Frequently Asked Organic Gardening Questions

A list of crop options which allows you to choose the varieties and quantities of various vegetables, herbs and edible flowers, fruit vines, bushes and trees you would like to grow. With your choices, we will design an aesthetically pleasing organic garden that will provide continuous food production, maximizing space and sunlight availability.

Changing or “rotating” the kinds of crops grown in a particular spot in your garden each year. This minimizes the spread or “wintering over” of pests and diseases while increasing the health and productivity of your organic vegetable garden.

Homefront Farmers utilizes locally sourced organic compost to maximize your garden’s health and disease resistance. We use straw mulch to prevent soil-borne disease from backsplash in heavy rains. This includes timely and appropriate pruning of fruit trees/shrubs and tomatoes to increase air flow and minimize the spread of mildew and other biological and viral diseases.

While the term “organic” means many different things to many different growers, Homefront Farmers follows a model of practices that promote the health and ecological biodiversity of your garden without chemical fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides, or other synthetic application. Instead, to promote garden fertility, we use locally sourced organic compost and OMRI rated soil amendments (Organic Materials Review Institution). We source USDA Certified Organic Seed whenever possible and design our gardens to attract beneficial pollinators for pest control.

The development of self-sustaining agricultural ecosystems intended to increase ecological health by mimicking patterns in nature, promoting the growth of perennial crops and using no-tillage systems. The holistic ideology behind permaculture is also used in “green” building, community development and business planning. Think of this as synergistic gardening.

Although use of companion planting, good soil health and regular watering can do a lot to avoid insect problems, they still do sometimes occur. Organic techniques include traps, physical removal, and attraction of beneficial insects and installation of row covers.

While you may be aware that many fruit trees need pruning in order to set healthy sized fruit, you may be less aware that some vegetables require regular pruning for plant health, disease prevention and increased fruit production. Homefront Farmers provides pruning expertise in our professional garden maintenance services to help manage your crop’s bounty.

Gardening in which soil fills framed beds raised above surrounding base soil. Use of raised beds reduces soil compaction detrimental to plant health and circumvents having to dig up rocky New England soil. Raised beds are also easier on the gardener’s back than in-ground beds and lend a neat and tidy aesthetic look. Our locally sourced, rich organic soil improves plant health and production.

In a Homefront Farmers’ site evaluation, we use the Solar Pathfinder™ to measure the sun’s path across your property at various times of year. This information allows us to recommend the best location for your organic garden and design it to maximize light and increase productivity. The aesthetic appeal of your organic garden design is also very important. We strive to integrate your garden into the natural surroundings and layout of your property as much as possible.

Homefront Farmers will ensure that you get the most from your organic vegetable garden by planting successive crops for harvesting in spring, summer and fall. For example, we might plant peas in your garden for spring harvest, then transplant tomatoes into that same spot for the duration of the summer, and then mache (a winter-hardy French salad green) into that same spot after the frost kills your tomatoes. Succession planting ensures you get as much production from your garden as possible.

Pulling surplus seedlings when appropriate ensures optimal spacing of the remaining plants and supplies you with a harvest of baby salad greens.