Green Organic Garden

Growing a organic garden isn’t difficult if you have the right tools, but there are some things you’ll need for growing the perfect organic garden.

Seeds
The first thing you’ll need to start growing a organic garden, besides a space laid out for your vegetable patch, is organic gardening seeds. Sure, you can use regular vegetable seeds, but for a real organic garden, you need to start with organic seeds, too. You can find them at a variety of sources, and always make sure that you’re buying certified organic seeds from a certified organic grower. All different types of organic seeds are available, from corn to heirloom tomatoes, so you should be able to find the right varieties you’re looking for very easily.

Tools
Like any hobby, you’ll need to invest in a few tools to help in growing a organic garden.
• Spade or garden shovel. You can use this for planting larger plants, and for spreading mulch, compost, and other nutrients throughout your garden.
• Hoe. Helpful for cultivating between the rows of vegetables in your garden, and for digging out some weeds.
• Pots. You need pots to start seedlings before you can plant them outdoors, but you also need pots for decorative plants throughout your landscaping, like on your patio, porch, or deck.
• Trowel or two. These are very handy for digging smaller holes in the garden, for planting seedlings and such, and for digging up some weeds.
• Hand cultivator. These look like tiny rakes, and they are very helpful for digging out weeds around your vegetables and plants, and aerating the soil around your veggies.
• Bulb planter. Extremely helpful if you’re going to plant a lot of bulbs in the fall or spring, they dig a deep enough hold for every type of bulb you’d like to plant.
• Gardening gloves. Just about every gardener loves a good pair of gardening gloves that protect their hands from dirt, insects, and woody stems.
• A garden cart. These aren’t absolutely necessary, but a small cart you can load with plants, tools, seeds, hoses, and the essentials of gardening are quite handy to cart around your gardening tools, especially if you have an extra-large garden.
• Hoses, nozzles, and sprinklers. These are all necessary watering tools. Once you try a few nozzles, you’ll find the one that’s right for you. Many have adjustable sprays, and watering wands are nice to reach high and out-of-the-way plants.

Fertilizers
There are many organic, natural fertilizers you can use to help in growing a organic garden, and none of them contain chemicals, just rich nutrients for your soil.
• Fish Meal
• Bone Meal
• Dried Manure
• Wood Ashes
• Rock Potash
Many of these fertilizers are available at your local nursery or feed stores, just be sure you know the right amount to use on your organic garden, or you could end up harming your plants.

If you use the right equipment, you can be growing a organic garden before you know it, and your plants will be healthier, happier, and far safer for your family to eat.

There are many benefits to organic gardening including better tasting food, healthier plants, and having fun. One of the most important reasons to begin organic gardening is to keep yourself, your family and your pets away from pesticides. The environment is full of toxic chemicals and pesticides these days, and it is probably impossible to avoid them all. However, you can control some of your exposure by not adding more to it.

Another benefit of organic gardening is that it seems that homegrown vegetables and fruits often taste better, especially when no chemicals are used. No tomato purchased at the store ever tastes quite like a chemical free organic tomato from your own garden. There is a marked difference in color, taste, and possibly even the amount of nutrients. Not only is organic gardening healthy, it is fun too. It is so rewarding to watch your plants grow from tiny little organic sprouts into abundant plants and produce. Some examples of easy to grow plants include tomatoes, squash, lettuce, roses, daisies and cucumbers. These plant varieties will not only make your dinner plate pretty and tasty, but the flowers will spruce up decorations inside your house as well.

Furthermore, other benefits to growing your own organic plants is that you will save money. With soaring gas prices, it could cost more than it is worth just to drive to the grocery store. This year it seems that all food prices have gone up dramatically along with the gas prices. This is another good motive for a person to do their own organic gardening. It costs less to make your own compost and grow your favorite plants and foods. Even if gardening is not your favorite thing, you can support your local farmer at a nearby farmer’s market. Often these people use organic techniques to grow their foods, and you can find out just by asking them.

