My Vegetable Patch

If you are wondering about beginning to garden organically, keep doing so. Not many people think of such causes for the benefit of nature. Nature will be smiling at you now.

Organic gardening takes a lot of hard work, so you will need to be prepared for it. Do not give up just because of a minor problem. Just think of it like nature is testing you how big your love for it is.

What makes this hard? Unlike the ordinary kind of gardening, going organic will remove from you the freedom to use just about anything that is commercially available as long as it will help you with your venture. No way. You cannot use synthetic materials on this one. Everything must be organic. It must come from nature itself. You must have done it using elements that can be found on the ground. Or you can also buy those available in the market as long as they claim to be organic.

By going organic, you’ll be able to help nature replenish its resources. You will get the dried leaves, the sawdust, some vegetable peels and other materials from the ground. This is also your way of cleaning your surroundings. But such materials can be used as elements in compost.

You can actually do your own compost by going over some books on how this can be done or reading some of our articles on this blog. You can also turn to someone who is successful with this type of gardening and ask that person for tips and tricks. You can use the result of that compost as fertilizers on your garden.

Finding somebody who gardens organically already will help you enormously. By having the aid of an expert, especially if you are only beginning on this task, you will be better at helping nature. You will quickly pick up the basics, such as what type of plants you can grow in what type of soil. You will have a clearer view as to how the elements of the ground can contribute to the success of your project. You will know what to do in cases of trouble with regards to the growth of your plants or the emergence of pests on your garden.

Nature will really love you for the way you will only utilize organic materials for the purpose of growing green things on your garden. And you will benefit a lot in the process of organic gardening. You will be able to become a guru of this type of task. You will be able to produce organic sources of food.

Filed in Gardening, Getting Started by Robin Fisher

A gardening guru knows that weeding is effective for growth control. Weeds are your garden’s most persistent and deadly enemy. You need to be able to know how to handle weeds in order to foster growth control for your organic garden. If you let weeds take over, they will completely obliterate your capacity to yield a rich number of vegetables.

They are the number one stealer of nutrients and sunlight, so the earlier you try to eliminate them, the better it will be for your gardening. This can take up a lot of your time during certain seasons, but monitoring weeds and eliminating them is definitely worth it to ensure an effective yield.

Weeds are usually much harder to remove when they have matured. So it is best to keep a keen eye out anrd regularly inspect your garden for the earliest appearances of weeds. Cultivating your soil regularly will help eliminate the younger weeds, which is the best approach as once you let those young weeds take hold and be firmly established in the garden, it will become a more herculean task to try to remove them.

Seasons also affect the appearance of weeds. Different types of weeds proliferate at different times of the year, and it will be your advantage to recognize which weeds are in season so you can more easily expect them in your garden and prepare your anti-weed arsenal more effectively.

Make sure that your ground remains filled up with the good stuff. If you leave any portion idle or bare, the weeds are more likely to invade that area and secure its nutrients for their growth. If you are unable to fill the entire area with plant outgrowths, try to use a good cover to keep the weeds from invading your vegetable patch.

In the case where weeds have already grown, chopping them off from the root is the most efficient way to remove them. The use of herbicides and pesticides is also possible, but it is not entirely necessary when you are able to cultivate your land. The pesticides and herbicides, especially the commercially available ones, may prove to have other harmful effects and pose a threat to other useful organisms living in your garden. If you do need to use herbicides and pesticides, do so sparingly.

Mulching and composting are also good ways to help maintain the soil and ward off the weeds. Ultimately, you will not have to encounter huge problems in weed management if from the start, you are able to keep them from thriving in your garden in the first place.

If you are really consistent in digging up your space, you will have made the most out of your vegetables’ garden and have exercised true growth control against weeds that can steal, kill and destroy your organic garden.

Filed in Gardening, Tips by Robin Fisher

When we talk of fertilization for in terms of organic gardening, it is almost always attributed to being similar to mulching. But there are also other aspects such as the introduction of fertilizers that can be available naturally or commercially. Simply defined, it involves placing matter, whether organic or inorganic, around your plants.

Aside from providing fertilization, it also protects your soil. Whether your garden is subjected under heavy rains or at the risk of weed infestation, the mulches provide the good protection and strengthening of soil needed to supplement the natural growth processes of your organic garden vegetables. In addition, it also regulates the temperature of the soil and it will also render visual appeal to the garden because it will help improve the ground texture and overall appearance.

If you have effectively established mulches in your garden, less watering is required because it will also help the plants retain water. Although known to help in weed control, it does not directly fight or ward off the weeds; it just helps as a filler for bare areas that are at higher risk of weed infestation. Also, persistent weeds can die down as it forces itself in the soil surrounded with mulch.

For the case of organic mulches, bacteria has the tendency to eat up the much-needed nitrogen. In some cases, you might be required to inject additional dosages of nitrogen. Examples of materials you can use for mulching include lawn clippings, compost mixes, leaves, straw, sawdust, wood chips. These are examples of organic materials for mulching. If you opt for inorganic, it often has its optimum results on plants placed on a hill.

When fertilizing your soil via mulching, you may be required to be more meticulous with your organic garden. You might be required to water more frequently when you are using inorganic fabrics, and then you must also watch out for the greater tendency to wilt because the ground cover tends to be more crowded.

