An organic garden is a fascinating thing that also requires a lot of time and attention. To do so, your smart organic gardening skills are going to come in handy. A good understanding of organic gardening is needed to grow healthy plants. Use this advice to take your organic garden to the next level.
If you want to get children in on the fun, plant a few strawberries, everbearing if possible. Little ones will be more likely to help when they can enjoy the fun of harvesting their own fruit.
If you’re growing plants indoors, keep your thermostat around 65 or 75 degrees daily. Indoor plants grow best at these warm temperatures. If you want to save money on gas bills in the winter, you can provide local heating for the plants with a heat lamp instead.
Just as when outside, plants kept inside need varying degrees of sunlight, which can be harder to obtain from indoors. If you’re living in a home that doesn’t receive much sunlight, you should consider growing plants that thrive in environments with low to medium amounts of light. If you still are unable to get enough light to your plants, consider purchasing grow-lights.
Have all of your tools available to you as you garden to increase efficiency. You could do this by using a big bucket, or just wear old pants that have some deep pockets. You should always have your gloves, pruning shears and a trowel close to you.
Work efficiently in your garden. 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. You may also wish to invest in a tool belt to keep all of your tools within reach while gardening.
You can stop mud from being tracked into your house by covering your dirty gardening shoes with plastic bags. You’ll be able to keep your momentum going without needing to take off your shoes, and stay on track with your gardening project.
Coffee Grounds
Put coffee ground into your soil. Coffee grounds add many nitrogenous nutrients to the soil that will benefit your plants. Plants need an adequate nitrogen source in order to thrive. Adding coffee grounds, chemical fertilizer, or diluted urea to your soil increases the soil’s nitrogen content and will help to make your plants grow faster, taller and healthier.
Make sure you consider adequate spacing when planting your garden, so that each plant is given room enough to grow and flourish. You can easily underestimate how much space the plants need until they begin to grow. You need to take into account the plant’s size when it is fully grown, as well as allowing space for air circulation between each plant. Plant the plants appropriately when it comes to spacing the seeds.
Looking for a natural way to kill weeds in your garden? You need to have many layers of newspapers in order to provide proper weed control. Weeds need sunlight to grow. When you pile up layers of newspapers right on top of the weeds, they will suffocate and die. Newspapers easily break down over a period of time, and eventually become a portion of the compost. It can look more attractive by adding a mulch layer.
When planting seeds, you should bury them three times as deep as their actual size. However, it is important to understand that some seeds require sunlight and should never be covered. Some common examples include ageratum and petunias. If you are unsure about the specific needs of your seeds, you should consult your local garden center or conduct further research online. Important things to look for include water requirements, ideal soil type, and recommended sunlight exposure.
Use alcohol to help control the slugs in your garden by fashioning a beer trap. Bury a jar in the garden with it’s mouth open and level to the ground. Next, fill up the jar with beer until there is around one inch between the liquid level and the jar top. The beer will attract the slugs and they will be trapped in the jar.
Treated Wood
Try using untreated stone, brick, or wood to create a raised bed. If you choose wood, it needs to be naturally rot resistant and untreated. Some good choices you might consider are locust, cedar, and cypress. In a vegetable garden, never use treated wood, as the chemicals can leach out into the soil and food crops. If you have placed treated wood in your garden, line it with a coat of plastic.
Do some research on botanical insecticides, as they can be effective in controlling pests. All insecticides are strong, including botanical ones. Natural insecticide are more environmentally friendly, in part, because they decay quickly and become harmless.
Creating a new bed for your perennials is easy. Cut underneath the turf, then flip it. Next, use wood chips to cover the area. Wait a couple of weeks, then you can easily dig into it with a trowel and then plant your favorite perennials.
Organic Gardening
The tips above have shown you that there is a noticeable difference in the quality of produce produced by organic gardening. Although organic gardening isn’t easy since you have to put in time and effort and wait for results, the health benefits make it worth it.