Growing an organic garden might appear very complicated and involved, but if you know what you are doing, it can be a very exciting experience. If you don’t know what you are doing, you can waste a lot of money and watch alot of your plants die. The tips listed below can help you avoid this.
If you’re really serious about environmentally-friendly gardening practices, refrain from developing some of your land and use it as an animal habitat. The kind of birds and insects needed for pollination will be naturally present on your property and help with your organic garden.
Try not to walk in your garden unless you absolutely have to in order to care for it. Work from a distance when you can. Walking across the soil compacts it, which makes it harder for roots to penetrate to needed nutrients. If your soil is already packed down, gently aerate it without damaging root structure.
Embrace earthworms in the organic garden! Earthworms are an organic gardener’s best friend. Through tunneling and their nitrogen-rich castings, they can help to aerate the soil. This improves the amount of oxygen that gets to a plant’s roots, improves water retention capacity, and keeps the soil loose and workable. They actually raise much-needed minerals from the garden’s subsoil to the topsoil, where plants can get the greatest benefit. These worms also break up hardpan soil, which is detrimental to root growth.
You can save time by using soaker hoses. Instead of standing with a hose for a long time or having to refill a container, set your water pressure on low and let your hose sit next to the plant that needs to be watered. Do not forget to turn the water off later.
Water your plants during the morning to avoid having fungal growth that generally prefers moisture and darkness. By watering your plants during the day they are best able to take advantage of the sun, and utilize the suns anti-bacterial effects. Some bacteria or fungi are light sensitive, so by watering during the day you benefit the plant by reducing the growth potential of its competitors.
If you plan on starting an organic garden, you should always properly cover your seeds. If your seeds are not properly covered, then they will not grow. You should aim to cover most of your seeds about three times as deep as the thickness of your seeds in order to ensure optimum growth. However, certain seeds, such as alyssum and snapdragons, should not be covered because they need a lot of light to germinate.
You can use something like a laundry basket to gather all of your produce together when the time comes. Most laundry baskets are designed with a multitude of holes. This makes them a perfect strainer for washing your vegetables. Rinse off your produce while it’s in the laundry basket, and any excess water will be strained out through the basket’s holes.
Within your composting heap, ensure that there is an equal split of dried and green plant materials. You can use all types of green material in your compost pile, including cut grass, dead flowers, fruit peels and cores, and much more. Dried materials are things like hay, wood shavings, cardboard and paper. Avoid ashes, meat, charcoal and diseased plants in your compost.
Plant synergistically. To naturally repel pests, plant marigolds near nematode-sensitive crops like tomatoes and potatoes. To improve growth, plant legumes near plants that can benefit from the nitrogen they produce. Intersperse pungent plants like herbs and onions, whose scent can repel bugs and animals, with other unscented vegetables.
When planting seeds in containers, remember that the planting depth should be around three times bigger than the seed size. You should know that certain seeds need not be covered, because they need the sunlight. Some common examples include ageratum and petunias. If you do now know how to plant your seed, consult the information that came with the seed when you bought it or check online for helpful information.
When starting an organic garden, test the pH level of your soil. You need to know the pH level of your soil in order to choose the appropriate plants that will grow in it. For example, plants that favor an alkaline soil will not do well in acidic soil. Test kits can be purchased to test the pH level of your soil.
Use rainwater for your organic garden. Water can be collected in barrels when rain fall is at high levels, and then used on your garden during drought periods. This will help to conserve water and provide your plants with all the hydration they need. Most rain barrels have a spicket so you can attach your soaker hose directly to the barrel.
So, as you can see growing an organic garden is not as complicated as it appears. It is involved in terms of research, hard work, and patience, but the personal rewards make it worth it in the end. With the above tips in mind, you should be smarter when it comes to growing your own organic garden.
How To Successfully Grow A Healthy Organic Garden was originally published on Spring