What are your personal thoughts on organic gardening? Do you view everything you can on the subject, and try to improve upon your own garden? There are numerous resources available such as magazines, videos, books, shows, etc. So where do you begin with your own techniques? Try going through these tips to find your starting point.
Be sure to test your soil before you plant your garden, if you want to be successful without the need for chemicals. A home testing kit can tell you the pH of your soil, which indicates the likelihood of plant survival. A vegetable garden requires a pH of about 6.5; if your soil is off, you can supplement before your plants start to die.
Make use of a ground cover, such as mulch or hay. Be sure when you are purchasing your ground cover, that it is also organic, as any chemicals contained in the mulch or hay can be absorbed by your plants. Organic ground coverings will protect the roots of your plants and help prevent water evaporation.
Create soil for your organic garden by composting. Composting is a wonderful way to re-use some items that you would normally throw away as garbage. It also provides for rich and fertile soil, without the use of chemicals and pesticides. Compost bins are available in many sizes to fit your specific needs.
Your plants need to be fed properly as soon as they start sprouting leaves. If you did not use compost in your soil, you have to fertilize your plants. You can mix water with a liquid fish or sea weed solution and spray it on your plants, or add this mix to the water in which your trays and pots are bathing.
If you have a compost pile, but have very few leaves to add to it this fall, try incorporating straw or hay into your compost pile. This is a great way to add carbon which is very beneficial to the growth and health of plants. The straw and hay may contain seeds, so it is best to use an organic weed spray on your compost pile to get rid of the unwanted weeds.
Dry your herbs immediately after harvesting them to prevent rot. Rot is usually caused by moisture either within the herb or on top of it. Moisture can cause the production of harmful bacteria that may cause rot on the herb, or produce a nasty by-product which will then spoil your harvest.
Encourage bees, wasps, ladybirds and other beneficial insects. These insects are vital in an organic garden. Bees are nature's most efficient pollinator, and wasps and ladybirds prey on destructive insects in the garden. Ladybirds are particularly effective at ridding your plants of aphids. To attract these beneficial insects, plant companion herbs and flowers around the edge of your vegetable garden.
Composting is a great way to fuel your garden. You can add pretty much anything, like grass clippings, shredded paper, coffee grounds, and much more. Basically, you can use anything that was living at one time (but try to avoid animal products). If you buy some worms and keep the compost bin in a warm, sunny place it will turn into perfectly dark and rich soil in no time.
When you are ready to mulch, choose an organic mulch. Cocoa hulls or weed-free straw are great examples. The mulch will eventually decompose and add rich, organic nutrients to your soil. Just add a couple of inches to your garden each year and you will see the long-term benefits.
Sometimes it's helpful to spread grass clippings or other kinds of decomposing plant matter around your plants. The plants will decompose and allow their nutrients to go back into the soil. This same theory works for many kinds of decomposing matter such as rotten apples, eggs, and pretty much everything else that can be considered organic matter.
When running your organic garden, you should use the "shovel method" to eliminate weeds. This method does not eliminate all of the weeds at one time because doing this is ineffective. This method uses a sharp spade to turn the weeds over and bury the leaves. When the leaves rot, the weeds will actually provide nourishment to the soil.
Think of landscaping your yard in the same way you would in planning to build your home. It helps to think of trees as walls and roofs of "rooms" in your garden. This kind of thinking can help you find better locations and sizes for use in your yard.
Keep your fertilizers and pesticides organic. It may seem like an odd fact, but residential gardeners use a ton more chemicals than actual farmers do. This causes big problems for vegetation, fish, and wildlife. Urban areas are polluted enough without the chemical dumping. Do your part and avoid chemicals at all costs.
Eliminate tent caterpillars. Tent caterpillars are a major pest, infecting apple, cherry, peach and pear trees. The adult moths create a woven-like nest full of caterpillars, defoliating a tree. Destroy nests by hand. Making sure to wear gloves, pull down the nests in the early morning and kill the caterpillars by dropping them into a bucket of insecticidal soap. In the winter look for eggs masses on branches, and remove and burn them.
Mulch is quite a welcome addition to any organic garden, but there there can be too much of a good thing. A tree with too much mulch on its trunk can easily become diseased or infested. To prevent that, do not pile it against their trunks and instead spread it as far as to the drip line.
Organic gardening includes those choices made in the garden and landscape to provide overall eco-efficiency, with planting trees one of the best methods out there. Planting trees not only provides a great value on the home as they grow in size, but they also provide great shade to the home and property, reducing electricity use in cooling, while freshening the air you breathe as well.
Now that you have an idea on where to start crafting your own organic gardening techniques are you ready to start experimenting? Are you ready to apply what you read to your garden? Can you help your garden grow properly? If you can, then have fun! If not, make sure to review the tips again.
Orignal From: Hints And Advice For Growing An Organic Garden
No comments:
Post a Comment