Growing organic vegetables and fruits is both healthy and delicious and much better than produce you can get at the supermarket. Organic produce is expensive in the stores, so you may want to grow your own, Read on to find out how to build your own organic garden, in your own home!
Use biennials and annuals to beautify your flower beds. Fast-growing annuals and biennials can brighten up a flower bed, and allow you to change the look from season to season and year to year. In an area that is sunny, they make good plants to place in the gaps found between shrubs and perennials. You should get varieties such as cosmos, petunia, rudbeckia, hollyhock, sunflowers or marigold.
Before you plant anything in your garden, have the soil checked. You can actually get an analysis of soil for a little fee, and with the report you get back you can figure out how to create a vibrant garden by enriching it properly. Cooperative Extension departments often offer this testing service. It is a worthwhile effort so a garden can be productive on the first year of planting.
Knee Pads
It is a good idea to invest in a good pair of knee pads, made specifically for gardening. They can be very helpful when working close to the ground on low-growth plants. Weeding, watering and picking through your vegetation can cause a lot of damage to your knees if left unprotected. Having a pair of excellent knee pads for horticulture can help cushion the knees to provide additional comfort.
Pest control is one of the hardest things about growing a vegetable garden. Don’t spray any harsh chemicals on your vegetables because you will be eating them later on. The key to keeping garden pests at bay is to be relentless. Taking the pests off of the plants by hand is one of the best fixes if you are able to catch the infestation in its early stages.
To give them a boost, pour out any leftover water from steaming or boiling vegetables on the plants or soil around them. Tea and coffee grounds can be used to add acidity to your soil for plants like gardenias and rhododendrons. Spray your plants with a 9:1 mixture of water and hydrogen peroxide to eliminate fungus without harming your plants.
If you plant heather in your garden, you will attract insects that are beneficial. Bees love heather, and when the heather blooms in early spring, it provides a good nectar source for them. Undisturbed shrubs, such as beds of heather, are probably home to a number of beneficial insects like spiders and ground beetles. Keep this in mind and always wear gloves when you prune your heather!
Consider planting strawberries, especially ones that are everbearing, for your garden if you have small children. Children enjoy picking fresh fruit, especially if they can eat it right away.
To be most efficient in your gardening, always keep your tools close at hand. Large pockets or a sturdy bucket can be used to store tools. Have gloves, shears, a trowel and anything else you need handy for quick use.
Be sure your new compost pile contains roughly the same proportion of dried and green plants. Green plant material consists of spent flowers, veggie and fruit waste, leaves, weeds, and grass clippings. You can add dried plants by throwing straw, shredded paper, woody materials and cardboard on your pile. Avoid using animal manure, charcoal or diseased plants in your compost.
Adjust your watering to the season and climate. When watering your plants, consider the time you are watering them, the kind of soil you are using and how good the water is. For instance, if you are in a warm and humid climate, avoid getting any water on the leaves because this will cause leaf fungus. Water the roots with care.
Over-watering your plants is not healthy because too much water may inhibit the roots from getting nutrients out of the soil. Before you set out to water your plants, you might want to verify that the forecast does not call for rain. Depending on what the weather is going to be like, you might not want to water your plants for the day.
When you start planting your organic tomatoes, stagger your planting time by planting two groups of plants, three weeks apart. This method prevents a unified harvest, and allows separate times to pull the plants throughout the year. Additionally, if weather or something else ruins one harvest, you still get a second chance to get a good tomato crop.
Don’t buy any more low-quality produce from the supermarket. Use what you’ve read here to get started growing your very own high-quality produce.