If you have never had experience with this type of gardening before, you may wonder what to grow or how to begin. Information can be found all over the internet, at the library, or even at the local health food store. From these sources, an interested person can find a wealth of information. To begin your own organic gardening, it is recommended to use an all natural fertilizer to increase your plant yield. You can actually make your own by tossing out vegetable peels into your garden and making a compost. Bugs can be kept away by watching your plants and their leaves for eggs or any other bug disturbances. It is worth the extra work to not ingest more toxic pesticides into your body.

As you can see, there are many benefits to organic gardening, and everyone should try it at least once. It may take some trial and error to get things right, but with time your garden will be your own masterpiece.
It is worth all the effort for the beautiful, healthy plants you will produce.

Many people love pottering around in their own gardens, make it a pretty environment to enjoy in their spare time. There is though more than one way to create a garden, and an increasingly popular method is organic gardening. Many people will have heard of organic food and it is with the same basic principles that organic gardening occurs.

Organic gardeners ensure that their gardens grow without the use of manmade pesticides or fertilizers. Both ingredients do help create a garden that looks perfect but do harm the soil and environment in many ways. Organic gardening is not about the search for a perfect garden but the search for a natural one. In truth much of the work of the manmade pesticides and fertilizers can be done in a natural way, although it may require a lot more patience.

Organic gardening normally starts by dealing with the garden’s soil. It is necessary to add organic matter to it, in the form of leaf mould or garden compost. It now possible to buy organic compost from a local garden centre, but it is easy enough to make your won. Anyone with a garden has the ability to come up with organic matter, the lawn and garden produces materials with plant pruning and the mowing of the lawn. The house also produces plenty of material as well, with tea bags and vegetable peelings making ideal components of the organic matter. A purchased or made compost bin is then all that is required to make your own compost.

When it comes to deterring pests and disease there is plenty that organic gardening can use. Many naturally grown varieties of fruit, plants and vegetables are resistant to disease and pests. It is also possible to grow plants that will attract animals and insects that will see of other forms of pests like slugs and greenfly. Many strongly scented plants will also deter certain pests. Even weeds can be suppressed naturally through the use of a bark blanket on the bare soil.

It is often debated as to whether organic gardening is more labor intensive than the use of pesticides and fertilizers. The truth is though that if you are prepared to seriously garden then you have the time to keep an eye on an organic garden.

Organic gardening is definitely more environmentally friendly and serious gardeners are increasingly using organic materials to make their gardens grow. Many though still make use of manmade substances to make a perfect garden, but every little use of organic matter does help.

Even though switching to organic gardening may seem to be a tough task for many gardeners who are used to sprays, fertilizers and chemical dusts, the results are rewarding and worth all the efforts. Probably, using organic plant food and fertilizers, and following a different process for organic gardening is new and unusual for you, but very soon you’ll be able to adjust and enjoy the thought you are saving lives as well as preserving the environment by doing so.

For those ones who just start gardening, consider practicing organic gardening from the beginning. Learn about the benefits organic plant food brings to your garden. If you are an expert gardener who have been using and following traditional methods for gardening take the time to consider all the advantages that organic plant food could bring for you and your garden.

Advantages of Using Organic Plant Food

In order to appreciate organic methods of gardening and using organic plant food, you have to understand the benefits of these fertilizers and plant foods. This information can surely break your routines of chemical gardening for good.

Organic plant food and fertilizers may seem less effective compared to chemical fertilizers. However, it is not so – they just work slower, but provide a more stable and steady release of essential nutrients to your plants. In addition, organic foods for plants supply plenty of micronutrients that are not found in chemically produced plant food. To keep your garden’s soil healthy switch to organic plant food that serves as an effective soil conditioner. It provides the soil with its needed organic compounds and increases the soil’s friability.

