You may find organic horticulture to either be a source of great relaxation, or a frustratingly difficult enterprise. The following advice will show you how to grow an organic garden successfully.
Brighten up your flower beds with annuals and biennials. These biennials and annuals are fast-growing, and they allow you to brighten up your flower bed with a change for each season. They can make a handy, gap-filler between shrubs and perennials located in sunny areas. Attention-getting options exist such as sunflowers and petunias.
Plant some wheat grass or cat grass near where you car tends to nibble in your garden. Offensive smells also work to repel cats and other pesky animals from eating your plants. Try putting mothballs, citrus peels, garlic and other pungent items on the topsoil.
Don’t cut your grass too short! Cutting your grass at a taller height allows grass roots to grow deeper and stronger, which helps lessen the chance of your lawn drying out easily. The shorter the grass is, the shorter the roots are, which leads to a dry lawn.
For weeds that aren’t in the middle of your plants, use boiling water to kill their roots. Water is cheaper than chemical herbicides, and less hazardous to humans and soil. Make sure to pour only on the weeds and to stay away from healthy vegetation. Boiling water damages the weed roots and will inhibit future growth.
A quality garden must be grown from seeds. This is a more sustainable way to start a garden. It is common for commercial plants to be packaged in plastic that is not commonly recycled, and therefore, it is better to use seeds or purchase plantings only from merchants who make use of organic packaging.
To grow peas, try growing them indoors first, instead of outside. The seeds will grow better in your home if planted there first. You will also have hardy seedlings that will be able to resist disease and pests much better. You can transplant the seedlings outside after they are sturdy enough.
Place a few inches of organically based mulch around your vegetable plants. The soil around plants can stay damper through the use of mulch. Mulch will help a lot in preventing weeds from growing. This will save you a ton of time and work.
Give them a nutritious drink by using the water that you boiled your veggies in. If you have rhododendrons or gardenias, use coffee and tea grounds to acidify the soil. Chamomile tea is a good remedy against fungus.
If you have a problem with your dog disturbing your garden, you can repel him by spraying perfume or other scents on the grass near the edge. Doing so shields the scents that your dog might pick up on and be drawn to, causing their potential interest in your garden to drop dramatically.
If you are growing plants inside of your home, you need to keep the thermostat set to 65 to 75 degrees during the day. In order to encourage proper growth, they will need that warmth. If you are not willing to keep your house that warm during winter, you could always get the organic plants a heat lamp.
Don’t let all the little chores in your organic garden build up. While you may not be able to spend a lot of time every day in your garden, even little items done daily will stop the mountain of work from growing. For example, snatch out a weed or two whenever you pass by the garden, such as when you take your dog out for a potty break.
When the time comes to harvest your produce, collect it using an old laundry basket. This will be like a strainer for all your produce. The basket won’t be affected by the water and it will drain right off as though it were poured into a large sieve.
While organic horticulture costs more and requires more effort, the produce that will come out of your garden will be healthier for you. While chemical pesticides and fertilizers may claim to do great things for your garden, organic methods will give you the best crops possible.
Organic fruits and vegetables grow without being exposed to pesticides and other chemicals. While this is great for your loved ones’ health, still check for pests and bugs.
Grow garlic. Garlic cloves may be planted in soil with good drainage in either the spring or fall. Space the clove about four inches apart, with the pointy end up and about one or two inches deep. You can cut the green shoots as they are growing and use them in your cooking. You can harvest the bulbs as the tops begin to turn brown. Harden the skin by setting the bulb in the sun, it usually takes several days. You can go ahead and store them in a cooler area, and you can either keep them loose or tie them up.
If you want your starts to thrive, take the time to look underneath the ground. When buying tomato seedlings for the garden, keep an eye on lush green starts with root systems that are bad. If starts don’t have a good root system, they’ll remain attached to the seedlings for a long time. The seedlings won’t be able to thrive until the starts have been removed.
Now that you’ve read this article, you can see that there is much more to do with organic horticulture than meets the eye. It requires patience and work, but it’s worth it to have a successful organic garden. By using the advice you learned here, you will be well on the path to becoming an organic gardening pro.