Prince Charles, who once admitted to talking to his plants, is now encouraging everyone to grow an organic garden; even a tiny garden can yield fruits and vegetables, reduce carbon and feed local birds and insects.

In 1980, Prince Charles purchased his country home, Highgrove House in Gloucestershire, England, with the intention of turning it into an organic farm and garden. Today, its acres grow fruits and vegetables, such as strawberries, leeks, carrots and Brussels sprouts. Also grown are native and endangered plants like jasmine, crane's bill, yellow rattle, lilies and honeysuckle.

I can’t go anywhere without seeing signs for flu shots—a reminder that it’s time to start boosting our immunity.

“Filling your grocery cart with nutritious foods and beverages from all the food groups will provide your body with essential vitamins and nutrients to help support a healthy immune system,” says registered dietitian Kim Galeaz, coauthor of 4 Weeks to Maximum Immunity.

Galeaz offers the following tips for maximizing nutrients when visiting your local natural and organic food store:

Americans have earned an “F” on their fruit and vegetable report card, according to a study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Researchers found we’re eating less fruit than we did in 2000, while vegetable consumption really hasn’t changed.

The CDC’s goals have been modest: 2+ servings of fruit and 3+ servings of vegetables per day. But only 33% of us were found to eat enough fruit, and only 25% of us consumed enough vegetables.

Ever feel guilty about throwing away vegetable and fruit peels, rinds or scraps? 

Your intuition may tell you there’s a better way to handle these leftovers. 

Composting is a great way to make use of organic matter that you would otherwise trash. 

Building a compost heap is relatively easy, and it will continually give back to your garden and the environment. 

According to California’s CalRecycle program, the four necessary composting ingredients are: 

1. Nitrogen (from sources like grass clippings or those throwaway veggie scraps)
2. Carbon (from sources like sawdust or twigs)
3. Water
4. Air 

Once your compost is at the ideal level of decomposition (uniformly dark brown and crumbly), spread it on your garden to give plants a nutrient boost. 

For Your Organic Bookshelf: Let It Rot! The Gardener’s Guide to Composting

Photo courtesy of ARA

If your mom loves to garden—or if you’d like to help her get started—pick up a container or two of Ecosource’s Organic Grow Your Own Seedling Starter Kits for Mother’s Day.

Nine USDA-certified organic varieties are available for last-minute shoppers (ground, 2-day or overnight shipping):

1. Bell Pepper
2. Carrot
3. Corn
4. Cucumber
5. Eggplant
6. Heirloom Tomato
7. Sunflower
8. Watermelon
9. Zucchini

A Strawberry Kit is also available, but the seedlings are not organic.

Each kit ($15.99) contains instructions, an eco-friendly tray, high-quality soil, a reusable “greenhouse bag” and biodegradable seedling starter shells, all housed in a decorative container.

Users can start up to 10 seedlings and then transplant them into their gardens.

Ecosource founders Chad Callihan and Chuck Rose quit the corporate world and started the Decatur, GA-based company in 2006 to develop stylish, affordable and eco-friendly products.

“We’re not trying to be perfect, but we’re learning every day about how to make better choices for ourselves and the future of our children’s planet,” they state. “We hope that by sharing our experience, you’ll want to do the same.”

Jim and Kristen Mitchell, a Scottsdale, AZ-based husband-and-wife team, have just launched Humble Seed, a company that offers premium organic seed kits that produce an array of edible plants.

Four themed garden kits are available:

1. Hot Mama’s Peppers and Chiles (including Yankee bell, habanero, cayenne, Caribbean red and Anaheim chile peppers)
2. Uncle Herb’s Favorites (including bouquet dill, common sage, Greek oregano, cumin and German winter thyme)
3. Veggin’ Out (including Washington cherry tomatoes, Bull’s Blood beets, De Cicco broccoli, Marketmore cucumbers and black seeded Simpson leaf lettuce)
4. The Producer, a bulk fruit and vegetable kit for community gardens and organizations

Each kit contains at least 10 premium heirloom, non-GMO, non-hybrid and organic seed packets for environmentally conscious growers.

 “My whole life, I’ve been trying to find one calling—one passion that would help people,” Jim says. “I really connected to growing my own food. There are so many health, financial and environmental benefits, and creating a stable, healthy food supply reduces our reliance on other economies.”

“We are extremely excited that we’re helping empower people in a down economy,” adds Kristen. “Families can now get fresh food at a fraction of the cost found at your local produce section.”

Kits start at $21.95. The website also features books, recipes and seed-growing tips.

Humble Seed’s launch party is Thursday (Earth Day), with proceeds benefiting Waste Not, a local nonprofit organization that delivers food to more than 80 agencies that feed the hungry.