Organic gardening has many advantages and this article will offer you 5 tips to make organic gardening easier.
Organic Gardening Tip #1:
Mulch your trees and flower beds with 3” of organic material. When you use this organic gardening tip you will be able to add humus and nutrients. You can also conserve water and keep weeds at bay. If you are growing plants that need acid you can use a thick layer of pine needles. Organic gardening with pine needle mulch will be perfect if used in the fall because over the course of the winter they will decompose and the needed acid will be added naturally to the soil.
Organic Gardening Tip #2:
You need to maintain healthy soil if you want to be successful at organic gardening. The most important step in maintaining healthy soil while engaged in organic gardening is to keep on top of pest management. When pests are controlled in organic gardening the plants will be healthy and more able to withstand insect and disease damage. If you are bothered while organic gardening with aphids you can spray the infested leaves, stems and buds with a diluted solution of soapy water followed with clear water.
Organic Gardening Tip #3:
Try composting as part of your organic gardening regimen. When you make composting part of organic gardening you will improve the texture, soil structure and aeration. Composting also increases the capacity for the soil to hold water. There are organic and natural ways to fertilize when you are organic gardening. Try these instead of chemical fertilizers.
Organic Gardening Tip #4:
Organic gardening gardeners should always keep in mind the best plants for their soil, sun, temperature range and shade. All these factors come into play while organic gardening. Choosing well-adapted plant types is a way to ensure successful organic gardening. When you landscape your yard using organic gardening strategies you can increase your original investment by as much as 200%.
Organic Gardening Tips #5:
Organic gardening shade gardens are low maintenance. You will need less water and have fewer weeds to deal with. Speaking of weeds; try using full-strength household vinegar on a sunny day. Just spray on the plants and you have an organic gardening solution that is safe for people, pets, wildlife and the environment.
These organic gardening tips should come in handy for all organic gardeners, novice or experienced alike.
By: Cindy Mauro -
Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com
Cindy Mauro has been an organic gardener for many years and enjoys sharing her tips with others. She is a contributing author at 4BestGardening.com For more gardening tips go to: Gardening Tips
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Growing Organic Food - Basic Guidelines
Everyone - including the backyard gardener - who wants to grow food in a way that is sustainable and that respects the natural environment can benefit from using the federal organic guidelines from the Organic Food Production Act that took effect in 2002. These federal standards for organic cultivation were designed by people with a profound knowledge of how to produce food ecologically.
With the home gardener rather than the market gardener especially in mind, what follows here is an overview and some highlights of the standards and regulations. For more details, visit the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) website: www.ams.usda.gov. Click "National Organic Program."
~~Soil~~
In an organic gardening system, soil health is fundamental to success. Even though natural fertilizers and other inputs are used in organic gardening, they are minimized by regular additions of organic material to feed and improve the soil. This material can come, for instance, from tilling in cover crops and from using approved soil amendments such as compost.
Raw animal manures are not to be used as soil amendments within six months of harvest for root crops. For crops where the edible part never touches the soil, raw animal manures are not used within three months of harvest. Sewage sludge is absolutely banned. Crop residues can be chopped into the soil, but not burned.
~~Pests~~
Biological pesticides can be used, but should be viewed as a last resort. Before spraying a pesticide, organic gardeners can use predators of the pest species, develop habitat to encourage the natural enemies of pests, and use controls like traps and non-synthetic repellants.
~~Diseases~~
Prevention is the idea. Plants grown in healthy soil are naturally resistant to disease. Crop rotation and selecting the right varieties also contribute to disease control. If, however, there is still a problem, visit the USDA web site mentioned above and select from the National List of biologicals and botanicals that are permitted to certified organic growers.
~~Weeds~~
The federal organic standards allow no herbicides. Control weeds by tilling, hand weeding, mowing, etc. Also, natural mulches (e.g. straw) are useful.
~~Seeds and Transplants~~
These must also be organic for the crop to be labeled organic.
The backyard gardener who is interested in growing organically for the nutritional and environmental benefit rather than for the purpose of marketing, probably doesn't need all the nitty gritty details of the Organic Food Production Law.
Just use the basic guidelines and act with respect for nature, and you're on the way to producing organic food. It's well worth it: healthier for people and healthier for the environment.
Judith Schwader specializes in organic gardening methods, and shares tips and advice for your gardening success at atozgardening.com. Visit now for valuable information to enhance your gardening experience. Also visit fbhome.com/ for additional home and garden information.
Article Source: http://www.articles.ask-me-about.com
With the home gardener rather than the market gardener especially in mind, what follows here is an overview and some highlights of the standards and regulations. For more details, visit the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) website: www.ams.usda.gov. Click "National Organic Program."
~~Soil~~
In an organic gardening system, soil health is fundamental to success. Even though natural fertilizers and other inputs are used in organic gardening, they are minimized by regular additions of organic material to feed and improve the soil. This material can come, for instance, from tilling in cover crops and from using approved soil amendments such as compost.
Raw animal manures are not to be used as soil amendments within six months of harvest for root crops. For crops where the edible part never touches the soil, raw animal manures are not used within three months of harvest. Sewage sludge is absolutely banned. Crop residues can be chopped into the soil, but not burned.
~~Pests~~
Biological pesticides can be used, but should be viewed as a last resort. Before spraying a pesticide, organic gardeners can use predators of the pest species, develop habitat to encourage the natural enemies of pests, and use controls like traps and non-synthetic repellants.
~~Diseases~~
Prevention is the idea. Plants grown in healthy soil are naturally resistant to disease. Crop rotation and selecting the right varieties also contribute to disease control. If, however, there is still a problem, visit the USDA web site mentioned above and select from the National List of biologicals and botanicals that are permitted to certified organic growers.
~~Weeds~~
The federal organic standards allow no herbicides. Control weeds by tilling, hand weeding, mowing, etc. Also, natural mulches (e.g. straw) are useful.
~~Seeds and Transplants~~
These must also be organic for the crop to be labeled organic.
The backyard gardener who is interested in growing organically for the nutritional and environmental benefit rather than for the purpose of marketing, probably doesn't need all the nitty gritty details of the Organic Food Production Law.
Just use the basic guidelines and act with respect for nature, and you're on the way to producing organic food. It's well worth it: healthier for people and healthier for the environment.
Judith Schwader specializes in organic gardening methods, and shares tips and advice for your gardening success at atozgardening.com. Visit now for valuable information to enhance your gardening experience. Also visit fbhome.com/ for additional home and garden information.
Article Source: http://www.articles.ask-me-about.com
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Organic Weed Control Using Corn
Organic Weed Control Using Corn
By Kathy Anderson
You are welcome to use this article on your website or in your newsletter as long as you reprint it as is, including the contact information at the end. Website URLs must be active links. You are welcome to use this article with an affiliate link, http://www.freeplants.com/resellers.htm
Weeds are a problem faced by everyone who enjoys gardening. When we carefully prepare the soil to make a good home for our garden plants, we’re also creating ideal conditions for weeds to thrive. Weeds not only detract from the beauty of our gardens, but they also compete for the water and nutrition that is meant to be used by the more desirable plants.
So what’s a gardener to do about weeds? We can smother existing weeds when creating new planting beds, but despite our best efforts, weed seeds will always be blowing into the beds. When those weed seeds germinate and grow, the weeds will once again make themselves right at home in the garden.
Now there’s a natural product available that helps prevent weed seeds from growing in the garden, and surprisingly, it is made from corn.
Corn gluten is a byproduct of the wet-milling process and has traditionally been used in cattle and poultry feed and also as an ingredient in dog food. It was discovered entirely by accident that corn gluten can also be used to prevent weed seeds from germinating. Not only can it suppress weeds, but it will also help feed your garden plants since it is also a source of nitrogen. And corn gluten won’t harm pets, people, birds or insects, making it very safe to use.
Corn gluten works by preventing germinated seeds from growing a root. A plant that has already grown roots will not be affected by corn gluten. For the best results, the corn gluten should be applied early in the season, before the weed seeds germinate and grow roots. As a pre-emergent herbicide, corn gluten tends to have a cumulative effect and becomes even more effective on weed seeds with repeated applications over time. One application of corn gluten continues to suppress weeds for 4-6 weeks, a bit less if the weather is unusually rainy or hot.
Corn gluten is typically applied by broadcasting it on the growing bed at a rate of 20-40 pounds per 1000 square feet. It may then be lightly raked into just the surface of the soil and watered in. Corn gluten will not be effective unless it is wetted and should be given a gentle shower after being applied. However, if there is a long rainy period after the corn gluten has been applied, it may lose its effectiveness. As with any herbicide, it can wash away, and weed seedlings may even recover and begin again to form roots if the soil surface remains wet for an extended time. Keep an eye on the weather and apply the corn gluten when no rain is expected for a few days. Always follow the instructions on the package when applying any herbicide or fertilizer.
Corn gluten will not harm mature plants and can be safely used in an existing flowerbed, vegetable garden or potted plants. Vegetable or flower seeds that are planted deeply, such as peas, corn or beans, won’t be affected by the corn gluten. But avoid using corn gluten where shallow-seeded plants such as lettuce or carrots will be grown. The corn gluten won’t have an effect on deeply planted seeds, but it will inhibit root growth in seeds that are planted close to the surface.
Corn gluten is sold under several brand names. Look for corn gluten herbicides at your local garden center or in the organic section of gardening catalogs. With a good dose of corn gluten on the garden, you can enjoy the garden more and spend less time pulling weeds.
Kathy Anderson has been an avid gardener for many years and has grown tomatoes by the acre, along with many other vegetables, flowers and landscape plants. Kathy recommends http://www.freeplants.com as a great place to learn more about gardening. Article provided by http://gardening-articles.com. If you use this article the above links must be active.
By Kathy Anderson
You are welcome to use this article on your website or in your newsletter as long as you reprint it as is, including the contact information at the end. Website URLs must be active links. You are welcome to use this article with an affiliate link, http://www.freeplants.com/resellers.htm
Weeds are a problem faced by everyone who enjoys gardening. When we carefully prepare the soil to make a good home for our garden plants, we’re also creating ideal conditions for weeds to thrive. Weeds not only detract from the beauty of our gardens, but they also compete for the water and nutrition that is meant to be used by the more desirable plants.
So what’s a gardener to do about weeds? We can smother existing weeds when creating new planting beds, but despite our best efforts, weed seeds will always be blowing into the beds. When those weed seeds germinate and grow, the weeds will once again make themselves right at home in the garden.
Now there’s a natural product available that helps prevent weed seeds from growing in the garden, and surprisingly, it is made from corn.
