Tag Archives: organic gardening

Home

Organic Gardening Advice For New Organic Gardeners

In the world of organic gardening, there are plenty of great resources available to both new and experienced organic gardeners alike. There are many e-guides, books, videos, and other resources available. This set of tips contains some of the best advice for helping a good organic gardener become a great organic gardener.

Try to put an aspirin in the water to get rid of plant diseases. Your plants can benefit from a solution you can make by dissolving one and one-half aspirins into a couple of gallons of water. Spray the plants with the aspirin solution to help your plants fight disease. Spraying should be one time every three weeks.

To keep your houseplants happy during the day, your thermostat should be set anywhere between 65 and 75 degrees. Your plants will not grow well if it is too cold. If you want to save money on gas bills in the winter, you can provide local heating for the plants with a heat lamp instead.

Organic Garden

If you’re working to build a sustainable organic garden, try leaving a portion of your garden untouched so that the wildlife will be able to thrive. This can be a good area for the types of insects that pollinate plants. It can also be a sanctuary for birds, which will help some plants thrive. This can greatly improve the production of your organic garden.

If you choose to use organic methods to care for your houseplants, you should bear in mind that certain plants require more sunlight than others. If your home does not let in sufficient light, then consider getting plants that thrive in low-light situations. You could also consider using grow-lights for this exact purpose.

The ambient temperate of a room with live plants should be kept between sixty-five and seventy-five degrees throughout the day. It is important for them to be kept in this temperature range if they are to grow properly. If you do not want to keep your home that warm during the winter months, you can get a heat lamp for the organic plants instead.

If you’re planning on gardening inside, the first thing you should consider is an adequate light source. If you are living in a place that does not have a lot of natural sunlight, think about cultivating plants that do well in lower lighting situations. If you simply must have a plant that has higher requirements for sunlight, you can use indoor UV lamps.

You’ll save time and energy if you keep tools nearby while working in your garden. Put them into a basket you carry with you, or use an apron with many pockets and hanging loops. Tools you’ll need to garden efficiently include towels, gloves, pruning shears and other plant-specific tools.

Make sure you have your gardening tools near you, so you can maximize your gardening efficiency. Keep the tools in a big bucket, or store them in strong pockets in your pants. Keep your gloves, pruning shears, a hand spade and your other tools handy to quickly and easily do your garden maintenance.

Seeds that have sprouted don’t require the extra warmth that was needed before they sprouted. To ensure that your plants do not suffer shock, start eliminating the use of a heat source. Make sure you remember to remove any plastic films that were on the plant containers to repel humidity and warmth. Monitor the seeds carefully so you know the best time to do it.

Coat your flower beds with a few inches of an organic mulch. Mulching helps to hold moisture in the soil, enhance the soil quality, and slow down the growth of weeds. It will also increase the visual appeal of the flower beds.

Learn to work efficiently. It’s frustrating to search for a tool for a half hour. In addition to keeping your gardening tools in one location, you should also clean your tools after each use. If you use lots of tools, consider using a tool belt or even just some pants that have lots of pockets.

Dried Plant

Pine makes a much better mulch than you might think. Some plants need acidic soil to grow properly, because of their own acid content. If this is the case, use pine needles to mulch your beds. Simply add a layer of pine needles a couple of inches deep to the plant beds. The needles will decompose over time and provide the soil with acidity.

Apply equal portions of dried plant material and green into your compost pile. Green plant material can include old flowers, fruit waste, grass clippings, vegetable waste, and leaves. Dried plant matter, on the other hand, includes shredded paper, used wood chips and straw. Don’t include ashes, diseased plants, charcoal meat, or carnivorous animal waste.

It is possible to control weeds with natural methods. You should layer some newspaper to get weeds under control. Weeds must have sunlight in order to grow. When you pile up layers of newspapers right on top of the weeds, they will suffocate and die. Newspapers also decompose fairly quickly, and mix with your garden soil. You can then add a mulch layer right on top so that it looks more attractive.

Coffee grounds are a good addition to your soil. Coffee grounds add many nitrogenous nutrients to the soil that will benefit your plants. It is best for your plants to use coffee grounds that are part of a blend of ingredients in the compost or soil you are using for your plants, rather than directly adding coffee grounds to your garden plants.

