organic horticulture techniques

Reducing Stress By Growing A Home Garden

~ craigb

TIP! If mildew is forming on your plants, you should not purchase an expensive chemical. Mix a bit of liquid soap and some baking soda into water.

To have the most success with your garden, you need to take care of it. Good organic horticulture techniques can be very useful in this context. Nurturing your organic garden ensures that your veggies are bigger and your flowers are more beautiful. Read on to learn the basics of managing your organic garden.

TIP! Carbon dioxide, or CO2, is essential to the growth of plants because of its role in photosynthesis. Most plants will grow better with more CO2.

The handles on your gardening tools can be used as a convenient measuring instrument. You can use larger tools, like rakes, as measuring sticks. On the floor, simply lay out the handles, then take a tape measure and run it next to them. Mark your distances with a permanent marker. When you decide to work in the garden again, you will now have a ruler at your disposal.

TIP! A set of knee pads is a great investment if your garden has a lot of low-growing plants. You will end up spending a good deal of time on your knees and this can cause a lot of pain by the end of the day.

When fall arrives, it’s time to plant your autumn vegetables. Try something different by planing kale or lettuce inside a pumpkin, instead of using the planter pots you traditionally use. Clean out the pumpkin just like you would if you were making a jack o’lantern. Spray Wilt-Pruf inside the pumpkin and along its edges so that the pumpkin won’t rot. Once you have completed this, start planting!

Both cat grass and wheat grass are good for giving your errant feline pause. You may also place something offensively smelly atop the soil, like citrus peel or mothballs.

TIP! Good tools for the gardener include a wheelbarrow and a kneeling stool. Gardening can be very tough on the knees as you spend much time leaning near the ground, so a portable stool can make all the difference to your comfort.

Before you start planting your garden, plan it! Doing so means you can remember where each particular plant is when you start seeing sprouts arise from the earth. You might end up losing small plants in a large area, because you did not water them.

TIP! Don’t use broad-spectrum pesticidal products anywhere in your gardening area. These pesticides will kill every type of pest in your garden, including beneficial bugs that eat garden pests.

You should start pea seedlings indoors instead of planting them outside right at the start. Seeds that are planted indoors will enjoy superior germination. The seedlings will also be heartier, which means they can resist pests and diseases better. You could transplant the seedlings outdoors once they are able to survive and thrive.

Gardening Chemicals

TIP! To create an English garden, combine a lot of different plants in the same garden. Using plants of all the same kind or size, can result in a boring, and unoriginal garden.

Read instructions on new gardening chemicals and tools before you use them. If you use your gardening chemicals wrong, you can abrade or even burn your skin. So make sure you take precautions, follow the simple directions and be safe.

TIP! Make sure you protect your knees well while you are gardening. It is not good to bend from a standing position for a long period of time.

When gardening, don’t use any broad-spectrum pesticides. Besides killing the insects you don’t want, this type of pesticide will also kill beneficial insects. In fact, beneficial insects are more likely to die than pests if you spray these types of pesticides. As the population of “good” bugs dwindles, your garden may become overrun with pests. This can lead to needing even more pesticides to eliminate the problem insects.

TIP! Organic indoor plants may need additional light sources to make up for the light they miss out on by being indoors. This needs to be considered.

Choose a specific plant to become your garden’s focal point. There should be a solid focal point for every good garden design. A perfect example of a focal point is using a plant that doesn’t bear any resemblance to those that surround it.

TIP! Before planting any perennials, you have to make the ground ready. Take your spade and work up a thin layer of soil.

If you have children, plant strawberries, especially everbearing strawberries, in your organic garden. Your children will enjoy being able to pick strawberries and will be ready to help you if they can get something sweet to eat.

TIP! Pine mulch can be highly effective under the right conditions. Acidic soil is a favorite of garden plants that are high in acidity.

Water containing some aspirin helps your plants fight illness. Three aspirins per four gallons of water will help keep your plants healthy. You can easily spray the plans with this concoction to help them fight of disease. Your plants should be sprayed one time each three weeks.

TIP! Regularity is the key to keeping your organic garden in order, don’t let your list of chores pile up. Sometimes it might prove difficult to get in a little gardening time every day.

Make sure any open cuts are completely protected from dirt and chemicals before you go to work in your garden. A cut or abrasion can become infected if it is not properly protected from dirt, pesticides and other irritants. It is possible now to get bandages that will completely seal the cut.

Plastic bags are great to cover horticulture shoes when they get muddy. Doing this prevents lengthy work interruptions, and allows you to finish the job quickly.