Corn gluten is a byproduct of the wet-milling process and has traditionally been used in cattle and poultry feed and also as an ingredient in dog food. It was discovered entirely by accident that corn gluten can also be used to prevent weed seeds from germinating. Not only can it suppress weeds, but it will also help feed your garden plants since it is also a source of nitrogen. And corn gluten won’t harm pets, people, birds or insects, making it very safe to use.
Corn gluten works by preventing germinated seeds from growing a root. A plant that has already grown roots will not be affected by corn gluten. For the best results, the corn gluten should be applied early in the season, before the weed seeds germinate and grow roots. As a pre-emergent herbicide, corn gluten tends to have a cumulative effect and becomes even more effective on weed seeds with repeated applications over time. One application of corn gluten continues to suppress weeds for 4-6 weeks, a bit less if the weather is unusually rainy or hot.
Corn gluten is typically applied by broadcasting it on the growing bed at a rate of 20-40 pounds per 1000 square feet. It may then be lightly raked into just the surface of the soil and watered in. Corn gluten will not be effective unless it is wetted and should be given a gentle shower after being applied. However, if there is a long rainy period after the corn gluten has been applied, it may lose its effectiveness. As with any herbicide, it can wash away, and weed seedlings may even recover and begin again to form roots if the soil surface remains wet for an extended time. Keep an eye on the weather and apply the corn gluten when no rain is expected for a few days. Always follow the instructions on the package when applying any herbicide or fertilizer.
Corn gluten will not harm mature plants and can be safely used in an existing flowerbed, vegetable garden or potted plants. Vegetable or flower seeds that are planted deeply, such as peas, corn or beans, won’t be affected by the corn gluten. But avoid using corn gluten where shallow-seeded plants such as lettuce or carrots will be grown. The corn gluten won’t have an effect on deeply planted seeds, but it will inhibit root growth in seeds that are planted close to the surface.
Corn gluten is sold under several brand names. Look for corn gluten herbicides at your local garden center or in the organic section of gardening catalogs. With a good dose of corn gluten on the garden, you can enjoy the garden more and spend less time pulling weeds.
Kathy Anderson has been an avid gardener for many years and has grown tomatoes by the acre, along with many other vegetables, flowers and landscape plants. Kathy recommends http://www.freeplants.com as a great place to learn more about gardening. Article provided by http://gardening-articles.com. If you use this article the above links must be active.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
How To Protect Your Garden From Pests
How To Protect Your Garden From Pests! by FRANK OKORODUDU
If we could garden without any interference from the pests which attack plants, then indeed gardening would be a simple matter. But all the time we must watch out for these little foes little in size, but tremendous in the havoc they make.
As human illness may often be prevented by healthful conditions, so pests may be kept away by strict garden cleanliness. Heaps of waste are lodging places for the breeding of insects. I do not think a compost pile will do the harm, but unkempt, uncared-for spots seem to invite trouble.
There are certain helps to keeping pests down. The constant stirring up of the soil by earthworms is an aid in keeping the soil open to air and water. Many of our common birds feed upon insects. The sparrows, robins, chickadees, meadow larks and orioles are all examples of birds who help in this way. Some insects feed on other and harmful insects. Some kinds of ladybugs do this good deed. The ichneumon-fly helps too. And toads are wonders in the number of insects they can consume at one meal. The toad deserves very kind treatment from all of us.
Each gardener should try to make her or his garden into a place attractive to birds and toads. A good birdhouse, grain sprinkled about in early spring, a water-place, are invitations for birds to stay a while in your garden. If you wish toads, fix things up for them too. During a hot summer day a toad likes to rest in the shade. By night he is ready to go forth to eat but not to kill, since toads prefer live
food. How can one "fix up" for toads? Well, one thing to do is to prepare a retreat, quiet, dark and damp. A few stones of some size underneath the shade of a shrub with perhaps a carpeting of damp leaves, would appear very fine to a toad.
There are two general classes of insects known by the way they do their work. One kind gnaws at the plant really taking pieces of it into its system. This kind of insect has a mouth fitted to do this work. Grasshoppers and caterpillars are of this sort. The other kind sucks the juices from a plant. This, in some ways, is the worst sort. Plant lice belong here, as do mosquitoes, which prey on us. All the scale insects fasten themselves on plants, and suck out the life of the plants.
Now can we fight these chaps? The gnawing fellows may be caught with poison sprayed upon plants, which they take into their bodies with the plant. The Bordeaux mixture which is a poison sprayed upon plants for this purpose.
In the other case the only thing is to attack the insect direct. So certain insecticides, as they are called, are sprayed on the plant to fall upon the insect. They do a deadly work of attacking, in one way or another, the body of the insect.
Sometimes we are much troubled with underground insects at work. You have seen a garden covered with ant hills. Here is a remedy, but one of which you must be careful.
This question is constantly being asked, 'How can I tell what insect is doing the destructive work?' Well, you can tell partly by the work done, and partly by seeing the insect itself. This latter thing is not always so easy to accomplish. I had cutworms one season and never saw one. I saw only the work done. If stalks of tender plants are cut clean off be pretty sure the cutworm is abroad. What does he look like? Well, that is a hard question because his family is a large one. Should you see sometime a grayish striped caterpillar, you may know it is a cutworm. But because of its habit of resting in the ground during the day and working by night, it is difficult to catch sight of one. The cutworm is around early in the season ready to cut the flower stalks of the hyacinths. When the peas come on a bit later, he is ready for them. A very good way to block him off is to put paper collars, or tin ones, about the plants. These collars should be about an inch away from the plant.
Of course, plant lice are more common. Those we see are often green in colour. But they may be red, yellow or brown. Lice are easy enough to find since they are always clinging to their host. As sucking insects they have to cling close to a plant for food, and one is pretty sure to find them. But the biting insects do their work, and then go hide. That makes them much more difficult to deal with.
Rose slugs do great damage to the rose bushes. They eat out the body of the leaves, so that just the veining is left. They are soft-bodied, green above and yellow below.
A beetle, the striped beetle, attacks young melons and squash leaves. It eats the leaf by riddling out holes in it. This beetle, as its name implies, is striped. The back is black with yellow stripes running lengthwise.
Then there are the slugs, which are garden pests. The slug will devour almost any garden plant, whether it be a flower or a vegetable. They lay lots of eggs in old rubbish heaps. Do you see the good of cleaning up rubbish? The slugs do more harm in the garden than almost any other single insect pest. You can discover them in the following way. There is a trick for bringing them to the surface of the ground in the day time. You see they rest during the day below ground. So just water the soil in which the slugs are supposed to be. How are you to know where they are? They are quite likely to hide near the plants they are feeding on. So water the ground with some nice clean lime water. This will disturb them, and up they'll poke to see what the matter is.
Beside these most common of pests, pests which attack many kinds of plants, there are special pests for special plants. Discouraging, is it not? Beans have pests of their own; so have potatoes and cabbages. In fact, the vegetable garden has many inhabitants. In the flower garden lice are very bothersome, the cutworm and the slug have a good time there, too, and ants often get very numerous as the season advances. But for real discouraging insect troubles the vegetable garden takes the prize. If we were going into fruit to any extent, perhaps the vegetable garden would have to resign in favour of the fruit garden.
A common pest in the vegetable garden is the tomato worm. This is a large yellowish or greenish striped worm. Its work is to eat into the young fruit.
A great, light green caterpillar is found on celery. This caterpillar may be told by the black bands, one on each ring or segment of its body.
The squash bug may be told by its brown body, which is long and slender, and by the disagreeable odour from it when killed. The potato bug is another fellow to look out for. It is a beetle with yellow and black stripes down its crusty back. The little green cabbage worm is a perfect nuisance. It is a small caterpillar and smaller than the tomato worm. These are perhaps the most common of garden pests by name.
Frank Okorodudu is the author of the popular gardening ebook seasonalgardening A-Z. And also a regular contributor in many gardening forums.
http://www.seasonalgardeningsecrets.com
Related Articles - gardening, organic gardening, gardening tool, container gardening, gardening supply, gardening idea, organic vegetable gardening, raised bed organic garden,
If we could garden without any interference from the pests which attack plants, then indeed gardening would be a simple matter. But all the time we must watch out for these little foes little in size, but tremendous in the havoc they make.
As human illness may often be prevented by healthful conditions, so pests may be kept away by strict garden cleanliness. Heaps of waste are lodging places for the breeding of insects. I do not think a compost pile will do the harm, but unkempt, uncared-for spots seem to invite trouble.
There are certain helps to keeping pests down. The constant stirring up of the soil by earthworms is an aid in keeping the soil open to air and water. Many of our common birds feed upon insects. The sparrows, robins, chickadees, meadow larks and orioles are all examples of birds who help in this way. Some insects feed on other and harmful insects. Some kinds of ladybugs do this good deed. The ichneumon-fly helps too. And toads are wonders in the number of insects they can consume at one meal. The toad deserves very kind treatment from all of us.
Each gardener should try to make her or his garden into a place attractive to birds and toads. A good birdhouse, grain sprinkled about in early spring, a water-place, are invitations for birds to stay a while in your garden. If you wish toads, fix things up for them too. During a hot summer day a toad likes to rest in the shade. By night he is ready to go forth to eat but not to kill, since toads prefer live
food. How can one "fix up" for toads? Well, one thing to do is to prepare a retreat, quiet, dark and damp. A few stones of some size underneath the shade of a shrub with perhaps a carpeting of damp leaves, would appear very fine to a toad.
There are two general classes of insects known by the way they do their work. One kind gnaws at the plant really taking pieces of it into its system. This kind of insect has a mouth fitted to do this work. Grasshoppers and caterpillars are of this sort. The other kind sucks the juices from a plant. This, in some ways, is the worst sort. Plant lice belong here, as do mosquitoes, which prey on us. All the scale insects fasten themselves on plants, and suck out the life of the plants.
Now can we fight these chaps? The gnawing fellows may be caught with poison sprayed upon plants, which they take into their bodies with the plant. The Bordeaux mixture which is a poison sprayed upon plants for this purpose.
In the other case the only thing is to attack the insect direct. So certain insecticides, as they are called, are sprayed on the plant to fall upon the insect. They do a deadly work of attacking, in one way or another, the body of the insect.
Sometimes we are much troubled with underground insects at work. You have seen a garden covered with ant hills. Here is a remedy, but one of which you must be careful.
This question is constantly being asked, 'How can I tell what insect is doing the destructive work?' Well, you can tell partly by the work done, and partly by seeing the insect itself. This latter thing is not always so easy to accomplish. I had cutworms one season and never saw one. I saw only the work done. If stalks of tender plants are cut clean off be pretty sure the cutworm is abroad. What does he look like? Well, that is a hard question because his family is a large one. Should you see sometime a grayish striped caterpillar, you may know it is a cutworm. But because of its habit of resting in the ground during the day and working by night, it is difficult to catch sight of one. The cutworm is around early in the season ready to cut the flower stalks of the hyacinths. When the peas come on a bit later, he is ready for them. A very good way to block him off is to put paper collars, or tin ones, about the plants. These collars should be about an inch away from the plant.
