My Organic Gardening Tips Today

Many people are ‘going green’ and what better way to do this than to start with your food. There has been an increase recently in organic garden projects and it not only helps the environment, it also helps your body because there are no chemicals used when you make an organic garden.

If you have a space for a garden, this is a good thing, you can compost and garden on the soil that is already there. Composting is where you recycle food scraps and other waste products into the soil so that it helps to feed the plants. Things you would normally throw away such as eggshells, leftovers like meat, potatoes, tomatoes, cheeses, anything that you would normally eat can be composted into the soil to help it become rich in nutrients and help to feed the new plants. Even old coffee grounds will help.

If you do not own a plot of land, you can make a planters box on the roof, your balcony, patio or just about anywhere you have a small area to keep plants in, an old bathtub is perfect for a garden and will yield a nice harvest in the fall. For soil, you use the composting you start in a box of the tub and it will continue to grow. You can purchase soil or go into the woods and find more soil to add to it before the composting is completed.

You can go to the garden center and purchase organic plants and seedlings or seeds to start your organic garden. Make sure the service person knows you are planting an organic garden so they don’t give you anything but organically grown plants or seeds.

Some people are concerned about weeds. You should not use a weed killer. The soil is covering itself up with weeds because Mother Nature does not like exposed soils. The weeds grow to keep the soil safe from erosion and other dangers. If you have exposed soil, cover it up with some mulch, this will keep the weeds away and help to keep soil erosion at bay as well.

People wonder about pests and what to do about them. There are several flowers that are natural pesticides for rabbits and other predators, such as marigolds, rabbits especially won’t cross these pretty little flowers. Do some research and you could find all kinds of natural pesticides and flowers that critters who like to feast in your garden will not want to tamper with.

In these days of food source scares, it’s better to know where your food came from and to know how it was grown, so growing it yourself is the best way to protect you and your family from unknown and unwanted diseases on your food. The food you grow organically is better for you and will taste better.

All around, if you plant an organic garden, you will be helping your body, your family and the environment. And it’s less work than fighting the lines at the grocery store or getting sick from the latest contaminated vegetables to cross the boarders.

Unlike the popular theories that state that the space shuttle could miraculously appear if blown up enough times, an organic garden is usually not the result of an accident. People that have a successful garden have created one based upon their consistent upkeep, planning, and a desire to make their garden grow. Regardless of the therapeutic value the gardening has, relaxation has little to do with the steps that it takes to ensure the success of your gardening endeavor. Here are a few organic gardening tips on how to make sure that your organic garden goals are reached by looking at planning, soil preparation, fertilizers, irrigation, and insect and disease control.

As with all things that eventually come to pass, a plan is always needed. Not something that is thought of and reconsidered over time intermittently, but a specified plan of action that leads to a specified end result. When you decide to grow your garden, and you choose to do it in an organic matter, you will need to take a few things into consideration such as location, the environment that the plants will grow it, the time that it will take in order for you to properly take care of your garden, how much effort will be involved and are there any resources that you may or may not be able to acquire in order to reach your final goals.

Once you have a clear written outline of what it is you need to do and what you need to acquire to reach your garden goals, it is time to start the plan into action. Action is everything once the goals are defined. If you set your goals but neglect factors such as good seed, compost, or even a source of good water for your plants, you will fail in your attempt because any compromise will lead to an overall failure.

The next thing you begin doing is prepare your soil. Soil preparation is the foundation of the growth of any and all plants that you have. From the soil, the plants will be able to get their nutrients. Soil that is hard or dense will be almost impossible to aerate and therefore the plants will not get enough oxygen through the root system in order to thrive and flourish. Likewise, if there is no way for the water to evenly percolate to the plants roots in your garden, some plants will make it while others will die without consistent moisture, and some will be oversaturated and get root rot.

Another organic gardening tip is that you must also consider the consistency of the soil in regard to the amount of compost and nutrients that will be accessible to the seeds that will grow into the plants in the garden that you desire. By adding natural compost or other fertilizers to enhance the nutrients within the soil such as nitrogen or potassium, you will need to prepare this ahead of time, specifically as you are preparing the soil and getting ready to plant your seeds.

