While organic gardening is normally extremely enjoyable and relaxing, it can also cause you major problems if you don’t know exactly what you’re doing. The following tips will assist you in becoming an accomplished organic gardener.
Using aspirin water will help your plants fight diseases. Crush and dissolve one and one-half 325mg tablets in two full gallons of plain water. All you need to do is spray the plants with the solution in order to battle common ailments. Use this method to spray your plants every three weeks.
It’s simple to quickly prepare your soil for the planting of a perennial garden. With a garden spade, slice under the dirt then flip it over. Next, spread out wood chips several inches deep. Let the area have about two weeks, then dig it and plan the new perennials.
It never hurts to keep a few bags around the house to protect your floors from dirty gardening shoes. This way, you won’t break momentum by fussing with your shoes, and you’ll be quickly back in the garden to finish your work.
Pine Needles
Use about two to three inches of organic material as mulch in all of your flower beds. This practice is an easy way to discourage weeds, retain moisture, and add valuable nutrients to your garden. Your flower beds should also look beautiful all year long.
Do not underestimate pine as great mulch. Some plants do better in soil with high acidity as they are highly acidic themselves. For these types of plants, pine needles are wonderful for mulching. Cover soil beds with a few inches of pine needles, and they will disperse acidity to the soil below as they decompose.
Spacing is one of the primary considerations when planning an organic garden. As plants grow and spread out, you will not always know how much space will be required. Space is necessary not only for physical growth but also to help keep air circulation flowing within your garden. Plan your garden accordingly, and make sure the right distance is between the seeds.
Be aware of spacing considerations when you are first planting your organic garden. Do not underestimate the space that plants need to develop their root systems. Space is necessary not only for physical growth but also to help keep air circulation flowing within your garden. Make sure that you map out your garden layout beforehand and place your seeds with an adequate amount of space in between each.
Plant Material
When developing your compost pile, use equal measures of dried and green material. Green plant material includes grass clippings, spent flowers, vegetable and fruit waste, weeds and leaves. Dried plant material consists of sawdust, shredded paper, cardboard, straw, and cut-up and dried wood material. Certain substances will undermine your composting efforts and cancel out any benefits; these include meat, charcoal, ash or plants that have diseases or fungal growths.
Do you want to kill weeds in a natural way? Try using several newspaper layers to control weeds. Weeds need sunlight to grow. If you put a thick layer of newspaper on them, weeds will not be able to get light or air, and they will die! As an added benefit, the newspapers will decompose over time, becoming organic compost. It can look more attractive by adding a mulch layer.
One unusual tip in organic gardening, is to “pet” your seedlings often. Use your hands or a piece of cardboard and lightly ruffle the seedling about one or two times a day. That may sound like a silly thing to do, but it’s been proven to help plants grow larger than they would otherwise.
A beer trap can help to eradicate slugs. First, place a glass canning jar in the soil, burying it until the mouth is even with the surface of the soil. Fill it with beer to about one inch below the top of the jar. Beer attracts slugs and then they’ll get stuck in the jar.
If you have problem slugs in your organic garden, get rid of them naturally with a beer trap. Place a jar into the soil so that the top of it’s mouth rests parallel with the soil. Fill it with beer to about one inch below the top of the jar. Slugs will be attracted by the beer and fall into the jar.
If you want to sell your crops as organic, you should look into obtaining a certification proving that you are an organic garden. This attracts customers who are willing to drive a little farther and pay a little more for products that are safe and healthy.
It can be hard to grow an organic garden without chemicals, but the end result is worth the effort. While the chemical companies claim great benefits, organic gardening will always provide the most rewarding and healthy crops.
Over-watering plants is counterproductive, as too much water reduces plants’ ability to absorb nutrients from the surrounding soil. Before watering plants outdoors, check with some weather stations to find out if it will rain anytime during the day. Skip watering your plants for a couple of days if a heavy rainstorm has descended; natural rainwater can be particularly good for your plants as well.
When you water too much, then you can actually harm your plants due to the fact that the roots can’t get the nutrients they need. Check the weather for the next couple of days to see if you actually need to water your plants. You can skip watering for an entire day if rain is on the way.
Successful Organic
Consider using botanical pesticides to keep the pest that plague your garden under control. Natural insecticides can sometimes kill pests more powerfully than synthetic pesticides. Keep in mind, however, that natural pesticides frequently deteriorate more quickly than those with a man-made base.
As this article stated, there’s quite a lot involved in successful organic gardening. It requires patience and work, but it’s worth it to have a successful organic garden. When you apply the tips in this article, you will be ready to start improving your skills in organic gardening.