Of course, plant lice are more common. Those we see are often green in colour. But they may be red, yellow or brown. Lice are easy enough to find since they are always clinging to their host. As sucking insects they have to cling close to a plant for food, and one is pretty sure to find them. But the biting insects do their work, and then go hide. That makes them much more difficult to deal with.
Rose slugs do great damage to the rose bushes. They eat out the body of the leaves, so that just the veining is left. They are soft-bodied, green above and yellow below.
A beetle, the striped beetle, attacks young melons and squash leaves. It eats the leaf by riddling out holes in it. This beetle, as its name implies, is striped. The back is black with yellow stripes running lengthwise.
Then there are the slugs, which are garden pests. The slug will devour almost any garden plant, whether it be a flower or a vegetable. They lay lots of eggs in old rubbish heaps. Do you see the good of cleaning up rubbish? The slugs do more harm in the garden than almost any other single insect pest. You can discover them in the following way. There is a trick for bringing them to the surface of the ground in the day time. You see they rest during the day below ground. So just water the soil in which the slugs are supposed to be. How are you to know where they are? They are quite likely to hide near the plants they are feeding on. So water the ground with some nice clean lime water. This will disturb them, and up they'll poke to see what the matter is.
Beside these most common of pests, pests which attack many kinds of plants, there are special pests for special plants. Discouraging, is it not? Beans have pests of their own; so have potatoes and cabbages. In fact, the vegetable garden has many inhabitants. In the flower garden lice are very bothersome, the cutworm and the slug have a good time there, too, and ants often get very numerous as the season advances. But for real discouraging insect troubles the vegetable garden takes the prize. If we were going into fruit to any extent, perhaps the vegetable garden would have to resign in favour of the fruit garden.
A common pest in the vegetable garden is the tomato worm. This is a large yellowish or greenish striped worm. Its work is to eat into the young fruit.
A great, light green caterpillar is found on celery. This caterpillar may be told by the black bands, one on each ring or segment of its body.
The squash bug may be told by its brown body, which is long and slender, and by the disagreeable odour from it when killed. The potato bug is another fellow to look out for. It is a beetle with yellow and black stripes down its crusty back. The little green cabbage worm is a perfect nuisance. It is a small caterpillar and smaller than the tomato worm. These are perhaps the most common of garden pests by name.
Frank Okorodudu is the author of the popular gardening ebook seasonalgardening A-Z. And also a regular contributor in many gardening forums.
http://www.seasonalgardeningsecrets.com
Related Articles - gardening, organic gardening, gardening tool, container gardening, gardening supply, gardening idea, organic vegetable gardening, raised bed organic garden,
Saturday, April 7, 2007
Synthetic Fertilizers
Some organic gardening tips by JAKOB JELLING
Most synthetic fertilizers contain components and chemicals which can be harmful to living organisms, and therefore organic gardening usually is a wiser option. If you wish to apply organic gardening techniques, you should start by avoiding all synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, and use natural options instead.
Once you have decided where you will plant, you should apply natural compost and rock materials to it. If you have flower beds, you should add about 3" of organic material to them; this will add enough nutrients and humus as well as help conserving water.
If you have acid-loving plants, a good idea is to place a layer of pine needles over their bed every fall, since these needles have a nourishing acid which will help the plants growing strong and healthy. Try to avoid using any pesticide by making sure of adding enough organic soil, since this component strengthens the immune system of the plants and helps them growing strong.
At the time of choosing plants, try to opt for the ones which better adapt to the temperature, shade, and soil in which they will be. If these factors are not the appropriate ones for the plants you choose, you might not succeed in growing them as strong and healthy as you might have intended.
Compost is the main organic matter which should not be missing in an organic garden. Ideally, the compost should be made from organic elements such as grass clippings, leaves, or kitchen waste. Also, in order to avoid using chemical pesticides you should try to have as many different plants as possible, since this variety will create a biodiversity with many different microbes and insects that will control each other.
You should mulch your organic garden often, since this offers an important protection and helps avoiding the erosion produced by natural elements such as the rain. You can make your mulch with elements such as grass, sticks, shredding leaves, and compost as well as other organic materials. Mulching protects roots, helping them being strong during winter cold or preventing the adverse effects of the sun’s heat.
Jelling is the founder of Dwank.com. Please visit his website to learn more about great interior design.
Most synthetic fertilizers contain components and chemicals which can be harmful to living organisms, and therefore organic gardening usually is a wiser option. If you wish to apply organic gardening techniques, you should start by avoiding all synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, and use natural options instead.
Once you have decided where you will plant, you should apply natural compost and rock materials to it. If you have flower beds, you should add about 3" of organic material to them; this will add enough nutrients and humus as well as help conserving water.
If you have acid-loving plants, a good idea is to place a layer of pine needles over their bed every fall, since these needles have a nourishing acid which will help the plants growing strong and healthy. Try to avoid using any pesticide by making sure of adding enough organic soil, since this component strengthens the immune system of the plants and helps them growing strong.
At the time of choosing plants, try to opt for the ones which better adapt to the temperature, shade, and soil in which they will be. If these factors are not the appropriate ones for the plants you choose, you might not succeed in growing them as strong and healthy as you might have intended.
Compost is the main organic matter which should not be missing in an organic garden. Ideally, the compost should be made from organic elements such as grass clippings, leaves, or kitchen waste. Also, in order to avoid using chemical pesticides you should try to have as many different plants as possible, since this variety will create a biodiversity with many different microbes and insects that will control each other.
You should mulch your organic garden often, since this offers an important protection and helps avoiding the erosion produced by natural elements such as the rain. You can make your mulch with elements such as grass, sticks, shredding leaves, and compost as well as other organic materials. Mulching protects roots, helping them being strong during winter cold or preventing the adverse effects of the sun’s heat.
Jelling is the founder of Dwank.com. Please visit his website to learn more about great interior design.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
The American Diet
The American Diet by CAROLYN BELL SMITH
The nutritional value in the American diet is poor; the soil is diminished of minerals and vitamins. Eating organically and taking organic supplements will replenish the nutrients. Food labeled naturally grown is not the same as organically grown and by law are not required to list the additives, it is possible chemicals are present.
Improve your health by supplying the body with vitamins and minerals. Increasing leafy vegetables in the diet adds calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, zinc, and vitamin A, and vitamin C, vitamin E and vitamin K. Fiber is one of the many benefits of leafy vegetables.
Enhance health and lifestyle with longstanding strategies of good health through education, and addressing the body needs with vitamins, minerals and enzymes, keeping it healthy and disease free. Choose an organic product when a supplement is desired, the body is disease resistant when a balance of vegetables is eaten.
Vitamins, enzymes, and minerals are essential to life regulating the metabolism, the foundation of human bodily functions, and proper composition of body fluids, and other body processes. Vitamin C and antioxidant, aids in tissue growth and repair, and has shown to aid the body to absorb iron, calcium a mineral is vital for strong bone and teeth has shown to decrease the body's ability to absorb iron. The body absorbs iron. The body absorbs calcium better, when vitamin D is present. When taking iron and calcium do not take together.
Knowing if the body is acidic or alkali is inside knowledge of health improvement. Keeping the body PH balanced is an indicator of good health. The body's PH balanced 7.0 will resist diseases and the entire body will function at the optimal level. The ware and tear of every day living cases the cells to become acid rather than alkaline making the body prone to disease, the PH balance body alternatively will, restore the cells.
The U.S. food and Drug Administration approve prescription drugs, yet they have terrible side effects even fatal. In many cases, supplements are not curses but are a preventive measure that should be taken to aid the body's defense against invading infections, and when taking organic supplements properly there are not side effects.
Carolyn Bell Smith, committed to helping other improve their health, lifestyle, fight sickness, disease, and building a strong immune system. Author and creator, Healthy LifeStyle and More, an LifeStyle Tips Newsletter http://www.yourhealthrenewed.com
The nutritional value in the American diet is poor; the soil is diminished of minerals and vitamins. Eating organically and taking organic supplements will replenish the nutrients. Food labeled naturally grown is not the same as organically grown and by law are not required to list the additives, it is possible chemicals are present.
Improve your health by supplying the body with vitamins and minerals. Increasing leafy vegetables in the diet adds calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, zinc, and vitamin A, and vitamin C, vitamin E and vitamin K. Fiber is one of the many benefits of leafy vegetables.
Enhance health and lifestyle with longstanding strategies of good health through education, and addressing the body needs with vitamins, minerals and enzymes, keeping it healthy and disease free. Choose an organic product when a supplement is desired, the body is disease resistant when a balance of vegetables is eaten.
Vitamins, enzymes, and minerals are essential to life regulating the metabolism, the foundation of human bodily functions, and proper composition of body fluids, and other body processes. Vitamin C and antioxidant, aids in tissue growth and repair, and has shown to aid the body to absorb iron, calcium a mineral is vital for strong bone and teeth has shown to decrease the body's ability to absorb iron. The body absorbs iron. The body absorbs calcium better, when vitamin D is present. When taking iron and calcium do not take together.
Knowing if the body is acidic or alkali is inside knowledge of health improvement. Keeping the body PH balanced is an indicator of good health. The body's PH balanced 7.0 will resist diseases and the entire body will function at the optimal level. The ware and tear of every day living cases the cells to become acid rather than alkaline making the body prone to disease, the PH balance body alternatively will, restore the cells.
The U.S. food and Drug Administration approve prescription drugs, yet they have terrible side effects even fatal. In many cases, supplements are not curses but are a preventive measure that should be taken to aid the body's defense against invading infections, and when taking organic supplements properly there are not side effects.
Carolyn Bell Smith, committed to helping other improve their health, lifestyle, fight sickness, disease, and building a strong immune system. Author and creator, Healthy LifeStyle and More, an LifeStyle Tips Newsletter http://www.yourhealthrenewed.com
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Reasons For Going Organic
I have 3 young children and I was very worried about the chemicals that were being put into our food and the effects the "e numbers" where having on our older child, so we started to research for Gardening Organic.
Even if you don't grow vegatables and keep your garden purely for flowers I decided it would be best not to spray my roses every month witha toxic chemical and to stop dropping slug pelets all around my plants which where a danger to pets and my crawling daughter. All in all it made sense to convert over to a clean organic life style.
I hope to put all the interesting information together as a reference for Organic methods.
Even if you don't grow vegatables and keep your garden purely for flowers I decided it would be best not to spray my roses every month witha toxic chemical and to stop dropping slug pelets all around my plants which where a danger to pets and my crawling daughter. All in all it made sense to convert over to a clean organic life style.
