Questions about organic gardening. please?

Question by Allblue347: Questions about organic gardening. please?
I was thinking about growing an organic garden. I have two questions

1. How do you know if your (example:tomatoes) have fully grown?

2. After you pick your(example:tomatoes) what are you gonna do next? as in, is it already fresh or do you have to do something else.

Best answer:

Answer by sciencegravy
1) When they turn red

2) Eat them. Or cook with them. Or preserve them as in canning, freezing, drying…etc.

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What is the best way to keep bugs off of an organic vegetable garden?

Question by Kate: What is the best way to keep bugs off of an organic vegetable garden?

*Thank you everyone, very helpful!

Best answer:

Answer by Pelicantor
I think there is a flower called marigolds that repel bugs,
you could also try spreading cayan pepper and hanging up garlic

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Organic gardening tips needed!!?

Question by cmize6: Organic gardening tips needed!!?
Hi!
I’m trying to convince my parents that organic all-natural gardening is better. I’m trying to make a difference in the world- yes with one baby little garden. But I need ways to fight off the bugs in my garden naturally. Tips anyone? Please, and Thank you!

Best answer:

Answer by ?????
One of the best sites for gardening a (and many other things) is The Farmer’s Almanac. Here is a link to the page on pests http://www.almanac.com/topics/gardening/pests-and-problems

Btw, the Almanac tells you when to plant seeds in your area; farmers still to this day use it for planting their grain fields. The Almanac also tells you the best day to cut your hair! I think it is so neat :)

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what are the most common organic gardening problems?

Question by Geoff Buckley: what are the most common organic gardening problems?

Best answer:

Answer by Adrian
Imbalance. If you do not get the balance of beneficial and bad bugs right, you lose to much of your crop. The best way to get the balance right is to accept some losses in your first year, as this gives the beneficial insects time to build up their numbers. Any spraying, even of organically acceptable controls is likely to kill beneficials as well as baddies.

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Soil for organic gardening?

Question by laluxe: Soil for organic gardening?
I’m going to make an attempt at organic gardening and I don’t know if I should use soil from the ground or go out and buy some? Do you use fertilizer for organic gardening? or just mix in organic matter?

Best answer:

Answer by June B
Amend your soil by adding organic compost. If you have clay soil, add some gypsum before you add the compost. You can use organic fertilizer but I find using some slow release 16-16-16 (they are not organic) goes long ways in helping the veggies along.
Add organic matter (composted) whenever you can is alway helpful. Make a compost pile next to your garden, add kitchen scraps (no meat, they will attract animals and flies. You don’t want to deal with a pile of maggot, trust me on this one). I also add some dirt and straws to the pile, alternately. Keep the pile moist, they will decompose in a couple of month. This is the hot compost methods. If you just pile thing together and letting them to decompose themselves, it will take longer, and that;s the cold compost method…
The most important thing to grow a garden is to make your soil light and fluffy, rich in organic matter and able to retain water. It may take a few years to build your soil, meaning you may need to add organic matters more often at the beginning. Good luck and happy gardening!

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Southern or Central California accommodations that have a kitchen and organic garden?

Question by mkaylabirdy: Southern or Central California accommodations that have a kitchen and organic garden?
Does anyone know of a destination in Southern or Central California that has a similar set up to the Mar Vista Cottages in Gualala, CA (http://www.marvistamendocino.com/)? I love the look of this destination as I love to cook, but would want something closer to home (Los Angeles).

Any suggestions?

Best answer:

Answer by Muppet
I looked on the Sunset Magazine website and most of the places are either out of state or in the Wine Country. Their climate and soil make it a better spot for organic garden retreats.
Some of the places look like you will get indoctrinated and start wearing a tin hat.

I’m on a waiting list to start organic gardening in Long Beach.

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Organic homemade ways to keep the bugs and fungus away from my garden?

Question by Mrs.Eloff: Organic homemade ways to keep the bugs and fungus away from my garden?
I am starting a garden this fall with berry bushes and leafy greens. I have been doing a bunch of reasearch because I have never had a garden before and some of my plants are prone to bugs and fungus. I want my garden to be as organic as possible so I don’t want chemical spray. Anyone know any good homemade concoctions I can make to help? Thanks =D

Best answer:

Answer by Laurie
I will just name one product: neem. It is good for controlling some fungal diseases and many insects. You can buy it at places like Home Depot. It’s usually packaged as a spray with a name that indicates it’s uses, not as neem. Just look at the active ingredients, and it should say 70% neem oil. It is approved for organic production. Make sure it is labeled for your crops.

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organic gardening is organophosphates ok?

Question by kelli: organic gardening is organophosphates ok?
is it ok to use organophosphates on an organic garden? Is this still organic?

Best answer:

Answer by Clear Sky
I am in an organic gardening class. You can try looking it up in www.pesticideinfo.org, although I could not find it there but anyway organophosphate is a highly potent nerve toxin and a leading cause of completed suicide in rural developing countries. I think the doses you would use on a plant would not kill you, but it can kill you if you ingest it in large amounts. Organic sources of phosphates include Rock Phosphate, bonemeal and alfalfa meal. Organophosphate is a chemical term referring to something that chemist understand, to a chemist anything with a carbon molecule in it is “organic” but “organic” as in organic gardening has a slightly different definition, ie, not using synthetic fertilizers/pesticides.

Just to double check, I looked it up and organophosphate is not listed in either of my Rodale organic gardening encyclopedias. You might want to get one of them, they are not expensive and good reference. Esp the Rodale’s Illustrated Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening, really pretty photos, they even make compost look pretty! They have lists of what thinks are organic sources for certain nutrients. They focus more on what is safe to use, though, not what to avoid, but I think the safe things are a much smaller list.

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I have little flies around my indoor organic garden soil that is expensive, in a big pot, how can I kill them?

Question by Mike Stratton: I have little flies around my indoor organic garden soil that is expensive, in a big pot, how can I kill them?
What if, since I live in Phoenix I could put it outside in the sun lets say when its a 112 degrees outside will that kill them or will they come back when the soil gets wet again when I start to grow indoor veggies.

Best answer:

Answer by J Hupp
They are probably gnats attracted to a fungus in the potting mix. Get rid of the fungus, get rid of the gnats.

More info here:

http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf949883.tip.html

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In organic gardening do you need to add anything besides compost and can you add to much compost?

Question by Bill C: In organic gardening do you need to add anything besides compost and can you add to much compost?

Best answer:

Answer by sciencegravy
Organic gardening is just like any other gardening – except that you choose not to use inorganic fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides.

All those things are available in organic forms. Compost is a great organic fertilizer, but there are also tons of commercially produced organic fertilizers you can purchase.

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