Fertilizers with chemical compounds usually cause an unwanted accumulation of inorganic salt. When this happens, it can greatly affect your soil’s condition and your plants’ development as well as decreasing the population of helpful microbial and soil insects. While there are still a few build-ups of insoluble salts when you use organic plant food, you can ensure less harm done to your soil compared to synthetic fertilizers.

Excessive amounts of chemical-based fertilizers can actually burn your plants. With organic fertilizers that are slowly released into the soil, you can accidentally add too much of the organic plant food, but it is far less dangerous and damaging to your soil and plants. In the same situation with chemical fertilizers your plants would be killed.

Practicing organic gardening has numerous benefits, and first of all, it ensures that your soil becomes healthy and your plants flourish beautifully and naturally. Using organic plant food is an important step towards organic gardening and, subsequently, towards tastier food and better health.

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. Spring gardening color.

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.

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 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 way to go or should I say grow.

Organic Gardening

Successful organic vegetable gardening can require a lot of work and careful planning. This includes the preparation of the soil by enriching it and protecting the soil from the infestation of harmful insects.

Organic vegetable gardening is different from conventional gardening in two major ways. They differ from the usage of fertilizers and pest control. The fertility of the soil depends upon three components: nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.

Nitrogen increases the growth of lush foliage. Phosphorus helps with strong roots and sterns. Potassium protects the plants from disease and cold. These nutrients are needed for every plant that stays alkaline for more than a year. In conventional methods, synthetic fertilizers are used to enrich the soil. Commercial fertilizers are available as a mixture of the three main ingredients mentioned. However, in organic vegetable gardening, these nutrients are added in a different manner.

Composting is a very good organic way of enriching the soil. Compost can be made easily in pots from your backyard with garden and kitchen refuse. Materials like leaves, lawn cutting, pine needles, weeds, carrot tops, spoiled fruit and vegetable, animal manure and the like, can be used to make good compost. The decomposition of the organic material forms bacteria and fungi in the soil. This helps in converting unavailable nutrients like nitrogen to ammonia and nitrates making it usable for the plants. This process is called nitrification. Rock phosphates, natural occurring deposits of phosphorus in combination with calcium, can be mixed with the compost. Natural potassium occurs in substances like wood ashes, tobacco stems, seaweed, potash salts and ground rock potash. They can be also mixed for organic vegetable gardening.

The organic material takes longer to decompose and affect the soil. Hence it should be added at least a fortnight before planting the vegetables.

The pH scale runs from 0 to 14. 0 indicates extreme acidic conditions. 14 is extreme alkaline and 7 indicates a neutral soil. The most inexpensive and efficient material for raising the pH is ground limestone. Dolomite limestone has an additional ingredient, magnesium, which many soils lack. If the pH of the soil is alkaline, finely ground sulphur is used to lower it.

Pest control in organic gardens is also done in a different manner. Organic vegetable gardening relies in the theory of manageable pest levels. This model theory, suggests that the pests are not to be completely eradicated, but kept at an easily manageable level maintaining the balance and harmony.

When pest resistant varieties are planted, natural predators and parasites are used to eat up the harmful insects. Mulching the soil helps to avoid direct contact with sunlight, as the harmful organisms require bright sunlight to grow. These methods using organic vegetable gardening techniques will help in raising a healthy and abundant crop.

You’re in the produce department of your grocery store. It’s almost as if you’re looking at everything through a sheer curtain or veil. None of the vegetables are bright colored or healthy looking. They appear wilted and drab.

Remember when you were a kid and all the vegetables looked like they were just ready to burst out of their bins? The tomatoes were bright red and plump, the lettuce crisp and perky. When you bit into a tomato, you could practically hear it pop just before the juice ran down your chin or onto your plate. And the taste – when was the last time you had a tomato that tasted like a tomato? It’s probably been a very long time.

There is a way to recapture those sights, sounds, and flavors from your past. And you can get it right from your own back yard.

