Gardening is a complex hobby, but it doesn’t have to be confusing or difficult. If you decide to go the natural route, you may have to know about things like the pH balance of soil and natural bug-fighting concoctions. Organic gardening can be a bit tricky for those who are trying it for the first time. Learn more about organic gardening by reading the helpful tips below.
Include your children in your efforts to organic gardening. Children will benefit from the fresh air while bonding with you in your efforts to provide healthier food alternatives for them.
Planting organic strawberries is a great way to encourage your children to get involved. Children enjoy picking fresh fruit, especially if they can eat it right away.
Keep the temperature in your home between 65 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit, if you are keeping or growing any kind of plant in your house. Your plants will not grow well if it is too cold. These temperatures may not be comfortable for you, however. As an alternative to keeping your entire home that warm, consider getting heat lamps for your organic plants.
Make sure you work in your garden every day. By having your tools in one location, you will not spend hours looking for them. Prepare your equipment before you go into the garden and put everything away afterwards. Get a tool belt if you need to, or a pair of pants with a lot of pockets.
Pine is a mulch that is great. Some plants are more acidic, and prefer soil that contains higher acidic levels. Pine needles are an excellent form of mulch for these types of plants. Cover the beds with a couple inches of needles and as they decompose, they will disperse acid to the soil.
Avoid allowing chores in your organic garden stack up. Even if you can’t tend to your garden daily, you can do little things to help so that there is not a huge amount of work to be done when you are ready to get back to it. For example, if you are playing in the yard with your child, take a few moments to pull some weeds as well.
Laundry Basket
When it is harvest time, use a laundry basket. The basket will make a great strainer when you wash your vegetables. Rinse your produce while it lays in the basket; any excess water strains off through the laundry basket holes.
Your compost pile should contain green plants and dried ones in equal amounts. Add grass clippings, waste from fruits and vegetables, leaves, and weeds for the green materials in your compost pile. Dried plant materials are things like shredded newspaper, cardboard, sawdust, straw, and any cut up wood materials. Materials to avoid during composting include diseased plants, meat, ashes and charcoal.
It can be hard to grow an organic garden without chemicals, but the end result is worth the effort. Harsh chemicals may be easier to use, but they can affect the nutrition and taste of your vegetables.
To eliminate pests naturally, look for plants and flowers that repel harmful insects and animals without damaging your garden. Natural insecticides are sometimes more effective than the myriad synthetic, chemical-based products available. Yet, because of their biological makeup, when you use botanical insecticides, they often decay very quick and tend to disappear rapidly.
Whenever you plant tomatoes in your garden, plant multiple sets about three weeks apart. When you stagger your planting in this manner, your tomato plants will not be in bloom all at once, meaning you have fresh tomatoes for longer. If something happens to ruin your harvest, you have time to fix the problem before the next set of tomatoes is due, sparing part of the harvest.
You could simply make a new perennials garden in a couple easy steps. Use a spade to cut beneath the turf, and cover the entire area with wood chips after flipping it over. Wait a few weeks before planting perennials in the new bed.
You need to make a bed that is efficient for your plants. To start this, slice underneath your turf with a spade. Once you do this, flip it upside down and cover this area with around three or four inches of wood chips. Wait for a few weeks to pass, then cut into it for planting.
A biologically diverse garden is one of the most interesting and rewarding kinds. Wildlife will be attracted by different varieties of plants, so make sure you have a wide choice for them. Use a variety of plants, flowers and even fruit or vegetable-producing choices to create an abundant, natural garden. The end result should be a calming and great place to relax. Your hard work will have been well worth the effort.
When you are gardening, you should know what you can and cannot use in an organic garden. Always look into natural solutions before turning to chemicals. A good example to use is compost. If you choose to go organic, you have less of a chance that there will be chemical, toxic buildups in your soil and water.
Now, you shouldn’t get your hopes up and believe that a few tips are going to turn you into an instant professional gardener. However, these tips are a great starting point if you do plan to grow organically. As you implement these tips and hone your skills, you’ll be a professional green-thumb-holder in no time.