With today's restrictions on many aspects of our lives due to the recent covid pandemic, many home owners, apartment, town home, and condo residents are turning to gardening to help ease the stress and  feed the body fresh, fruits and veggies.
The latest trend that is underway is the establishment of Edible Gardens. These gardens are made from various construction materials and pre-made gardening bins, tubs, and containers. Something as simple as a cut whiskey barrel, to a stainless steel raised planter that will add not only fresh food to your table but a positive accent  to your landscape are available online and at your local garden centers.
Developing small planters with various herbs, lettuce, and other greens will keep your soups tasty and your immune system in tune. Adding dwarf fruit trees and berry bushes to a deep well planter or stainless steel planter will provide you with fresh fruit and elements for your energy smoothies and dried fruit snacks.
By adding a composting bin if space allows, will allow you to complete your edible garden arrangement and provide you with rich home made compost to enhance your yields and save you money on fertilizers.
Do your research, check out the many suppliers online and local garden centers for various types of garden planters that will fit your space and production needs and 'GET GROWING'

With the availability of livable working spaces in todays environment, it is exciting to see new improved varieties of flowers and vegetables that do not require a lot of growing space.
Burpee , the age old vegetable and flower seed producer ( They have been producing quality seeds since 1876 ) has a new line of vegetable varieties called the Spacer Saver line.
These vegetables are suited for the end con Sumer who loves to grow their own food and want healthy fresh foods for their families to consume.
The 'Space Savers' collection provide plants that thrive in small areas and containers which is is very hot with the increase in his rise condos and town homes in a large number of big cities around the U.S. I am listing some of the favorites I feel will be big sellers for the coming year ahead and for those of us that live in the sunny states like California, Florida, Arizona, and other warm winter southwest states we can take advantage of some of the varieties now.
Here's my top 10 'Hot List'
1. Jungle Parrot Pepper : grows 12-18" hgt. x 12-18" width.

2.Atlas Tomato :  24-36" hgt. x 24-36" width.

3. Red Robin Basil : 18-24" hgt. x 18-24" width.

4. Sweet Dani Lemon Basil : 22-24" hgt. x 22-24" width.

5. Seascape Strawberry : 12-18" hgt. x 24-36" width.

6. * Gold Standard Cucumber : 8-10" x 48-60" width. These cucumbers can produce 5 times the amount of beta carotene of other garden cucumbers. A member of the 'Boost Collection' of vegetables selected for their higher levels of antioxidants.

7. * Beanaza Bean : 15" hgt. x 10" hgt.  Great small space gardening choice. Heavy producer.

8. * Big Flat Head Cabbage : 12-18"hgt. x 24-30" width. Speciality cabbage with mid tasty leaves. Very sweet dense interior, great for sandwich wraps. 

9. * Bloomsdale Spinach : 10-12" hgt. x 6-8" width. Withstands heat better than other varieties. Heavy producer, sweet non bitter taste.

10. Quickstar Kohlrabi : 8-12" hgt. x 9-12" width. Slow bolt can be stir-fried in strips, grated for salads or eaten raw like a carrot. Wonderful source of dietary fiber, and vitamins C , B , and minerals.
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Check out online at burtpeehomegardensbrand.com for even more varieties and be sure to check back at 'Eds Blogs" for more unique tips and ideas for your home garden or business roof top garden.

Did you know that there are a number of shrubs, ground covers, and trees that can be utilized within your landscape that will not only look fantastic but also give you back in return beneficial medicinal healing properties that have been known and used throughout history ?
I have been receiving quite a number of request for various landscape designs that incorporate natural, herbal, medicinal, and otherwise people and pet friendly plant choice's to beautify one's landscape. The use of shrubs like Rosemary, Lavander,and Roses have brought not only beauty to my client's landscape but medicinal value to their projects also.
I have listed what I call the " Simple 7"  landscape shrubs,trees, and ground cover that is simple to grow and in most cases easy to grow in various climates within the United States and other parts of the globe.

Here is my list:
Aloe Vera: The gel from this plant is good for burns, wounds,dry skin, insect bites, and fungal infections, anemia, poor digestive function, and liver disorders.

Apple: Consume fresh apple slices for constipation, sour apples as a diuretic, infusions for rheumatic pains, feverish colds. The juice used undiluted or mixed with olive oil as a household standby for cuts and abrasions.

