You desire a vibrant and healthy organic garden. There is no better time to start than the present! Below are a ton of wonderful tips to help you start an organic garden of your own.
The handles of your tools can double as clever rulers. Large handled tools such as shovels, rakes, and hoes can be used as measuring sticks. Lay the handles onto the floor and place a measuring tape beside them. Next, use a Sharpie to accurately label the distance between each one. Now you have easy access to a long ruler whenever you are gardening.
Use slug-proof varieties of perennials wherever possible. Slugs and snails are voracious eaters that can destroy a plant literally overnight. They gravitate towards perennials with smooth thin leaves, particularly on younger plants. Some varieties of perennials are not preferred by snails and slugs, particularly perennials that have hairy, tough leaves or a taste that isn’t appetizing. Achillea, euphorbia, helleborus, heuchera and campanula are good choices that slugs don’t like.
Cover the fences and walls with climbers. These climbing plants will help beautify an old fence, and they are fast workers too. They can grow through shrubs and trees, or even cover an arbor. Sometimes the plants will require being tied to supports, but some climbers will attach themselves naturally. If you’re looking for the most reliable varieties available, choose from clematis, wisteria, and climbing roses.
Before you plant anything in your garden, have the soil checked. You can get a soil analysis, and if you find your soil needs a supplement, do it! A Cooperative Extension office can provide you with this service, saving you learning on your own by trial and error.
Plants all need a good supply of C02 to grow properly! Often, plants achieve better growth when they are surrounded by high levels of CO2. The best way to get a lot of it is through a greenhouse. To maximize your plants’ growth, make sure to monitor these levels to ensure they’re adequate.
Protect your plants from moisture on a daily basis. Plant moisture is a big attraction to both parasites and plant diseases. Fungus is a common problem when plants are allowed to remain damp. To control fungi, use a fungicide spray on the area before you notice any problems.
Be sure to split the irises. If you split up clumps of them, you will eventually have more of this flower. Lift bulbous irises when the foliage is dead. The bulbs should split naturally, and the replanted bulbs will usually flower within a year. You can divide rhizomes with a knife. Throw away the center after carefully cutting new sprouts from the exterior. Each piece needs one strong offshoot. Replant immediately.
Place a few inches of organically based mulch around your vegetable plants. Mulch is used to keep extra moisture and provide nutrients for your plants. An added benefit is that it also inhibits weed growth. This will save you a ton of time and work.
Don’t use broad-spectrum pesticides in the garden. Besides killing the insects you don’t want, this type of pesticide will also kill beneficial insects. Beneficial bugs are more sensitive to these pesticides than the bugs that are detrimental to plants, so if the good bugs are eliminated, the bad pest population may grow. When this happens, you will spray another round of pesticides to get rid of the pests, thus creating a never-ending cycle for yourself.
Fall Colors
Plan your garden, and plant with fall colors in mind. However, you can still maintain your horticulture hobby throughout the fall months. In terms of colorful foliage, fall is the time of year admired by many. Maple trees, Dogwood, and Beech trees exist in lots of Fall colors that range from deep crimson to yellow. When you choose shrubbery, try hydrangea, barberry, or cotoneaster.
Have one plant be the most interesting eye-grabber in your garden. A focal point can help direct a viewers gaze. The focal point should be a plant totally different from the others around it.
Always completely protect any cuts, or wait until they are healed before attempting any gardening, as this can introduce dirt or chemicals into the wound. A cut could get infected if it gets in contact with grime and dirt in the garden. Now, there are bandages available that will cover and seal the injured area completely, allowing you to continue your gardening projects.
If you want to start a small organic garden indoors, evaluate the amount of natural light that is present. If you live somewhere without strong natural sunlight, you might want to look into growing plants that thrive in lower-light environments. You can also try using artificial lighting to help.
Store a few plastic bags near your garden to slip on over your dirty horticulture shoes. This keeps your flow going, so you can get back out to the garden quickly and finish your work.
Try lightly ruffling the seedlings with your hands about twice a day. While this appears strange, research shows it can help plants grow larger, versus not petting them at all.
To be able to say you have legitimate organic and credible crops, you will need to be certified as having an organic garden. This should improve sales and attract customers who are environmentally conscious. A certification will easily communicate to them that they are getting the best products possible.
You now know the basics of organic gardening and can get started soon. You are now the expert, even if you didn’t think so before. The different tips and methods you can use are endless, and as long as you can follow and implement the information correctly, you should have no trouble growing a fantastic garden this season.