Organic Gardening For Dummies
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When you're planning your organic garden, you have to first take an inventory of your site. Your goal is to encourage healthy, pest-resistant plants, so choose plants that can grow to their full potential where you plant them. Consider these factors when laying out your organic garden:

  • Sun and shade: Duration and time of day and year that the sun shines directly on the site.

  • Soil: Structure, texture, pH, drainage, and moisture.

  • Views: Unsightly views to screen; pleasant views to enhance or preserve.

  • Slope: Steep, flat, valley floors.

  • Wind: Speed and direction at different times of year.

  • Hardiness zone: Average winter low temperatures.

  • Obstacles: Locations of buildings, overhead and buried utilities, roads, and property boundaries.

About This Article

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About the book authors:

Ann Whitman is the author of the first edition of Organic Gardening For Dummies.

Suzanne DeJohn is an editor with the National Gardening Association, the leading garden-based educational nonprofit organization in the U.S. NGA's programs and initiatives highlight the opportunities for plant-based education in schools, communities, and backyards across the country. These include award-winning Web sites garden.org and kidsgardening.org.

The National Gardening Association (NGA) is committed to sustaining and renewing the fundamental links between people, plants, and the earth. Founded in 1972 as “Gardens for All” to spearhead the community garden movement, today’s NGA promotes environmental responsibility, advances multidisciplinary learning and scientifi c literacy, and creates partnerships that restore and enhance communities.
NGA is best known for its garden-based curricula, educational journals, international initiatives, and several youth garden grant programs. Together these reach more than 300,000 children nationwide each year. NGA’s Web sites, one for home gardeners and another for those who garden with kids, build community and offer a wealth of custom content.

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