TIP! If you are starting your seedlings out in small containers, you should use a layer of potting soil that is three times as deep as the size of a single seed. There are exceptions to this rule, however.

Remember to plan for adequate spacing when you first lay out an organic garden. People often underestimate how much space plants will need when once they’re grown. Plants need room for physical growth and for the air to circulate within the soil. Plant the plants appropriately when it comes to spacing the seeds.

TIP! A good thing to know when it comes to your organic garden, and running it, is to, a couple times a day, lightly ruffle the seedlings with cardboard or your hand. That may sound like a silly thing to do, but it’s been proven to help plants grow larger than they would otherwise.

Consider the climate and season when watering your plants. You should consider water quality and soil type when watering your plants. Try to water your plants at the same time every day, as time of day also affects how much water they need. In a warm and humid climate you should avoid watering the plant itself. Wet leaves promote the growth of leaf fungi. Instead, keep the root system well-watered.

TIP! If slugs are problematic in your garden, you can use an all-natural beer trap to do away with them. Place a container in the ground so that the lip is even with the soil surface.

Any gardening can connect you with Mother Nature, but particularly if you employ organic gardening techniques. Organic horticulture techniques allow you to be involved in the entire planting and growing process, while using only the safest and most sustainable resources.

TIP! Brick, stone or untreated wood is great for building raised beds. If you choose to use wood to construct your bed, choose a species that is naturally resistant to rot and avoid treated wood entirely.

Get to the root of the matter! When you are buying seedlings for tomatoes, look at the roots as well as the green parts. The reason that these starts will still look green with bad roots is because the seedlings will not grow until the starts are gone.

TIP! Add mulch to your garden to improve the vitality of the soil. The soil can be greatly enhanced by adding a good layer of mulch to it.

Find out more about botanical insecticides to get rid of the pest. These are frequently more effective than their chemically engineered counterparts. Due to the way they are made, you may have to use more of a botanical insecticide.

TIP! Have you ever given any thought to using organic gardening methods to grow garlic? Plant single garlic cloves during the spring or fall seasons in soil that is moist and well-drained. Space the clove about four inches apart, with the pointy end up and about one or two inches deep.

A perennial garden can be set up in a few easy steps. Use a spade to cut and flip over your turf, then cover the new bed with wood chips. In a few weeks, try cutting into your new bed and planting some perennials.

TIP! Even organic gardens can have trouble with weeds. This organic weed killer is safe for both your garden and you.

As you’ve read from the above tips, proper organic horticulture may really affect the nutrients and freshness of your produce. While it is labor and time intensive, your garden will be quite amazing as a result.

Create Your Own Garden Of Eden With These Tips

~ craigb

TIP! Transform the handles of your tools into convenient measuring devices. You can convert any large handle tool, such as a hoe, shovel, or rake into a measuring tool.

When you take time to apply proper organic horticulture techniques and products, it really does show. It signifies that you have care for your plants and you desire good health for them. This is a great thing. As with all skills, you can continuously improve your horticulture through experience and further study. Below are a collection of organic horticulture tips that will help you to develop your talent.

TIP! Having healthy soil in your garden will help your plants avoid insect pests. Healthy soil leads to healthy plants with more strength to deflect those insects and various diseases.

Try planting seeds in pots, and then transferring the seedlings to your garden. This increases the chance that your plants will survive to adulthood. The period between plantings will also be shorter. As soon as you harvest the mature plants in your garden, your new seedlings will be large enough to plant outside!

TIP! If you see mildew that is powdery, stay away from expensive chemicals to treat it. Combine a bit of liquid soap and some baking soda with water.

If you start to notice some powdery mildew growing on your plants, there is no need to waste money on expensive chemicals. Try mixing a little liquid soap with some baking soda in water. You just need to spray your plants with this solution once every five days until the mildew is no longer visible. This mixture will not hurt your plants and it will eliminate the mildew slowly but efficiently.

TIP! Don’t mow your grass too short. If you let your grass keep some height after mowing, it will be able to absorb more sun and moisture resulting in a lusher, greener lawn.

Plant some wheat grass or cat grass near where you car tends to nibble in your garden. Alternatively, you can try putting mothballs, citrus peel or anything else with an odor that cats find distasteful in the soil surrounding the plants.

Six Hours

TIP! As the weather turns colder, it is important to prepare your sensitive shrubs for the change. If you’ve got tender shrubs which are potted, you need to protect them from cold weather.

