thanks dlb! I'm stoked that all these surprise plants grew. The parsley/kale smelled like parsley and looks alot different than the kale i started from seed, but who knows, i've never started anything from seed before. either way I'm happy!

Havent read the whoel threas yet but my best organic gardening tips are -

Pests -
Soft bodied insects are easily taken care of with insecticidal soap (1 teaspoon of a true unscented soap like Dr.Bronner's per quart of water + 1 teaspoon oil) just shake up and mist on. Works with hand  sprayers or industrial i use it both ways and my big sprayer is over a gallon.

If you have beetle or other hard bodied issues try adding ground red pepper to your mix (the amound depends on the plant your spraying), oil of of oregano if the plant can tolerate it. You can also infuse some crushed garlic in whatever oil you plan to use about 2 large cloves per ounce of oil.

Fungus can be helped by sprikling dry ground cinnamon on affected areas. Cinamon can also create a nice ant barrier if your garden is surounded by a hard surface and sometime sdeters snails.

Weeds -
I truly reccomend checking out square food gardening but if its not for you throughly weeding before planting and mulching will be of great help. And of coarse try to keep up with regular spot checks.

If your careful about placment you can plop some rock salt on top of weeds and water lightly, they will shrivel right up!

Growth aids -
I cant say enough about compost it does amazing things for plants and really reduces your output and therfore eco-footprint. You can add anything from grass to coffee grounds and eggshells (if you eat eggs that is) as well as all your leftover or rotten raw vegg material.

It may be a bit much for alot of people but i recycle some of my water usage by saving my steaming water from veggies in the fridge (2 quart container) then water with it when its full. Since its essentially veggie broth it has tons of water soluble vitamins to give back to the soil.

Crop rotation is big but not a worry for a first time gardener just yet.

Cover crops are good to look into certain plants are rich in particular nutrients so growing them to turn into the soil will help aid growth and prevent weeds. Think of how they plant clover at some winery's :).

That all i can think of for now and i feel like a dummy since i just saw how old the OP is (embarrassed face) but i hope it helps someone.

it works. You have to spray directly on the crowns and every few days until the plant is dead.  Be careful not to hit hearby plants you want to keep.  Also, make sure to do it a few times.  Once or twice will just injure the plant and it will come back.

Great tip with the vinager, will be adding a spray bottle fullt o my shed :)

Prarie dogs!  I wanna see a prarie dog!

Hell all I get in my yard is my terrier dog.  She keeps everything else OUT!

Have you looked into completely enclosing your garden below ground?  Somewhat like a sunken fence/cage.

Saramonster, I've heard that diluted dish soap will repel some pests, along with garlic or chili spray. I'm sure if you google organic pest control you'd be able to find something safe and inexpensive.

This weekend we transplanted the majority of our stuff - onions, nasturtiums, tomato, zucchini, sunchokes, lettuce, marigolds, and planted some bush beans as well. Now I'm just waiting for my sweet & hot pepper plants to get big enough to plant. Fingers crossed everything will survive the transplanting...

How is everyone's gardens doing?  Anyone have fresh produce, yet.

I am still waiting for my first ripe tomato.  Tons of them are setting and growing.  A few are at the full size but still green stage.  There are some nice corn ears and cucumbers that will be ready by July 4th, too.  Can't wait for fresh grilled corn on the cob slathered in some nice veggie spread.

I don't know how necessary it will be, but does anyone know of effective homemade insect repellent that won't harm the plants? Thanks!

Up at the top of the page i posted a list of tips for various issues including insects i find the best thing is insecticidal soap (1 teaspoon of a true unscented soap like Dr.Bronner's per quart of water + 1 teaspoon oil) just shake up and mist on. If you are in an area that gets scales add some rubbing alcohol to the mix leave on leaves 24 hours and rinse off. Havent tried that one as i dont get them down here but i hear its very effective.  You can skip the oil in the soap spray if you want but then it leves a white residue on your leaves harmless but not very attractive. Good luck on your garden!

How is everyone's gardens doing?  Anyone have fresh produce, yet.

So far ive had lots of blackberries, several salads worth of lettuce, a few tomatos, figs, about 6 strawberries, lots of chives, and im just getting my first broccoli flower :). I just finished alother large planting of a few more broccoli's plus turnips, beets, calendula, sage, peppermint, choclate mint, german chamomile, rosemarry, dill, cinnamon basil, nasturums, and blue lake beans.

After my current broccoli is done i want to do some different color cauliflowers along with some more beets and turnips plus maybe some kohlrabi.

My next set of crops that will be ready soon are jalepenos, gypsy peppers, radishes, scallions, baby chard, strawberries, tons of the larger tomatos, and cilantro. Year around i have avacados and usually some kind of lettuce plus whatever herbs make it through the heat and maybe a little neglect of propper bud trimmings :p.