For container planting, be sure to plant your seeds at a depth around three times the radius of the seed. You should know that certain seeds need not be covered, because they need the sunlight. Petunia and ageratum seeds need direct sunlight, for example. If you’re not sure, a guide either comes with seeds, or you can find this information online.

Water demands from plants will depend on the season and the climate in your area. You will need to water differently depending on what time it is or what kind of soil you are using. As an example, leaves should not be watered in humid, warm climates else leaf fungus could occur. Instead, focus water on the plant’s root system.

When planting seeds in containers, plant the seed roughly three times deeper than the seed’s size. There are exceptions to this rule though, as some seeds need direct sunlight to grow. This is true of popular flowers like petunias and zinnias. If you are unsure about the specific needs of your seeds, you should consult your local garden center or conduct further research online. Important things to look for include water requirements, ideal soil type, and recommended sunlight exposure.

With the above information in hand, you now know a little bit about what is needed to succeed as an organic gardener. There is a ton of information you should know, and you also should know how to use it. If you keep this information in mind, you should be able to grow a great organic garden in no time.

Home

Get Started With Organic Gardening By Using These Suggestions

As far as gardening goes, caring for your organic garden is important. This is where you need to think smart about organic gardening. This will help you grow more healthier, happier and tastier produce in your garden. Use the following tips to create a flourishing and very rewarding organic garden.

When you are organic gardening, ask your children to lend a hand. They will enjoy learning about nature and bonding with you.

If sustainability and organic gardening are appealing to you, leave a portion of the property you own undeveloped to give wildlife a place to thrive. Doing this will allow creatures that help plants to produce and pollinate to continue their actions, which will have a positive effect on the garden you develop.

A good tip to help your plants stay healthy and fight diseases is to use aspirin water. One and a half aspirin, dissolved in two gallons of water, can be a great addition to your plants. Spray the plants with the aspirin solution to help your plants fight disease. The process can be repeated every three weeks or so.

Sprouting seeds need less warmth than before. As your plants grow, you will want to put a little distance between them and heat. Uncover your containers; the plastic wrap traps humidity, so you need to remove it to stop your plants from overheating. To know when it is time for this, keep a careful eye on your seeds.

When mulching your flower beds, aim for anywhere between two or three inches of mulch. This is a simple method of discouraging weeds, retaining moisture, and adding excellent nutrients into the garden. It will also increase the visual appeal of the flower beds.

Work properly in your garden. Don’t waste your time looking for missing tools. Set up the tools you will need for your day prior to hitting the garden, then put them away neatly at the end of your gardening session. Invest in a tool belt or wear pants that have lots of pockets.

Coffee Grounds

Plastic bags can be kept on hand and reused to slip over your dirty gardening shoes. This way, you can get in and out quickly, and get back to work in the garden.

Coffee grounds work great mixed in with your soil. Coffee grounds are rich in nitrogen, an essential nutrient for plant growth. A strong nitrogen source in your garden area is a wonderful way to have healthy and strong plants.

Use an old laundry basket to bring your fresh produce in from the garden. Most laundry baskets are designed with a multitude of holes. This makes them a perfect strainer for washing your vegetables. Doing this allows you to both rinse and drain your fresh produce.

Want to get rid of weeds naturally? Use a lot of layers of newspaper in order to achieve weed control. In order to grow, weeds need sunlight. When you place layers of newspapers on top of them, the weeds will suffocate from the lack of light. Newspapers also decompose fairly quickly, and mix with your garden soil. You can then add a mulch layer right on top so that it looks more attractive.

Some advise passing your hand gently over your newly planted seedlings each day. You may think it odd, but studies show that this action results in plant growth that is more substantial than would otherwise be achieved.

Creating a trap with beer can help reduce the number of slugs in your garden. Take a glass jar and bury it in your garden, making sure that the lip of the jar is even with the soil. Pour beer into the jar until it’s almost full. Leave an inch of space between the beer and the jar top. Beer is especially attractive to slugs; they will lured to it and trapped.

You can make a raised bed with untreated wood, brick, or stone. When selecting wood, make certain you pick untreated products that have a natural resistance to rot. Some good choices include locust, cypress, and cedar. Do not use treated wood in your vegetable garden. If you must use treated wood, consider using a liner to keep chemicals out of the soil.