I hope to put all the interesting information together as a reference for Organic methods.
Saturday, March 3, 2007
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Organic vegetables
No pesticides, no chemical fertilizer and no other harmful supplement! The vegetable is planted organically which means free from chemical residue.
For the non-organic, right handling system is necessarily required before cooking, ensure to wash throughly by the flowing water, so that the chemical residue can go along the water, or otherwise the chemical residue still attach to the vegetable, then what happen if we eat the toxins for long term consumption, especially for the children. They can be harmful for human health.
Organic vegetable is not only healthy but also believed can cure accumulated toxin substances inside the body. This phenomenon comes from the ‘natural healing’ or known as natural healing technique through natural healthy food. Eat free chemical food, in order to stop adding more toxin to the body and this will maximize body immune. Basic knowledge of the natural healing technique is telling that ‘what we eat is the best medicine’ means that the more healthier food we eat, the more healthier we are.
Organic vegetable is not only safe, but also consists of 10% – 50% antioxide compare to the non-organic vegetable. Antioxide plays important rules to reduce ‘free-radical’ as the main source of serious health problems, such cancer. More over, organic vegetable has C vitamin and higher essential minerals: calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus.
According to the publication of Coronary and Diabetic Care in the United Kingdom in 2004 by the Primary Care Groups and Trust that consumption of organic food will result the following advantages: 1. Reduce chemical consumption to the body 2. Stop possibility of genetic manipulation of agricultural products and their negative impact inside the body 3. Increase useful nutrition consumption such as vitamin, mineral and antioxide 4. Reduce diseases potential: cancer, allergy, heart attack and hyperactive to kids
Other advantages of organic vegetables compare to the non-organic vegetables are: 1. Tastier and sweeter: for instance beans, carrot and cabbage, you can also try chili, it has stronger taste and even hotter ;-) 2. Cabbage and lettuce have more solid textures and crunchy 3. Fresh more longer. You can keep the organic carrot for more than 3 weeks, but the non-organic only 3 days.
But you will find pale colour and holes on the organic vegetables. Why? because organic farmers only use organic pesticides and fertilizer and manual plantation process, while chemical supplements can result immediate reaction to pests and add more stronger colour to the vegetables.
Prices of the organic vegetables are even more expensive in certain markets. Why? because there are only few organic farmers. But health is everything and nothing can compare to it. Be healthy and happy eating healthy food!
More useful tips and information about organic gardening and organic food, just visit your website at http://www.gardening-organic.net
For the non-organic, right handling system is necessarily required before cooking, ensure to wash throughly by the flowing water, so that the chemical residue can go along the water, or otherwise the chemical residue still attach to the vegetable, then what happen if we eat the toxins for long term consumption, especially for the children. They can be harmful for human health.
Organic vegetable is not only healthy but also believed can cure accumulated toxin substances inside the body. This phenomenon comes from the ‘natural healing’ or known as natural healing technique through natural healthy food. Eat free chemical food, in order to stop adding more toxin to the body and this will maximize body immune. Basic knowledge of the natural healing technique is telling that ‘what we eat is the best medicine’ means that the more healthier food we eat, the more healthier we are.
Organic vegetable is not only safe, but also consists of 10% – 50% antioxide compare to the non-organic vegetable. Antioxide plays important rules to reduce ‘free-radical’ as the main source of serious health problems, such cancer. More over, organic vegetable has C vitamin and higher essential minerals: calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus.
According to the publication of Coronary and Diabetic Care in the United Kingdom in 2004 by the Primary Care Groups and Trust that consumption of organic food will result the following advantages: 1. Reduce chemical consumption to the body 2. Stop possibility of genetic manipulation of agricultural products and their negative impact inside the body 3. Increase useful nutrition consumption such as vitamin, mineral and antioxide 4. Reduce diseases potential: cancer, allergy, heart attack and hyperactive to kids
Other advantages of organic vegetables compare to the non-organic vegetables are: 1. Tastier and sweeter: for instance beans, carrot and cabbage, you can also try chili, it has stronger taste and even hotter ;-) 2. Cabbage and lettuce have more solid textures and crunchy 3. Fresh more longer. You can keep the organic carrot for more than 3 weeks, but the non-organic only 3 days.
But you will find pale colour and holes on the organic vegetables. Why? because organic farmers only use organic pesticides and fertilizer and manual plantation process, while chemical supplements can result immediate reaction to pests and add more stronger colour to the vegetables.
Prices of the organic vegetables are even more expensive in certain markets. Why? because there are only few organic farmers. But health is everything and nothing can compare to it. Be healthy and happy eating healthy food!
More useful tips and information about organic gardening and organic food, just visit your website at http://www.gardening-organic.net
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Using Gypsum for soil conditioning
Do you have clay or layer of hard subsoil problems in your garden? Then gypsum may be the answer to help loosen the soil structure. It is not considered a miracle substance and you will find that it doesn't work right away, but a 3 year program of applications should help improve the poor soil conditions. It is not expensive and is easy to spread where needed.
Gypsum also has a job of repairing the soil that has been damaged through compaction from heavy stock, machinery, in the recovery of sub-soils exposed by earth movement and in soils affected by salinity.
A gardener faces one of the biggest problems in a new or established garden if they have a clay or layer of hard subsoil type of soil. This type of soil creates poor drainage, soggy soil and soil compaction.
When you have a new garden you can work organic humus, which should be done anyway, to loosen the poor soil. Manure, compost, peat moss and soil mulches and conditioners are normally used for this purpose.
You might ask, what do you do in an established garden? A lot of work and time to recondition soil would be required. Gypsum may be just the answer for reconditioning the soil, because it can be spread on the surface of the soil like in the vegetable garden, flowerbeds or on the lawn. What this means is it does not have to be worked into the soil, it can just simply be spread on the surface.
What does Gypsum do? It's main purpose is to penetrate the many clay particles in heavy or the layer of hard subsoil type soils and loosen the soil structure. Then this creates air and moisture slots that will loosen and break- up the soil structure.
Be aware that gypsum does not contain any major plant nutrients, so continue a regular fertilizing program even though it contains calcium and sulfur which is needed for plant growth. In addition, continue to put out organic humus as you plant.
Gypsum is easy to apply! Just spread it on the lawn, using the granular type, with a lawn spreader at the rate of 40 pounds per thousand square feet. Gypsum fertilizer can be spread any time of the year and only one application per year is needed. To get it started working, water immediately after applying. If applied properly it does not affect the pH of the soil, not harmful to humans and your animals and will not burn. And because Gypsum is neutral and will not change the soil pH, you can use it in places where plants like Azaleas, Camellias, Rhododendrons and other acid loving plants grow, they need a little calcium too. Of course, gypsum should be applied per directions.
What is gypsum? Hydrous calcium sulfate Calcium Sulfate - CaSO4 Another Name: Gypsite
James is long time organic gardening enthusiast and writes most of articles based on intensive research, lectures from professionals, gardening books and just plain common sense. Feel free to get more information about gardening by visiting: http://www.basic-info-4- organic-fertilizers.com
Gypsum also has a job of repairing the soil that has been damaged through compaction from heavy stock, machinery, in the recovery of sub-soils exposed by earth movement and in soils affected by salinity.
A gardener faces one of the biggest problems in a new or established garden if they have a clay or layer of hard subsoil type of soil. This type of soil creates poor drainage, soggy soil and soil compaction.
When you have a new garden you can work organic humus, which should be done anyway, to loosen the poor soil. Manure, compost, peat moss and soil mulches and conditioners are normally used for this purpose.
You might ask, what do you do in an established garden? A lot of work and time to recondition soil would be required. Gypsum may be just the answer for reconditioning the soil, because it can be spread on the surface of the soil like in the vegetable garden, flowerbeds or on the lawn. What this means is it does not have to be worked into the soil, it can just simply be spread on the surface.
What does Gypsum do? It's main purpose is to penetrate the many clay particles in heavy or the layer of hard subsoil type soils and loosen the soil structure. Then this creates air and moisture slots that will loosen and break- up the soil structure.
Be aware that gypsum does not contain any major plant nutrients, so continue a regular fertilizing program even though it contains calcium and sulfur which is needed for plant growth. In addition, continue to put out organic humus as you plant.
Gypsum is easy to apply! Just spread it on the lawn, using the granular type, with a lawn spreader at the rate of 40 pounds per thousand square feet. Gypsum fertilizer can be spread any time of the year and only one application per year is needed. To get it started working, water immediately after applying. If applied properly it does not affect the pH of the soil, not harmful to humans and your animals and will not burn. And because Gypsum is neutral and will not change the soil pH, you can use it in places where plants like Azaleas, Camellias, Rhododendrons and other acid loving plants grow, they need a little calcium too. Of course, gypsum should be applied per directions.
What is gypsum? Hydrous calcium sulfate Calcium Sulfate - CaSO4 Another Name: Gypsite
James is long time organic gardening enthusiast and writes most of articles based on intensive research, lectures from professionals, gardening books and just plain common sense. Feel free to get more information about gardening by visiting: http://www.basic-info-4- organic-fertilizers.com
Soil condition
The amazing thing I still look at in awe is the soil condition with organic gardening when I am digging the ground. It is so rich and supports so many worms that keep it aerated. Unlike gardens that have had all the nutrients sucked out of the soil with the over use of chemical's the quick fix of the gardening world.
Friday, February 16, 2007
Chemical Quick Fix
Now I must be honest with you out there sometimes when the garden has been attacked by a nasty bug that has eaten my vegetables or destroyed my flowers just as they are about to bloom, I get the urge to blast them by rushing down to the local store and getting the biggest chemical attack possible, but I do realise, when I calm down that it would only be a quick fix and with organic gardening you have to take the long term view and bite your lip but it does hurt sometimes.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Organic Fertilizers
In todays world, organic gardening is popular and widespread. There are increasing concerns about the effects of conventional agriculture on the environment, and thus organic gardening seems both an ecological, and logical, choice for people who do home gardening.
Organic Fertilizers
Many varieties of organic fertilizers can be purchased for use at home. They are categorized by what materials have been used to manufacture them, such as seaweed, fish by-products, blood meal, bone ash, etc. They are also classified by the way they are intended to be applied, for example, a dry tea or a foliar liquid spray.
Fertilizers of the foliar organic variety are the choice of many farmers because they are convenient to use and offer a multitude of benefits. Typically, foliar organic fertilizers are sprayed from canisters. In contrast to fertilizers such as organic dry tea, these fertilizers can be applied easily and are less of a hassle to use for either farmers or home growers.
The Advantages of Foliar Organic Fertilizer
The biggest benefit that most see in foliar organic fertilizers is their ability to allow the maximum absorption of nutrients. The theory behind this is that these fertilizers help increase the levels of glucose in plants. This stimulates activity in the soil and helps the nutrient intake of plants.
