Organic Gardening Guide – The Key to Success in Organic Farming

Many gardeners are now shifting to the organic way of cultivating after realizing it is economical and the various health benefits it provided. An organic gardening guide is a good way to get started. It provides with various options with the pros and cons of every method and it is easier for the gardener to choose what would choose his/her garden best. It also contains a list of basic information for the new gardener to get started. The following things are to be chosen carefully as the success of the garden solely depends on these three factors.

Soil: Soil does more than just provide support to a plant. It has nutrients which a plant lives on. If the soil has been used much or if chemical usage has leeched away the nutrients, it is important to return the nutrients by using organic compost or fertilizer. This step is very important for any kind of garden as the plants will grow better and plusher in a healthy soil.

]]>

Selecting plants: You can grow any plant in an organic garden. Only proper planning is necessary. An organic gardening guide provides a list of the variety of seeds that can be planted in a garden. The manual on how to care for the plant is also given so it is easier for the gardener to choose the best plants suited for his/her garden.

Planting the seed is the second most important part in making an organic garden. Different seeds need different kinds of treatment. Most seeds are buried in the moist mud but some seeds need sunlight to germinate. Plants are to be kept cozy in the germinating stage and must be introduced to normal weather once they are grown.

Protection: It is the most important duty to take precautions against weeds, pests and other diseases which may harm the plant. Organic pesticides are effective as the chemical ones but minus the ill effects.

Plants can be protected from weeds by manually picking the weeds from the plant.

Organic Gardening 101: Mulching

A mulch is a protective cover placed over and around the soil with an aim to modify the local environment and climate to aid the growth of a plant. When it comes to organic gardening, mulching can be very effective in increasing yields and improving the quality of the produce.

A mulch can be either organic or inorganic. It is placed around your plants so as to change the local growing environment. Thus, it helps in ensuring effective fertilization of the soil. Besides this, mulching can be very useful in protecting your garden in the case of heavy rains or a week infestation. The mulch provides additional support to a growing plant and supplements its natural growth processes.

Aside from these benefits, a mulch also helps in regulating the temperature and moisture of the soil, while improving the aesthetics of a organic garden.

]]>

Mulches can drastically decrease the amount of water required for a plant’s strong growth. The mulches help in retaining the water better than plain soil, which in turn helps the plants to grow even stronger because of the increased availability of nutrients and water.

There are two types of mulches that you can employ in your organic garden: organic, and inorganic (synthetic) mulches. Organic mulches include crushed pine needles, lawn clippings, leaves, straw, saw dust, wood chips, compost, etc. Inorganic, or synthetic mulches include rocks, stones, and even plastic that can be spread around the plant to promote growth.

Organic mulches are much better at retaining water and nutrients than inorganic mulches, which do a very effective job of providing support to a growing plant. You will often find that you may have to be more meticulous with your gardening efforts if you use mulches. Because of its nature, most organic mulches will require frequent watering in the initial stages, but over a long period, you will actually end up saving on the time and the effort.

Mulches are also frequently used to improve the texture of the soil and provide visual relief in a garden. Organic mulches like wood chips, saw dust, etc. are often dyed a certain shade to bring about a color contrast in a garden.

Organic mulches are recommended over inorganic mulches because of their better nutrient holding capacity. A mulch of aged compost acts as a great fertilizer and may, in fact, remove the need to fertilize the soil. You can also use multiple mulches in a garden to improve the quality, as well as the visual appeal of the soil.

Consider This Better Technique For Organic Gardening Compost

If you desire to have healthy soil, then you will serve yourself well to embrace the idea of using an organic gardening compost. This really is the only way to have the healthiest soil for your garden. Having a good mix of nutrients in your soil will allow you to grow the finest of vegetables. Organic gardening compost includes decayed materials, which are made into fertilizer. The fertilizer that should be used in organic gardening should be something that is made from natural ingredients. If you use chemical fertilizer, you will not be able to grow organic vegetables. Totally chemical free soil is a requirement for chemical free vegetables.