Your authenticity as an organic grower is solidified when you obtain the organic gardening certification. With this, you and your crops are credible and 100% legitimately organic. This is important for your business and to your customers. This can increase your sales and also prove to your customers that they are getting the best produce out there.

An organic garden is a benefit to you and everyone else who consumes the food that grows there. While chemical claims are wondrous, growing organically is a great reward to whomever eats your produce.

Adding a lot of mulch to your garden is a great tip to implement in order to keep your garden healthy. The right amount of mulch in a garden also works to protect the soil underneath. On hot days, mulch will offer protection to a plant’s root system by cooling the soil. Mulch slows down evaporation, thus helps your soil retain its moisture. As an added bonus, weed growth will be stunted.

If you over-water your plants, they can’t get all the nutrients they need from the dirt. Only water as necessary when there is no rain in the forecast, or for plants which need extra watering. Skip watering your plants for a couple of days if a heavy rainstorm has descended; natural rainwater can be particularly good for your plants as well.

Try using botanical pesticide products that can keep your insect problem under control. Natural insecticides are often more powerful than ones that have chemicals in them. However, botanical insecticides do not last as long due to their composition.

Too much water may hurt plants since extra water can keep roots from getting the nutrients they need from the soil. Only water as necessary when there is no rain in the forecast, or for plants which need extra watering. If it is going to be a wet day, you don’t need to water the plants yourself.

At least 3″ of organic mulch should be added to the flower beds and garden. This affects your garden in a variety of ways, including enriching the soil, locking in moisture, and improving the overall appearance of the garden.

If you are wanting to start your own organic garden, it is crucial that you know how to properly make beds. Remove the grass turf from the area you want to plant. Then turn it over and put wood chips on this area. Three to four inches should be enough. Wait for a few weeks to pass, then cut into it for planting.

While all kinds of gardening can help you feel more connected to the planet, gardening organically is especially good for this. This kind of gardening keeps you more involved in planting, cultivating and harvesting, giving you a clearer picture of the entire life cycle of each plant.

Understand the variety of natural gardening solutions that can be used to tend an organic garden. Use a natural alternative to chemical fertilizers. This is one of the tenets of true organic gardening. The best example of this is to use compost. If you choose to go organic, you have less of a chance that there will be chemical, toxic buildups in your soil and water.

Transform your organic garden into a shade garden. These gardens are not high maintenance at all. They will require much less watering, which saves a lot of work and time. The plants also grow slower, which means you will not have to pick weeds as often either.

When you are organically growing tomatoes, try planting only some seeds at once; then go back and plant an additional set of seeds in three weeks. This makes sure that you are not inundated with a huge tomato harvest all at one time. If one crop is ruined for some reason, the next one will be healthy.

When getting ready to plant a tree or a shrub in your organic garden, try digging an ugly hole to plant them in. You may inhibit the growth of roots if you have any glazed holes.

If you want to do some organic gardening, plan ahead. Decide exactly which plants you’re going to grow. Different varieties of plants call for different environments and climates. Consider roses; whereas one variety may thrive in direct sunlight, others may prefer shaded areas. Make sure you check on what environment a plant is best suited for before you purchase it.

You need to learn how to make beds correctly prior to beginning organic garden. Start off by getting under the grass using a spade. Next, flip the turf, and spread a few inches worth of wood chips across the area. After a few weeks, you can cut in it and plant.

Organic gardening can help you develop an appreciation for the taste and freshness of your food. If you are willing to put in the effort, you will enjoy a wonderful harvest from your own garden.

Home

Tips And Tricks On How To Achieve A Good Organic Garden

There are many different reasons for adopting organic horticulture methods. For example, some people prefer to use organic gardening to cultivate edibles for the dinner table. You do have to put in some effort, though. You might be wondering where you need to start to have your very own organic garden.

It is important to do your homework so you choose plants that produce higher yields. Normally, hybrid plants that are disease-resistant and cold-tolerant have a greater yield than traditional varieties.

Your plants need to adapt and must be gradually introduced to changes in temperature or condition. Put them in the sun outside for a couple of hours during the first day. As you continue the first week of the project, gradually extend the duration of sun exposure. When the week is done, your plants will be ready for the big move without any problems.