Lavender: Take the flowers and  dry them in bunches covered with paper bags to harvest the flowerets  as they fall. Also harvest towards the end of the flowering of the plant.
Applications include use as a essential oil, massage oil, and as a infusion for feverous exhaustion.

Mint: Infusion for nausea, travel sickness, indigestion, migraines.
As a wash for inflammation, repel mosquitoes, scabies.
As a massage oil for headaches, and fever.

Rose: Cream for dry or inflamed skin.
Lotion as a moisturizing lotion.
Rose hips for diarrhea, stomach weakness.
Massage oil to relieve stress and exhaustion.

Rosemary: As an essential oil, stimulant in feverous exhaustion.
As a massage oil for aching joints and muscles.For the scalp for hair growth. and around the temples for headaches.


Yarrow: Use as an infusion wash for eczema, inhalation for hay fever and mild asthma. As a poultice for cuts and grazes. As a compress, infusion of diluted tincture to soothe varicose veins.

As you can see, there are many beneficial uses of numerous commonly used landscaping plants, shrubs, and trees that will not only provide you with years of horticultural beauty, but also with years of beneficial medicinal uses.

* I researched the excellent book by Penelope Ody " The Complete Medicinal Herbal" to obtain my above mentioned information


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Who says, " you cannot garden in the winter because you live in an apartment in New Jersey and it's winter time dummy "
Well if you are thinking of the old fashion conventional way of gardening for fresh veggies outside in the dirt you could be absolutely right my friend. But, with the advances in Aeroponic technology, you can grow fresh basil and tomatoes for your pasta,lettuce and arugula for your Caesar salads, and fresh strawberries to top off that nice dish of vanilla ice cream for your dessert.
The use of 'Aeroponic Vertical Growing Systems' is catching on all over the U.S. and is providing thousands of avid gardeners an opportunity to grow fresh food daily in their own homes throughout the winter months with the aid of low voltage energy efficient grow lights and tank water warmers for those really cold spaces in your basements or garages. Their are many types of gardens one can grow with a quality Aeroponic Growing System.
Here are a few: 
* Asian Green Gardens that consists of Asian basil, Chinese cabbage, Pak Choi, Komatsuna, and Red shiso.
* Herb Gardens that consist of  Basil, Dill, Marjoram, Oregano, Sage, Fennel, Lemon Balm, Thyme, and Dandelion.
* Juicing Gardens ( Extremely popular )  that consist of  celery, Cress, Kale, Parsley, Spinach, Swiss Chard, and watercress.
* Salad Gardens that consists of Arugula, Celery, Escarole, Kale, Lettuces, Mustard, Radicchio, Spinach, and Frisee.
Each of these unique gardens can be grown INDOORS with the aid of a quality indoor lighting system that generate little heat and consume as little energy as possible. 
By growing your food and vegetables yourself from non GMO seed stock, protects you and your family from unwanted and dangerous pesticides and herbicides that are used on a lot of veggies and food items now-a-days. By growing your own food and vegetables you save hundreds of dollars monthly on expensive 'out-of-season favorites' like tomatoes and cucumbers that are usually greenhouse grown anyway so why not support your own family 'Green House' ?
The joy of harvesting daily from your Aeroponic Growing System is a feeling you will come to expect as you discover new and tasty vegetables to try out in your kitchen while it's cold outside and blustery.
Throwing in some freshly harvested chives and other herbs for that hearty potato soup you put together for the family or just for yourself and that special guest, will put you in a zone of your own when it comes to chefs bragging rights for your dish.
Check out my link ( www.urbanfarmer.towergarden.com ) and learn move from the great informational videos and  take advantage of the low monthly investment to enjoy fresh food and vegetables from "INSIDE" your home this winter and save some $$$ in the process from buying those same veggies and food at your local grocery store.

* As an added bonus, I will throw in a personal stash of speciality veggies seeds for any new Aeroponic Garden order from the rest of January 2017 through the end of March  2017. ( Estimated value $25.00 ) 