In making your own organic gardening compost, you can use a shovel and a cart to move your compost where your garden will be. But another method that is becoming popular is to begin the compost exactly in the place where your organic garden will be. Some people will collect some of their table scraps and put it where they intend to grow organic vegetables someday. This may not be the normal routine for some gardeners, but it will be best for the soil. The advantage of this kind of technique in creating organic gardening compost is that you will not have to move your compost to where your organic garden is located. You will no longer need the use of shovel and cart to help fertilize your organic vegetables.

Another advantage of this technique is that the soil is already being prepared to fertilize your plants. The nutrients will become rich over time. When you are ready to plant, then you have great soil. The soil will be receiving enormous nutrients from the decaying materials as the sun heats up the ground. For many, this has become a better way to bring a healthy nutrient mix to the soil. And of course, great soil is the foundation for great organic vegetables.

Organic Gardening Guide – Three Factors To Consider

With the increasing popularity of organically grown fruits and vegetables, there is now also increased interest in ways to grow it. There are advantages and disadvantages in having an organic garden. However if three factors are borne in mind and followed as an organic garden guide,you will find that an organic garden is easy to grow.

Whilst, there are no laid down rules, it helps considerably if some basic attention is paid to soil, plants and plant protection. These three factors are the one which play a major role in having a good garden. The requirements of each garden may vary slightly, but these are only minor, if the principles are followed.

The roles that soil plays in a garden are many. Apart from being a support for the plant, it becomes one of the primary sources for supply of nutrients. The soil for organic farming must be free from chemicals. If the area has previously been used with chemical pesticides or fertilizers, than it may takes years for it to get back to normal level. You have your soil tested for this. Virgin soil is ideally suited for organic farming. The soil can be made richer by using organic compost or fertilizer. This will allow plants to grow better and healthier.

Any plant can be grown in an organic garden. Ensuring the use of good seeds, will allow for healthier and better plants. After germination under suitable conditions, seedlings can be transplanted. Flowering plants can be grown organically, but generally fruits and vegetables are the better ones to grow organically. The intention being to produce items for your food table that are free of any chemicals.

Plant protection is a very important aspect of gardening. Steps to protect your plants against weeds, insects and harmful diseases can be done by using pesticides. Today organic pesticides, such as neem extracts are as effective as chemical ones. Such products are commercially available and should be used as organic garden guide for pesticide control. It should be possible to find a suitable one from the nearest garden shop.

Basic Organic Gardening fruit growing hints

If you are a gardener with a heart who uses only the cycles of earth to make the compost and grow fruits, how will you defeat those with all sort of nasty fertilizers and pestisides at their discretion in the gardening match? well you ar on right place!<br/>
We will give some cool organic gardening tips which will come helpful to you.<br/>
<br/>
Organic gardening fruit growing includes growing good quality fruits trees and having high quality produce without the use of pestisides whatsoever. There are a number of methods or techniques that you could implement when going organic. The following are some routine guidelines that would aid you start and maintain an organic garden. Remember that you don’t need a vast area of land to go organic. <br/>
<br/>
First thing frist, you will need great organic soil, the way you achieve this is make available soil with some compost stuff. Compost is the key component in organic soil. In the abscence of top quality compost, soil will not be able to give enough nutrients which are must for the healthy plantn growth. <br/>