Use pots to start your plants, then transfer them to a garden when they become seedlings. This can give your seedlings the advantage they need to survive and reach adulthood. The period between plantings will also be shorter. Once you’ve removed the previous group of plants, your seedlings can go into the ground.

Higher Co2

Use both annuals and biennials to add a splash of color to your flower beds. By utilizing quick-growing biennials and annuals, not only will you be brightening up your flower bed, you can also alter its look each season and each year. They can be used to fill in gaps in your garden between the perennials or shrubs so your garden looks fuller. Some excellent choices include rudbeckia, hollyhock, sunflower, cosmos, petunia and marigold.

Carbon dioxide, or CO2, is essential to the growth of plants because of its role in photosynthesis. If the level of CO2 is extremely high, your plants will grow much better. The best way to get higher CO2 for your plants is to grow them in a greenhouse. Higher CO2 levels can provide optimal conditions for growing plants.

If you want your garden to sport flowers in the spring as well as summer, plant bulbs. Bulbs are hearty and will continue to grow every year. Bulbs bloom during different seasons, if you pick them carefully you will have flowers almost all year.

If powdery mildew appears on your plants, don’t purchase expensive chemical solutions. Put a little baking soda and some dish soap in water. Spray this on the plants once per week until that mildew goes away. No damage will occur to your plants, and the baking soda is mild and efficient.

As fall arrives, it is the time to prepare for planting fall edibles. Rather than using clay pots or planters for your lettuce and kale, plant them in a pumpkin! Clean out the pumpkin just like you would if you were making a jack o’lantern. Spray Wilt-Pruf inside the pumpkin and along its edges so that the pumpkin won’t rot. Once you have finished, you can begin planting.

Grow wheat or cat grass in the area around the plants that your cat is eating. You could also repel your pet by planting rosemary or placing citrus fruit peels around your garden.

If beautiful flowers throughout the warmer months are important to you, make sure you put bulbs into the ground. Bulbs are easy to grow and hearty, and they keep growing in years to come. Various bulbs do not all bloom at the same time, and if you employ this knowledge wisely, your garden can provide freshly blooming flowers for half the year.

When you decide to add vegetables into your garden space, be aware that they must be placed where they will receive direct sunlight for a minimum of six hours daily. Many of the vegetables need a lot of sun, so they can grow right and at a faster pace. This arrangement will also benefit some types of flowers.

In conclusion, creating and maintaining an organic garden requires hard work, effort and research. You will get great results if you are consistent and patient. Keep the above advice at hand and you too can excel with organic gardening.

Plant cool-weather edibles in the fall. Rather than using clay pots or planters for your lettuce and kale, plant them in a pumpkin! Simply carve open the top of a pumpkin so you can remove the innards, and then spray inside and out with something like Wilt-Pruf to prevent pumpkin rotting. Now this is completed, it is time to get planting!

Home

Unsure About Organic Gardening? Use This Excellent Information!

One of the most sensible ways to improve your diet is through organic gardening. For best results, however, you need to put in the right amount of effort. Perhaps you are unsure of the benefits of organic gardening, or you are unsure how to get your garden started.

You should teach your children how to garden alongside you. Children will benefit from the fresh air while bonding with you in your efforts to provide healthier food alternatives for them.

If you are looking at creating an endurable organic garden, you should think about keeping some of your property vacant so that wildlife may flourish there. This is a great natural way to allow the insects and animals found in nature to assist with the growth of your garden.

When a seed actually sprouts, it doesn’t need to be in as warm an environment. As they begin growing you can move them farther away from heat sources. You should also remove plastic films that you had on your containers to keep the humidity and warmth out. Watch your seeds closely to find the right time to do this.

Work properly in your garden. Wasting time finding tools is inefficient gardening. Organize the tools you will need before you head to the garden, and put every item away when you finish your work. A good way to keep your tools at hand is to buy a tool belt or utility pants with many large pockets.

Working in the garden doesn’t have to be grueling; learn to work more efficiently. Don’t waste your time looking for missing tools. Have all of your tools gathered and prepared for use before you work in the garden, and make sure to put them away neatly. You can keep your garden tools in a tool belt, or in your pockets. Another good idea is to keep them all in a bucket that you carry around with you.

Keep plastic bags handy to cover your muddy gardening shoes. This helps the flow keep going so that you can get into the garden quickly to finish what you’re doing.

