Mindzle

Posts Tagged ‘garden’

Has the Japanese knotweeds also known as elephant’s ears, fleeceflower, sally rhubarb, and Japanese bamboo invaded your immediate environs?  If you are located somewhere in the eastern region of US, then your response would be a big yes!  This weed had not just invaded the US but the rest of Northern America and Europe and the UK.  In fact, this plant is listed among the one hundred most aggressive organisms in the world.

What makes this group so victorious in displacing local plants in a vicinity is its power to tolerate a complete array of growth components for instance soil types, salinity and pH.  They can also endure freezing temperatures, as much as 30 degrees below zero Fahrenheit.  The roots, or rhizomes, can spread up to seven meters in length horizontally and three meters down into the soil.  You may slash the plants repeatedly only to be greeted with fresh growth developing from the roots.  Talk about survival and you will have the Japanese bamboo high up on that list.

Its major areas of environment are those which have been subject to human disturbance such as landfills and other waste areas.  Nevertheless, it should be observed that they too like moist soil with loads of sunlight so your garden and lawn are as susceptible to the weed attack as much as roadsides and riverbanks.  Even a small root which you had dumped after cleaning up the garden can be the commencement of a new thriving Japanese knotweed area in your once useful landfill.

But did you know that the invasive Japanese knotweed was initially transported to the UK and then into United States for ornamental purposes.  It even won an award in a plant competition back then.  Little by little, people have come to realize what they have brought with them.  The menace they have grown in their backyards to add beauty to it will become one of the most destructive plants today.  Not simply is Japanese bamboo invasive, but it is likewise almost indestructible.  You can’t just cut it and hope for it to perish.  If you do so, the tendency would be for the plant to spread and get back the area over and over and then it turns into an endless and tiring cycle.

If you are truly earnest on your Japanese knotweed elimination plan, the first suggestion is that these weeds are tough to eradicate.  Thus you have to take a multi-faceted method into totally eliminating them in your neighborhood.  The most generally accepted method of control for this weed is the application of authorized weedkillers.  On the other hand, there are other means of control without the use of chemicals but these procedures usually take more time.  Thus, it would be best to solicit suggestions from authorities or employ the services of a firm that specializes on the proper eradication of the perennial plant.

A Small Kitchen Garden Can Improve Your Finances
By Daniel Gasteiger

A few weeks ago I noticed something at the local grocery store that you can probably find where you shop: higher prices. From my shopping trip one week to my trip the next week, prices on dozens of items increased 20 cents. Among the most astonishingly high prices: produce. It kills me, for example, so see red peppers at $2.99 per pound. That translates to about $1.50 for a single pepper.

I have a hedge against these rising prices: I grow a lot of my own produce. You can grow your own as well, and discover a hobby that can quite possibly reduce your grocery bills by hundreds of dollars a year.

Beat Grocery Store Prices: Basil

For the sake of comparison, a package of fresh basil-that’s a clump of whole plants wrapped in plastic and ready for use-costs about $2.69 in a grocery store. You can buy a package of basil seeds for about $1.59, and a bag of potting soil for $2 or less (off-season, I bought bags of soil for 75 cents apiece). Plant just a few seeds in an empty yogurt container, and you’ll match the grocery store basil in six to eight weeks. (A pack of grocery store basil contains about a dozen plants growing in a 2-in cube of potting soil).

If you plant a yogurt container every two weeks, you’ll have ten or twelve going from one package of seeds, that’s plenty to season many meals, and maybe even make some pesto sauce.

Grocery store basil: $27 for 10 meals. Home-grown from seeds: $3.59 for a year’s supply.

What do you pay for tomatoes?

When on sale, tomatoes in our local grocery store cost $1.99 per pound. Since an average-sized grocery store tomato weighs half a pound, I’d pay one dollar per tomato when they’re on sale. A flat of young tomato plants (six plants that are already growing and ready to transplant into a garden or flower pot) costs around $3 at the beginning of the growing season. Transplant just one of those plants and raise it to maturity and it can produce from 25 to 100 pounds of tomatoes (depends on length of growing season, size of variety of tomatoes grown, amount of water applied, and diligence).

