Organic gardening can be very intimidating to someone that has never done it before. It can easily lead to a bit of information overload because of all of the resources available to new organic gardeners. Below are some tips to assist you in getting all of this information organized to where you can start growing organic plants effectively.
Learn how to trim your plants. Not all plants require trimming, but if you notice unhealthy stems, trimming a plant can help you get rid of a disease or at least slow it down long enough for you to cure your plant. Do not cut too many stems and leaves: cut only the unhealthy parts.
Controlling pests is essential to a high yield garden. There are a variety of products available on the market that will kill any invasive pest in the garden. Many organic pest controls have been perfected over the years that work very well, although they can be more expensive than chemical alternatives. With a quick internet search one can find many safe home remedies for pest control too.
If you are planning an irrigation system for your garden, consider a drip irrigation system. A conventional system using sprinkler heads loses a lot water through evaporation. However, a drip system irrigates your garden by a constant slow drip of water beneath the surface, which means less water is wasted through evaporation.
If this is your first time planting a garden, you should purchase seeds and plant them in seed trays to allow them to grow some before planting them outside. By doing this, your plant will be stronger and much more likely to survive once you plant it in the soil outside.
If you are growing tomatoes, be sure to pick an airy spot that gets plenty of light. Tomatoes require at least ten hours of sunlight during an average summer day in order to grow to their peak flavor levels. Good air circulation between and around the plants is also vital to their survival.
Use a sanitary laundry basket to pick your fruit and vegetable harvest. They are reusable and already have holes so you can rinse the dirt and debris off your yields. It acts like a strainer and will replace the function of wood baskets. Save money and stay green at the same time.
Wear comfortable shoes and clothing when gardening. Never work in the garden in bare feet or sandals. Wear shoes that lace up and give good cushioning and arch support. If it is hot and sunny out, wear a hat to shade from the sun and clothes that will protect the skin from burning. The more comfortable you are, the more you will enjoy your garden throughg a successful garden, is preparing the soil for your seeds or seedlings. Poor soil grows poor plants. One way to obtain rich soil is to buy or make organic compost and mix it into the soil that you plan to plant the garden. You can also add manure to the soil to make it more fertile. It is wise to refrain from using chemical fertilizers, since they can burn your crops and also be harmful to your health.
Plan out where you will plant certain vegetables in your garden before planting them. You need to know how tall and how wide certain plants get, so that you can avoid overcrowding your plants. Knowing ahead of time what you can expect from your plants will also help you place them far enough apart so that you can walk between them easily if necessary.
If you don’t have the space to grow a garden in the ground you can still enjoy the benefits of gardening by using containers. Almost any plant can be grown in a container and many plants now are specifically designed for container growing. With a large container you could have a mini-garden right on your porch.
When starting to seed you can use empty toilet paper and paper towel rolls rather than buying expensive trays from the store. The tubes can be cut into smaller pieces and placed directly into the ground because they are biodegradable and will just disintegrate over time. This is a simple way to insure no damage is done to the root system as well.
You never want to do any gardening with open wounds, so make sure everything is completely healed up before you begin; otherwise, you run the risk of your cut being exposed to dangerous chemicals and dirt. If an open wound is not protected while you are working in the garden, dirt and bacteria may cause the cut to become infected. Now, there are bandages available that will cover and seal the injured area completely, allowing you to continue your gardening projects.
When growing indoor plants, the thermostat should be set between 65-75 degrees throughout the day. The plants need this temperature in order to effectively grow. If you don’t want you house to be really warm during the cold season, you could use a heat lamp on organic plants instead.
If your garden shed is far from your garden, try to carry your frequently used tools with you. This will save you time by helping you avoid making many trips to your shed to get tools. If you will need more tools than you can carry, you could consider using a wagon or a bucket to hold all of your tools.
Apply equal portions of dried plant material and green into your compost pile. Examples of green plant material are spent flowers, fruit and vegetable waste, grass clippings, weeds, and leaves. Dried plant materials are things like shredded newspaper, cardboard, sawdust, straw, and any cut up wood materials. Certain substances will undermine your composting efforts and cancel out any benefits; these include meat, charcoal, ash or plants that have diseases or fungal growths.
Hopefully, these tips have provided you with some very valuable information, as well as given you a way to organize all of the thoughts and information you may have already gathered about organic gardening. Keeping these tips in mind when you start growing your plants can help you become a very successful organic gardener.