It has been observed that applying foliar organic fertilizer in gardens or farms can result in an increased plant yield. They also are effective at preventing diseases in plants and fungal invasions. This is due to the mechanism of action of foliar organic fertilizers; they cover the stems and leaves of the plant, which are the parts where parasites and pests attack.
There are other benefits to using foliar organic fertilizers, but everything depends on how successful the application of the fertilizer was, and the economic aspect of nutrient supply.
Basic Tips for Using Foliar Organic Fertilizers
* Its always a good idea to use a diluted solution of foliar organic fertilizer the first time. If you use too high of a concentration, it can damage crops and lead to foliage burning.
* Ensure that your fertilizer has a PH level that is within a neutral range.
* You will achieve the best effects if you increase the pressure of spray or use a mist blower. This will let the liquid settle evenly on your plants.
* Make sure that when youre using foliar organic fertilizers, it is not during a period of high winds. It is preferable to use it when there is none at all.
* The absorption of nutrients will be helped by humid, moist air. The temperature should ideally be about 80 F or below. The reason for this is that the plants important nutrient channels, the stomata, open when the temperature is low.
* Last of all, to increase nutrient absorption, try to ensure that your fertilizer spray hits the bottoms of the leaves. This is where the stomata are found.
Jane Wyvern is an established freelance writer. You can find more of her writing at http://www.organic-today.com, http://www.hydroponicsnews.com and http://www.soslawncare.com
Organic Fertilizers
Many varieties of organic fertilizers can be purchased for use at home. They are categorized by what materials have been used to manufacture them, such as seaweed, fish by-products, blood meal, bone ash, etc. They are also classified by the way they are intended to be applied, for example, a dry tea or a foliar liquid spray.
Fertilizers of the foliar organic variety are the choice of many farmers because they are convenient to use and offer a multitude of benefits. Typically, foliar organic fertilizers are sprayed from canisters. In contrast to fertilizers such as organic dry tea, these fertilizers can be applied easily and are less of a hassle to use for either farmers or home growers.
The Advantages of Foliar Organic Fertilizer
The biggest benefit that most see in foliar organic fertilizers is their ability to allow the maximum absorption of nutrients. The theory behind this is that these fertilizers help increase the levels of glucose in plants. This stimulates activity in the soil and helps the nutrient intake of plants.
It has been observed that applying foliar organic fertilizer in gardens or farms can result in an increased plant yield. They also are effective at preventing diseases in plants and fungal invasions. This is due to the mechanism of action of foliar organic fertilizers; they cover the stems and leaves of the plant, which are the parts where parasites and pests attack.
There are other benefits to using foliar organic fertilizers, but everything depends on how successful the application of the fertilizer was, and the economic aspect of nutrient supply.
Basic Tips for Using Foliar Organic Fertilizers
* Its always a good idea to use a diluted solution of foliar organic fertilizer the first time. If you use too high of a concentration, it can damage crops and lead to foliage burning.
* Ensure that your fertilizer has a PH level that is within a neutral range.
* You will achieve the best effects if you increase the pressure of spray or use a mist blower. This will let the liquid settle evenly on your plants.
* Make sure that when youre using foliar organic fertilizers, it is not during a period of high winds. It is preferable to use it when there is none at all.
* The absorption of nutrients will be helped by humid, moist air. The temperature should ideally be about 80 F or below. The reason for this is that the plants important nutrient channels, the stomata, open when the temperature is low.
* Last of all, to increase nutrient absorption, try to ensure that your fertilizer spray hits the bottoms of the leaves. This is where the stomata are found.
Jane Wyvern is an established freelance writer. You can find more of her writing at http://www.organic-today.com, http://www.hydroponicsnews.com and http://www.soslawncare.com
Back yard Gardening organic
People take part in organic gardening outdoors as a relaxation passtime. It gives a sense of well being when they achieve a colorful array of flowers. Some people go further than that, and create a garden for their own food. The organic movement has shown increased popularity over the past few years, and organic food is getting easier to get at the grocery stores, but gardeners would like to do it for themselves. Organic gardening outdoors isvery relaxing. In addition to organically produced flowers, you're able to grow vegies, fruits, and some herbsswhich are flavourfull and you know exactly what's gone into their creation. There is not any finer food on earth.
Organic gardening means no chemicals, herbicides, or pesticides what so ever. Every gardenerhas fought with garden pests, but you can findcleaner ways of getting rid of them. After all, it's what people years before had to spend time at and they still had food. You just they still had food}} a bit of cunning. One trick to get rid of those annoying aphids is to plant marigolds near to your vegetable patch. Let nature take part in its thing, and organic gardening will be less expensive and give you peace of mind. A lot of people are worried, especially parents, about all the chemicals that are used in regular non organic food growing. Often times these harsh products can end up in our water. Organic gardening outdoors means your pets, kids, and everyone else, can play in the garden safely in a no chemical area.
Backyard organic gardening will require the mysterious world of compost making. This is much more interesting than grabbing some store bought chemical product. It isn't anything that strange really, you just require to know what you can use and more variety makes for better compost. Quite simply, this is an excellent way of using kitchen and garden waste. You can use your own potato and other vegetable peelings. Rose prunings will help with the texture and old coffee grounds will help it smell better! Make sure all the ingredients are dry.
A few more tips about organic gardening outdoors.for the everlasting battle with keeping the soil mosit, healthy, and weed free,you can come up with your own mulch by simply mixing up pine needles and fresh grass clippings. Also you can get bugs using a mixture water, dish soap, and cooking oil.
Organic gardening, even if you only have a tiny patch of land, ensure you can have a natural relationship with food production and natures cycles. Somewhere on the way, we all pushed that aside, and we became accustomed to jumping in the car to go to the soulless supermarket to pick up bland food. Most of uswon't ever think where it originates and if a better way might exsist. Your children can become involved with organic gardening too, teaching them to learn where and how their food was made. They will have interesting and intriguing helping get compost ready and thinking up ingenious ideas on how to remove bugs. Best of all, they'll enjoy eating the delicious food that was grown via backyard organic gardening.
For more information about outdoor activites, and gardening take a peek at out website http://www.openairactivities.com
Organic gardening means no chemicals, herbicides, or pesticides what so ever. Every gardenerhas fought with garden pests, but you can findcleaner ways of getting rid of them. After all, it's what people years before had to spend time at and they still had food. You just they still had food}} a bit of cunning. One trick to get rid of those annoying aphids is to plant marigolds near to your vegetable patch. Let nature take part in its thing, and organic gardening will be less expensive and give you peace of mind. A lot of people are worried, especially parents, about all the chemicals that are used in regular non organic food growing. Often times these harsh products can end up in our water. Organic gardening outdoors means your pets, kids, and everyone else, can play in the garden safely in a no chemical area.
Backyard organic gardening will require the mysterious world of compost making. This is much more interesting than grabbing some store bought chemical product. It isn't anything that strange really, you just require to know what you can use and more variety makes for better compost. Quite simply, this is an excellent way of using kitchen and garden waste. You can use your own potato and other vegetable peelings. Rose prunings will help with the texture and old coffee grounds will help it smell better! Make sure all the ingredients are dry.
A few more tips about organic gardening outdoors.for the everlasting battle with keeping the soil mosit, healthy, and weed free,you can come up with your own mulch by simply mixing up pine needles and fresh grass clippings. Also you can get bugs using a mixture water, dish soap, and cooking oil.
Organic gardening, even if you only have a tiny patch of land, ensure you can have a natural relationship with food production and natures cycles. Somewhere on the way, we all pushed that aside, and we became accustomed to jumping in the car to go to the soulless supermarket to pick up bland food. Most of uswon't ever think where it originates and if a better way might exsist. Your children can become involved with organic gardening too, teaching them to learn where and how their food was made. They will have interesting and intriguing helping get compost ready and thinking up ingenious ideas on how to remove bugs. Best of all, they'll enjoy eating the delicious food that was grown via backyard organic gardening.
For more information about outdoor activites, and gardening take a peek at out website http://www.openairactivities.com
Beer works great killing slugs
I really surprised myself by becoming involved with organic farming just if you are short years ago, and boy am I glad that I did. I was going through some tough times in my little home. I live in a small ranch style house in the California country, attempting to make a living as a handyman. Work turned out to be a little more scarce than I first had anticipated and times call for a little belt tightening to say the least.
I got a book on organic farming, figuring that if I grew my own food, it would help things along for me. My feeling was that I would use up some of my increasingly abundant free time, save some money on food, and perhaps best of all, began eating more healthy diet. Once more, it would give me a sense of pride. Having something to do keep your mind sound and your spirits from sinking.
I actually have been consuming organic farming for for quite some time, but never really gave it much thought. I guess that I still don't in some ways. I was doing it in such a small scale that I had no idea how huge in industry organic farming really had become. The large corporate farming interests have to find ways to grow huge fields of the same crop, and they can afford expensive measures to control pests without using any unnatural pesticides. I was again a little different in this respect in that I did not have the expertise or resources to fight the little varmints, so I had to get clever so that my organic farming would not be compromised.
The first thing I had to deal with or slug. Did you realize that peer works great for getting rid of slugs? They are attracted to the liquid itself but are then ironically drowned in it. What you might not realize until you try organic farming, is that there are always more slugs out to ravage your crops. You wouldn't believe how much of the pain in the butt these little fellas are. But I found that they weren't even the worst of it. Little bunny rabbits or a huge threat to my organic farming venture. You see, unlike my neighbors,
I never have sprayed my lawn, so I have always had a family of cute little bunnies living in my yard. But there are two things bunnies are known for, and the lesser known one is equally impressive. You wouldn't believe the voracious appetites on these little guys and gals. As for carrots, it's not fiction, they really do love them. Organic farming is wonderful but you had better be prepared to roll up your sleeves and put in the work.
Morgan Hamilton offers his findings and insights regarding gardening. You can get interesting and informative information here at http://www.groovygardening.com/gardening-information/gardening-tips/tips-for-organic-farming.html
I got a book on organic farming, figuring that if I grew my own food, it would help things along for me. My feeling was that I would use up some of my increasingly abundant free time, save some money on food, and perhaps best of all, began eating more healthy diet. Once more, it would give me a sense of pride. Having something to do keep your mind sound and your spirits from sinking.
I actually have been consuming organic farming for for quite some time, but never really gave it much thought. I guess that I still don't in some ways. I was doing it in such a small scale that I had no idea how huge in industry organic farming really had become. The large corporate farming interests have to find ways to grow huge fields of the same crop, and they can afford expensive measures to control pests without using any unnatural pesticides. I was again a little different in this respect in that I did not have the expertise or resources to fight the little varmints, so I had to get clever so that my organic farming would not be compromised.