If you have space in your yard for a tomato plant, pessimistically you can harvest $25 worth of tomatoes from that plant. If you grow all six plants from a flat, you could harvest, perhaps, 200 pounds of tomatoes worth $100. Some tomato varieties might produce 100 pounds of tomatoes per plant, so six plants would provide a crop worth $300.

But here’s a sad truth about grocery store produce: Your chances of buying a good tomato in a grocery store are close to zero. Sure, you can buy very nice grocery store tomatoes, but these are distant cousins of good tomatoes. The worst ripe tomato you grow in a home kitchen garden is dramatically juicier, sweeter, tastier, and all-around more enjoyable than the very best grocery store tomato.

Grocery store tomatoes: $60 for 10 weekly tomato salads. Home-grown tomatoes: $3 for a flat of plants.

Start Your Own Home Kitchen Garden

Basil and tomatoes provide an inkling of the savings you can realize by growing your own produce. If you have enough space, you can grow dozens of varieties of vegetables and fruit at similar savings over grocery store prices. In many cases, the things you grow taste dramatically better than what you buy in a store.

Even if you have little space, you can grow some produce at home. One great way to get started is to find and visit with an experienced gardener. Help out, if they’ll allow it, and take what you learn back to your own gardening projects.

If you can’t find someone to work with, buy a good book about how to create and manage a home kitchen garden. There are many good titles–even some focused specifically on your region (methods vary considerably depending on climate). Also, peruse web sites that teach gardening. There are thousands of blogs about gardening, and even whole communities of “garden-bloggers.” One good starting place is This Garden Is Illegal which has an enormous amount of useful information and lists hundreds of gardening blogs to explore. When you find a kitchen gardening site you like, don’t just read what’s already there, ask questions. Most gardening web sites’ owners are happy to help with your gardening problems.

Daniel Gasteiger, the original CitySlipper, blogs to help people grow produce at home. His web site, Home Kitchen Garden teaches about all facets of growing things to eat in your own space. His other web site, Small Kitchen Garden explores vegetable and fruit gardening for people with limited space.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Daniel_Gasteiger
http://EzineArticles.com/?A-Small-Kitchen-Garden-Can-Improve-Your-Finances&id=1693831

Gardener, What of Your Compost Heap?
By Trevor Dalley

To the making of composts there is no end.

Where it is possible to make compost, this is the best material of all for the gardener to use. All kinds of green material and garden waste can be incorporated in the heap including annual weeds. Grass Mowings, Hedge Trimmings, Pea, tomato and Bean haulm, old flower stems and so on.

If a proportion of manure can be obtained, this also should be included in the heap, though it is not absolutely essential. Poultry manure, if included, should not exceed 20 per cent in bulk and should be applied in layers not more than an inch thick. A thick layer of poultry manure will prevent air from circulating and retard the break-down of the heap. It is often possible to obtain industrial or semi-industrial organic waste (waste from eating establishments and hotels) that, if incorporated in reasonable proportions, can be of great value.

Seaweed is probably the most valuable of all, and other materials which I have used include water-weed from rivers and canals, decayed sawdust from the old sawmills and waste coffee, cocoa residues from various industrial processes, also we have used hemp not the type that some people smoke, (if you tried to smoke this type you would have to roll a joint the size of a telegraph pole to get any sort of buzz) we only use the type for making rope.

Fresh fallen leaves have a delaying effect on the break-down of the heap and it is better, therefore, to allow them to rot by themselves for a year or two and then to incorporate them in the compost heap.
I find that the Garden Compost Heap should not exceed four feet square and about three feet high, but they can be made of any desired size.

If the Compost Heap is made to wide or to high, there will be a lack of air and the majority of the necessary bacteria will not multiply. The Garden Compost Heap should be built on soil rather than on a concrete base or on gravel. If it is built on grassland, it is better to dig out the top 4 inches of the grass. In any case, there should be a loose layer of hard, woody material to assist aeration.