But it requires time, work, and some research. If you’re up for the challenge, there is nothing more rewarding than eating food right out or your own garden. Food you know is grown with care and love, and is free of chemicals. Organic gardening.

Right up front, you should realize that organic gardening takes a level of commitment in time and labor many people are not prepared to invest. If you like the idea of putting safe, wholesome, homegrown food on the table for you and your family, then read on. You’ll find some facts, suggestions, and tips for creating your own organic vegetable garden.

What makes a garden organic?

Most gardeners describe organic gardening as simply rejecting the use of anything chemical or artificial to control insects or to fertilize plants. Instead, they apply natural materials and methods in order to retain the health of the soil, the food, and themselves.

Why is organic gardening such a good thing?

Organic gardeners will tell you that the quality of the vegetable is nutritionally superior to anything you can get in the supermarket because the soils are kept nutrient-rich with natural materials. Not depleted and artificially fertilized. And the flavor is amazing.

Additionally, organic gardening can create a great sense of safety and relief in knowing your food is free of potentially unhealthy chemical toxins. Along with that comes the satisfaction of digging your own dirt and producing your own food. Not to mention the physical benefits of fresh air and exercise.

So, you have a yard with plenty of room for a garden. You’re committed to the investment of time and labor. Where do you begin?

1. Pick your location and make a plan

Every good project starts with a good plan. Gardening is no different. James Stephens from the University of Florida suggests you first figure out the amount of produce you want. Do you want just enough for you to eat through the summer? Do you plan to can it, freeze it or sell it?

Then find a sunny location in your yard with well-drained soil, close to a water supply.

2. Get your soil ready

Add organic fertilizer and soil conditioning material at least three weeks before you plant seeds or seedlings. It takes that long for organic material to start working in the soil. Get it worked in and mixed well to prevent interference with seed growth and development.

3. Organic materials are the foundation of organic gardening
Professor Stephens at the University of Florida suggests the following list of organic materials: animal or plant manures, compost, cover crops, or mixed organic fertilizers.

They benefit the soil in many ways, including adding major and minor nutrients, making the soil more water retentive, and improving the structure and condition of the soil — allowing plants to grow more easily.

4. How and when to use natural and organic fertilizers

Animal manures such as cow, horse, hog, poultry, sheep, rabbit, and goat are considered to be the best forms of organic matter and fertilizer for an organic garden, says Professor Stephens. It’s best if they are worked into the topsoil two to three weeks before planting.

Natural deposits such as phosphorus, potash, micro-nutrients, and lime are also recommended and applied in the same way as animal manures. Natural deposits are found in rocks, shells, and sands. They add valuable nutrients as well as aid in soil conditioning.

5. Less is more when it comes to watering

Your little plants are starting to sprout, so you proudly go out everyday to water and look over your crop. Watering every day is good, right? Wrong.

Seasoned organic gardeners recommend a good and thorough early morning soak once a week only, preferably on a windless day. This allows water to reach and encourage deep root growth. Shallow daily watering only reaches the surface inhibiting strong development.

6. Controlling damaging insects and diseases the natural way

This is no easy task once a problem takes hold. But there are non-chemical ways to control diseases and insects. Here are just a few suggestions:

*Make sure plants and seeds are disease and pest free before you ever put them in the ground.

*Inspect your plants regularly, checking for pests and diseases before they get a chance to take over.

*Keep your garden clean and refuse-free.

*Remove weeds (because they attract pesky insects).

*Handpick insects off your plants.

*Remove diseased plants before they infect others.

There are plenty of additional control methods such as insecticide soaps, insect traps, and other preparations containing naturally occurring materials you can try.

7. Don’t let weeds steal your plant’s thunder (or their nutrients)

Keeping your garden’s soil cultivated will keep weeds small, making them easier to control. If left to take over, weeds will steal the nutrients from your vegetable plants, leaving them more prone to diseases. Their ability to produce vegetables will be reduced too.