The first thing I had to deal with or slug. Did you realize that peer works great for getting rid of slugs? They are attracted to the liquid itself but are then ironically drowned in it. What you might not realize until you try organic farming, is that there are always more slugs out to ravage your crops. You wouldn't believe how much of the pain in the butt these little fellas are. But I found that they weren't even the worst of it. Little bunny rabbits or a huge threat to my organic farming venture. You see, unlike my neighbors,
I never have sprayed my lawn, so I have always had a family of cute little bunnies living in my yard. But there are two things bunnies are known for, and the lesser known one is equally impressive. You wouldn't believe the voracious appetites on these little guys and gals. As for carrots, it's not fiction, they really do love them. Organic farming is wonderful but you had better be prepared to roll up your sleeves and put in the work.
Morgan Hamilton offers his findings and insights regarding gardening. You can get interesting and informative information here at http://www.groovygardening.com/gardening-information/gardening-tips/tips-for-organic-farming.html
Both Sex's enjoy Gardening organic
Over the course of the past decade, a significant number of men and women from different parts of the world have taken up gardening. In this regard, these people have found themselves interested both in creating magnificent flower gardens as well as in cultivating thriving vegetable gardens.
A majority of gardeners still rely on what might be considered "mainstream methods" when it comes to the care and maintenance of either their flower or vegetable gardens. In other words, these gardeners tend to rely upon various commercially availabable chemical treatments and products to care for their gardens. Various types of garden-related chemicals -- from pesticides to fertilizers -- are available readily at garden supply shops and discount retail stores. More often than not, these basic products can be obtained for a fairly reasonable cost.
As a person becomes more involved in the care and maintenance of his or her garden, such an individual tends to become more conscious and aware of how the materials he or she utilizes to tend a garden space actually effects the environment and the plants being grown (particularly vegetables). Consequently, many experienced gardeners (and, in reality, an ever growing number of novices) have turned to organic gardening practices.
Organic gardening practices actually have been around and utilized by people since certain ancient tribes gave up hunting and gathering and settled down to grow their own crops and to maintain their own domesticated animals. In their most basic form, organic gardening practices consists of the use of naturally occuring materials (organic materials) in the care and treatment of a garden patch -- vegetable or floral. No man made chemicals or any type are utilized in true organic gardening regimens.
For example, when it comes to providing nutrients for an organic gardening, two resources normally are relied upon: compost and manure. Likewise, when it comes to the issue of pest control, natural steps are taken to rid a garden of offensive bugs and insects. In this regard, benign insects that do not damage plants but who prey upon bugs that harm foilage are placed in a garden or patch to deal with a harmful infestation problem or situation.
In the final analysis, people who espouse organic gardening practices and techniques maintain that the goal or such natural programs is to nourish and protect the soil well into the future rather than providing a quick, seasonal fix for one planting period. Through organic gardening, soil and water contamination is reduced significantly. Additionally, when it comes to the production of vegetables, the food generated from an organic garden is free of harmful chemicals and deemed to be far healthier for human consumption.
Jena Luthovski writes about http://www.simplybestcoupons.com/Coupons/BloomingBulb.com/
A majority of gardeners still rely on what might be considered "mainstream methods" when it comes to the care and maintenance of either their flower or vegetable gardens. In other words, these gardeners tend to rely upon various commercially availabable chemical treatments and products to care for their gardens. Various types of garden-related chemicals -- from pesticides to fertilizers -- are available readily at garden supply shops and discount retail stores. More often than not, these basic products can be obtained for a fairly reasonable cost.
As a person becomes more involved in the care and maintenance of his or her garden, such an individual tends to become more conscious and aware of how the materials he or she utilizes to tend a garden space actually effects the environment and the plants being grown (particularly vegetables). Consequently, many experienced gardeners (and, in reality, an ever growing number of novices) have turned to organic gardening practices.
Organic gardening practices actually have been around and utilized by people since certain ancient tribes gave up hunting and gathering and settled down to grow their own crops and to maintain their own domesticated animals. In their most basic form, organic gardening practices consists of the use of naturally occuring materials (organic materials) in the care and treatment of a garden patch -- vegetable or floral. No man made chemicals or any type are utilized in true organic gardening regimens.
For example, when it comes to providing nutrients for an organic gardening, two resources normally are relied upon: compost and manure. Likewise, when it comes to the issue of pest control, natural steps are taken to rid a garden of offensive bugs and insects. In this regard, benign insects that do not damage plants but who prey upon bugs that harm foilage are placed in a garden or patch to deal with a harmful infestation problem or situation.
In the final analysis, people who espouse organic gardening practices and techniques maintain that the goal or such natural programs is to nourish and protect the soil well into the future rather than providing a quick, seasonal fix for one planting period. Through organic gardening, soil and water contamination is reduced significantly. Additionally, when it comes to the production of vegetables, the food generated from an organic garden is free of harmful chemicals and deemed to be far healthier for human consumption.
Jena Luthovski writes about http://www.simplybestcoupons.com/Coupons/BloomingBulb.com/
Gardening Organic Tips
The art of organic gardening is simply growing food in an environmentally and health friendly manner. Because an organic garden is produce without the use of pesticides and commercial fertilizers you are not only providing yourself and your family with healthy foods, you are also helping the air, water, and soil within our environment.
Organic gardening carries many benefits that you may not be aware of. This article will help you identify the benefits of an organic garden and determine whether organic is the way for you to go.
When you produce organic foods, you are producing all natural, safe, and much healthier foods. These foods will have a greater amount of nutrients and minerals within them than those grown with the help of commercial products. You are reducing your family's risk of ingesting harmful additives and pesticides, and increasing their nutrition at the same time.
Let us have a look at some of the other health benefits of organic gardening. One important benefit that research has discovered in organic foods is the fact that by eating foods grown organically, you are building your body's immune system, thus giving it the ability to fight of many different types of diseases, one of which is cancer.
Organic vegetables have been proven to contain a higher concentration of nutrients. A team from Rutgers University did a study comparing produce from a grocery store and the same items grown organically.
While the Rutgers team expected the organic food to show a slight increase in minerals compared to the non-organic, they were astounded by the results of the tests. The organic produce contained much greater amounts of essential minerals such as iron, calcium, magnesium and potassium.
Non-organic spinach had only three percent of the iron contained in organic spinach. Non-organic tomatoes had only a tiny fraction of one percent of the iron found in organic tomatoes. What was more surprising was that many essential elements were completely missing from the non-organic produce.
Not only are organic foods higher in vitamins and minerals but they also lack the harmful chemicals found in non-organic foods. Thanks to the lack of chemicals within organic foods, you are reducing the amounts of toxins such as fertilizers, hormones, and pesticides in your body. Furthermore, while reducing the harmful instances, you are increasing the amounts of healthy minerals within your body such as vitamins, phosphorous, magnesium, and iron.
Another great benefit of organic gardening is that the foods you produce will have a longer shelf life and taste a whole lot better. Research has shown that without additives and other such elements, organic foods can be stored better and longer than foods with chemicals and processes.
Furthermore, without the chemical additives, the foods from your organic garden will simply have a better taste, which is delicious. The taste of a fresh, organic tomato is far superior to a tomato bought at the local grocery store which was probably pulled from the vine weeks earlier when it was still a bit green.
These are some of the great benefits to growing your own organic produce. There is also the benefit you get from working in your garden, out in the sunshine and fresh air, reducing any stress from a day at the office. Organic is simply better for your overall health.
------------------------------
Carol Stack enjoys writing articles. She lives with her husband, children, four dogs and seven cats in the United States. Find more tips about organic gardening by visiting Carol's gardening site at http://www.freegardentips.info
Organic gardening carries many benefits that you may not be aware of. This article will help you identify the benefits of an organic garden and determine whether organic is the way for you to go.
When you produce organic foods, you are producing all natural, safe, and much healthier foods. These foods will have a greater amount of nutrients and minerals within them than those grown with the help of commercial products. You are reducing your family's risk of ingesting harmful additives and pesticides, and increasing their nutrition at the same time.
Let us have a look at some of the other health benefits of organic gardening. One important benefit that research has discovered in organic foods is the fact that by eating foods grown organically, you are building your body's immune system, thus giving it the ability to fight of many different types of diseases, one of which is cancer.
Organic vegetables have been proven to contain a higher concentration of nutrients. A team from Rutgers University did a study comparing produce from a grocery store and the same items grown organically.
While the Rutgers team expected the organic food to show a slight increase in minerals compared to the non-organic, they were astounded by the results of the tests. The organic produce contained much greater amounts of essential minerals such as iron, calcium, magnesium and potassium.
Non-organic spinach had only three percent of the iron contained in organic spinach. Non-organic tomatoes had only a tiny fraction of one percent of the iron found in organic tomatoes. What was more surprising was that many essential elements were completely missing from the non-organic produce.
Not only are organic foods higher in vitamins and minerals but they also lack the harmful chemicals found in non-organic foods. Thanks to the lack of chemicals within organic foods, you are reducing the amounts of toxins such as fertilizers, hormones, and pesticides in your body. Furthermore, while reducing the harmful instances, you are increasing the amounts of healthy minerals within your body such as vitamins, phosphorous, magnesium, and iron.
Another great benefit of organic gardening is that the foods you produce will have a longer shelf life and taste a whole lot better. Research has shown that without additives and other such elements, organic foods can be stored better and longer than foods with chemicals and processes.
Furthermore, without the chemical additives, the foods from your organic garden will simply have a better taste, which is delicious. The taste of a fresh, organic tomato is far superior to a tomato bought at the local grocery store which was probably pulled from the vine weeks earlier when it was still a bit green.
These are some of the great benefits to growing your own organic produce. There is also the benefit you get from working in your garden, out in the sunshine and fresh air, reducing any stress from a day at the office. Organic is simply better for your overall health.
------------------------------
Carol Stack enjoys writing articles. She lives with her husband, children, four dogs and seven cats in the United States. Find more tips about organic gardening by visiting Carol's gardening site at http://www.freegardentips.info
Advantages with organic gardening
Organic gardening has many advantages and this article will offer you 5 tips to make organic gardening easier.
Organic Gardening Tip #1:
Mulch your trees and flower beds with 3 of organic material. When you use this organic gardening tip you will be able to add humus and nutrients. You can also conserve water and keep weeds at bay. If you are growing plants that need acid you can use a thick layer of pine needles. Organic gardening with pine needle mulch will be perfect if used in the fall because over the course of the winter they will decompose and the needed acid will be added naturally to the soil.
Organic Gardening Tip #2:
You need to maintain healthy soil if you want to be successful at organic gardening. The most important step in maintaining healthy soil while engaged in organic gardening is to keep on top of pest management. When pests are controlled in organic gardening the plants will be healthy and more able to withstand insect and disease damage. If you are bothered while organic gardening with aphids you can spray the infested leaves, stems and buds with a diluted solution of soapy water followed with clear water.
