The organic garden needs care, so it is important that you devote enough time to this area. Sound organic gardening techniques can help you do just that. This advice will help you create happier, healthier and tastier produce. The tips in this article should start you on the road to doing just that with a successful organic garden.
Use climbers to cover walls and fences. Climbing plants can cover a wall after one growing season only. You may also be interested in training them over an arbor or trellis. You can also grow them among existing landscape trees and plants. Some must be tied onto a support, but a number of climbers attach to surfaces with twining stems or tendrils. Reliable varieties include clematis, honeysuckle, wisteria, jasmine and climbing roses.
When winter comes around, save some plants by putting them in the house. Find out which plants will be able to thrive despite the transplanting and different indoor conditions. Dig carefully around the roots, then transfer the plant into a pot.
When you go to mow your lawn, make sure you don’t mow it too closely to the ground. If you allow your grass to grow a little longer, the roots will go down deeper into the dirt, helping the grass grow better and remain hydrated. Short grass tends to have shallow roots, which can cause dried out, brown patches to occur.
Fragile Shrubs
Keep your fragile shrubs protected from the winter weather. Fragile shrubs, that are planted in pots, should be covered to protect them during the cold season. Try to tie the tops all together and cover them with a sheet, large piece of cloth, or blanket. This is a much better method, instead of putting the plastic wrap around the plant. It allows proper air circulation that can prevent rotting.
Irises should be divided. Increase your iris stocks by dividing your overgrown clumps. After the foliage dies, pick up bulbous irises. The bulbs should automatically divide in your palm, and once you put them back into the earth, they will typically flower the following year. You should split up rhizomes by utilizing a blade. Cut healthy pieces from the root stalk and throw out the dead center. Each piece should have at least one strong offshoot. Replant immediately.
Take a look at planting berry-producing evergreens in your yard. This will aid in giving your garden great color, even during the winter when other plants have lost their colors. A few examples that you could go with include the American Holly, the Winterberry, the American Cranberrybush, and the Common Snowberry.
Aid them by dumping any leftover water from steaming vegetables over them. To add acidity to the soil of your rhododendrons and gardenias, use coffee or tea grounds. If fungus is an issue, Chamomile tea sprinkled on the plant may be effective.
Beneficial Insects
When horticulture, don’t use any broad-spectrum pesticides. Besides killing the insects you don’t want, this type of pesticide will also kill beneficial insects. Beneficial insects are more susceptible to toxic pesticides than their annoying counterparts, so a broad-spectrum pesticide could kill all of the good bugs first, allowing the population of bad pests to multiply. If you respond to the growing pest problem with more broad-spectrum pesticide, you only continue the harmful cycle.
Make sure that you take time to properly plant any seeds that you buy. The first thing you should do before planting is moisturize the soil. Next you need to spread the seeds out evenly so they have the room needed to grow. The seeds should be buried to a depth that is equal to three times the diameter of the seeds. Some seeds require light for growing and must not be buried.
After seeds have sprouted, they require less warmth than they did prior to sprouting. Remove plants from the heated environment once they begin growing. If you have plastic films on your containers, remove them. Keep a close watch on your seeds to know when to do this.
Coffee Grounds
Use coffee grounds on your soil. Coffee grounds will add nitrogen to your soil which will make them helpful for some of your plants. Coffee grounds as a source of nitrogen for plants are usually limited to acid-loving plants because coffee is acidic. A strong nitrogen source in your garden area is a wonderful way to have healthy and strong plants.
Get more value from your property. Landscaping has one of the highest returns you can get from home improvement. Certain plant investments could raise your home’s resale value by approximately 20% or possibly more! The plants you buy should be able to withstand normal regional weather conditions.
Use an aged laundry basket when you want to collect your produce. A benefit of using something like a laundry basket is that it can strain for you, as well as hold a large amount of produce. The produce can be rinsed off as it sits in the laundry basket, and extra water will drain out through the sides.
Get your organic garden certified so you can credibly claim that your crops are organic. This will increase sales and shows your customers they’ve been buying from the best.
When you water too much, then you can actually harm your plants due to the fact that the roots can’t get the nutrients they need. Before watering your plants outdoors, check to see if there is rain in the forecast. If rain is in the forecast, it is best not to water that day.
Rotate your garden annually. When plants of the same family are planted in the same spot year after year, it can encourage the growth of fungus and disease. Fungus and disease may stay in the soil and then affect your plants the next growing season. Changing your planting layout will allow you to avoid costly problems and have large, bountiful plants.
Organic gardening makes a huge difference in the taste and freshness of your produce. The horticulture process itself requires hard work and dedication, but the end results are worth the effort it takes to grow an organic garden.