Resources for Urban Gardeners and Farmers

Conservation Practices for the Garden

Cover Crops

• Intro to Cover Crops for Urban Gardens (HCSWCD)
• Cover Crop Selection Tool Based on Land Goals (Midwest Cover Crops Council)
• Cover Crops and Soil Health - MCSWCD Presentation Slides (2017-07-25 Version)
• Marion County SWCD - Cover Crop Mixes and Rotations
• Cover Crop Schedule for Indiana (HCSWCD)
• Overseeding Oats and Crimson Clover as a Cover Crop in a Vegetable Garden (HCSWCD)
• Overseeding Oats as a Cover Crop in a Vegetable Garden (HCSWCD)

Other

• ​Best Practices for Health in the Garden (HCSWCD)
• Soil Management in Home Gardens (Penn State)
• Composting Basics (Mother Hubbard's Cupboard)
• Increasing Winter Soil Temperatures: How Gardeners Can Respond (HCSWCD)
• NRCS Carbon Nitrogen
• Plant rotation in the Garden Based on Plant Families (PennState Extension)
• Soil Health Resources​
• Winter Preparation: Put your garden to bed! (HCSWCD)

​Updated: 12/1/2025

Cover Crop Seed Giveaway Closed for 2025. 
Packets of crimson clover and an oats & peas mix are available from the SWCD office while supplies last.  You can pick up your packets Monday-Friday between 8 and 4:30 from 1721 Pleasant St, Unit A in Noblesville.  Each packet covers 100-200 square feet. Limit 2 packet per gardener. Hamilton County residents only.

If you have questions or would like to arrange seed for your Hamilton County community garden, contact [email protected].

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Material Resources: Top Soil and Compost Resources

• Topsoil and Compost Sources and Costs within Hamilton County (HCSWCD)

Weed Management

• Identifying Seedlings (so that you don't pull them!) (HCSWCD)
• ​Introduction to Weed Management (HCSWCD)
• Deepening Our Appreciation of Poison Ivy, Identifying, and Eliminating (HCSWCD)
• Indicator Weeds and Weed Management (PowerPoint Presentation - HCSWCD - Updated 5/3/2017)
• Likely Indicator Weeds for Gardens of Hamilton County, IN (PDF - HCSWCD - Edition 1, Updated 5/3/2017)

Fruit and Vegetable Growing

• Beginners Guide to Growing Strawberries in Your Garden (HCSWCD)
• Containing Mint (HCSWCD)
• Cool Season Vegetables for Central Indiana (HCSWCD)
• Grow Potatoes in a Bucket (The Great Grub Club)
• Growing Indiana Vegetables in the Shade (HCSWCD)
• Indiana: Vegetable Planting Calendar (Urban Farmer)
• Rhubarb, Everything you ever wanted to know (Rhubarb-Central)
• Vegetables for Alkaline Soils (HCSWCD)
• Vegetable Garden Quality, Yield, and Savings comparisons​
• Blackberry, Raspberry, Grape, and Blueberry Care Instructions (Arbor Day Foundation)

Fruit and Vegetable Care​

• Peach Care (National Gardening Association)
• Misshapen (Deformed) Cucumbers (HCSWCD)

Pest and Disease

• ​About Insecticidal Soaps Link 1 and Link 2
• Brown Rot (caused by Monilinia fructicola) on Stone Fruits (Purdue Extension)
• Cytospora Canker of Stone Fruits - Care, planning, and removal (Penn State)
• Cytospora Canker (Fort Collins Tree Care)
• Identifying Caterpillars Eating Your Tomatoes
• Strawberry Diseases (The Ohio State University)
• Managing Pests in Home Fruit Plantings (Purdue Extension, ID-146-W)
• Managing Pests with Healthy Soil (SARE)
• Managing Tomato Hornworms
• Purdue Plant and Pest Diagnostic Laboratory
• Rhubarb Diseases (Rhubarb-Central)
• White Flies
• Leaf Spot (Planet Natural Research Center)
• Leaf Spot on Tomato (Univ. of Minnesota Extension)

Raised Beds

• Hugelkultur raised beds
• Raised Beds, Components of (HCSWCD)
• Raised Beds, Introduction to (HCSWCD)
• Raised Beds, Wall Assembly and Fasteners for (HCSWCD)

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Container Gardening

• Container Garden Basics for Indoors and Outdoors (HCSWCD - Updated 5/3/2019)
• Growing Potatoes in Containers (Almanac)

Other

• A Soil Healthy Lawn to Garden Method (HCSWCD) 
• Certified Arborists
• National Pesticide Information Center 
• Periodical Cicadas - Brood X 

Updated: 7/24/2024

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