Organic Gardening Tip #3:
Try composting as part of your organic gardening regimen. When you make composting part of organic gardening you will improve the texture, soil structure and aeration. Composting also increases the capacity for the soil to hold water. There are organic and natural ways to fertilize when you are organic gardening. Try these instead of chemical fertilizers.
Organic Gardening Tip #4:
Organic gardening gardeners should always keep in mind the best plants for their soil, sun, temperature range and shade. All these factors come into play while organic gardening. Choosing well-adapted plant types is a way to ensure successful organic gardening. When you landscape your yard using organic gardening strategies you can increase your original investment by as much as 200%.
Organic Gardening Tips #5:
Organic gardening shade gardens are low maintenance. You will need less water and have fewer weeds to deal with. Speaking of weeds; try using full-strength household vinegar on a sunny day. Just spray on the plants and you have an organic gardening solution that is safe for people, pets, wildlife and the environment.
These organic gardening tips should come in handy for all organic gardeners, novice or experienced alike.
Cindy Mauro has been an organic gardener for many years and enjoys sharing her tips with others. She is a contributing author at http://4BestGardening.com
Organic Gardening Tip #1:
Mulch your trees and flower beds with 3 of organic material. When you use this organic gardening tip you will be able to add humus and nutrients. You can also conserve water and keep weeds at bay. If you are growing plants that need acid you can use a thick layer of pine needles. Organic gardening with pine needle mulch will be perfect if used in the fall because over the course of the winter they will decompose and the needed acid will be added naturally to the soil.
Organic Gardening Tip #2:
You need to maintain healthy soil if you want to be successful at organic gardening. The most important step in maintaining healthy soil while engaged in organic gardening is to keep on top of pest management. When pests are controlled in organic gardening the plants will be healthy and more able to withstand insect and disease damage. If you are bothered while organic gardening with aphids you can spray the infested leaves, stems and buds with a diluted solution of soapy water followed with clear water.
Organic Gardening Tip #3:
Try composting as part of your organic gardening regimen. When you make composting part of organic gardening you will improve the texture, soil structure and aeration. Composting also increases the capacity for the soil to hold water. There are organic and natural ways to fertilize when you are organic gardening. Try these instead of chemical fertilizers.
Organic Gardening Tip #4:
Organic gardening gardeners should always keep in mind the best plants for their soil, sun, temperature range and shade. All these factors come into play while organic gardening. Choosing well-adapted plant types is a way to ensure successful organic gardening. When you landscape your yard using organic gardening strategies you can increase your original investment by as much as 200%.
Organic Gardening Tips #5:
Organic gardening shade gardens are low maintenance. You will need less water and have fewer weeds to deal with. Speaking of weeds; try using full-strength household vinegar on a sunny day. Just spray on the plants and you have an organic gardening solution that is safe for people, pets, wildlife and the environment.
These organic gardening tips should come in handy for all organic gardeners, novice or experienced alike.
Cindy Mauro has been an organic gardener for many years and enjoys sharing her tips with others. She is a contributing author at http://4BestGardening.com
Organic vegetables
No pesticides, no chemical fertilizer and no other harmful supplement! The vegetable is planted organically which means free from chemical residue.
For the non-organic, right handling system is necessarily required before cooking, ensure to wash throughly by the flowing water, so that the chemical residue can go along the water, or otherwise the chemical residue still attach to the vegetable, then what happen if we eat the toxins for long term consumption, especially for the children. They can be harmful for human health.
Organic vegetable is not only healthy but also believed can cure accumulated toxin substances inside the body. This phenomenon comes from the ‘natural healing’ or known as natural healing technique through natural healthy food. Eat free chemical food, in order to stop adding more toxin to the body and this will maximize body immune. Basic knowledge of the natural healing technique is telling that ‘what we eat is the best medicine’ means that the more healthier food we eat, the more healthier we are.
Organic vegetable is not only safe, but also consists of 10% – 50% antioxide compare to the non-organic vegetable. Antioxide plays important rules to reduce ‘free-radical’ as the main source of serious health problems, such cancer. More over, organic vegetable has C vitamin and higher essential minerals: calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus.
According to the publication of Coronary and Diabetic Care in the United Kingdom in 2004 by the Primary Care Groups and Trust that consumption of organic food will result the following advantages: 1. Reduce chemical consumption to the body 2. Stop possibility of genetic manipulation of agricultural products and their negative impact inside the body 3. Increase useful nutrition consumption such as vitamin, mineral and antioxide 4. Reduce diseases potential: cancer, allergy, heart attack and hyperactive to kids
Other advantages of organic vegetables compare to the non-organic vegetables are: 1. Tastier and sweeter: for instance beans, carrot and cabbage, you can also try chili, it has stronger taste and even hotter ;-) 2. Cabbage and lettuce have more solid textures and crunchy 3. Fresh more longer. You can keep the organic carrot for more than 3 weeks, but the non-organic only 3 days.
But you will find pale colour and holes on the organic vegetables. Why? because organic farmers only use organic pesticides and fertilizer and manual plantation process, while chemical supplements can result immediate reaction to pests and add more stronger colour to the vegetables.
Prices of the organic vegetables are even more expensive in certain markets. Why? because there are only few organic farmers. But health is everything and nothing can compare to it. Be healthy and happy eating healthy food!
More useful tips and information about organic gardening and organic food, just visit your website at http://www.gardening-organic.net
For the non-organic, right handling system is necessarily required before cooking, ensure to wash throughly by the flowing water, so that the chemical residue can go along the water, or otherwise the chemical residue still attach to the vegetable, then what happen if we eat the toxins for long term consumption, especially for the children. They can be harmful for human health.
Organic vegetable is not only healthy but also believed can cure accumulated toxin substances inside the body. This phenomenon comes from the ‘natural healing’ or known as natural healing technique through natural healthy food. Eat free chemical food, in order to stop adding more toxin to the body and this will maximize body immune. Basic knowledge of the natural healing technique is telling that ‘what we eat is the best medicine’ means that the more healthier food we eat, the more healthier we are.
Organic vegetable is not only safe, but also consists of 10% – 50% antioxide compare to the non-organic vegetable. Antioxide plays important rules to reduce ‘free-radical’ as the main source of serious health problems, such cancer. More over, organic vegetable has C vitamin and higher essential minerals: calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus.
According to the publication of Coronary and Diabetic Care in the United Kingdom in 2004 by the Primary Care Groups and Trust that consumption of organic food will result the following advantages: 1. Reduce chemical consumption to the body 2. Stop possibility of genetic manipulation of agricultural products and their negative impact inside the body 3. Increase useful nutrition consumption such as vitamin, mineral and antioxide 4. Reduce diseases potential: cancer, allergy, heart attack and hyperactive to kids
Other advantages of organic vegetables compare to the non-organic vegetables are: 1. Tastier and sweeter: for instance beans, carrot and cabbage, you can also try chili, it has stronger taste and even hotter ;-) 2. Cabbage and lettuce have more solid textures and crunchy 3. Fresh more longer. You can keep the organic carrot for more than 3 weeks, but the non-organic only 3 days.
But you will find pale colour and holes on the organic vegetables. Why? because organic farmers only use organic pesticides and fertilizer and manual plantation process, while chemical supplements can result immediate reaction to pests and add more stronger colour to the vegetables.
Prices of the organic vegetables are even more expensive in certain markets. Why? because there are only few organic farmers. But health is everything and nothing can compare to it. Be healthy and happy eating healthy food!
More useful tips and information about organic gardening and organic food, just visit your website at http://www.gardening-organic.net
First Gardening Experience
My First Gardening Experience
Ah, to this day I still remember my first gardening experience. It was such a disaster that I didn’t think I would ever want to garden again. I almost decided to turn my casual hobby into the most rage-inducing topic you could possibly bring up to me.
It all started a few weeks after I moved in to my first house. I was excited just to have my own grass to mow, since I had been in apartments and condos for quite a while. In between plans to paint walls and renovate the inside to exactly how I like, I thought it would be a good idea to start a fruit garden so that I could have some fresh produce and put my yard to use. At that point I didn’t really know anything at all about gardening. But still in my spunky youthful years, I decided I didn’t need help. How hard could it be to start a garden and grow stuff? After all, it happens in nature all the time and nobody even has to do anything.
I already had a grassless patch in my yard where it looked like the previous owner had attempted a garden. But any attempt they had made turned out to be an utter travesty. The area was full of rocks and weeds, with no signs of any agreeable plants. I spent several hours of work spread over several days to clear out the entire area, leaving nothing but dirt. At that point, however, I didn’t realize the difference between “dirt” and “soil”. I was dealing with barren, hard, nutritionless, and unforgiving land.
I made some attempt at making my garden look nice; although I think even Martha Stewart would have had difficulties. I took some stained boards that were sitting in my basement (quite convenient, no?) and used them as a border for my garden, to keep out all the pests that couldn’t jump more than a foot (I figured I would be safe from lawn gnomes). I used the pile of rocks I had collected from the garden to make a creepy shrine looking thing in front of it. I don’t know what I was thinking when I did that.
I went to the store that very day, and picked out whatever looked tasty. Strawberries? Sure! Watermelon? Yeah! I hacked away a hole in the rock-hard ground and poked the seed in. After that, I think I watered it faithfully every day for several weeks before realizing that it was not going to grow anything. But even after I had that realization, I continued to water in hopes that my seeds would pull a last minute sprout on me. But I knew there was no hope, and I was heartbroken. After all those hours of pulling up weeds and tossing rocks into a pile, I had no fruit to show for my labor.
So, feeling dejected and betrayed, I logged onto the internet and searched for a guide to gardening. I quickly ran across a site that led me to realize the true skill required for gardening. It was then I learned about soil consistency, nutrients, ideal watering conditions, seasons, and all those things. After I read up on my area and how to grow fruits, I learned exactly what to do. I learned how to get the ideal soil, when to plant the seeds, how much to water, etc. Just a night of browsing the internet and printing off sources, and I was totally ready for the next planting season.
If you’re in the position I was, and you’re just itching to start a new garden… I urge you to learn from my mistake. Make sure you do plenty of proper research on the types of plants you’re trying to grow, along with the climate. Spend money on good soil, good fertilizer, and good garden tools. Hopefully you don’t have to go through the emotional disaster that I went through
Author: Frank Okorodudu author of the popular gardening Ebook "SEASONAL GARDENING"
Ah, to this day I still remember my first gardening experience. It was such a disaster that I didn’t think I would ever want to garden again. I almost decided to turn my casual hobby into the most rage-inducing topic you could possibly bring up to me.