Baled Straw is the best material to use for the walls; it provides a neat, convenient method of making the heap and enables the compost to decompose fully right up to the walls and assists the retention of the heat of decomposition. After the bales have been used two or three times and have started to disintegrate, the Straw Bale can itself be incorporated in the next heap. Many Garden Compost Heaps, however, are made without any retaining walls at all.

Quicker results and more even decomposition will be obtained if the raw materials are mixed and shredded before being put on to the heap and there are several shredding machines on the market which are very efficient. Where no shredder is available, dry materials should be mixed with fresh green matter in alternate layers. Straw Bales of any description should be thoroughly wetted. The layers should not exceed 6 inches in thickness and should be a good deal less in the case of Grass Mowings and any other material that will form a mass which the air cannot penetrate.

A light sprinkling of topsoil or good de-composted compost should be added at every twelve inches of height to introduce bacteria into the heap. A sprinkling of lime dust in the form of crushed chalk at a rate of one ounce to every two square yards may also be added along with the topsoil.

Layers of Well Rotted Farmyard Manure in the Garden Compost Heap will act as an activator, but whether there is Manure in the heap or not, I always use an activator usually herbal based as I find this speeds up decomposition.
The final covering of the Garden Compost Heap can either be an inch or two of topsoil or a rough thatch of straw, slopped to carry off the rain. In large Garden Compost Heaps, vertical air holes are necessary. They should be spaced at 3 feet intervals down the centre of the Garden Compost Heap.

If the heap seems to be drying out, the outside should be wetted. Try to wet evenly and avoid saturation. There may be a certain amount of leaching from the bottom of the Garden Compost Heap if no retaining wall is used. In such a case it is well to spread a thin layer of sawdust, peat or other absorbent organic matter round the base of the Garden Compost Heap. This material can be incorporated into the next Garden Compost Heap that is made and will add to the value of the finished compost.

The process of decomposition will be greatly accelerated by turning the Garden Compost Heap once every 3 to 4 weeks after building. If so desired the Garden Compost Heap can be treated again with an activator during the turning process but this is not essential. Garden Compost Heaps made chiefly of fresh green material will often break down quite successfully without any turning at all but where the material is very dry and made from straw one turn is practically essential.

It is most important that the high temperature at the centre of the Garden Compost Heap should be obtained, otherwise annual weed seeds may survive and be reintroduced all over the garden. It is advisable to purchase a soil thermometer and make sure that the Garden Compost Heap reaches a temperature of no less than 40 degrees Celsius. If the Garden Compost Heap does not heat up, the reason is probably that it has been built to slowly.

The remedy is to turn it and add fresh green material; also adding chicken dung pellets will help. There is no objection to incorporating diseased vegetable matter in the well-made Garden Compost Heap that heats up properly. In fact, there is considerable evidence to prove that such a Garden Compost Heap becomes a breeding-ground for bacteria that will fight the disease, and that the resulting Garden Compost Heap, when applied to the soil, will give resistance to, if not immunity from, the disease concerned.

This seems to be particularly true in the case of Tomatoes, and many gardeners insist that the compost that they use for their Tomato crops should contain as large a proportion as possible of old Tomato haulm.
Garden Compost-Making is an art that has to be acquired. It is, however, not a difficult art and any Gardener with a reasonable amount of common sense can quickly learn it.

It is also, quite frankly, something which we know more about now than lets say 100 years ago mainly because of the advancements in modern scientific research. What I do think is that some gardeners make much to heavy weather of Garden Compost-Making. It need not be anything like the laborious a job as many people think, providing the Garden Compost Heap is sited in the right place as to avoid unnecessary transport of materials.

Trevor Dalley has been growing and preserving his own fruit for 40 year, most of the preserves are sold in his Organic Farm Shops in Herefordshire England. Did you find those tips on Organic Food a way of Life useful?