Mulching is also a good way to keep weeds down while holding in moisture.

These 7 points are just a small sampling of the amount of information, suggestions, and tips available to starting and maintaining your organic vegetable garden. If you’re up to the work, challenge, and occasional setbacks, it is definitely a worthwhile and rewarding endeavor.

Keep the joy of the end result in sight – those succulent, flavorful, and nutrient-rich vegetables of days gone by.

The only difference between regular gardening and organic gardening is that no synthetic fertilizers or pesticides are used when gardening organically. It might be a little more work to grow plants this way, but it is well worth the effort.

The biggest problems with growing things organically are insects, disease and weeds. But there are natural ways to protect your plants from these three killers.

Organic gardening starts with the soil. Rather than adding chemicals to the soil, organic gardeners regularly add organic matter in order to keep the soil healthy and productive. In fact, compost is essential to the well being of plants grown organically.

If you do not already have a compost pile or compost bin, one can be made with leaves, dead flowers, manure, fruit rinds, vegetable scraps, grass clippings and many other things.

What you need is soil that is dark in color and that has a sweet smell. So be generous with the compost, choose a spot that drains well so that water does not just sit around the plants, follow the guidelines in this article, and your plants should stay healthy and productive.

You might have healthy soil to start with and only need to add some compost. But some soil might need more natural additives than compost provides. Natural additives include things such as rock phosphates and bone meal. By purchasing and using a simple soil test you will know the soil’s pH balance and be able to determine which nutrients you need to add.

One of the things that makes organic gardening more difficult is keeping insects off the plants. Most gardeners simply reach for a pesticide and spray the plants. But organic gardeners who truly want to stay away from chemicals must find other alternatives. Instead of using pesticides, the best way to defend your plants from insects is to use preventive measures.

Since unhealthy plants are more likely to be attacked by insects, one of the best natural ways to protect your garden from insects is to make sure your plants are healthy.

There are several things you can do to encourage healthy plants. Keeping them not too wet and not too dry is one thing.

Another way to protect your plants from insects, however, is to encourage insect predators into your garden. These include:

*lizards
*ladybugs
*frogs
*birds

These creatures can be attracted to your garden by keeping a source of water nearby, such as a pond, and by growing plants that attract them. There are also some household items that fight against insects, such as hot peppers and garlic, as well as insecticidal soaps.

Many diseases spread because the site of the garden does not drain well or does not allow for good air circulation. Another way to prevent disease is to start with disease resistant plants and plant them in their prime.

Besides diseases and insects, another annoying and frustrating problem faced by organic gardeners is weeds. Organic mulch can act as a weed barrier, but for even better protection put a layer of cardboard, construction paper, or newspaper under the mulch. Spreading a layer of corn meal gluten to slow the growth of weeds is another idea. Do this early in the season before planting.

Lastly, for weed control there is also the trusty hoe. Regular hoeing and hand pulling the weeds will help a great deal, and it requires no sprays that can hurt your family or the environment. Overall, persistence will beat the weeds for good after a few seasons of hoeing and pulling.

Organic gardening is an excellent way to assure that your plants will be free and clear of all pesticides and, if taken care of properly, will be as healthy as possible. Organic gardening may require more time and care than regular gardening, but your family and the environment will greatly benefit.

Controlling plant pests in the organic garden has always been a struggle because there is no suitable organic chemical to treat them. I find that hoeing between plants regularly reduces soil pests by bringing them to the surface, where birds can find them easier.

Don’t give up hope! There are some very effective controls to rid your garden of these destructive monsters. Not the least of these methods is to encourage natural predators.

By maintaining an organic garden, you are providing a far more conducive environment to all forms of wildlife than a chemically controlled one. This natural balance ensures your garden will contain, and attract, predators which will feed on garden pests.