Managing our natural resources during drought conditions takes mental observation of our situation, educating ourselves on what the causes and effects of drought are, and taking positive actions to provide the best remedies to reduce or at best eliminate the negative effects of drought conditions.
Managing soil organics and learning how to effectively improve your soil is one of the biggest steps you can take in your quest to deal with drought conditions in your landscape. By providing healthy, vibrant, microbe rich nutrients to our soil matrix, you can improve the overall growing conditions and health of all plant and tree materials on site. Biostimulants like CytoGro ( www.cytogro.com ) can provide special extracts and natural ingredients  to improve the biological activity levels in a safe and organic way. The primary ingredients are cytokins & auxins that are combined with natural extracts of amino acids,vitamins, and nutrients derived from sea vegetables. This combination promotes deep, dense root development which strengthens plants and increases tolerance to stress by disease damage, insect infestation,lack of moisture,poor water quality, and other environmental factors
Another one of the best 'Ole Skool' methods of optimizing your soil is by utilizing organic compost and mulches to help retain vital minerals and nutrients in the soil and help create a living soil web environments for earth worms and other microscopic insects that create food and life for our plant and tree roots. As a bonus, this same mulch helps retain precious water so that our landscapes can survive under today's extremely hot weather conditions.
Proper water management through the use of 'Smart Irrigation' technologies and innovative approaches to saving and applying water to our landscapes is vital.
We are currently using one of the latest WiFi enabled controller  that our clients and I can control water use on-site from anywhere in the world !                  ( Contact me at this website under our contact form )
There are many water provider/supplier programs available now for you to learn more about what is available to help you conserve and use water wisely. Check with your water provider or online under "Landscape water conservation " and I am sure you will come across many websites that can help you learn more and apply proven techniques.
By educating yourself on the basics of proper resource management at your home or business you will be well on the way to saving your landscape investment, your precious time, and most of all our limited natural resources.

"The majority of food grown for the US market is not produced in a green or sustainable way."
*NSA LLC Juice Plus
We get our fruit and veggies from long distance's away. South America, Central America,Mexico,New Zealand and other countries contribute to our demand for fresh fruit and veggies. Some of these fruits and veggies may have been sprayed with pesticides, or hormones to reduce pest populations and increase production size and harvest time. possible contaminated water to produce these crops also come into question. Our standards for health and safety concerns here in the USA is fairly high and it is our hope that the food we feed our families and ourselves is safe, wholesome and energizing for our bodies. But, all to often we read and hear about tragic stories of food poisoning,pest and herbicide contamination and other issues that leave consumers to start  looking and shopping "Local" for their produce and fruits. Now there are systems available that can help consumers protect themselves from possible contaminants and help us consume better quality and fresher produce and fruits in a very short time. With the novel concept of aeroponics and hydroponics, we can produce wholesome fresh food utilizing as little as 5% of the nutrients and water used in conventional gardening. Water savings are realized also. Sustainable growing practice's are utilized,and space age technology is put into action to help todays consumer take better control over the food they and their families consume. Verticle food production is the latest and hottest hobby to come down the pike in the past couple years and it makes a lot of sense to investigate and determine if  verticle gardening systems available on the market today can benefit you and your family. Check out my new web site: https://urbanfarmer.towergarden.com to learn more about verticle gardening.

Happy New Year !
Welcome back to a new year and a new blog for 2013. As we deal with the winter grey skies and weather changes, time spent inside is at it's premium right now. While the flu season is now in full swing, it is important to create the best indoor living environment as possible for good health, and peace of mind. House plants help provide a healthy environment by cleaning the indoor air of potential harmful pollutants. Pollutants such as Formaldehyde,Benzene,Trichloroethylene, and other toxics set the stage for headaches,low work production,employee sick days, and just an over all feeling of depression within the work place and in our homes. There are a number of indoor plants that have been proven to help reduce the before mentioned harmful pollutants and this short list of some of the best will hopefully provide you with a foundation to work from.
English Ivy, Peace Lilly,Bamboo Palm, and Mother-in-law tongue were found to be the best when dealing with air contaminated with Benzene.
Mother-in-law's tongue,Dracaena wameckei, peace Lilly, and Spider Plant worked well for filtering Formaldehyde. Sansevieria trifasciata ( snake plant ) is great for the pollutant benzene and other great "Scrubber" type indoor plants are Aglaonema,Ficus benjamina, and Epipiremnum aureum ( Golden pothos ).
For an average home of under 2000 Sq. Ft. a NASA study recommends using fifteen samples of any of the above listed plant materials and they also recommend that the plants be grown in 6" containers or larger.
By incorporating living, breathing, indoor plants to your home or business you will benefit from the fresh clean air these plants product and they will also add character and good vibes to the environments with their presence.
* Information was shared from study done by NASA and ALCA ( Associated Landscape Contractors of America ) and from tips from "Clean Air Gardening"