Organic Gardening Planting
gardening a la organic with limited sun light. and resourcess?
i need a way to keep my plants healty in an underground facility. thanks ; )
Go on ebay and look for LED grow lights they emit very low heat), be careful about fire hazards.. i.e. underground, heat from lamps and humidity from plants= huge shock and electrocution hazard.
Wow then I think you guys (and gals!) would love this idea!
MISSION:
Locate WILD FOOD SOURCE in your city, town, area (i.e. berry bush, apple tree, fruit tree, mint, mulberry trees, figue trees, etc)
Once food source has been located report to HQ and enter data (location, food type, important info). Once information is entered it appears on the Google Maps Database to your right. Add relevant info such as how to access location (subway stations, bus routes, bike paths).
Verify food sources entered by other members; when needed, update database following procedure described above.
Head quarters:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=56793145575
Organic Gardening Planting
Controlling Pests in your Organic Garden
One of the main concerns of gardeners considering switching to organics is, “How do I control the pests?” The aim of organic gardening is not to eradicate pests, but to make sure your garden’s ecosystem is in balance so plants continue to thrive.
One vital tool in the organic gardener’s toolbox is companion planting. This is where gardeners plant different plants together as they either deter pests by acting as a natural insect repellent, or encourage vigorous growth in the companion plant.
Companion planting works for both herbs and flowers, and if you plant a variety of flowers in amongst your vegetables you will not only have an attractive vegetable garden, but a productive one as well.
There are hundreds of planting combinations however common companion plants include marigolds, garlic and onion. Well known combinations include Tomatoes and basil, and parsley and roses.
Soap as a pesticide
Making your own pesticide sprays is easy and cost effective. One of the most versatile sprays can be made with common liquid dish soap, a little fixing oil from your garden center, and water. You simply spray this over your plants and then rinse.
Soap spray is effective in combating common garden pests such as aphids, thrips and spider mites. Make sure when you spray that you also reach the underside of the leaves, the stems and the flowers of your plants. But make sure you only use a few drops of soap per bottle as too much soap can damage your plants.
Picking off the bugs
One of the best ways of removing the bugs from your organic garden is simply to pick them off before they have a chance to establish. It is best to look for insects when they are most active, which is early morning or dusk. Simply wander around your garden and squash any small bugs you see, such as aphids. Caterpillars, snails and slugs can be removed to other areas of the garden or, if you want to remove them from your garden entirely, then you can drown them in some soapy water.
But remember that there are also beneficial bugs in the garden that you want to keep and encourage, so make sure you don’t remove these by mistake!
Manual Barriers
You can protect your plants from larger insects such as snails and slugs by using physical barriers around your plants. Household items such as crushed shell, coffee grounds or wood ash sprinkled in a continuous ring around your plants will protect them. However make sure there are no gaps.
Other simple remedies such as a saucer of sugar water or half an orange will attract the insects and keep them away from your plants. Replace your organic traps every day or so.
Encouraging helper bugs
Not all insects are bad for your garden. In fact helper bugs are essential to ensure the health of your plants. Beneficial insects feast on the nasties that eat your plants, and should be encouraged as much as possible.
The main beneficial insects for your garden include ladybugs, lacewings and spiders. If you want to get started quickly then you can often buy ladybugs or lacewings through mail order, or from your garden centre.
Spiders (as long as you are not in an area with very unpleasant ones) can be encouraged into the garden through blocks of perennial planting and straw around the garden.
So there are a number of ways you can tackle the nasties in your garden without resorting to chemicals. They key is to be vigilant and keep on top of the problems before they get out of hand, and you have a thriving, healthy garden you and your family can enjoy.
About the Author
Fi McMurray is a garden enthusiast and author who has been gardening organically for 10 years. She has been involved with 2 award-winning gardens at the prestigious Ellerslie International Flower Show in Auckland, New Zealand.
Her latest book is “An Introduction to Successful Organic Gardening”, which joins her previous books “Successful Rose Gardening” and “Secrets to a Thriving Herb Garden”. You can find out more about Fi’s books at her website, www.fimcmurray.com
Fi lives north of Auckland, New Zealand, with her husband and two small children.
Organic Gardening Questions?
I decided to go organic this year and I need a few tips. How do you keep the bugs off the plants. How can you fertilize them if it’s organic. Are there vegetables and fruits I can grow inside–if so, how do I pollinate them? Any advice would be nice.
Thank you in advance!!!
It is not easy to go full organic. There are products you can buy, but they can be expensive. For pest management, use cultural control, meaning physically inspect your crop and when you see bugs remove them from the plants, or use Remay cloth to cover the plants so bugs can’t get in it in the first place. If all that fails, you can use NEEM oil, which is an organic pesticide. You can buy compost and organic fertilizers such as animal manures, but may not know if the chicken/cow manures came from an organic production instead of a regular chicken/cow farm that maybe loaded with antibiotics and other things… I use a combination of methods to grow my garden. I use a slow release fertilizers,which is non-organic that helps a lot in the growing season. Anyway, growing your own food and knowing what you put in them is the most important thing, and it is a lot healthier than things you can buy from the supermarket.
Good luck and happy growing!
Organic Gardening – Growing Zucchini in Containers