Testing your soil is a good way to ensure effective fertilization. You cannot afford to buy fertilizer by the bulk, only to realize that it is not the right fertilizer suited for your soil. The best way to make sure that you are able to score the best fertilizer is by means of doing an actual test on a sample of soil taken from your garden.

Once you apply fertilizer, it is often recommended to maintain it. Having a budget for high quality fertilizer is also a must-have for a gardener, especially a beginner. There are also some fertilizers solely tailored at the beginning of the planting process and need not be maintained all throughout your gardening activities. The key is to make sure that you are getting your money’s worth and have thoroughly proven for yourself that the given fertilizer you are putting on your garden has been tried and tested on your soil type.

Even if you put fertilizers or inorganic mulches in your soil, the organic matter is still the best source of fertilization for your plant, and it adheres closely to the natural growth process of plants. If at all possible, avoid introducing too much chemical interventions in your soil so that the plants will get used to growing and maximizing its potential via natural means.

Filed in Gardening, Getting Started by Robin Fisher

Organic farming is the trend these days because it is cheap and it is environment friendly. Before you get started, you need to get some organic vegetable gardening supplies. You will need some tools and some other supplies.

These supplies consist of different things. Soil is perhaps the most important given that this is where you will plant your vegetables. Before you prepare the land or put in the seeds, you have to check its condition. Since you are not sure about its pH level, you should get some compost first and put it there as it neutralizes it if this is too high as well as provide a range of nutrients to prepare the soil for cultivation.

Some people don’t normally buy compost, but make it themselves. For that, you can use weeds, dead leaves, vegetable and meat waste products and manure. This is because they are biodegradable and at the same time, cuts down the amount of garbage that is dumped in landfills.

When the soil is ready, you will then get the seeds. Before you throw them in, make sure that they will be able to survive your existing environment. For that, you should do some research online or talk to the sales clerk at the store before you buy them. If you don’t want to buy seeds, you can also buy vegetables that are already growing. When you select them, be sure to check the leaves so you avoid getting those that are already discolored or wilted.

Pests are the biggest threats among farmers and gardeners. For that, you can use other insects, birds, ladybugs, praying mantis and the toad. Another is the use of horticultural oils that break down quickly and pose little toxicity to humans or pets.

Weeds are another problem. For that, you will have to do a little bit of back-breaking work and put on your gardening gloves, get on your knees and start pulling them from the ground. It is possible to spray the area with horticultural vinegar or corn meal gluten granules that prevent weeds from germinating and releases nitrogen into the soil. Keep in mind that this should be applied during early spring or fall when most weeds come out.

Another non-toxic chemical you can use to combat weeds is fish or seaweed based liquid based fertilizers. These also release nitrogen, phosphate and potash that is good for your crops.

For people who don’t have a backyard, you can still do organic farming by buying pots. Ideally, you should use those made out of clay, plastic or wood. You just have to water them often since they need more water being in here than out in the garden.

There is truly no other way to garden other than organic vegetable gardening that saves you both money and makes sure what you eat is chemical free. So go ahead and experience the difference.

Filed in Gardening, Supplies by Robin Fisher

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to plant vegetables. But if you want to do this the old fashioned way which has proven to be very effective, you should know the organic vegetable gardening basics.

The first thing you have to know is what is organic vegetable gardening: It is simply a way of farming that does not use any synthetic products which includes fertilizers and pesticides. In short, you work with nature to get what you want.

Choosing the right vegetable to plant is knowing which of these are suitable to the soil and the climate. If you live in an area that experiences droughts, buy those that do not consume that much water. Before you drop seeds into the soil, make sure the land is ready by tilling the land so it is clear both of rocks and weeds.

The next step will be to add compost, bone meal or rock phosphate and greensand to the soil to supply it with nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium. If the pH level of the soil is too high, add lime or sulphur to adjust it.

One more thing you have to do before planting the seeds is putting in organic fertilizer. You can use recycled leaves, grass clippings, coffee grounds, eggshells and kitchen waste which should be applied a month before planting begins.

Then it is time to plant the seeds. Each seed must be spaced by a certain distance the roots do not fight for water. In between each of the vegetables, you can plant other things as well because the tighter the space, the lesser the chances that weeds will grow.

Pests are the biggest threat to your organic garden. To fight them, you can use birds, frogs or other insects. You don’t have these creatures to fend off other insects. You simply have to create the ideal environment by putting a bird house or a small pond. Once they are in place, they will do the rest by patrolling your garden and eating those who seek to eat your crops.

Putting up a few barriers can also help. Row covers are known to prevent moths from landing and laying eggs. You can also use sticky traps and foil collars to stop pests and borers.

There are also organic pesticides around but some of them can only kill one or two kinds of pests. So before you buy them, make sure you know what you are dealing with.

Crop rotation is the best way to preserve the fertility of the soil. This is done after you harvest the vegetables so it is ready for planting once again. For this to work, you have to plant in the same area a different vegetable.

Anyone can learn organic vegetable gardening basics and soon have their own little farm in their backyard. It is fresh and you can pick this anytime you want which is very convenient as these are only a few feet from your home.

Filed in Gardening, Getting Started by Robin Fisher