]]>

<br/>
apart from a top quality compost You can also include some other organic material to help organic development of your plant. If compost in not easily available, you can also apply organic manures in to the soil. Organidc manures will provide as organic fertilizer which will facilitate healthy plant development.<br/>
<br/>
Pest management is very simple yet powerful! Go down and get dirty, hand pick pest once you recognise them. if you dont want to do it, then apply variety of organic solutions for example tumric that you can make from common household ingredients. Natrural predators will also help to reduce pest.<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
The key for both pest management and weed control in successful organic gardening is is to act fast. Once you have realised that there are weeds growing or your plants are being affected by pest, you should start removing the weeds or picking off the insects. <br/>
<br/>
There you go. A few small organic gardening tips to get you started. With the right approach, and armed with the right tricks, you will be able to grow a good quality organic garden and you will be able to enjoy all its benefits in the end. <br/>
<br/>
Happy <a rel=”nofollow” onclick=”javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackPageview', '/outgoing/article_exit_link/3349349']);” href=”http://organicgardeningongo.blogspot.com/”>organic gardening</a>

The Benefits of Organic Gardening over the Conventional Gardening

To provide a healthier environment the benefits of organic food go deeper into the health and lifestyle. Organic gardening is gardening without using any chemically created fertilizers, weed killers, or pesticides.  The use of chemicals, especially pesticides, in gardening has always been associated with ozone depletion and the increase of certain cancer rates. The undeniable benefit of organic gardening is that it protects the fertile soils from exhaustion. Besides, it does not presuppose the use of chemical pesticides and other chemicals, which are extremely harmful for the environment. The result is a naturally nourishing soil achieved without exposing the gardener to chemical poisoning and a safer, cleaner environment. For this reason alone organic growing or organic gardening can help to support the environment as well as prevent serious health risks. Another advantage of eating organic vegetables is you do not need to spend so much on them because you can always grow them in your garden. Organic vegetables taste much better than those that have been heavily treated with chemicals.

There are some people who do take the time to check the ingredients on their products before buying them but most of us don’t.  In fact, many of us only look for the cheapest products available.  After buying based on price we are then exposing ourselves to potentially harmful chemicals by using them on food we plan to later eat.  Yes most vegetables are washed before being eaten but how thoroughly and how will washing help when the food has been grown using fertilizer loaded with unknown chemicals. There are many more insecticides and pesticides used on vegetables that have very harmful side effects.  In addition to chemically saturated pesticides most vegetables are also grown using fertilizers that are filled with chemicals and the vegetable plants are also treated with weed killers that expose vegetables to even more chemicals. By organic growing you are placing yourself in complete control of what is going into the food that you are eating and completely avoiding any chance of being poisoned by pesticides.  When vegetables are grown organically you do not have to wonder about what sort of chemicals your vegetables have been exposed to since you know that you have used no store bought, manmade, chemicals in your garden. Organic gardening is challenging but it pays off when you are able to reap what you sow, which means additional savings and maybe even a small business if you want to sell whatever excess you have in the market.

Organic Gardening, For Earth’s Sake!

Choosing to grow a garden fully organically is a bit more work, but also a lot better for your body and the environment. Every well built house that will be standing for generations starts with a good foundation- think of your garden the same way.

Start with good, healthy soil and then build your garden on that strong foundation- no matter how good your seeds are they are can only be as good as the soil that they are planted in- seems pretty obvious, right?

Growing organically means that you do not want to use any type of synthetic fertilizers, these may seem like a good way to kick start your gardening efforts, but they are bad for the environment and also affect the quality of the plants you are growing.

There is no substitution for good quality manure and compost. Instead of disposing of the inedible parts of plants from your last harvest, make sure you are composting these materials, compost with your kitchen and yard waste- this is easily mixed into the earth to create nutrient rich soil that will produce the finest of organic foods for you and your family to enjoy and you’ve done it without the use of anything synthetic!

]]>

I like to think organic gardening is more than just wanting the best for you and your family, it is also about wanting the best for our planet. You can do your part be always being aware of your water consumption.

With a little more effort it is not that hard to cut down your water usage considerably.
When growing an organic garden there is really no excuse not to have rain barrels- after a few rainy days you should have enough water to last a while.

When possible water by hand, this allows you to keep a close eye on your plants and also makes you more conscious of the amount of water you are using. If it is not possible for you to water by hand for whatever reason, try setting up a drip irrigation system- if you don’t have the money or time for that, soaker hoses are a good alternative and the work great!

