The Organic Gardening
What is the most organic way to turn grass into bare soil for a garden?
I want to take a small back yard and turn it into an organic garden but it is filled with old crab grass and weeds and I want to build up organic soil
The hay thing is a good idea, because as the hay decays it will add nutrients and help retain water while trying to blot out the weeds.
If hay is not available though, the easiest things to do would be to cover the area you want to use with a black tarp or series of large black garbage bags. Without the sunlight to help it grow and the extra heat baking the plants beneath it, the weeds should all die off and leave the area bare or with white or yellow grass.
You can then rent a garden tiller and break up the entire section with the machine. Take out any roots and rocks, and add black earth, peat moss (or equivalent), and an appropriate organic fertilizer or compost. Then just pick the plants you want to grow and away you go.
I would suggest that you start small, and then you can expand the garden later. Our family garden started as a 6′ X 8′ plot and now is about 12′ X 24′ as we found other plants to grow and varied the vegetable locations.
The Organic Gardening
Organic Gardening Fertilizer – Compost – Danger in the Vegetable Garden
<b>The Pit Controversy</b>
Hello my wonderful gardening chums, it’s Beatrix Potts your, “Organic Gardening Enthusiast.” First a word or two about our title. When you are given inaccurate and even false information about organic gardening fertilizer your Organic Vegetable Garden may be in terrible danger. Bad information is just as dangerous as cutworms. We are here to set the record straight and give you the most reliable information available.
<b>More Than Essential</b>
So, on with the show. Beatrix is here to tell you that organic fertilizer, a.k.a. organic gardening compost is the life’s blood of your organic vegetable garden. Organic gardening is incomplete without organic gardening compost. This is not just an essential element of organic vegetable gardening it is probably the singular most important element. And it is the element that you can produce and control. Understanding organic garden fertilizer will allow you to understand how important the plant’s life is and it will help the soil, insects, and everything that our wonderful vegetables need to grow and thrive.
<b>OK, to Put in Your Compost</b>
Many of my gardening aficionados have written to me and asked, “Beatrix, what can I put into my
compost?” My dear, the answer is quite simple:
1. twigs, hay and straw
2. leaves, grass clippings
3. eggshells, many kitchen scraps
4. formerly fresh fruit,
5. teabags, coffee grounds,
6. and you always want a good mix of “Greens and Browns.”
<b>Greens and Browns in your Compost</b>
Mr. Melvin Potts, our wonderful spouse and “Mr. Organic Gardening Compost Man,” has reminded yours truly to give a plug for the often neglected “Browns.” They are defined as plant matter that was formerly green and has dried and become desiccated and is now as its name implies, Brown. Dried leaves, plants, and dried grass clippings are excellent sources of brown material for your organic gardening compost.
<b>Rule #1</b>
Please remember our Rule #1, anything that comes out of the ground can go back into your compost and eventually back into the ground. And you know of course to never add meat, bones or items with oils, and never ever do we include dog or cat feces.
All of these things will be consumed by microorganisms, insects, nematodes and what Beatrix likes to refer to as the ‘most uncommon earthworm.’
These are the beasties that inhabit your organic compost and they will voraciously consume the vegetable matter and turn it into the nutrients that our plants need to grow.
We always refer to the worms in our garden as, ‘most uncommon.’ You see my dears the earthworms in our garden are the very essence of organic gardening compost machines, and for that reason we refer to them as being ‘most uncommon.’
<b>NO PITS</b>
Some would have you believe that compost requires a pit. Beatrix is here to tell you that a “pit” is not entirely necessary. All you need is a flat space of ground where you can put all of your compost materials, this space needs to be where you can provide water, turn the compost and provide a most essential ingredient, air. You will then eventually put your compost through a screen to get rid of any sticks or extraneous matter.
<b>The Most Efficient Way</b>
It is an absolute fallacy that you need to dig a deep hole for your organic compost. You don’t need some kind of a “pit” to begin the exciting adventure that is making organic gardening compost. What you need is simply a small flat piece of ground to put your compost material on top of. This is probably the singular and most efficient way to begin making the organic gardening compost that will make your vegetable garden thrive and be absolutely wonderful.
Well, your faithful servant and gardening buddy, Beatrix Potter the “Organic Gardening Enthusiast” has, unfortunately run out of space, much to your chagrin. In the next volume of, “Danger in the Vegetable Garden” we will be taking a look at, “Garden Tools-Dangerous Instruments that Maim or a Gardener’s Best Friend?”
If you want to read more about how Beatrix Potts, Your Organic Gardening Enthusiast can help you make the most wonderful compost, visit my blog, <a href=”http://bpotts.org“>The Beatrix Potts Blog</a> and download our FREE Report Compost Secrets.
Until next time I wish you, “Happy Gardening.” Your faithful servant and gardening buddy,
Beatrix Potts.
About the Author
There’s no reason you should have any questions about Organic Compost anymore . Get the FREE Report Beatrix Potts Organic Gardening Compost Secrets at The Beatrix Potts Blog and you will have, The Best Compost in the World. Beatrix Potts, Your Organic Gardening Enthusiast can help you learn how to make the most wonderful compost ever. It’s all in the FREE Report. Join your fellow organic gardeners and have the most wonderful vegetable garden.
How can we reduce the number of ants in our organic garden?
I’m looking for an organic solution to reduce the number of ant hills.
An effective all natural way to getting rid of ants is to sprinkle some cornmeal on the anthill. The ants will eat this and the cornmeal will expand inside them. I had a similar problem yesterday and sprinkled cornmeal on the anthill, within an hour the ants were gone!
Peak Oil: Organic Garden