spine. Separate irises. You can get more irises by dividing the overgrown clumps. You can do this by simply picking up bulbous irises once the foliage has withered. They will literally split in your hand, flowering the next year after replanting. Use a knife to carefully divide rhizomes. Cut rhizomes from around the outside then throw away the remaining center. Every piece is suppose to have at least one durable offshoot. Do this cutting beside your garden bed, so that you can place your new groupings into the ground immediately. Roses can be difficult to grow in the best of conditions. Increase your chances for success by choosing the right rose for your climate. If your area has harsh winter conditions look for a rose with thicker petals. Mildew resistant varieties are ideal for humid areas and heat tolerant roses will do best in arid areas. Using mulch is helpful to plants that are located in extreme heat. The best mulch to use is wood mulch because it holds in moisture and helps drown out the weeds. Wood mulch also adds nutrients to the dirt as it decomposes. Rock is used for mulch as well, however, rock does not retain moisture as well as wood mulch. If you're planting crops that need an abundant amount of sunshine, then plant miniature gardens wherever the sun shines most. If you have plants that need more than six hours of sunlight, group them together in small plots throughout your yard. If your patio or deck receives the most amount of sunshine, plant your crops in appropriately sized containers and place them in the brightest spot you can find. Bulbs produce beautiful flowers in your garden year after year. To achieve the most blooms, plant your bulbs as soon as temperatures in your area begin to cool in the fall. This is usually August in zones 1 to 4 and September in zones 4 to 7. Those in southern climates will have to chill their bulbs before planting. Wash off your garden harvest before taking it inside your home. Use a laundry basket or some other plastic basket with holes. You can spray down your fruits and vegetables easily with water inside the basket, and the water and dirt will run out. You could also save the water that runs out to water your plants with. Choose silvers and grays to lighten up the garden on dull days and shine in the moonlight. While most gray-leafed plants are attractive enough to hold their own in the garden, they are often used due to the effect they have on surrounding colors. They make pastel colors look brighter, and tone down the effect of vivid colors. Most plants with silver or gray foliage are native to the Mediterranean, therefore requiring little watering in the dry months. The best known silver and gray plants are dusty miller, lychnis, silver lace and artemisia. Choose carefully the plants you want to grow. Some plants are simply not made to grow indoors. If you want to grow vegetables, you can easily grow broccoli or Brussels sprouts indoors. Alyssums and zinnias are great flowers to grow indoors. You can also experiment with other kinds of plants, but keep in mind that it might not work. Use a nicely finished compost pile as fertilizer for your garden. Organic means that you don't use artificial fertilizers or herbicides to grow your plants, yet sometimes the soil isn't necessarily full of the proper nutrients for growth. Utilizing a compost pile can provide you with a rich, dark earthy soil that can provide your plants with plenty of nutrients. Integrate low-growing strawberries into your yard's landscape. Instead of setting aside fruit plants in a separate area, choose strawberries, such as alpine varieties, to use a ground cover that doubles as a fruit garden. These spreading, low-growing plants look attractive and grow well in areas that have a lot of sun. Read more on Bestluxuryreviews.com As mentioned at the start of this article, organic food is very pricey. Even something like a simple bundle of celery can cost upwards of 150 percent more if it's organic. Make sure you're always able to save money if you need to by using these tips. Whatever your needs are, the tips you've just read can help.