Here’s a list of some ‘garden friends’ and some things you can do to encourage their help:

Birds
Sometimes regarded as a pest, placing productive and nesting boxes near your garden will encourage birds into the garden where they feast on grubs, caterpillars, slugs and aphids.

Frogs and Toads
A garden pond is perhaps the ideal compliment to attract frogs and toads, however, they really only need water for breeding. Frogs and toads are excellent for controlling slugs, woodlice and other small insects.

Lady Beetles (lady bugs)
These aphid devouring predators are easily identifiable by most gardeners. The less familiar, slate-gray larvae are not as recognizable, but eat as much, if not more, than their adult counterparts. They can be lured into the garden by cultivating a varied selection of plants.

Ground Beetles
These black garden beetles prey on cutworms, leatherjackets, slugs, snails and many other pests that have a larvae or egg stage. Some species will even pursue prey that live on plants or trees such as gypsy moths and tent caterpillars. Providing permanent plantings, stones, or loose leaf cover will encourage these voracious hunters and give them a place to hide during the day. They will come out at night and feed on the pests. Adults can live 2-3 years.

Lacewings
Planting pollen and nectar flowers and providing a water source will encourage lacewings into your garden where they will lay their eggs on the underneath of leaves. These eggs will hatch in 4-7 days and the larvae will feed on aphids and other soft bodied insect pests for about 3 weeks, and then pupate in the soil for 5-7 days. Generally, 3-4 generations per year. Surviving adults will then overwinter and emerge in the Spring to begin the cycle.

Hover Flies/Flower Flies
The larvae, which resemble thin wasps, feed on aphids. Adult flies lay their eggs directly in the aphid colonies. Eggs hatch in 2-3 days and the larvae feed on aphids for 3-4 weeks. Two to four generations per year. Hover flies can be attracted to the garden by planting marigolds and nasturtiums close by.

It’s pretty easy to see that there are many ways nature provides its own checks and balances. What we, as organic gardeners, need to remember is - when we are trying to eliminate pests, it’s important not to eliminate our beneficial ‘friends’.

Many people know about the benefits of eating organic fruit and vegetables. However, not many people regularly eat organic food. The biggest disincentive is usually the price. Organic veggies are invariably a lot more expensive at the local supermarket. The good news is that anybody with even a modest vegetable garden can grow healthy organic vegetables for a much lower cost than they would buy off the shelf.

Nevertheless, some people avoid growing their own vegetables because they are running short on space, time and the know-how to tend a successful veggie patch. However, organic gardening isn’t as difficult as many people think.

Mulching is one of the main secrets. The regular incorporation of old organic matter helps keep the soil functioning well. Mulching helps the soil retain moisture, suppresses weeds, reduces temperature fluctuations, and can prevent soil crusting. Many organic gardeners find that plant disease problems decline as the health of the soil improves.

Of course, the main reason for growing organically is to avoid the use of chemicals and commercially produced fertilizers and pesticides. Again, this helps to maintain a healthy soil across numerous growing seasons. More importantly, you can be sure that the food your family is eating is free of pesticides and herbicides. While avoiding synthetic chemicals, many organic gardeners approve of and use sprays and other preparations containing naturally occurring materials. Other pest control methods include the use of mechanical devices such as traps. Another favorite is to encourage other animals, which like to eat the pests, to the garden.

For city dwellers who have more enthusiasm than space, container gardening may be the answer. Many herbs and vegetables can be grown quite successfully in containers. These include carrots, radishes and lettuce, as well as crops that bear fruit over a long period of time, such as tomatoes and peppers. No matter what you grow it is important to remember that drainage is extremely important. Another possibility if space is at a premium is to grow herbs and vegetables amongst your flower garden.

You never know, if the prices of organic produce remains high and concerns about food safety grow you might be able to convert that backyard vegetable patch into an income earner as well. For those less entrepreneurial, there is the opportunity to work on projects, such as neighborhood food growing, in order to benefit the whole community. At the very least, home grown vegetables definitely taste better.