It all started a few weeks after I moved in to my first house. I was excited just to have my own grass to mow, since I had been in apartments and condos for quite a while. In between plans to paint walls and renovate the inside to exactly how I like, I thought it would be a good idea to start a fruit garden so that I could have some fresh produce and put my yard to use. At that point I didn’t really know anything at all about gardening. But still in my spunky youthful years, I decided I didn’t need help. How hard could it be to start a garden and grow stuff? After all, it happens in nature all the time and nobody even has to do anything.
I already had a grassless patch in my yard where it looked like the previous owner had attempted a garden. But any attempt they had made turned out to be an utter travesty. The area was full of rocks and weeds, with no signs of any agreeable plants. I spent several hours of work spread over several days to clear out the entire area, leaving nothing but dirt. At that point, however, I didn’t realize the difference between “dirt” and “soil”. I was dealing with barren, hard, nutritionless, and unforgiving land.
I made some attempt at making my garden look nice; although I think even Martha Stewart would have had difficulties. I took some stained boards that were sitting in my basement (quite convenient, no?) and used them as a border for my garden, to keep out all the pests that couldn’t jump more than a foot (I figured I would be safe from lawn gnomes). I used the pile of rocks I had collected from the garden to make a creepy shrine looking thing in front of it. I don’t know what I was thinking when I did that.
I went to the store that very day, and picked out whatever looked tasty. Strawberries? Sure! Watermelon? Yeah! I hacked away a hole in the rock-hard ground and poked the seed in. After that, I think I watered it faithfully every day for several weeks before realizing that it was not going to grow anything. But even after I had that realization, I continued to water in hopes that my seeds would pull a last minute sprout on me. But I knew there was no hope, and I was heartbroken. After all those hours of pulling up weeds and tossing rocks into a pile, I had no fruit to show for my labor.
So, feeling dejected and betrayed, I logged onto the internet and searched for a guide to gardening. I quickly ran across a site that led me to realize the true skill required for gardening. It was then I learned about soil consistency, nutrients, ideal watering conditions, seasons, and all those things. After I read up on my area and how to grow fruits, I learned exactly what to do. I learned how to get the ideal soil, when to plant the seeds, how much to water, etc. Just a night of browsing the internet and printing off sources, and I was totally ready for the next planting season.
If you’re in the position I was, and you’re just itching to start a new garden… I urge you to learn from my mistake. Make sure you do plenty of proper research on the types of plants you’re trying to grow, along with the climate. Spend money on good soil, good fertilizer, and good garden tools. Hopefully you don’t have to go through the emotional disaster that I went through
Author: Frank Okorodudu author of the popular gardening Ebook "SEASONAL GARDENING"
Gardining organic for beginners
Organic Gardening For: Beginners
Organic gardening will give you peace of mind and a great sense of satisfaction when you and your family sits down to eat. Imagine the sense of excitement you'll get when you first see those little green shoots peering through the soil!
So What Is Organic Gardening? Many gardeners wonder what exactly organic growing means. The simple answer is that organic gardeners don't use synthetic fertilizers or pesticides on their plants. Think natural! Organic gardening is using recycled materials to grow crops. You can and should use animal waste, kitchen scraps, and vegetable waste to mulch and compost. Common household items like vinegar and soap are used to prevent pests and weeds. Organic growing is the working together of nature. Using naturally cultivated soil to grow natures seed.
Planning Your Organic Garden Choose where to plant your garden. Ideally you want an area that will get plenty of light and be protected from the wind. How big do you want your plot to be? Don't start off too big - you want to enjoy your gardening not resent how time consuming it can quickly become if you start off too grand! Draw a scale plan of your gardening area and work out how much of each crop your going to use and where to plant them. Think "groups" rather than rows as they are more productive and easier to attend to.
Getting The Soil Ready For Your Organic Growing Plot You need to look into testing your soil before you begin. Tests are available from your local gardening center. Good soil should be pleasant to the touch, eye and nose. Once you are satisfied with your soil you can begin.
Planting In Your Organic Garden Your going to be best served growing from the seed rather than buying plants as they could have been sprayed with pesticides at some point. Also you'll feel a lot more like a gardener using seeds! Obviously patience is needed to grow from the seed.
Weeding Your Organic Garden Use a hoe to stop weeds developing into large competitive monsters to your plants! Just simply dig around your crops with a hoe once a week or so. Once your crop seedlings are larger, the soil is warm and drenching rains have ended, put down a layer of mulch to hold in moisture and smother weeds. Mulch is material that can be laid down around the plants to control weeds.
Pests In Your Garden? Don't despair at the sight of insects on and around your crops! To start with just have a watch of them and see if they are actually causing damage. A lot of bugs will just nibble small enough amounts that good healthy plants can resist and recover from, so don't be too hasty!
Creating Compost For Your Organic Garden So what are the benefits of compost? It should be used as mulch to reduce evaporation, reduce weed growth, insulate the soil from extreme temperature and keep soil cooler in the day and warmer at night time! Good compost should be made up of balanced materials. It should be balanced between carbon materials - washed egg shells, milled grains, dried grass, straw and leaves. And nitrogen materials - most kitchen scraps, fresh grass and other plant matter.
David Stuart www.organicgardening4u.com
Organic gardening will give you peace of mind and a great sense of satisfaction when you and your family sits down to eat. Imagine the sense of excitement you'll get when you first see those little green shoots peering through the soil!
So What Is Organic Gardening? Many gardeners wonder what exactly organic growing means. The simple answer is that organic gardeners don't use synthetic fertilizers or pesticides on their plants. Think natural! Organic gardening is using recycled materials to grow crops. You can and should use animal waste, kitchen scraps, and vegetable waste to mulch and compost. Common household items like vinegar and soap are used to prevent pests and weeds. Organic growing is the working together of nature. Using naturally cultivated soil to grow natures seed.
Planning Your Organic Garden Choose where to plant your garden. Ideally you want an area that will get plenty of light and be protected from the wind. How big do you want your plot to be? Don't start off too big - you want to enjoy your gardening not resent how time consuming it can quickly become if you start off too grand! Draw a scale plan of your gardening area and work out how much of each crop your going to use and where to plant them. Think "groups" rather than rows as they are more productive and easier to attend to.
Getting The Soil Ready For Your Organic Growing Plot You need to look into testing your soil before you begin. Tests are available from your local gardening center. Good soil should be pleasant to the touch, eye and nose. Once you are satisfied with your soil you can begin.
Planting In Your Organic Garden Your going to be best served growing from the seed rather than buying plants as they could have been sprayed with pesticides at some point. Also you'll feel a lot more like a gardener using seeds! Obviously patience is needed to grow from the seed.
Weeding Your Organic Garden Use a hoe to stop weeds developing into large competitive monsters to your plants! Just simply dig around your crops with a hoe once a week or so. Once your crop seedlings are larger, the soil is warm and drenching rains have ended, put down a layer of mulch to hold in moisture and smother weeds. Mulch is material that can be laid down around the plants to control weeds.
Pests In Your Garden? Don't despair at the sight of insects on and around your crops! To start with just have a watch of them and see if they are actually causing damage. A lot of bugs will just nibble small enough amounts that good healthy plants can resist and recover from, so don't be too hasty!
Creating Compost For Your Organic Garden So what are the benefits of compost? It should be used as mulch to reduce evaporation, reduce weed growth, insulate the soil from extreme temperature and keep soil cooler in the day and warmer at night time! Good compost should be made up of balanced materials. It should be balanced between carbon materials - washed egg shells, milled grains, dried grass, straw and leaves. And nitrogen materials - most kitchen scraps, fresh grass and other plant matter.
David Stuart www.organicgardening4u.com
What is organic gardening
What is organic gardening? It is gardening using materials and or matter that comes from compost, manure and other living matter. It is also a way to garden without using pesticides, insecticides and other harmful ingredients.
Organic gardening is an excellent way to grow your trees, shrubs, flowers, vegetables and plants. Start Spring color for your garden Organic composting comes from worms, food waste, grass clippings and old leaves. If left alone in some type of tumbler or rotating container it will eventually be consumed by bacteria. You can then use this type of "Compost" to amend your soil for your gardening needs. Humus comes from composted vegetable matter. You can make your own organic compost using a Compost Tumbler. Mulching is another form of organic gardening. Mulch is added to the top layer of any gardening bed, tree, or plant thus keeping moisture in and suppressing weeds from growing. This helps in eliminating harmful herbicides and or insecticides into the environment. Organic fertilizers are cottonseed meal, blood meal, Fish Emulsion, manure and sewage sludge. Many of these type of fertilizers are high or low on the three types of nutrients needed for your plants such as nitrogen, phosphorus, or potash.
You can try organic gardening for Spring color
Be sure to read labels before purchasing. In my opinion fish emulsion is the best and easiest to apply. You should also be aware that some organic fertilizers may burn the roots of plants.
Manure the fresher the better over time this type of fertilizer will weaken, but do not overuse as it can burn plants. Yea I know it stinks but it works. Cottonseed oil is the safest but is normally used for acid loving plants. Blood meal comes from cattle blood after they have been slaughtered. Be careful not to overuse blood meal as it can also burn plants. It is high in nitrogen and good for green foliage. If you are concerned about the environment then "Organic Gardening" is the
Paul Guzman is the author of this article and webmaster of Guzmansgreenhouse.com
Organic gardening is an excellent way to grow your trees, shrubs, flowers, vegetables and plants. Start Spring color for your garden Organic composting comes from worms, food waste, grass clippings and old leaves. If left alone in some type of tumbler or rotating container it will eventually be consumed by bacteria. You can then use this type of "Compost" to amend your soil for your gardening needs. Humus comes from composted vegetable matter. You can make your own organic compost using a Compost Tumbler. Mulching is another form of organic gardening. Mulch is added to the top layer of any gardening bed, tree, or plant thus keeping moisture in and suppressing weeds from growing. This helps in eliminating harmful herbicides and or insecticides into the environment. Organic fertilizers are cottonseed meal, blood meal, Fish Emulsion, manure and sewage sludge. Many of these type of fertilizers are high or low on the three types of nutrients needed for your plants such as nitrogen, phosphorus, or potash.
You can try organic gardening for Spring color
Be sure to read labels before purchasing. In my opinion fish emulsion is the best and easiest to apply. You should also be aware that some organic fertilizers may burn the roots of plants.
Manure the fresher the better over time this type of fertilizer will weaken, but do not overuse as it can burn plants. Yea I know it stinks but it works. Cottonseed oil is the safest but is normally used for acid loving plants. Blood meal comes from cattle blood after they have been slaughtered. Be careful not to overuse blood meal as it can also burn plants. It is high in nitrogen and good for green foliage. If you are concerned about the environment then "Organic Gardening" is the
Paul Guzman is the author of this article and webmaster of Guzmansgreenhouse.com
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