Gardening with Herbs

How To Grow Eggplant

How To Grow Your Organically Raised Ichiban Eggplants

Plant your Ichiban eggplant in your garden or into a large container two weeks after the last frost. We always do HerbFest weekend after April 15 which is suppose to be the last frost date. If it does frost then cover your eggplant over night and remove the covering in the a.m. before gets too hot. Wait for the soil to reach temperatures above 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Cold temperatures damage the plant and can possibly kill it. Water your Ichiban eggplant before transplanting, and also water the bottom of hole you are transplanting it into. Use a transplanting fork or flat stick to remove sprouts from flats. Plant Ichiban eggplants where the will be exposed to a full day of sunlight, 1 1/2 to 2 feet apart in rows 3 feet apart, or plant two per large container.
Ensure moderate moisture and fertilizer levels for your Ichiban eggplants. since they were grown from organic seeds and grown organically to this moment in time I would continue to use a fish emulsion or other organic fertilizer. Often a good old, leaf mulch, about 1 - 2 inches around the plant will provide all nutrients needed and keep good ph balance. Do not use high-nitrogen fertilizers as they will encourage foliage growth rather than fruit. Water your Ichiban eggplants one to two times per week.
Rinse your Ichiban eggplants with a full stream of water early in the day to remove them of aphids and other parasites. Look through the foliage for these brown insects and for flea beetles. Pick other insects and insect eggs off the plants daily. Cover your Ichiban eggplants with row covers to protect young plants from pests. Avoid planting Ichiban eggplants in the same spot as the previous year to prevent wllting diseases.
Pick your Ichiban eggplants when they reach 8 to 10 inches in length. Picking your Ichiban eggplants when they are slightly smaller will ensure tenderness.
Pinch off your Ichiban eggplant's blossoms during the last weeks of the growing season. This will ensure that your Ichiban eggplant concentrates its energy to fruit ripening rather than new growth.

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The Health & Economic Climate Are Right For a Return to Organic Victory Gardens

The Health & Economic Climate Are Right For a Return to Organic Victory Gardens

   During the Second World War, the U.S. government and a private group promoted Victory Gardening, along with canning and freezing as a means of addressing potential food scarcity problems at home and abroad. Also with local community gardens there was less cost of transporting food for long distances which conserved fuel for the war effort. The concept was "one garden at a time" and by taking this approach the U.S.D.A. estimated that over 20 million victory gardens were planted across the U.S.

    Another major reason for the Victory Gardens was economically the citizens of the U.S.A. were financially strapped due to the war effort and found themselves in a slumping economy.   Not as suprising as we see today in our current economic climate.

    Victory gardening isn't merely a concept for fun but was beneficial and a necessity during this time period. Victory gardening is the act of growing the basics and using sustainable organic gardening practices to maximize the production on what were generally small plots of land found in the midst of urban populations. Many old fashion community gardens emerged and, since fertilizers used petroleum, a practice of growing organic gardens emerged during this time.

Today some of the same reasons exist for continuing the practices of home gardening organically, not as economic as the Victory gardens were, but now for sound health benefits to each of us and for good environmental policy for the planet.

Here are some of the benefits of using sustainable, organic gardening methods that originally can be credited to some of the earlier community gardens established during World War II.

          * Organically grown food is significantly higher in essential vitamins and nutrients that your body needs.

          * Organic agriculture produces crops that have been proven to be a deterrent to cancers of all sorts.

          * Organic gardening reduces exposure to chemicals used to kill insects and other pesticides not only to ourselves but to neighbors, and pets.

          * Planting a garden is a great way for kids to learn hands-on conservation, nutrition and environmental stewardship. If done organically it also reduces their exposure to chemicals.

          * Gardening is a proven great form of exercise improving overall health.

   Data compiled by the US Department of Agriculture reveals that since the 1940s the mineral levels in fruits, vegetables, meat and dairy have declined substantially in commercially produced foods. Think about this; along with earlier (pre-ripened) picking, longer storage and more processing of crops. Is it any wonder that we're getting fewer nutrients in our food than we were 60 or 70 years ago?

   Chemical fertilizers used by commercial growers produces lush growth by swelling produce with more water. On a per-weight basis, organic food has more "dry matter" (i.e. real food). Partly because of this organically grown foods contain higher levels of nutrients.

   Organically grown foods are found to be much higher in antioxidants - another great benefit to you and your family.

   Today the economic times we are in, the concern over maintaining soil viability, the need for better nutrition, the growing demand for homogenized foods found in fast food or convenience packaging leads us to reconsider creating homegrown organic gardens to improve our health, reduce our costs, and become a more family friendly fun exercise benefiting our families, our neighbors and our local environment.

   Organic Victory Gardens are in vogue, but let's do it "one garden at a time".