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Trevor_Dalley
http://EzineArticles.com/?Gardener,-What-of-Your-Compost-Heap?&id=1718320

Winter Composting
By John Yazo

Composting is the recycling of organic waste. It can be from the household to yard and garden waste. When we are composting we are participating in a natural cycle, the same way that nature recycles in our forests, fields and meadows.

Worm composting or vermicomposting is a method of recycling food waste and other organic matter into a nutrient rich soil conditioner. Composting with worms doesn’t need allot of room to do and can be done outdoors, or even indoors in your house, garage or barn. This is a big advantage over the standard composting that is done it larger bins or piles in the yard because the quantities that are composted with worms can be done allot smaller.

The compost that is produced from worm composting is an excellent amendment that can be added to potting soil mix for household plants or just added as a layer of mulch in existing potted plants and container plantings.

The method of worm composting is fairly basic. There aren’t many supplies needed. To start worm composting you will need a container. The container size can vary depending on the amount of waste you have to compost. It can be as simple as a five gallon pail or you can make your own container. Building a container out of wood two foot by three foot is a sufficient size that should handle most household waste that most have. The container shouldn’t be any deeper than sixteen to eighteen inches deep and the bottom of the container needs to have holes in it about every eight inches apart for drainage. Bedding material is needed to create an environment for the worms to live, it will also hold the moisture that the worms need to survive. Compost makes an excellent bedding material to start with.

Once you have your container and bedding material you will need the last to most important parts, worms and food scraps. The worms that are best for composting aren’t your usual earth worms from your garden. They are called red worms or red wigglers. These worms can be purchased at bait shops, worm farms online or even some local garden centers carry them or may know where they can be purchased locally.

Now it is dinner time for the worms. The menu can be scrapes from fruits, vegetables, coffee grounds, coffee filter paper, tea bags, crushed eggs, shredded paper without gloss finish, brown leaves, cardboard, and wood shavings. Kitchen scraps that are meat sources can also be used but keep them to a minimum because they can attract rodents. Start out slow, it takes a little time for the decomposition process to start and form the bacteria needed to produce a good nutrient rich compost.

A environment friendly and healthy way of gardening. Organic Gardening is away of gardening in harmony with nature. Growing a healthy and productive crop in a way that is healthier for both you and the environment.

John Yazo

http://www.organicheirloomgardening.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Yazo
http://EzineArticles.com/?Winter-Composting&id=1725896

How to Grow Your Own Organic Vegetables
By Naomi West

If you are trying to change your lifestyle and trying to eat vegetables that are healthy for your family then why not grow your own garden full of organic vegetables? You can do this right in your own backyard and believe it or not many people are doing just this. All you need are the right tools and the patience to learn how to do it properly.

To begin you will need to make a large space on your property in order to have a good sized garden. Most gardens leave a space of 10 feet by 10 feet to give their vegetables plenty of growing space. This will also help you to plant several different kinds of veggies without them getting in each others way. If you don’t think you have the much space then you can always ask your local nursery what they would recommend. You may have to have two different small gardens to grow the things you want.

Strip the top layer of sod of where your garden will be. During this process you will need to remove three to four inches of the ground surface to help remove the grass and the rots of weeds. Weeds can destroy your garden and the things growing in it so you want to make sure that you remove them all before you plant the seeds.

Near your garden you are going to start your very own compost heap. The compost is one of the best ingredients to helping your vegetables to grow. The compost heap can be made up of grass clippings, fruit rinds, and natural waste from your home. Making your own compost heap is messy – but it will save you money and will be a natural fertilizer for your plants.

Before you plant your desired vegetables you will need to soak the top layer of your garden’s soil. The surface needs to be completely flattened with a shovel in order to avoid puddles. When the ground is not even the water will not be able to distribute evenly to all the plants.

Now divide your garden into a minimum of four sections. This will help you to manage what is growing. Place wooden stakes between each section and label what is growing where. Each vegetable is different and requires different care. Having labels will help you to remember where the veggies are.