Let’s all get to work on making our world more organic one garden at a time, and keep our money out of the big grocery stores pockets and in our own.
 
For daily tips on growing your own fully organic garden please visit http://organicgardeningbooksreview.com/

The Organic Gardening Fertilizer Solution

One of the challenges of going organic is getting a good supply of organic fertilizer that is both practical and affordable. Making it yourself through composting can be a solution, but that can be a labor intensive hassle and it has its limitations. Buying manure is, well it’s manure, and not the most pleasant thing to deal with.

Buying commercially available organic fertilizer can be expensive, and one persons idea of organic may be different than another persons or labels idea. So what’s the solution? I will tell you about a solution that is quickly changing the way a lot of organic gardeners are producing food. I am not going to just give you a source of organic gardening fertilizer, I am going to give you a completely different way of growing organic plants.

With conventional and organic gardening, the method is to work hard to till and condition the soil, plant your crops in the ground, and then regularly dump massive amounts of water and fertilizer into the ground. Much of the water ends up evaporating, while the majority of the rest, along with most of the nutrients, soaks into the ground and is lost. It’s only a small amount that is actually used by the plants, many of which may be weeds.

Humans have been growing plants this way for thousands of years, but many people are starting to realize maybe this is not the smartest way to grow plants. Instead of actually growing plants, much of the time and effort is spent working the soil, watering and fighting pests like weeds and gophers.

]]>

What if you could just grow plants and avoid all that other work, expense and wasted resources. The good news is you can. New technologies like hydroponics and aeroponics allow you to do that, but they have their problems and don’t always work well being truly organic. This is where aquaponics comes in.

Aquaponics is a system that is changing the way many farmers and gardeners are growing food. This may start to sound weird, but bear with me, it gets good. Ok, here is the weird sounding part. Aquaponics is the process of growing fish and plants together in a mutually beneficial system.

So you were looking for organic fertilizer an now some guy is talking to you about growing fish? Don’t worry, here is the good part. Fish are easy to raise, which is why aquarium fish are so popular. The problem with fish is they release a lot of waste material in their water that needs to be filtered out. But with aquaponics, this is a good thing. This fishy water is full of the valuable nutrients that the plants need. And plants do an amazing job of filtering water.

With an aquaponics system, plants are not planted in the ground, they are planted at a comfortable working level in grow beds. Water from the fish tank circulates though the grow bed, were the plants get all the water and organic nutrients they need. Then the water, cleaned by the plant roots, flows back to the fish tank.

This is a system with a natural cycle where nothing is wasted. The results people are getting from these systems is spectacular. People are able to grow as much as 10 times the amount of vegetables in the same amount of space, in less time, and with only 2% of the water of traditional gardening. And it’s all organic. It is reported by many that food grown this way has more of a garden grown taste than other non soil systems like hydroponics.

Not only is this a great way to grow vegetables, you also get fish. Food fish like tilapia can grow quickly and they will eat just about anything organic. You can eat them, sell them or just keep them as pets, although I don’t recommend actually petting them.

You can learn more about aquaponics with this aquaponics guide. Learn how to set up a low cost simple system and try it out for yourself.

Organic Gardening and Pest Control

With the growing awareness of “green” issues all over the world, the idea of organic gardening is really gaining traction. Using more natural methods of planting, growing, and harvesting, using fewer (or no) chemicals, getting away from the monopolistic mass production of food that tends to make it both tasteless and vulnerable – people are becoming more and more interested in “eating organic.”

But one thing that makes potential organic gardeners uneasy is a simple problem that every food grower encounters: bugs. What if your garden gets infested with insects or other pests that could harm all those plants you so lovingly set out? You’re not supposed to use pesticides, say the organic people, so what can you do? Do you have to settle for damaged flowers, fruit, and vegetables? Do you have to reconcile to losing some of your plants altogether?