With reference to fertilizer, if you are doing this in an organic matter, some of the best fertilizer that you can get can either come from your compost pile or from a worm bin that you have created through your vermicomposting efforts. This needs to be prepared several weeks in advance so that it is ready to use when you are ready to plant. Compost that has not had time to properly finish will be detrimental to your soil and therefore proper preparation is always mandatory before getting ready to add these nutrients to the soil that will bear the fruit of your labor.

The consideration of water is also paramount in your success. You must have a way for your organic garden to get enough water on a regular basis so that it can grow unimpeded by the periods of droughts that are self induced by someone to did not plan ahead of time and create an optimal situation for the gardens irrigation needs. This includes having enough access to water, easy access through an irrigation system or hose system, and potentially a sprinkler system on a timer which can ensure that the garden is receiving water on a regular basis.

One final organic gardening tip that you should consider is that when your plants begin to grow, insects will appear. Weeds will also appear as well as potential diseases that can kill off your crop. This will take some wisdom on your part knowing the types of plants you are growing and finding natural alternatives to pesticides that may inhibit or deter the natural growth processes of your plants. If you are an organic gardener, you will not want to use these anyway and therefore finding beneficial insects that attack bad insects or natural scents or plants that will deter weed growth or disease is paramount in ensuring the healthy growth of your garden.

When considering all of these things together in a big picture, you realize that gardening cannot possibly be the result of an accident. There must be proper preparation and access to all of the tools necessary in order to make a garden successful and to make your efforts worthwhile. Take some time and use these five organic gardening tips to your benefit and make your garden one of the best you have ever had.

Growing plants, vines, flowers, trees, fruits and vegetables and just about anything else you put in the ground with all natural methods most people would refer to as organic gardening. Gardening the organic way means the use of pesticides, chemicals or other environmentally unfriendly substances used to produce fruit and foliage are never used. Organics are normally associated with fruits, vegetables and herbs, as people do not want chemicals on their foods. However, organic production can also be applied to the production of meats.

Soil preparation is where it all starts in organic gardening. The first step is building a soil full of nutrients for the plants grown in the soil all without the use of manufactured fertilizers and chemicals. This step of organic soil preparation can take some effort but makes the end result worth the time.

Mixing rich, healthy compost material together starts the base for creating organic soil. Some organic fanatics use compost piles, bins or containers to create their own compost. Some garden centers even sell compost, but creating compost is easy even without special compost bins.

Creating your organic soil is not difficult simply take the current soil and start adding items the soil and allow them to begin breaking down. Make sure all the items you add are natural, as they decompose the nutrients will remain in the soil.

To mix the organic items into the soil the soil needs to be loosened and turned. Now start adding the organics such as tea and coffee grounds, shredded paper, fruit peels and vegetable scraps. These items can be added slowly as they become available. The material will breakdown and compost much faster if the material is small in size. Try chopping kitchen scraps into smaller bits before throwing them into the garden. I’ve even thrown scraps into a food processor to chop them smaller.

After the organic items have been added, turn the soil to mix these new items in to soil and make sure they are covered well. Then every other day or so water the soil down and mix it up again. After three to four weeks, your organic bed of soil should be ready for planting plants or seeds in.

For a better organic soil do not wait until spring. Start preparing your organic garden in the fall, before the first hard frost or freeze arrives, the soil will be much richer and ready for spring planting.

Comfrey (Symphytum officinale) is just one of those plants that every organic garden must have growing. It also has great merit as a medicinal plant. This plant serves us so well. Propagation is by root division. But be careful with this plant as it will grow from the tiniest piece of root.

OK, on to some of it’s best uses (and some lesser known ones)!