When it comes to what you are growing it is all up to you and your environment. You want to grow organic vegetables that both you and your family will eat and love. Visit your local nursery and tell them what you would like to plant. They will let you know in what season you should grow them and whether or not they will grow ok in the soil that you have.

While your organic vegetables are growing keep a close eye on them and make sure that they are growing properly. Remove any weeds or plants that should not be growing. If you notice that one or two of your veggies are beyond repair then you would be wise to remove them completely from the garden. This will help them to spread the damage to the other plants.

When you grow your own Organic Vegetables you know that there are no harmful pesticides or chemicals that will hurt you or your family. Instead you are eating vegetables that are good for you and taste great. My Organic Gardening Tips can help you to find more Organic Garden Tips.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Naomi_West
http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Grow-Your-Own-Organic-Vegetables&id=1751248

Organic Gardening Soil Maintenance
By John Yazo

The key to success in any organic garden is the soil. Building a healthy nutrient rich soil and keeping it maintained is very important. This needs to be the top priority on your gardening list. To have a healthy and productive crop you need healthy soil.

There are two things that need to be known before you can put a plan together to maintain your gardens soil. First you will need to know what type of soil you are working with and second you will need to know what types of crops you are growing in that location.

To find out hat type of soil you have you will need to do a soil test. There are two different tests that you will need to do. The first test is to find out what the texture of the soil is and the second test will be to let you know the ph level and the nutrient values in the soil. These tests can be done by purchasing a soil test kit at your local garden center and preforming them yourself or you can take a soil sample to a agricultural testing lab.

Once you have the results from the soil tests you can start putting a plan together for what is needed to improve your garden soil. There are two parts to the plan that have to be thought out. A short term plan so you can start planting, which includes what types of soil amendments are needed to improve the soil structure and what nutrients are needed for the crop you are planning to plant.

Then there is the long term plan that is more involved. It includes the maintenance of the soil. This will include a three year plan that includes crop rotation. You will need to put a list together of what crops you are planning on growing. Then you will need to know what type of soil conditions and nutrients that each of these crop like. For example, if you rotate corn with beans the beans will replenish the nutrients that corn like back into the soil. Beans are a high producer of nitrogen. Beans can also be planted as a companion plant along with corn.

Soil for organic gardening needs to be feed regularly with organic matter like compost. This is what keeps the life in the soil thriving. The use of compost tea enhances the microbes in the soil that create the nutrients that the plants need to feed from.

With a little planning you can create a healthy environment that will benefit your organic garden greatly.

A environment friendly and healthy way of gardening. Organic Gardening is away of gardening in harmony with nature. Growing a healthy and productive crop in a way that is healthier for both you and the environment.

John Yazo

http://www.organicheirloomgardening.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Yazo
http://EzineArticles.com/?Organic-Gardening-Soil-Maintenance&id=1669213

Growing Plants Inside a Container
By Kent Higgins

Gardening in containers gives even the smallest porch or patio the ability to project beauty and color or even fresh vegetables and spices for those who care for them. You can let your imagination run wild by utilizing container gardening, even if you live in a small apartment or home. There is a huge variety of plants, flowers, vegetables, and more that can be grown in pots and containers in even the smallest of perceived spaces.

Flower boxes, plantar boxes, window boxes, bay windows, sills, even creatively used fiberglass or plastic tubs and basins can be used to grow plants and flowers. There are literally millions of opportunities to grow plants, you just need to see them.

Before you use a container for plants, however, make sure you know what it’s properties, with soil and plants inside, will be. Will it drain well? At all? How strong is it, will it hold all that dirt and water? Is it large enough? Too large? Each plant is different and has different needs, so make sure your new home for your plant is fitting.

Plastic pots should have drainage holes and moisture trays or the ability to fit in them. Cheap, flimsy plastic can degrade and break down in sunlight, so make sure you use something sturdy enough. The bottoms of plastic 2-liter bottles will work if you cut small drainage holes in them, but don’t use them for more than a year before replacement.