When you grow veggies in a garden, you need to ensure they get at least six hours of good sunlight each day. Many vegetables need about this much sun to grow quickly. Some flowers also need six hours of daily direct sun in order to grow and blossom well.

TIP! Start your peas in a protected indoors environment rather than outside. The seeds will grow better in your home if planted there first.

It can be tough to keep insects and other plant-ruining crawlies from infesting your garden. It is wise to limit the use of harsh chemicals, because the vegetables will be eaten. There is only one way to effectively control pests in your garden, and that is to stay vigilant in your efforts. If you catch them early, you can take them off the plants by hand.

TIP! Do some research to find out the best time for harvesting your vegetables. Each variety needs a slightly different amount of growing time to produce the most flavorful vegetable.

To defend your garden from errant dogs, spray something with a strong scent, including aftershave or old perfume around the perimeter of the garden. This will help mask the scents that attract your dog, and will make your garden a less interesting place for your pet to be.

TIP! When tending a vegetable garden, you might find that pest control is a bit difficult. It is wise to limit the use of harsh chemicals, because the vegetables will be eaten.

The warmth of the day can make vegetables soft, making them more prone to damage as you pick them. You should also be sure to cut them off the vine and not twist them, as twisting can hurt the plant.

TIP! Plant items with fall color. That doesn’t have to be, however.

Try to put an aspirin in the water to get rid of plant diseases. Three aspirins per four gallons of water will help keep your plants healthy. Simply spray your plants with the mixture, and this will help them fend off various diseases. Try to apply the mixture to the plants at least once in each three week period.

TIP! Avoid damage from the sun by dressing correctly when you garden. Always apply sunscreen with an adequate SPF level.

Keep the temperature in your home between 65 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit, if you are keeping or growing any kind of plant in your house. They need this type of warm temperature in order to grow. Another option is the use heat lamps that will protect your organic plants.

TIP! Allow your children to assist with the work to be done in your organic garden. A garden can teach your children about the joy of rewarding work and nutrition while bonding.

To be more efficient when working in your organic garden, have your tools close at hand. Use a large bucket, or wear rugged pants with several pockets. Keep common tools such as your gloves or your pruning shears within reach so that you can quickly and easily maintain your garden whenever you need to.

TIP! Spacing is essential when planting an organic garden. You can underestimate how much space you need when they are growing.

You can cover your muddied horticulture footware easily by keeping plastic bags around. When you do this, your flow stays going, and you can just get right back out to your garden and finish quick.

Pine Needles

TIP! Botanical pesticides that are from your local area can be incredibly effective on pests. Sometimes natural insecticides are more efficient than the synthetic pesticides you can buy.

Pine needles should not be overlooked as a great source for mulch. There are many common acidic plants that prefer acidic soil. If your garden contains plants like this, there are few things simpler than spreading some pine needles across your beds. Go ahead and cover the beds you have with needles a couple of inches and while they decompose, they actually disperse some acid into the soil.

TIP! It only takes a few simple steps to whip up an amazing garden for all of your perennials. Use a spade to cut and flip over your turf, then cover the new bed with wood chips.

Get more value from your property. If you are looking for high returns, landscaping gets you a lot of your money back. Certain plants could increase the value by 20%. The plants you buy should be able to withstand normal regional weather conditions.

TIP! Increase the biodiversity in your organic garden. When you have a bigger variety of plants, you also attract different wildlife as well.

When it’s harvest time, you should utilize a basket that you put laundry in to carry your veggies. It makes a great strainer for your vegetables. While your freshly harvested fruits and vegetables are still in the basket, rinse them off and any excess water will run off through the laundry basket holes.

TIP! This will be organic gardening made easy. Plan your landscaping with primarily native grasses, flowers, and bushes! If you select plants able to thrive in your climate, soil variety and indigenous neighbors, you can cut the amount of fertilizer and pesticide you might need.

If you have recently planted seeds in your organic garden, you should regularly aerate the soil by using your hands to gently sift it. While this appears strange, research shows it can help plants grow larger, versus not petting them at all.

TIP! No matter what kind of garden you have, weeds are a pain. Fortunately, there are many organic products that can be used to kill weeds without harming the environment.

Change how much you water your plants with the changing of the seasons. You should also adjust your watering habits if the temperature or amount of rainfall changes dramatically. When watering your plants, consider the time you are watering them, the kind of soil you are using and how good the water is. In a warm and humid climate you should avoid watering the plant itself. Wet leaves promote the growth of leaf fungi. Instead, focus water on the plant’s root system.