1. A valuable addition of bulk to the compost heap. It is an extremely good micro-nutrient accumulator - a complete fertilizer in a plant. The leaves are full of nitrogen, silica, calcium, potassium, iron and magnesium.
2. Comfrey is a great compost activator.
3. Use as a mulch around your veggies. You can harvest growth several times a year, from mid spring onwards. Make sure you put the leaves in the sun for a few hours to wilt so that it doesn’t take root.
4. It can be used as a fertilizer, placed directly in trenches before planting potatoes, beans, peas etc. (again make sure you wilt the leaves).
5. The very deep root system of this plant makes it ideal for breaking up heavy clay soils. This will also bring up nutrients that have leached deep into the soil.
6. Create a nutrient rich liquid fertilizer. Place comfrey leaves in a small amount of water for a week or more, then dilute 10:1. This liquid feed is excellent for potassium hungry crops, such as tomatoes.
7. Grow comfrey as a grass barrier. Chop up pieces of root, place in a hollow in your mulch about every 40cm / 16inches and cover with compost or good soil. Over time this will create a thick barrier that even couch doesn’t like to compete with. Comfrey dies down with the winter frost, but so does grass. Comfrey will start growing in spring before grasses do.
8. Use as a nutrient trap at the bottom of your garden (if you have a slope). It will grow lush and prevent nutrients escaping your garden by leaching out.
9. Expand your garden beds. Divide the roots to create a lot of new plants very quickly. Very useful as a ground cover.
10. Comfrey is sometimes known as “knit-bone” as it has been traditionally used as a poultice to heal broken bones. It is high in calcium which may be why it is used in this way.

Growing Conditions
Comfrey is a hardy herbaceous plant which thrives in most types of soil. It will survive frosts, but tends to loose most of its leaves through winter, then bounces back with the arrival of warmer weather. You will get the best yield of lush leaves if you provide it with a moist, fertile soil.

Comfrey is a great companion plant for most vegetable crops.

Wow, what an amazing plant. Now you see why Comfrey is a ‘must have’ in an organic gardening system. Buy your first comfrey plant only if you don’t know anyone who has it already. I’m sure they’d give you a piece of the root to get you started. I hope this gives you more ideas for Comfrey in your organic garden.

Every organic gardener knows that it is vital to use good quality soil in you want successful produce. The start and end of each growing season are the times which the organic gardener is going to work with the soil to ascertain it is capable of producing good quality organic vegetables or flowers. At least twice a year, organic garden fertilizers need to be added to the soil to enrich it and replace nutrients which have been used by the plants. Organic garden fertilizers are made from live materials rather than being chemically manufactured. An organic gardener might also mix various additives into the soil, organic or non-organic, to add micronutrients or to control the pH. Common organic soil additives include potash and Epsom salts.

Soil additives are an optional extra for the soil. They help to improve the soil consistency or give micronutrients. Organic garden fertilizer improves the soil’s overall substance.

Nearly all animal-based organic garden fertilizers can be called manure. You can get other types of animal-based fertilizers, such as fish emulsion, but manure is by far the most common. Manure can come from bats, cows, chickens, horses, rabbits and other animals. Human manure is used in some places. Manure cannot be used from cats or other predators because they have pathogenic bacteria in their digestive systems, which can get into the food grown. Manure needs to be composted or aged before being used as an organic garden fertilizer to remove such dangerous pathogens as E. coli. You can add composted manure to the soil in liquid or solid form and you should mix it into the soil well. It is best to add the manure at least a few weeks before planting, so it can mix well and age. Also, it will be more pleasant to plant when the manure is mixed in and aged a bit rather than fresh and ripe-smelling!

Another option is plant-based organic garden fertilizer, such as worm castings, compost, seaweed and ‘green manure’. Kelp and seaweed are usually dried and processed before being sold.

Compost creation is an ongoing process which can be learn from community workshops or other experts. It is a great way to recycle peelings and left over vegetable matter. Worm composting (also called worm castings) can be made or bought. They contain a lot of nutrients. To make them yourself, you will need to get the right sort of worms from any organic gardening source. You also require some sort of covered tub and some damp vegetable matter such as old newspapers. Then you just leave the worms to it and you will get great organic fertilizer from them.

