In the not-so-distant long, long, time ago days, our ancestors took careful measures to save seeds. They carried them to new towns and across oceans. And although they had little else in the way of reassuring guarantees for food back then (Pizza Hut delivery was still a few years away), there are other worthy benefits to saving seeds than just a source of calories. Those seeds saved from your garden are better acclimated to your climate and pests, and you'll see the benefit when they out-perfom seeds bought in packets. And, let's not forget flavor. Just grew the best tomato on earth? No reason to risk bad ones next year. Read on for some tips...

When Mike Lieberman started growing his own food, he didn’t know what he was doing—he just went for it.

Organic Authority spoke with Mike, founder of urbanorganicgardener.com, about the journey of growing his own food, his website, and where he’s at today. Whether you’re currently enjoying your organic garden or are looking forward to next year, check out his advice.

Perhaps you have a garden, and you've already thought about how to get your organic garden started. Or, if you live in an apartment, you might have considered setting up a windowsill garden or a container garden, or you may even be lucky enough to live near some fantastic vertical urban gardens!

However, if you don't have a community garden nearby and don't fancy making one yourself, then take a look at some of these super innovative design ideas for gardens inside your home. Some of them are available to buy now and others are just fantastic concepts, but either way they should definitely be marvelled at!

Now that we’re all spending more time in our yards grazing under the summer sun, let’s talk about how grass fits into this more enlightened, eco-friendly equation. A lush, living emerald carpet surrounding one’s homestead may be inarguably easy on the eyes and cooling on bare feet, but maintaining it requires the utilization of extensive resources – copious amounts of water, toxic fertilizing chemicals and lawnmower fuel – with the unfortunate consequence being noise, environmental and atmospheric pollution.

There’s a very beautiful thing about Mother Nature that happens when we don’t stuff her with too much gunk: Plants grow and animals live in harmony. Yes, it sounds like a children’s book written in the 1970s, but it’s also a notion that many an organic gardener are getting wise to these days.

Companion planting, a practice used by organic and biodynamic gardeners, is the term given when one plants certain types of plants near each other because they are mutually beneficial. In the case of growing food in a garden plot, there are a number of flowers you can plant for natural pest control. Toss out the pesticides (or wait, maybe you should contact the EPA to find out how to properly dispose of that toxic waste) and instead plant some attractive and aromatic flowers. Ah, that’s biodynamic gardening for you.

I think of my container gardens as an extension of my garden, not just an alternative for limited space (although containers are wonderful in tiny spaces too). I have a backyard and a designated vegetable garden, yet I still rely on my container gardens—mainly because my full-sun patio allows me to grow all sorts of veggies and flowers I can’t grow anywhere else in my yard. Since my vegetable garden only has a half-day of sun, I’m limited to lettuces, herbs and leafy greens. But on my full-sun patio, I grow a large pot of roses, two varieties of basils, a lavender plant, grasses and a giant container of tomatoes.

Below are a list of original and beautiful container design ideas, but first, let's start with these planting tips:

You love to dazzle and wow. It's your nature. And that's a good thing, because barbecue season is in full effect, and you don't want to deliver the same old condiments and burger toppings… do you? Get your ooh and aah hat on and try these simple, easy, and oh-so-tasty, magical chutneys for all your summer fare. (Hint: It's even better if you're using your own fresh, garden-grown fruits and veggies.)

My summer lessons in organic gardening continued last weekend as I embarked on my second class at the Los Angeles Arboretum. This info-jammed session was all about organic gardening tips for the summer gardener. Whether you are already a master gardener or, like myself, are just starting out, there’s a cornucopia of tips I learned that are going to be very useful this season. Check out highlights from the class, including good fungus, becoming a lunatic and bananafication, right here.

Nine times out of ten, the emergence of dandelions in one’s tidily maintained lawn can elicit a broad range of physical and verbal responses, including but not limited to a crinkled up nose, cocked brow and a series of rather rude gesticulations that might typically be favored by members of the Italian mafia. All that wasted energy directed toward a weed! They’re such cheery little troopers, though -- so bright and sunny, in fact, that we really should take pause to admire their natural good looks and impressive industrial strength (and probably glass-melting) chemical resiliency.