Put coffee ground into your soil. Coffee beans are loaded with nitrogen, which offers nourishment for plants. Usually, nitrogen is limited with a plant, but using coffee grounds, diluted urea, or compost can make your plants grow faster and taller.

The space you leave in between your plants is an important measurement when it comes to gardening. Leave a little more space than you think your full grown plant will need to make up for overgrowth. This will give you enough room to work around your garden without smashing any plants. It is, therefore, important for you to plan accordingly and allow for enough room between your seed rows.

Tend your organic garden on a regular schedule. There are certain little things to help you keep up with your garden, even if you don’t have the necessary time each day to do everything. If you are outside with your dog, pluck a few weeds while your dog is taking care of his business.

Laundry Basket

When it’s harvest time, you should utilize a basket that you put laundry in to carry your veggies. An old laundry basket makes an excellent strainer for cleaning your produce. Rinse your crops while in the laundry basket to strain the excess water.

An old laundry basket works great for gathering produce from your garden. The laundry basket can be used as a colander for your produce. Rinse your produce while it lays in the basket; any excess water strains off through the laundry basket holes.

If you wish to honestly proclaim your produce to be truly organic, you need to secure organic garden certification. That way, you will realize greater sales volume and demonstrate the value of your produce to potential and returning customers.

Apply equal portions of dried plant material and green into your compost pile. Grass clippings, vegetable and fruit leftovers, and grass clippings are all examples of green plant material. Examples of dried plant material are sawdust, shredded paper, straw, cut-up woody material, and cardboard. Avoid using animal manure, charcoal or diseased plants in your compost.

Overall, a layer of mulch is beneficial for the soil. Mulch acts as a protective covering for the soil. The roots of your garden are less likely to become overheated on hot days. Evaporation will be reduced and the soil will remain moist for longer when you water. It also doubles as weed control.

Drowning your plants with water can kill them! It will stop your plant’s roots from being able to obtain any nutritional goodness out of its surrounding soil You should always check the weather forecast, in advance, for chances of rainfall before you water the plants. If rain is in the forecast, it is best not to water that day.

A good general rule when planting your seeds into containers is that the depth of the planting should be about three times the size of the seed. Some seeds shouldn’t be covered and must be in sunlight at all times. Among the seeds meeting this definition are ageratum and petunias. If you are not sure whether your seeds need to be exposed to sunlight, resources are usually provided with the seeds or can be found online.

Organic Foods

Organic foods do not possess any pesticides on them. While organic foods are healthy for your family, you will still need to check closely for bugs or worms.

Lightly ruffle your seeds by hand or with cardboard, twice daily in your organic garden. You may think it odd, but studies show that this action results in plant growth that is more substantial than would otherwise be achieved.

To get a good start, look below the surface! After planting tomatoes, for example, you must closely monitor the soil for the first signs of green shoots. Don’t get attached–these hints of green are hiding an underdeveloped root system below the surface of the soil. These starts will stick around on the main plant for several weeks, hindering the growth of the seedling as long as they are present.

You could simply make a new perennials garden in a couple easy steps. Use the spade to get under the turf, flip it, and then apply a layer of wood chips that is several inches deep. After about three weeks, you may cut into this bed to plant your perennials.

You can get rid of slugs with a simple beer trap. Place a jar into the soil so that the top of it’s mouth rests parallel with the soil. Pour beer into the jar until it is an inch from the top. The slugs will be drawn to the beer and then drown in the jar.

When you mulch your garden beds with organic material, make sure it’s about three inches deep. This will add nutrients to your soil, keep it moist, stop the growth of weeds and keep the garden looking beautiful.

When you plant your garden, do so by creating biodiversity. The more plants you have, the more wildlife that will come. If you are interested in creating an untamed, natural look for your garden, you should include many varieties of plants. A diverse garden is incredibly attractive. It’s also very rewarding and relaxing.

Create a raised bed for your garden out of stone, bricks or untreated wood. Choose wood that is naturally resistant to rot and is untreated. Cypress, cedar or locust wood are appropriate selections. If you use treated wood in your vegetable garden, the chemicals in the wood can make their way into the soil, and in turn, to your crops. If you have built a bed with treated lumber already, use a barrier such as plastic to line the bed.

