VideoThree edible and beautiful flowers to add to your urban garden.

Did you know you can grow some species of flowers that are totally edible?

In this video you will learn:

• 3 flowers that you can eat

• How to use those flowers

Which flowers are you going to start growing?

Mike Lieberman shows people with little to no land how to start growing their own food so they can avoid toxic pesticides, eat healthier and not feel limited by their lack of experience and space.Connect with him here to learn more urban gardening tips.

Image: CarbonNYC

The post Flowers That Add Color to Your Garden and Spice to Your Menu appeared first on EcoSalon.

It’s time to get rid of your black thumb.

Getting into gardening can be overwhelming. Walk into any bookstore and check out their garden section and you’ll soon realize that you’re not the only one with questions. Just where should you put that basil so that it gets the best light? When should you start your tomato seedlings? What kind of soil should you buy? Can someone just give us step-by-step instructions? The answers to the first three may vary, but the answer to the fourth is, yes.

Mike Lieberman, who runs our own EcoSalon series Urban Gardener, is launching an online gardening course, Fall Gardening 101. It’s all for getting rid of your black thumb and ensuring that gardening isn’t so overwhelming, so that you can be producing your own food, hassle free.

From planning your space to caring for seedlings, Lieberman will cover all the topics that beginner gardeners have. And you’ll be able to get them answered all in one place, which means you can spend less time Googling and more time planting.

Ready to get gardening? Register for the course here.

Image: LOLren

The post Having Trouble With Starting Your Garden? There’s a Class for That appeared first on EcoSalon.

VideoLate to the growing season? Find out which plants are best to buy.

You’ve spaced on getting your seeds started for your garden.

We can excuse this one time, only if you promise to watch this video to learn what transplants you should buy from the farmers market so that you can still grow your garden.

When your done watching that, be sure to check out the archives to learn:

• The basics of starting your apartment garden
• Herbs you can grow indoors
• Choosing the right vegetables to grow in your garden (for next season)

Mike Lieberman shows people with little to no land how to start growing their own food so they can avoid toxic pesticides, eat healthier and not feel limited by their lack of experience and space. Connect with him here to learn more urban gardening tips.

Image: fairfaxcounty

The post Which Transplants Should You Buy For Your Garden? appeared first on EcoSalon.

VideoDon’t have a garden? Not to worry.

We have covered getting started with your apartment garden and choosing the right vegetables to help you get started.

Some of you still say that you don’t have the space to grow some of your own food. That’s why I am going to help break down that excuse. You all have windows in your apartment, which is why in this video I share with you 7 common culinary herbs that you can grow indoors and which window to grow them in.

It doesn’t get any more local than growing in your own home.

In the comments below, let me know which of these herbs you are going to start growing indoors.

Mike Lieberman shows people with little to no land how to start growing their own food so they can avoid toxic pesticides, eat healthier and not feel limited by their lack of experience and space. Connect with him here to learn more urban gardening tips.

Image: theogeo

The post 7 Common Culinary Herbs You Can Grow Indoors appeared first on EcoSalon.

Common seed starting mistakes and ways to avoid them.

Let’s move forward with the next part of our urban gardening series and talk about seed starting.

Before we do that here is what we already covered – the basics of apartment gardening, choosing what vegetables to grow and buying from seed companies you can trust.

There are many things to consider when starting your seeds such as the growing media, light conditions and temperature. It can get to be a lot.

So I spoke with Michelle Moore, the owner of The Greenhouse Catalog, a year round online gardening supply company about common seed starting mistakes and ways to avoid them.

In this video, I share with you three tips, plus a bonus one from Moore to help you avoid the most common mistakes when starting your seeds.

Mike Lieberman shows people with little to no land how to start growing their own food so they can avoid toxic pesticides, eat healthier and not feel limited by their lack of experience and space. Connect with him here to learn more urban gardening tips.

Image: Will Merydith

The post Common Seed Starting Mistakes and How to Avoid Them appeared first on EcoSalon.

VideoHow to get the right seeds from the right companies.

We’ve gone through the apartment gardening basics to help get you started with your urban garden.

Then we determined how much light your space gets to determine what vegetables you can grow.

Now it’s time to start getting your seeds.

When it comes to buying seeds for your garden, there a lot of choices out there and it might not seem like there is a difference between any of them. Since you are an EcoSalon reader, you want to support a company that respects the environment just as much as you. You also want to support a seed company that has the same values as you.

That’s why I want to share some trusted seed companies with you that you can get your seeds from. Check out the video below to see who some of those companies are.

After watching the video, let me know in the comments below, what seeds you are planning to buy.

Image: Kanu Hawaii

The post Buying from Vegetable Seed Companies You Can Trust appeared first on EcoSalon.

We have the basics of apartment gardening down and still need to decide what to grow.

When most people start their urban garden, they have visions of growing tomatoes, cucumbers and so many other vegetables. Then the reality sets in when tomatoes start dying and cucumbers shrivel up. Not to worry. I’ll help you to figure out which vegetables to choose.

For instance, one of the biggest mistakes that people make is planting a vegetable such as tomatoes in a spot that doesn’t get enough sunlight for them to grow.

In this video you will learn common vegetables to grow based on the amount of sun your garden gets.

If you are not sure how to tell how much sunlight your garden space gets, check out this post that I wrote about the process.

And if you feel like it, share how much sun your garden gets and what you are planning to grow in the comments below.

Mike Lieberman shows people with little to no land how to start growing their own food so they can avoid toxic pesticides, eat healthier and not feel limited by their lack of experience and space. Connect with him here to learn more urban gardening tips.

Image: tillwe

The post Choosing the Right Vegetables to Grow in Your Urban Garden appeared first on EcoSalon.

VideoThink you don’t have any space to start a garden? Think again.

A common misconception about gardening is that people think because they have no land, they can’t have a garden.

They’ll often say that they are waiting to have more space for a real garden.

The little space that they have at their apartment isn’t worth the time and effort.

I’m here to show you that growing without any land or gardening experience is possible and to layout the basics to help you utilize that small space.

In this video you will learn about:

• Some of the available space outside your apartment for growing.

• My preference for containers to grow in and where to get them. Instructions on how to make them.

• What kind of soil to use and a good source of it.

• The all important question of what to grow and growing for your conditions.

Where are you going to start your urban garden this year?

Mike Lieberman shows people with little to no land how to start growing their own food so they can avoid toxic pesticides, eat healthier and not feel limited by their lack of experience and space. Connect with him here to learn more urban gardening tips.

The post Getting Started With Apartment Gardening Basics appeared first on EcoSalon.

City girl, fear not: urban gardening is easy, simple, and fire-escape-proof.

What’s new in the EcoSalon Community? Me! It’s Mike Lieberman of Urban Organic Gardener and the Eco-Salon Manscaping feature from earlier in the year.

For those of you that aren’t familiar with my work, I show people with little to no land how to start growing their own food so they can avoid toxic pesticides, eat healthier and not feel limited by their lack of experience and space.

That’s what I’m going to be sharing with you in a 2012 series here on EcoSalon. Since I’m a man of the people, I would love to know what questions or topics you would like to see covered? I’ll do my best to get them answered.

Have a great rest of 2011 and look forward to connecting with more of you in 2012!

Mike Lieberman shows people with little to no land how to start growing their own food so they can avoid toxic pesticides, eat healthier and not feel limited by their lack of experience and space. Catch him on Twitter and Facebook.

Image: LOLren

The post Coming in 2012: Urban Gardener Series with Mike Lieberman appeared first on EcoSalon.