Glazed ceramic pots are great and can have a lot of beauty and charm and intricate design, but they also need to have proper draining built in. Glaze does not allow water to pass through or soak in, so it needs to be provided.

Ceramics that haven’t been glazed will do well, but can dry out the soil too, so watch for that. They are also prone to breakage and conduct heat and cold very well, so they can harm the plants in them if you don’t have the proper control.

Wood containers can rot or break down and will absorb water, but will also give it back when the soil inside is dryer than the wood around it. They make great containers for many reasons, but can easily succumb to rot and ruin. To avoid this, grow only plants that die at the end of the season, then empty the pot and allow it sit dry and empty for the winter before reusing it. This will kill any rot that’s growing in the pot and greatly increase its lifespan.

If you’re growing plants that require deep roots or are growing several plants in one pot, make sure there is room for that. Deep pots for deep-rooted, tall plants are a must so that the plant not only has room to spread out, but so it won’t topple over when it gets larger. It’s better to grow a large plant that’s starting small in the pot it will be in for the rest of its life. Transplanting is hazardous and traumatic for most plants and can cause problems.

Finally, the color of the container is also important. In hot climates, use lighter-color containers so that the heat will be reflected and do the opposite in colder climes. Some people put their pot inside another pot when the seasons change, just to take advantage of the color factor. It can be that important.

Above all, though, make sure to have fun and to grow plants that you find rewarding and beautiful and you’ll definitely have a greener, happier home!

Who said there is no more to learn on the subject of decorative plant containers. Take advantage of our years of experience, visit plant-care.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kent_Higgins
http://EzineArticles.com/?Growing-Plants-Inside-a-Container&id=1772376

Plant Doctoring
By Kent Higgins

You don’t have to be an expert or a paid professional to diagnose and remedy plant problems. You don’t have to throw away an expensive plant because it seems it will cost more than it’s worth to bring it back to health either. All it takes is a little know-how to diagnose and repair what’s wrong. It’s easy to be an expert plant doctor.

First, when you see a plant that is looking sickly, has poor flowers, ragged leaves, etc. you should look at some simple things to see if that solves the problem. Start with what’s most likely and work your way down to what’s least likely to be the problem and somewhere in there you’ll probably figure out what is wrong.

Make sure the plant is receiving proper care: enough lighting, enough but not too much water, recent transplanting or major moving, etc. How old is the plant and how long has it been in its current location are the first things you’ll need to know. Many plants that are bought at the store and brought home will be droopy for a few days. It’s a new environment it needs to get used to, so give it a little time before you get too drastic.

Also be sure that the plant doesn’t have special needs that aren’t being met or that it doesn’t “molt” or shed its foliage yearly as part of its routine. It’s also important to understand that younger plants and seedlings will often have very different problems and looks than older plants will.

Look at the plant with a magnifying glass and see if you can see any pests, unusual growths, or other things that might not be so obvious to the naked eye. Many parasites and fungal infections are very small and hard to see. You’ll often find little colonies of things crawling and growing on your plant that you may never have even knew existed. Some of these might be small spiders, mites, aphids, etc. that need to be dealt with.

Make sure to look under the leaves, as the underside is often where parasites and pupai are located.

Look around the plant at its surrounding soil and mulch and be sure there aren’t snails and other night creatures hiding there. These are often culprits when nothing else seems to be a problem. Get rid of the pests and the problem will go away.

Poor plant care is often the reason plants don’t seem to be doing well. Perhaps it’s a plant that needs a lot of sunlight and is only getting two or three hours a day? Maybe it needs to be rotated to get full sun from one day to the next? Perhaps it’s not getting enough or is getting too much water-both are serious issues. Is the soil getting depleted? Maybe it’s time for the addition of some nitrogen or other nutrients, according to the plant’s needs.

What about the plant and its container? Is the plant too big for the pot it’s in? If the plant has outgrown it’s pot, a new and larger one will be needed. Often when you pull a plant out of its pot to transplant it, the roots will be heavily balled up, which is a sure sign of constriction. Don’t pull them apart, but loosen and break up the soil that surrounds them so they can spread naturally.