You can grow a great organic garden if you decide to dedicate your time and efforts to it. It is very true, as well, that to see results, you must stick with it. If you apply the tips you have just read, you should be able to grow healthy plants.

Home

All You Need To Know About Organic Gardening

Organic gardening is a movement that is rapidly gathering satisfied followers. By using the advice below, you will be able to get started in organic gardening and create a thriving and beautiful garden. Continue reading to uncover a number of effective tips for growing an organic garden you can be proud of.

Allow your children to actively participate in planting your organic garden. Toiling together in the garden brings your family closer together and offers many different opportunities to learn new things and instill green values.

Strawberries are a great plant to grow in any organic garden, especially if you happen to have kids or any strawberry lover in your home. Kids really enjoy plucking snacks directly from the ground, and may have greater enthusiasm for the work if they see the results of their labor right away.

It is easy to quickly prepare your perennial garden ground. Turn over the soil in your garden so it will be soft and easy to plant before spreading wood chips around your garden. Allow for at least 10 days to pass, then plant the perennials that you just purchased.

One way to ensure efficiency while gardening is to keep your tools close by. You can keep them in a good sized bucket, or wear utility pants that have plenty of large pockets. Keep your gloves, pruning shears, a hand spade and your other tools handy to quickly and easily do your garden maintenance.

Add aspirin to your plants to help them fight sickness. Try dissolving around one and one half aspirins into around 2 gallons of water for your plants. All you have to do is spray the plants with this solution and you should see good results. Spraying should be one time every three weeks.

Stay on top of your organic gardening to-do list, and don’t let the work pile up. You may not have a lot of time to exclusively devote to your gardening hobby, but you can make the most of the time you do have. Grab a handful of weeds, throw down some mulch, or toss some water on it anytime you walk by.

Compost Pile

If you are growing your organic plants inside of your home or office, it is vital to make sure that the right amount of light reaches them. Ideally, these plants should be kept in a room that offers natural light from a window or glass door. If you want to grow plants that need a lot of light, consider using artificial lighting.

Apply equal portions of dried plant material and green into your compost pile. Green plant material includes grass clippings, spent flowers, vegetable and fruit waste, weeds and leaves. Dried plant material, however, can include items such as cardboard, sawdust and shredded paper. Charcoal, meat, ashes or other diseased plants should not be included in a compost pile.

If you are planting seeds in containers, a good rule of thumb is that the seed’s depth should be around three times its overall size. Some seeds need sunlight and should not be buried. Two of the common examples are petunias and ageratum. If you’re not sure if your seeds need sunlight, you can find out online or through the seeds’ package.

In order to maximize the efficiency of your gardening, ensure your gardening tools are kept close by you. Carry a large bucket with you or wear pants with a lot of pockets. Keep your trowel, pruning shears and gloves handy so you can do your garden work quickly and easily.

When maintaining your organic garden, try lightly petting your seedlings — either with the palm of your hand or something like a sheet of cardboard — once or twice each day. Even though it sounds strange, it will help plants get bigger.

If slugs are disrupting the balance of your garden, you can diminish their population by using a beer trap. To create a beer trap, dig a hole in your garden that is the depth of a glass jar, leaving the mouth of the jar level with the soil. Fill that with beer just under an inch from the top of your jar. The slugs will be attracted to the beer, and will then become trapped within the jar.

Your seeds, once they begin sprouting, don’t need the same amount of warmth as they did before. As your baby plants grow, you can move them from their heat source. Additionally, remove any plastic films that were on your containers. This will keep out warmth and humidity. Check on your seeds often so you catch them when they are ready.

Treated Wood

Build raised beds with untreated stone, brick or wood. Be sure to use wood that is naturally resistant to rotting and that has not been treated. Some good choices you might consider are locust, cedar, and cypress. In a veggie garden, don’t use treated wood since its chemicals can leech into the food crops and soil. If you have to use treated wood, you should line it with a bit of plastic to create a barrier.

Have plastic bags on hand so that you may cover your muddy gardening shoes. You will be able to go in and out without having to keep taking your shoes on and off.

You just have to be patient if you want to get your organic garden into tip top shape. These tips can be put to use so you can see how great growing a garden can be. It doesn’t matter what you’re trying to grow, the tips you learned can help you be successful.