While organic gardening is normally extremely enjoyable and relaxing, it can also cause you major problems if you don't know exactly what you're doing. The following advice will show you how to grow an organic garden successfully.
When planting your garden, dig small trenches between plant rows. This helps the water reach plants, and it lets you take breaks from watering them. This saves water, which helps you save money and helps the environment.
The simple beer trap is still one of the best methods of ridding your organic garden of slugs. Use a glass jar buried in the soil so the rim of the jar is at ground level. Fill the jar with beer to an inch below the jar's top. Slugs are attracted to beer. They will crawl into the jar and be trapped.
Know your organic garden and when the plants are needing water. A soaker hose is your best option for watering. This type of hose has many small holes that allow the water to trickle downward to the plants roots. It also helps to lock in moisture. It is best to water them in the early morning.
Grow garlic. Plant individual cloves of garlic in the early spring or fall in moist, well-drained soil. Plant them approximately 4 inches apart at a depth of 1 or 2 inches beneath the surface of the soil with the pointed end facing upward. Cut the green garlic sprouts as they grow, you can use them like you would use scallions or chives. When the tops of the bulbs become brown, it is time to harvest them. Allow the skin to harden by letting your bulbs sit out in the sun. The garlic should be stored out of direct sunlight in a cool, dry place.
An old laundry basket works great for gathering produce from your garden. It makes a great strainer for your vegetables. When you put your produce in a basket, you can then rinse it off and let it strain any excess water through the laundry basket holes.
A safe and effective way to repel bugs from your garden is by planting garlic in a few places. You can get rid of and repel a lot of insects with its smell. Garlic should be planted around the perimeter of your garden, as well as near any plants that are known to attract insects. Garlic also has the added benefit of being a great raw ingredient for home cooked meals.
Cultivating a truly organic garden requires you to pay careful attention to the things that you use to maintain it. Use a natural alternative to chemical fertilizers. This is one of the tenets of true organic gardening. If you haven't already tried it, consider making your own compost. Compared with chemical-based approaches, organic methods are safer for both the people and the planet.
If you've spent even a little time gardening, you're probably well aware of how beneficial compost can be, but how much do you know about what it contains? It is made from a variety of items, including wood chips, bits of produce, twigs, straw, grass clippings, and leaves, all of which have decomposed into a sort of soil. Compost adds nutrients to your soil without the dangers of commercial fertilizers.
It is possible to control weeds with natural methods. A layer of newspaper, several pages thick, placed over the ground will do the trick. In order to grow, weeds need sunlight. By placing newspaper over them, they will not get light and suffocate. The newspapers will break down over a period of time, and will become part of your compost. In order to improve its attractiveness, add one mulch layer.
Research local botanical insecticides which can help keep any pest population down. In many cases, organic insecticides work even better than commercial products that are full of chemicals. Natural insecticides do have the disadvantage of a shorter effective period and a quick decline.
Gardeners who are intrigued by the ideas of organic and sustainable methods should think about designating a portion of their landscape to support native plants and animals. A natural area will allow beneficial birds and insects, many of which pollinate plants, to live on your property and help your garden grow stronger.
You can stop mud from being tracked into your house by covering your dirty gardening shoes with plastic bags. This helps the flow keep going so that you can get into the garden quickly to finish what you're doing.
A good spray to use on your organic garden is chives, onion, and garlic in water. Make some spray made of onions, chives, garlic, and a mix of around a half of a cup of water, strain the mixture and put it into a spray bottle.
You should rotate your garden every year. Planting your garden in the same area every year will allow fungus to grow there as well. Fungus and disease may stay in the soil and then affect your plants the next growing season. If you mix things up, by planting in different spots, you will have enlisted a natural method of keeping fungus and diseases at bay.
If you'd like to create a raised bed, use materials like brick, stone, or untreated wood. Be sure to use wood that is naturally resistant to rotting and that has not been treated. Optimal wood choices that fit these criteria are locust, cypress, and cedar. If you use your garden to grow vegetables, avoid using wood that has been treated with chemicals. These toxic chemicals may seep into the soil, damaging your crops. Treated wood can be lined with plastic to create a barrier.
Sprouting seeds need less warmth than before. As your baby plants grow, you can move them from their heat source. If you used plastic wrap to insulate your seedlings, you should now remove it. Check on your seeds periodically to make sure you know when to remove the films.
Be aware of seasons and climates when you are watering, and change accordingly. You will need to water differently depending on what time it is or what kind of soil you are using. If the climate is hot, but humid you'll have to avoid watering the leaves, for example. Water the roots with care.
Use whatever leftovers you have from preparing your fresh vegetables and put them back in the garden. These veggies decay quickly, which then leech vital nutrients into your new plants that are growing. Add some to your compost pile and bury some pieces right away.
You can keep bugs out of your organic garden by planting garlic in different areas. The smell of garlic will deter insects from inhabiting your garden. Garlic should be planted around the perimeter of your garden, as well as near any plants that are known to attract insects. Garlic shouldn't, of course, be considered only useful for pest control. It is actually a valuable culinary addition to your garden.
Planting organic strawberries is a great way to encourage your children to get involved. Kids are quite eager to pick fruit from a garden, and will help with the planting if they get a nice snack out of it at the end.
Don't settle for inferior produce. Apply what you've learned in this article today, and start growing your own produce
No comments:
Post a Comment