No you don’t. There are other ways to deal with garden pests, when they need dealing with.

And that’s one of the keys: “when they need dealing with.” Because you’ll probably have to do some research, when you encounter some new bug or little worm, to find out if it’s really a “pest” at all. So that’s actually your first step: try to identify the bug, either on the internet or by trapping one and taking it to a garden center. If it’s good for the soil or the plants, you probably don’t need to do anything at all.

]]>

But let’s back up a few steps. One way to prevent pests is to prepare the garden properly in advance, and keep it tidy and clean afterward. If you’re composting ahead of time, don’t use plant material that you already know had a disease or bug problem. Clean up dead material before you plant anything, and be sure the soil is well aerated and fertile. When you do put in your plants, place them in the conditions in which they grow best. If they are meant to grow in full sun, or shade, or part-shade, then put them in that sort of location. Keep the garden clean as the season progresses, by throwing away dead leaves, deadheading the flowers, and weeding.

Try to attract animals or insects that will help keep down other unwanted insects. You can draw birds in by placing bird houses or feeders. Bug-fighting insects, like ladybugs, can be attracted if you grow plants that they use for food. Do some research to see what other sorts of insect predators you can bring into the garden.

Watering properly is another means of keeping the bug population down. Water less frequently, but more deeply. Frequent shallow watering creates a humid atmosphere around the plant, which is the sort of condition in which many insects thrive. It also creates the right circumstances for fungus and rot to develop.

If you do get some small bugs, try spraying a simple soap solution: 40 parts water and one part non-detergent soap, such as Ivory. Spray the bottoms of a few leaves first, to make sure it will work on specific plants. If it seems to work without damaging the plant, then a few moments after you use it each time, rinse it off. This can eliminate many fairly ordinary pests.

One suggested solution for fighting several fungal diseases is a baking soda spray that consists of a mixture of one quart of water, one teaspoon of baking soda, and one squirt of liquid, non-detergent soap. This would be sprayed on affected leaves and stems. Or a potato starch spray, substituting 2-4 teaspoons of potato flour for the baking soda, may help deter insects as well as fighting fungus.

Become familiar with local organic gardeners or associations, and explore some of the other options out there. In extreme cases, there are existing organic products that can often help, though you’ll want to research those too, to make sure they are reputable. As you switch away from pesticides and other chemicals, you will find that it’s possible to have a pretty healthy and happy garden without them, using more organically appropriate methods of pest control instead.

Go Green Gardening

Some Key Points for Success in Organic Gardening

Key components for organic gardening:

1)      Soil makes an important role in organic gardening. Organic fertilizers like composted garden, kitchen waste and yard can be easily recycled.

2)      All types of chemical, pesticides and herbicides should be avoided. These chemicals can harm your family and pets with contact with these dangerous chemicals.

3)      You get fresh vegetables and fruits straight from the garden instead of days and months old, refrigerated produce in the market.

4)      It may look expensive initially, but organic gardening is cheaper in the long run since you save money on vegetables and fruits.

]]>

5)      You don’t have to shop for the expensive organic foods in grocery stores or markets which may not even be organic in the first place.

6)      Capture and store rain water where possible to water the garden.

7)      Intensive planting practices to help retard to growth of undesirable weeds. Organic gardening helps to shield the soil from sun slowing evaporation and weed seed germination.

8)      The natural environment benefit from organic gardening reduces the environmental contamination associated with chemical dependent farming practices.

9)      Remember that since they will grow in the same soil for many years, it is vitally important that they are given a sunny position with well-drained soil full of organic matter. Planting perennial vegetables is a truly rewarding investment in your organic garden and you kitchen.

10)  Avoid watering plants during night hours, because they will be more prone to fungicides. Try water plants early in the morning. Leaves will get enough time to dry and the roots will get enough water before evaporation starts when the sun is at its hottest.

11)  Use mulching to prevent weeds from growing. This also will keep roots moist for a longer period.

 

Next Page »