Organic Garden

Organic Garden
Can a spider be the answer to my indoor organic garden bug problem? I refuse to use insecticides.?

I have an indoor garden where these tiny little gnats seem to spring forth like wild-flowers after a long rainy winter from the soil of my plants. I have a few yellow fly strips up, however, after about a week and a few hundred flies later, they stop having any space left for more flies!

Curious answers, I agree with some, not with others. (also a degreed horticulturist)

There is no one general pest control method. For example, the insecticidal soap works great on soft bodied insects, but not the hard shelled. Plus the soap can severely harm certain plants. Horticultural oil works by smothering insects, but once again, can harm certain plants. Neem is selective, diatomaceous earth is selective, pyrethrum isn’t all that safe (even if it is from nature….so is tobacco/nicotine and nicotine is extremely toxic and no longer available for pest control. Get the idea? Same thing with predatory/beneficial insects; they are selective and with pray mantids, they eat all the other bugs including fellow family members.

The answer……….use a multiple approach, what we call integrated pest management. First know what your pest problems are, learn how to treat each (hopefully there will be something that will work on many, be prepared to have multiple pest control options running at the same time. For example, the yellow sticky traps, make your own out of bright yellow plastic, coat with a sticky substance and when filled with pest, scrape them off and put the boards back out. Release parasitic wasps, use beneficial nematodes if you have large container plantings, use insectidial soap where appropriate, oil elsewhere, Neem, etc. By alternating treatments you keep the pests from developing a resistance. Also…….have a look at your growing environment. Is it such that you have breeding areas for these pests and through good cleanliness and techniquest you can eliminate many of these pests before they reach your plants?

Organic Garden

Organic gardening in hydroponics – Organic nutrients and growing mediums

The use of organic plant nutrients instead of the man-made chemicals in the hydroponic garden eases the work of a gardener. The matter is that the absence of synthetic chemicals eliminates the problem of ppm amount and pH balance of the water. If there is no need to calibrate nutrients, to check pH level of the water, and calculate fertilizer’s amount, a beginner of the hydroponic gardening will definitely make no mistakes, which means many problems may never occur.

A dual root growing system is made by special composition of the medium in the container: the upper part of the medium is soil or soil substitute, and organic nutrients can be supplied directly to this upper part; the lower half of the medium is some porous material, which retains water, but to which no nutrients are supplied. 

Creating an organic hydroponics system, a gardener may use a standard hydroponic grow container, though a coir fiber container will suit too. The preferred material to put at the bottom of the box is lava rock, which perfectly keeps water. Lava rock is then covered with a thin layer of loose rockwool or coir fiber to divide both medium layers and prevent them from mixing together. The upper half of the container should be filled with a mixture of 1/3 potting soil, 1/3 coarse grade horticulture perlite, and 1/3 large-sized horticulture vermiculite. Such arrangement ensures the upper capillary action of water and protects the bottom of the grow bed from the occasional mixing with any organic particles. 

Using a standard plastic hydroponic grow container one should place a plastic screen lining inside the grow bed, fitting it well at the bottom and on the walls of the container up to their top, also with the aim to protect the water from the small particles in the medium mixture. It is also possible to use a hydroponic container with tiny holes.

One more good choice for the use of organic gardening methods in hydroponics system is coir fiber containers. The filling is the same as described above with the thin layer of loose or strand coir fiber between the two types of medium. 

Such box is then set in the grow bed. Note that the level of the pumped water should be a bit lower than the soil mixture. The secondary root system will be submerged into the water along with lava rock and promote the capillary water flow up into the soil. The lower half of the medium may be watered on a regular hydroponic basis, while the upper one can be moistened just once a day. 

This system allows a gardener to supply nutrients right to the upper part of the medium, where they are vitally important. At the same time, the whole medium structure will be perfectly moistened by the pumped water and the plants will also have constant supply of oxygen and CO2, drawn into their root systems. Finally, proper amount of CO2 will improve the absorption of nutrients by the upper parts of the roots. 

About the Author

My name is guy. I am the founder and owner of the urbangardenershop.com.au . I fell in love with hydroponics gardening. As time went by I gathered a vast knowledge base and 2 years ago I decided to find a way to make hydroponics gardening a hobby that anyone can peruse. I added a hydroponic gardening information center to our hydroponic supplies site that offers a large range of hydroponics articles. Thank you for your interest and feel free to ask questions on hydroponics gardening in our site

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organic garden?

what are organic Gardening Basics, i dont want to use manure, chemicals or pesticides. I was planning on using peat moss in the soil, what else should I know in regards to keeping the plants healthy and keeping pests away from the plants, please dont link, i just want simple real suggestions.

Growing plants & vegetables without synthethic, artificial man-made chemicals is possible…
if you nuture habitats for beneficial organisms that help deter problem pests, and enrich your soil to create a living ecosystem of beneficial bacteria and helpful fungi.

If you use compost with composted manure,or fish emulsion for fertilizer …you don’t need artificial fertilizers.

Use 1part milk to 9 parts water to control fungus. Milk has a germicidal effect–it kills the fungal spores– and it also appears to stimulate plants in such a way that they become more resistant to the disease.

I suffocated cabbage loopers by sprinkling flour on my cabbage plants when they were wet. The loopers would crawl up unto the leaves & get pasted & fall off. If I saw black insect eggs on the head of the cabbage, I killed them by pouring sour milk on them.

Vinegar or boiling water or a layered newspaper mulch can be used to kill weeds.

Bugs aren’t a big problem when nature is in balance. Set out Praying mantis eggs & ladybugs to consume aphids, mites, whiteflies and scale. They can be attracted to your garden by planting members of the daisy family (Compositae), tansy or yarrow. Make your garden an inviting place for frogs & birds.

Cornmeal works on seedlings to prevent damping off or any other soil-borne fungal diseases on both food and ornamental crops. One application may be all that is needed, but multiple applications are okay if necessary because cornmeal serves as a mild organic fertilizer and soil builder.

You can grow these beneficial flowers next to your vegetables (as companion plants) to deter pests & improve their growth:
Nasturtium are good planted with Tomatoes, radish, cabbage, cucumbers; planted under fruit trees; deters aphids & pests of curcurbits
Geraniums repel cabbage worms and Japanese beetles, plant around grapes, roses, corn, and cabbage.
Marigolds helps most plants, especially tomatoes and peppers, cucumbers, gourds, squash,broccoli, kale, cabbage
Tansy is good for cucumbers, squash, raspberries & relatives, roses, corn. Repels flying insects, Japanese beetles, striped cucumber beetles, squash bugs and ants

Good luck!! Hope this helps.

Going Green: Organic Gardening