Organic gardening is undoubtedly a very enjoyable pastime, despite the effort, patience and skill involved. It’s a fun activity that will allow you to enjoy nutritious food that’s free of pesticides.
Easier than it sounds though, correct? See these tips to learn how to get started with this healthy, rewarding hobby.
Let your children be involved in your organic gardening efforts. The benefits for your children will be a closer bond with nature and an understanding of where food comes from.
Use this simple tip to get your perennial garden ready in a flash. Slice under the grass with a spade, flip the layer you have lifted over, and spread three inches of wood chips on top. Let the area have about two weeks, then dig it and plan the new perennials.
You need to make sure you are very efficient when working in your organic garden. Have your tools laid out in an orderly way so you do not have to search for them. In addition to keeping your gardening tools in one location, you should also clean your tools after each use. You can use a tool belt for this purpose, or choose pants that contain several large pockets.
Use a laundry basket to help you collect produce from your garden. The basket will make a great strainer when you wash your vegetables. Rinse your crops while in the laundry basket to strain the excess water.
Apply equal portions of dried plant material and green into your compost pile. Green means plant cuttings including grass, produce and weeds. Dried plant material consists of sawdust, shredded paper, cardboard, straw, and cut-up and dried wood material. You should not use things like meat scraps, charcoal, blighted plants or the manure of meat-eating animals in your compost.
Take Care of Your Weeds
Do you want to kill weeds naturally? You can easily control weeds by using layered sheets of newspaper. Like any other plant, weeds need to be exposed to the sun. If you put a thick layer of newspaper on them, weeds will not be able to get light or air, and they will die! In time, the newspaper will decompose into the soil. Add a layer of mulch on top to make it look more attractive!
If you have recently planted seeds in your organic garden, you should regularly aerate the soil by using your hands to gently sift it. Believe it or not, aerating the soil in this manner can actually make your seedlings grow larger.
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Make Them Slugs Disappear
If you have problem slugs in your organic garden, get rid of them naturally with a beer trap. Take a glass jar and bury it in your garden, making sure that the lip of the jar is even with the soil. Next, add beer to the jar until it’s about nearly full, with somewhere around an inch of space remaining. The scent of the beer will bait the slugs into the jar and they will become trapped.
Create raised beds with stone, brick or untreated wood. Choose a wood that is resistant to rot and does not contain any chemicals. Some good woods are locust, cedar and cypress. Avoid using treated wood in an organic vegetable garden. The chemicals in the wood can leak into the soil, and eventually into the plants. If you are already using treated lumber, you can use plastic liners, or a different barrier, in order to protect your garden.
Get Organic Certified
If you sell your crops and label them organic, you should get an organic garden certified seal. This attracts customers who are willing to drive a little farther and pay a little more for products that are safe and healthy.
Never Over Water Plants
While organic gardening takes a little extra work, it is healthier and more gratifying than regular gardening. Although the chemicals may claim greater results, using organic methods to tame your garden will do less harm to your body, and the environment.
If you over-water your plants, they can’t get all the nutrients they need from the dirt. Before watering plants outdoors, check with some weather stations to find out if it will rain anytime during the day. You may be able to skip watering because of the pending weather.
Gardening organically is a rewarding hobby that incorporates nature, effort and patience. This is a great hobby that uses your land to grow food. This article is full of advice that you can use, along with a little old-fashioned hard work, to get off to a great start in organic gardening.