‘Green manure’ is normally planted after harvest in the fall and is a cover crop. It is usual to plant a nitrogen-fixing crop like soybeans or something similar. In the springtime, when the cover crop emerges, you just dig it into the ground where it enriches the soil and decomposes.

Organic garden fertilizer can be bought or created and is very worthwhile because you can add living matter to the soil and fertilize in the most natural way possible with no need for potentially dangerous chemicals.

The term organic gardening means gardening without using any synthetic pesticides or fertilizers. Apart from that, everything else is the same. Not using synthetic materials does make controlling pests, insects, weeds and even some diseases different from the usual methods. Also, special care needs to be taken to keep the soil healthy and meet nutritional requirements.

The first aspect of organic gardening is the soil. Organic matter is added frequently to the soil to maintain its nutritional quality. Compost is largely used, because it keeps the plants quite healthy. Compost is prepared from organic remnants such as dead leaves and flowers, peels of the fruits, shorn grasses, etc. Soil that is healthy will have a deep color and a sweet odor. It will also be teeming with earthworms. Some other organically permitted additives for soil are greens and, rock phosphates and bone meal. These can be added after checking the pH of the soil.

Most gardeners - even hardcore organic gardeners - cannot resist using pesticides when they spot insects on their plants. For an organic gardener, the best way to deal with insects is to take the right prevention. Keep the plants as healthy as you can (insects love unhealthy plants). If the plants are healthy, they will not be affected by the insects. Maintain the right moisture conditions for the plants. Also, cultivate different species of plants, which keeps particular insects away.

One organic method to keep the insects away is to include organisms that feed on them. Ladybugs, frogs, lizards and even birds are good choices. A water source near the garden helps to keep the insects away. Or you can use mechanical devices such as barriers, plant collars and sticky traps. You can even use simple household ingredients like garlic, hot pepper and insecticidal soaps.

Disease in plants can be avoided organically by planting only disease resistant plants when they are in their prime. Do not allow moisture to retain on the plants much, and take care of the air that circulates in the garden. The way you water your garden can decide how much disease-prone your plants will be.

One more point that harasses organic gardeners is weed management. You can use organic mulch to keep the weeds away, and for improving its effect, you can use cardboard, construction paper or even a simple newspaper below the mulch. Before planting, spread corn meal gluten on the garden. Solarizing the garden also works for weed control. Of course, you can hoe the weeds out too. Be persistent, use good mulch and hoe out the obstinate weeds - these are the best organic methods to permanently take care of the weeds.

When you garden organically, your plants will live healthier and will be totally natural. You will have to invest more time and effort, and also persevere when you use totally organic methods, but you will soon understand the routine and that will benefit your plants greatly.

The ever-rising cost of fuel is driving the cost of produce up. Why? It takes fuel to till the fields, plant the crops, harvest the crops, and transport them to market. Plus many fertilizers are made from petroleum. All these increases in the cost to farmers, food processors and transporters are passed on to you, the consumer.

Another factor is our government’s push to make ethanol from corn. More corn crops are planted instead of other traditional crops and less corn is used for food causing shortages in the food crops. Supply and demand kicks in and the cost of produce climbs.

So what can you do about it? Simple, grow your own produce. What does a packet of seeds cost? Maybe 1 to 2 dollars. And that one packet will grow 30 to 40 dollars of produce at current grocery store prices. That’s like getting your vegetables for free. As long as you are going to grow your own vegetables why not do it organically? Organic gardening saves on the costs of fertilizer and pesticides, as well as saving you and your children from being exposed to many cancer-causing chemicals. Organic gardening is also good for the environment because all those chemicals in the fertilizers and pesticides won’t end up in the streams, lakes and drinking water.

You can also earn extra money by taking your surplus organically grown produce to the local farmers market. Organically grown vegetables command a higher price from the health conscious people so the 30 to 40 dollars you save by growing your own can actually turn into 100 dollars at the farmers market.

Organic gardening has many benefits. It is much healthier, it saves money, it is good for the environment, and you can make money from the extra produce grown that you cannot consume.