Organic Gardening Supplies
Can hydroponic/aeroponic nutrients be home made (without relying on industrial chemistry)?
This is a survivalist-related question.
If trying to become self-reliant and grow your own food, I understand aeroponics and hydroponics would be the most productive methods. However there is no soil to slowly release nutrients for plants. You have to supply store-bought nutrient mixes and drop them in the water. When the store runs out (or when you run out of money to pay for it) all your garden dies almost instantly.
Can one feasibly supply a plant’s macro and micro-nutrient needs by concocting home-brew nutrient solutions from organic matter at hand?
P.S. I have a strong feeling you can’t. But I couldn’t find a complete and clear answer.
A simple compost tea will provide most of what you need. Mix in some manure into your compost. Don’t use dog or cat manure or from any predator. I have two five gallon buckets I put tomato plants in every year. Compost tea is the only thing I add. My Tomatoes do great and it’s been nine years now.
Organic Gardening Supplies
Seven Reasons Organic Gardening Is A Good Practice
As more and more people worry about just how healthy the food they buy in grocery store is they are turning to organic gardening to replace many foods that are subject to synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, and insecticides. The whole idea behind a natural garden is to use only natural methods to grow fruits and vegetables. There is nothing magical about organic gardening; in fact it uses methods that have been in place for thousands of years.
Here are six reasons why many people are turning to organic gardening to supplement their family food needs.
1. You can use your own waste from the garden and kitchen to make compost. While it may be easier to use chemical fertilizers compost restores the soil and its ability to grow fruits and vegetables naturally. The addition of chemical fertilizers eventually depletes the soil to the point that it is sterile and the food that you do grow has little nutritional value. Composting also cuts down on the amount of waste that is put into landfills.
2. Chemicals of any kind are not used in organic farming. Even though the chemical companies tell us that the chemicals in their products are safe when used according to the directions research has shown that many of these chemicals, which in effect are poisons, can be absorbed through the skin and cause adverse affects. It is important to remember that herbicides and pesticides are produced to kill other living things.
3. There is less harm to the surrounding environment. Chemicals are washed into neighboring properties and waterways, polluting the surrounding habitat.
4. There is less topsoil erosion because rich fertile soil is less likely to wash or blow away. According to the soil conservation service an estimated 30 to 32 billion tons of soil is lost from U.S. farms every year.
5. There is a significant cost savings with organic gardening practices. Once the soil is established through the application of compost it becomes almost self sustaining. There is no need to buy costly fertilizers and pesticides. In fact many pest control recipes can be made from everyday products found tight in the kitchen cabinet.
6. Mulch is the organic gardener’s best friend. A thick layer of mulch suppresses weeds and keeps the soil moist, reducing the amount of water needed to grow fresh fruits and vegetables.
7. By helping keep the environment and food supplies safe organic gardening practices are a great way to ensure that future generation will have a sustainable world to live in.
If gardening is something you’ve always wanted to try or is something you are already passionate about then going organic can be a great way to help not only your own health but the health of those around you.
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To learn more about the benefits of organic gardening please visit the website Garden-Choices-Net.com.
Grandpa keeps storing blasting caps & fertilizer in the basement. How can I make him switch to compost?
My 73-year old grandfather is currently living with us and has started buying and storing bags of fertilizer with his blasting cap collection in our basement.
Now I support my grandfather’s recent interest in gardening as well as his other hobbies (I even bought him an expensive old blueprint of the local police academy from eBay once, where he studied until he flunked out). But I’m more an organic kinda guy, and I don’t want those chemical fertilizers seeping into our local water supply. Can you offer any suggestions on how I can convince him to switch to more environmentally friendly compost?
UPDATE: Great. Now he’s also started storing electrical what-not in the bathroom closet. Probably gonna make his own sprinklers too.
Tell Mohammad to be nice now! If he starts storing jerrycan of diesel you might need to go stay with friends
Organic Gardening Supplies Needed For Newbies