People everywhere are realizing the amazing benefits of organic gardening. Using this simple advice, you can begin growing your own thriving organic garden. Coming up are a collection of organic gardening oriented tips, tricks and ideas to grow and harvest nontoxic, free, healthy, fresh, produce for your whole family.
Utilize your garden tool handles as convenient makeshift rulers. Large handled tools such as shovels, rakes, and hoes can be used as measuring sticks. Just lay your tool down on the floor then lay a yardstick beside the handle. Use a bright permanent marker and label the distances. When you decide to work in the garden again, you will now have a ruler at your disposal.
Consider planting slug-proof perennials. Snails and slugs can quickly wreak havoc on a garden. They’re particularly fond of perennials with smooth and thin leaves, especially if the plants are young. Perennials that have tough or hairy leaves are often times unappetizing to snails and slugs. Some of examples of these are achillea, heuchera, campanula, helleborus, and euphorbia.
There is no need to purchase a costly chemical if your plants develop powdery mildew. Plain water with a bit of liquid soap and baking soda will do the trick. Once every week, you should spray the mixture on your plants; the mildew will disappear shortly thereafter. The baking soda is harmless to your plants and a very effective remedy.
To grow properly, plants need adequate levels of CO2. Most plants will grow better with more CO2. The best way to get a lot of it is through a greenhouse. Here the CO2 can be increased, as it cannot be outdoors, and can give your plants the best conditions for rapid growth.
When you are tending your garden in the fall, be on the alert for stink bugs. This insect will gladly devour your tomatoes, beans, and peppers, as well as a variety of other fruits. If kept unchecked they can certainly do a ton of a damage to your garden so you should do what you need to to reduce their population.
Don’t cut your grass down by the soil when you run the mower. Keeping grass with a little more height makes it healthier. This allows the roots to grow more deeply and makes the blades of grass more resistant to becoming dry and discolored. Short grass leads to more shallow roots and will result in more brown, dried-out patches.
If you find that you have soil that has high amounts of alkaline, mix used coffee grounds throughout the soil. This affordable trick will give back the acid that your dirt requires. Improving the pH of your soil will make your vegetables and greens taste even better!
Take extra care of any fragile shrubs that are known to drop their leaves in the autumn. Cold weather is very hard on these tender shrubs, and potted shrubs should be shielded and protected. The tops should be tied together, and the wigwam should be loosely covered with a sheet or blanket. This is more effective than putting plastic on the plant, it will let the air flow.
Fertilizer in the garden is a must. If you decide to use manure, which is great for your plants, choose a pathogen free commercial product. Although there are plenty of fertilizer choices, don’t be concerned with which one you use; just be sure to use one.
Don’t count the fall season out. It doesn’t have to be this way, however. If you plan properly, you can make your fall garden the most colorful time of the year. Maple, beech, and dogwood trees are many colors in the fall, from yellow to a deeper crimson. Shrubs such as cotoneaster, hydrangea, and barberry will also provide a splash of color in the fall.
Cover your muddy shoes with plastic bags. This keeps your flow going, so you can get back out to the garden quickly and finish your work.
Space is important to remember when planting an organic garden. It can be easy to underestimate how much space your plants will need once they begin growing. The plants will inevitably need to unfurl and spread, but they also need the circulation of air from open spaces. Plot out all of these considerations before putting that first seed in the ground.
Don’t use pesticides – kill your weeds naturally! You will need many layers of newspapers. In order to grow, weeds need sunlight. If you put a thick layer of newspaper on them, weeds will not be able to get light or air, and they will die! In time, the newspaper will decompose into the soil. If you want it to look better, just add a layer or two of much over top of the newspapers.
A rule of thumb followed by many planters is to bury the seeds in soil to a depth of around three times the diameter of the actual seed. Some seeds shouldn’t be covered and must be in sunlight at all times. Some typical examples are petunias and ageratum. If you are unsure about your seed’s requirements for sunlight, the resources are often provided along with the seeds, or you can find out online.
Use alcohol to help control the slugs in your garden by fashioning a beer trap. Take a glass jar and bury it in your garden, making sure that the lip of the jar is even with the soil. Pour enough beer into the jar to fill it below an inch from the top. Beer attracts slugs and then they’ll get stuck in the jar.
It can be hard to grow an organic garden without chemicals, but the end result is worth the effort. While chemical companies may make astounding claims about their products, growing organically is the most rewarding option for you and those who consume your crops.
As you can see from the information provided in this article, organic gardening requires time and perseverance. Put the tips you have learned above to use today, and see firsthand just how wonderful your new garden can be. Whatever you chose to plant, the suggestions from this article will help your gardening be a success.
