Organic gardening is something that many families want to do but simply never take on the challenge. This is because people often feel too discouraged or incompetent to try something that sounds as complicated and unusual as organic gardening. You can use the information in this article to learn how to garden with ease, and you may actually find yourself enjoying it.
Utilize your garden tool handles as convenient makeshift rulers. Tools with long handles, such as rakes, shovels or hoes can work as great measuring sticks. Place the handles on the floor, then set a measuring tape alongside them. You can label distances using 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.
A certain amount of CO2 is necessary for plants to maximize their growth potential. When exposed to high levels of CO2, most types of plants will grow better. Greenhouses help contain C02 to keep levels high. Make sure to keep CO2 levels high to provide the best growing environment for your plants.
A quality garden must be grown from seeds. The environmentally conscious way to start a new garden is to start with seeds. The plastic used in nurseries often end up in landfills, that is why it is advised to use seeds or purchase from nurseries that make use of organic materials when packaging their plants.
Spread a little bit of organic mulch, around two inches worth, in and about each vegetable plant. The mulch will help keep the soil moist for longer periods of time. This method will also prevent weeds. This could save you lots of weed-pulling time.
Try to relax with gardening. There are a variety of ways to achieve a state of inner peace. Horticulture on a sunday afternoon is a simple method of making this happen. The generous return of a garden far outweighs the minimal investment of money required. Of course the highest return is the peace you will feel from having some time alone in your garden and growing your own plants.
If you’re growing plants indoors, keep your thermostat around 65 or 75 degrees daily. They need the temperature to be that warm so that they can grow. If you don’t want you house to be really warm during the cold season, you could use a heat lamp on organic plants instead.
Just as when outside, plants kept inside need varying degrees of sunlight, which can be harder to obtain from indoors. If the garden will receive little sunlight, find plants that can grow in medium or low-light environments. If the type of plant does not help, you can always use lights to help.
Organic material piled three inches deep is an effective mulch in your flower gardens. This practice is an easy way to discourage weeds, retain moisture, and add valuable nutrients to your garden. You will also have a gorgeous and finished organic flower bed.
Laundry Basket
Use an old laundry basket to collect your produce. A benefit of using something like a laundry basket is that it can strain for you, as well as hold a large amount of produce. You can rinse your produce off while it is in the basket, and the excess water will strain through the holes of your laundry basket.
When creating a compost pile, use dried plant materials and green plants in equal parts. Green plant material can include items such as leftover produce waste, grass clippings and leaves. Dried plant material consists of sawdust, shredded paper, cardboard, straw, and cut-up and dried wood material. Avoid using ashes, charcoal, diseased plants and meat-eating animal manure.
The lack of pesticides in organic gardens is a major benefit. This will improve your family’s overall health, but it does mean you have to be extra vigilant about checking for pest infestations.
Research the local botanical insecticides which can be useful in deterring the pest population. You can find more power from natural insecticides, as opposed to engineered synthetic pesticides. Natural insecticide are more environmentally friendly, in part, because they decay quickly and become harmless.
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. Also, if something goes wrong during one harvest, all your tomatoes won’t be ruined.
When planting trees and shrubs, dig irregular holes with rough sides. You may inhibit the growth of roots if you have any glazed holes.
There are many options when growing an organic garden. A lot of plant varieties love acidic soil, and they will thrive well in mulch. These plants must be mulched with thick layers of pine needles every year in the fall. When the needles decompose, they deposit the natural acids inside of them into that soil.
To mulch, trees and flowers, use a minimum of three inches of organic material. This is a technique that provides benefits to the land itself, but that also minimizes water usage, allowing you to save money and the environment simultaneously. Furthermore, an organic garden with a thick layer of mulch is far more appealing to the eye.
Make sure your trees are in a location near your house so that they give you a lot of shade. You will not need to run air conditioners as much; in turn, it will help you to save money with utility bills, because the trees produce shade around your home.
Organic Gardening
Reading these tips probably cleared up some of the questions you had about organic gardening. Hopefully, it made organic gardening seem less intimidating. Start applying some of the tips presented above, and in the near future, you could have your very own productive organic garden.