Some tips on how to start with your own organic garden makes a great start for beginners. Below are some tips that will hopefully assist you into making better decisions and to start applying things to your garden properly. You need to work hard, so it is to your benefit to learn something from these tips.
When watering plants use recycled water, but avoid re-using water from sources such as baths, washing machines, or dishwashing. These water sources may contain harmful chemicals that can be absorbed into your vegetables such as nitrates and phosphates. This water may even contain pathogens that could harm you or your plants.
As soon as your seeds start sprouting make sure they have enough light. Move your plants next to a sunny window or put them inside a greenhouse. If you cannot do this, use fluorescent lights. Remember that your plants need up to sixteen hours of light every day.
Embrace earthworms in the organic garden! Earthworms are an organic gardener's best friend. Through tunneling and their nitrogen-rich castings, they can help to aerate the soil. This improves the amount of oxygen that gets to a plant's roots, improves water retention capacity, and keeps the soil loose and workable. They actually raise much-needed minerals from the garden's subsoil to the topsoil, where plants can get the greatest benefit. These worms also break up hardpan soil, which is detrimental to root growth.
Pine makes a much better mulch than you might think. Some plants like acidic soil because they have high acidity. Pine needles are an excellent form of mulch for these types of plants. Sprinkle the pine needles over your beds. As the needles decompose, they add to the acid level in the soil.
Keep your soil healthy. One of the best ways to deter pests from eating up your hard work in your organic garden is to make sure your soil is good. If your growing medium becomes imbalanced, it will become an attractive place for all kinds of unwanted visitors. Check pH and moisture levels often.
Sometimes when you are growing vegetables or fruits, it can be helpful to cut off newly formed buds or other non-fruit bearing areas. This will stimulate the growth of heavier fruit because the plant re-routes nutrients to where its growth should be navigating. When taking care your garden, it's important to make the distinction between harvesting the plant, or encouraging its growth.
Remember to plan for adequate spacing when you first lay out an organic garden. As plants grow and spread out, you will not always know how much space will be required. Failure to provide adequate room will restrict growth because it forces plants to compete for valuable nutrients and oxygen. Think ahead and give each plant room for expansion, by properly spacing the seeds.
Avoid chemicals in your garden. Keep the toxins out of the food and the water supply. One of the best parts about organic gardening is eliminating chemical compounds from your food supply. There are many alternatives to chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Almost any problem can be cured with the right management.
A great tip when starting your own organic garden is to always space your seeds in the mix as evenly as you can. If you do this, it will ensure that every single one of your seeds has an equal amount of room to grow in the most optimum way.
If you plan on starting an organic garden, you should always properly cover your seeds. If your seeds are not properly covered, then they will not grow. You should aim to cover most of your seeds about three times as deep as the thickness of your seeds in order to ensure optimum growth. However, certain seeds, such as alyssum and snapdragons, should not be covered because they need a lot of light to germinate.
Plant synergistically. To naturally repel pests, plant marigolds near nematode-sensitive crops like tomatoes and potatoes. To improve growth, plant legumes near plants that can benefit from the nitrogen they produce. Intersperse pungent plants like herbs and onions, whose scent can repel bugs and animals, with other unscented vegetables.
Try lightly ruffling the seedlings with your hands about twice a day. This may sound strange, but research has proven that doing this will help your plants grow bigger than if they were not petted at all.
If you are preparing to move your indoor organic garden outdoors, a great tip is to start preparing your plants one week ahead of time. Move them to a shaded area in your home for a few hours on a warm day. Your aim is to gradually increase your plants' exposure to light. Then, leave them outside overnight at the end of the week. This will ensure your plants survival.
Trees and flower beds need at least three inches of organic materials. This adds humus, nutrients, conserves water in the soil, and discourages the growth of unwanted weeds! This will also give your flower beds a nice, even, and finished appearance. There are many organic mulches available or you can make your own.
Rotate your crops to prevent permanent populations of pests in your garden. As with any ecosystem, pests need a certain amount of time to nest and build up a proper population within a garden. These pests are specially suited for one environment and one food source. By switching their food source you can essentially keep your pest population down simply because they are unable to adapt to the new type of plant.
Cover bare spots when you plant. When you put a new plant into your organic garden, do not leave the earth bare where you planted. Make sure you mulch the area all around your new plant. This will protect it while it begins to grow. It will also keep the ground moist.
These tips should have given you some much needed insight on where to start and how to begin growing your own personal organic garden. These tips were thoughtfully compiled to help the new organic gardener learn the basics and some other cool techniques that are simple enough to use for their garden.
Orignal From: How To Easily Turn Your Garden Organic
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