Learning to diagnose and solve plant problems is not too difficult and becomes easier with practice. Use common sense and make sure you know the plant you’re dealing with. A good book or website reference will often save the day.

Don’t delay – Now is the right time to gain more knowledge on the subject of indoor plant problems. Both novices and experts look to us for valuable information on plant-care.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kent_Higgins
http://EzineArticles.com/?Plant-Doctoring&id=1776526

Interested in Organic Gardening? Consider These 10 Tips
By Amy Nutt

Imagine providing your family with food that you know is healthy, because you grew it yourself without the help of chemicals. With organic gardening this is possible. Organic gardening involves using natural pest control and fertilizers to grow flowers, vegetables, and fruits, rather than commercially produced and environmentally hazardous pesticides and fertilizers. If you are interested in organic gardening, consider these ten tips.

Tip 1 – Use Natural Pest Control

Your garden is going to have pests. Once you have identified them, research natural controllers you could add to the garden. These natural controllers could be other insects, such as ladybugs to control an aphid population, or plants, such as garlic to prevent armyworms or apple maggots.

Tip 2 – Rotate Plants Regularly

Rotating your plant sites will keep them healthy and also help control some pest populations. When you rotate your plants, the soil has a chance to recoup. Each plant takes different nutrients from the soil, and some even return nutrients to the soil. Properly rotating your plants each year will keep your entire garden healthy.

Tip 3 – Prune Plants Carefully

Remove any dead parts you find on your plants. They are not going to heal, and they will cause the plant to become diseased. Do not leave them on the ground near the plant, either. Remove them from the garden and destroy them right away.

Tip 4 – Make Good Compost

Compost is the best way to feed your organic garden. Compost is not difficult to make. Simply layer leaves, lawn clippings, and organic kitchen waste in your compost heap. If you need to get the compost started quickly, you can add a compost starter to the mix. Keep in mind that the good compose is at the bottom of the pile, so you will need to have a way to turn it or access the pile from the bottom. Once you have a nice amount of compost, work it into your soil to create rich organic soil.

Tip 5 – Air Your Compost Pile

Compost needs air to properly decompose. You can add air by turning the compost pile regularly. You can also provide the pile with air by putting a PVC pipe into it in the center of the pile. Also, build the pile on a layer of branches and sticks to provide some air from the bottom.

Tip 6 – Choose Organic Fertilizers

Organic fertilizer will help your plants grow bigger and healthier. This is particularly important if you are growing food. Choose a low-dose fertilizer, however, because they will not burn the roots of your plants or provide too much of any particular nutrient.

Tip 7 – Purchase Organic Seeds

Since seeds come from plants, the only way to have a truly organic garden is to buy organic seeds. You cannot sell your produce as USDA certified organic if you do not use organic seeds. Organic seeds must come from open pollinated or hybrid plants. Seeds from non-organic plants have been exposed to pesticides and other chemicals, so they may not grow properly.

Tip 8 – Test Your Soil

Your soil is not going to contain all of the nutrients your plants need. Test it to determine what nutrients are missing. Then, alter your fertilizer and compost materials to provide the missing nutrients to the soil.

Tip 9 – Water Carefully

The soil in your garden needs to feel moist, but over-watering can lead to disease and strip nutrients out of the soil. Typically, plants need an inch of water per week. You can keep a rain gauge in the garden to help you determine how much water it needs.

Tip 10 – Intercrop

Intercropping, which refers to growing one crop in between rows of another crop, is an important organic gardening technique. Planting herbs and flowers, such as mint or marigolds, in between your vegetables will keep some pests away. Also, intercropping improves the soil nutrient levels.

Organic gardening guide features tips and solutions to common garden issues – Redenta’s is committed to a natural and sustainable approach to gardening.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Amy_Nutt
http://EzineArticles.com/?Interested-in-Organic-Gardening?-Consider-These-10-Tips&id=1777196