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Organic Gardening Using Mother Nature’s Ingredients for Organic Gardening.
What is Organic Gardening?
Organic gardening is the practice of growing your flowers and plants naturally. More specifically, it means using no man-made chemicals to promote growth, deter pest, or control weeds and disease. This is contrary to the norm where most of the time chemical herbicides, insecticides, and pesticides are used control gardens. In flower gardening, organic methods not only help the environment but also the health of people living in the vicinity. It’s Easy to Do…
Soil is the Key:
Organic gardening begins with attention to the soil. You take care of the soil by regularly adding organic matter. The neat thing about this is… it’s materials you have readily available around your home because your kitchen, garden, or yard produces the raw ingredients for composting. Food scraps from your kitchen or decaying plant waste such as grass clippings, etc, are perfect for organic matter.
Evaluate your soil. You can test it yourself, have it tested, or just go by your own instincts. If you guess, your odds improve if you talk to experienced gardeners in the local area to see what they do and recommend. If you go the test route, give a soil sample to a local county extension agent who will test it primarily for:
After this soil test, the extension agent will be able to tell you what your soil is deficient in and you can act accordingly.
By choosing flowers or plants that are adapted to your region you’ll save a lot of time and effort. These plants are already somewhat adapted to the local soil and weather conditions and may also be somewhat resistant to local pest and disease. Free Newsletter Please sign up and enjoy our Gardening Advisor Newsletter. In this you will read both fun and serious gardening information covering a wide range of topics.
We will gaurd your Email with great care and NEVER send spam or sell your information.  Organic Pest Control: This is a huge part of organic gardening. You either control the pest from your flowers or plants naturally, chemically, or let them die. The first thought when seeing insects eating your plants might be to take the so called quick fix with chemical alternatives. If you are patient you may find the insects aren’t doing the damage you feared. They may in fact only be nibbling at the edges of the leaves and causing no real damage.
Solution -1:
Be patient and see what the insects are really doing.
Solution-2:
Plant a diverse mix of flowers ad plants that encourage natural predators to hunt in your garden. Examples include frogs, lizards, and birds.
Solution-3:
Barriers such as row covers and netting can protect plants but it defeats the purpose if you are growing flowers.
Solution-4:
If pest invasion is acute, there are several natural products that are available in the market. These products:
Extra Pest Control Tip:
* Put out pest traps / sticky bars to see what pest are visiting your plants.
Organic Disease Control:
This may seem oversimplified, but one easy way to help avoid plant diseases is to choose varieties that are disease resistant. Also, by choosing plants that are adapted to local conditions they are less stressed and more tolerant to disease.
Site choice for your flowers or plants is also a key. Many fungal diseases develop because the conditions are wet and there is poor air circulation to dry the leaves and flowers. Don’t over water your plants or crowd them too much.
If you are in a real bind with something ravaging the garden, there are organic solutions for sale that can target specific problems. Organic Weed Control: Tips for controlling weeds without chemical herbicides are:
* Pull the weeds out by hand with a knife or hoe and put them in your compost pile.
* Use a weed barrier mat before planting and this stops weeds from germinating through to the surface.
* Use a pre-treatment organic herbicide.
* Put a thick layer of mulch in your garden area and this will help block the weed seed from germinating.
* Remember – weeds are easier to deal with when there only a few.
Organic Fertilizing:
You can build organically (nutrient) rich soil by adding compost. This can be done by adding well rotted animal manures from cows, horses, chickens, and others to your soil. By adding approximately an inch of compost per year you’ll likely avoid the need for fertilizers.
Tips:
* Compost raw manure for at least 6 months before adding it to your garden.
* Talk to other organic gardeners about local sources for fertilizers like manures, etc.
Build a Compost Pile:
This is how you create the good stuff for the plants and flowers in your garden. Following are some general steps to follow in creating a compost pile on your property:
Location for Compost Pile – This can go about wherever you want but should be at least 2 feet away from any structures. Other tips include: * Make it easy to get to or you won’t use it.
* Make sure the ground is level.
* A well draining soil location is important as well.
* Try to out close to some type of tree or structure (2 ft. space) to block wind which can dry out your pile.
* Shade if you are in a dry, hot climate to keep it from drying out in the sun and heat.
Compost Bin – This is a luxury because your pile can just be on the ground. It does make it more controllable however if you build a bin. Some things to consider: * A compost bin can keep the neighborhood dogs out of the pile (especially if you are putting kitchen scraps into it).
* Other Pest – There are more to worry about than dogs, other varmints will pilfer off this pile as well.
* Make sure the bin is easy to get into so you’ll use it.
* It’s easier to control when you are turning the pile; it keeps it in its place.
* The appearance of a bin is better than a loose pile.
Material Preparation – This is not a mandatory step but it helps to speed up the composting process. There are all sorts of things you can add to the pile to get it going good. Some of the better staring materials are:
Building the Compost Pile – This is where you actually start to throw it together. Here are the crucial components for a good compost pile:
Let’s Build…
1- Wet the ground under where the pile will go to help keep the soil from taking the moisture away from your compost.
2- Put sticks in the bottom of the bin for aeration.
3- Add nitrogen and carbon materials in alternate layers along with water (up to 50% of the compost weight should be water).
Cover on your Pile / Bin – This can keep critters out and help keep moisture in.
Routine Check of the Pile – Mother nature will most likely take care of your compost but checking is a good idea if you are up to it. You’ll check for heat with a compost thermometer and make sure it’s between120-160 degrees. If your pile is not hot, add more nitrogen to the compost.
Also, check your moisture levels. When you turn the pile it should feel heavy like it’s 50% water. If not, add water.
Turning the Compost Pile – This means to stir it up because turning the pile allows all the material to be exposed to the hot center and this also increases aeration. Gardening Newsletter Organic gardening is a great way to grow healthy plants and flowers using Mother Nature’s ingredients. |