In the world of organic horticulture, there are plenty of great resources available to both new and experienced organic gardeners alike. There are many e-guides, books, videos, and other resources available. This set of tips contains some of the best advice for helping a good organic gardener become a great organic gardener.
Choose plants that will give you the most yield at harvest time. Hybrids are usually hardier in terms of disease and weather resistance, and are designed to produce more.
Measuring Sticks
Your tool handles can double as measuring sticks. You can use shovels or rakes as measuring sticks. Simply lay the handles out on the floor and run a measuring tape next to them. Mark the measurements with a permanent marker. Now, the next time you’re down in the garden, you’ll have a handy ruler without needing to look anywhere else.
For the best results, select the right kind of soil. Depending on the types of plants you would like to grow, your garden’s soil might need to be amended with different substances to alter drainage, acidity and other charactheristics that make plants happy. You can also make an artificial area with one variety of soil.
Try to have a plan with your garden. This will assist you in recognizing your tiny plants when they start to pop up. You might end up losing small plants in a large area, because you did not water them.
Fertilizing your garden is essential. Manure can help grow plants, but to eliminate risk of pathogens, try using a type of commercially composted product. There are numerous types of fertilizers available. What type you select is less of a concern; any kind of fertilizer is better than none.
If you’re a new gardener, it is vital that you follow the instructions when it comes to your chemicals and tools. Otherwise, you are likely to have skin irritations flare up, which can be extremely painful and uncomfortable. Prevent issues, and use your garden chemicals safely.
Use only pesticides designed to kill the specific type of pest in your garden, and avoid the broad-spectrum kind. These pesticides can also kill useful insects that eat your pests. Beneficial bugs are usually several orders more sensitive to the things you spray than the pests you are trying to kill, so you might wind up dropping the good bug populace and open the door to pest population growth. This ends up becoming a vicious cycle of increasing pesticide use.
For visual interest, make one plant a focal point of your garden. You need a focal point that can catch your eye in garden design. A perfect example of a focal point is using a plant that doesn’t bear any resemblance to those that surround it.
You need to be smart when it comes to watering your garden. A soaker hose is a great way to water all of the plants at once, and will save you a lot of time. Avoid damage to new plantings by keeping the water on low to move the water slowly through the soaker. Watering your garden for a couple hours while you are working on other tasks is an efficient use of your time.
The ideal temperature to set your thermostat for indoor plants is between 65-75 degrees Fahrenheit during the daylight hours. The plants need this temperature in order to effectively grow. If this is a little too warm for your house, grow your organic plants under a heat lamp.
When working in the garden, try to work as efficiently as possible. One of the biggest time wasters is not keeping track of your tools and having to look for them every time you need them. Set up the tools you will need for your day prior to hitting the garden, then put them away neatly at the end of your gardening session. You can use a tool belt, or you may want to wear pants with extra pockets.
Dried Material
The compost pile should include equal parts of dried material and green plant material. Garden wastes, such as grass clippings, are classified as green materials. Your dried material can be things such as sawdust, paper shreds, wood shavings, straw and cardboard. Don’t include ashes, diseased plants, charcoal meat, or carnivorous animal waste.
Try using untreated stone, brick, or wood to create a raised bed. Make sure the wood you use is untreated and rot resistant. Good choices are cypress, cedar and locust. Never use compost from treated woods in a veggie garden; the chemicals can contaminate your food. If you are already using treated lumber, you can use plastic liners, or a different barrier, in order to protect your garden.
In order to claim your crops are legitimately organic and be credible, it is important to your customers that you become organic garden certified. This will result in generating more sales and creating a loyal customer base.
After reading these tips, you can begin to understand what it takes to become a great organic gardener. There is a lot of information to be had and you need to know how to apply it. If you keep this information in mind, you should be able to grow a great organic garden in no time.