TIP! While you may have heard a few things here and there about composting, how much do you really know about it? Compost includes natural ingredients and by-products, such as grass clippings, small branches, plant materials and even leftover veggies from the dinner table. This is an ideal substitute for commercially sold fertilizers.

You now have your garden tools, seeds and supplies needed to skillfully grow an organic garden, using the tips given here. You’ve come to the right place! The above tips were constructed to add to your personal organic horticulture techniques, as you are never done learning. You might even have learned something you hadn’t known before to use in your organic garden.

Become A Better Gardener By Following This Advice

~ craigb

TIP! Choose perennials that won’t be taken out by slugs. These mollusks are capable of consuming an entire garden full of flowers in a single night.

Depending on the effort you put into it, an organic garden can be a great pleasure or a great pain. Use the tips presented here to make the most out of your earth friendly organic garden.

TIP! Starting off your garden with healthy soil can be the best defense against those pesky garden bugs. Healthy soil leads to healthy plants with more strength to deflect those insects and various diseases.

Plant a variety of annuals, biennials and perennials to keep your flower beds bright. These types of flowers grow at high speed, which gives you more flexibility in changing the look of your flower beds as the seasons change. You can use them between the gaps in shrubs and perennials where there is plenty of sun. There are many different varieties to choose from such as daisies, marigolds, impatiens, and lantana.

TIP! Biennials and annuals are great if you would like to better your flower bed. These usually grow quickly, and provide an easy-to-change solution to making your flower beds bright and beautiful.

You may be able to re-pot some plants to bring indoors for the winter. Perhaps you can save your most expensive or resistant plants. Dig around roots carefully before transferring to a pot.

TIP! Make sure to be weary of stink bugs whenever you garden, particularly during the fall months. These destructive pests enjoy many kinds of fruit, as well as beans, peppers and tomatoes.

Use proper soil for the best results. You may need to alter the kind of soil you use based on the types of plants you intend to grow. You could also isolate a certain area, and fill it with just one kind of soil.

TIP! When mowing your lawn, avoid mowing the grass too short. If you let your grass keep some height after mowing, it will be able to absorb more sun and moisture resulting in a lusher, greener lawn.

Plants need a sufficient amount of CO2 for proper maximum growth. More CO2 generally produces more luxurious plant growth. The best way to get a lot of it is through a greenhouse. Make sure to keep CO2 levels high to provide the best growing environment for your plants.

TIP! Do you like mint, but not how they ruin your garden? Instead of planting mint in the ground, confine it to a large pot. You have the option of planting the container with the plant to keep the roots from taking the garden over.

Consider growing wheat grass or cat grass near the plants your cat enjoys eating. It may also work to add citrus peelings or mothballs to the soil of the plants, because the odor is unpleasant to cats.

TIP! In order to rid your garden of pests, take advantage of plant materials and other organic matter. Slugs are repelled by bordering your vegetable garden with either onions or marigolds.

Make a landscaping plan before you dig your first hole. This helps you remember where each plant was planted before they begin to sprout. This is important, because different plants require different care.

TIP! You may want to think about having evergreens that will produce berries planted in your yard. They add color to your yard, throughout the year.

Use cologne or other items with a distinct scent to keep your canine out of the landscaping. This helps mask the attractive scents and can make your garden unappealing to them.

TIP! If you want the best tasting vegetables, learn about the optimum time to harvest them. Every vegetable has a proper time to be picked in order to capture the perfect flavor.

If you choose to use organic methods to care for your houseplants, you should bear in mind that certain plants require more sunlight than others. If your windows are small or receive little light due to their positioning, a plant that requires little sunlight will be more comfortable and healthy. You can also get special lamps if you want a different kind of plants.

TIP! Pest control is very difficult if you are dealing with your veggie garden. Since you are growing the vegetables for your own consumption, you want to stay away from pesticides.

Spend your time working efficiently in your organic garden. By having your tools in one location, you will not spend hours looking for them. Before you make a trip to your garden, you should gather all tools and items in advance. Afterwards, be sure to return them to their original storage place. You can use a tool belt for this purpose, or choose pants that contain several large pockets.

TIP! Choose a plant to use for a focal point. A focal point, in a strong garden design, will attract eyes and hold them there.

Have some plastic bags on hand that you can put over your gardening shoes if they are muddy. When you do this, your flow stays going, and you can just get right back out to your garden and finish quick.

Pine Needles

TIP! If you want a sustainable garden, leave part of it undisturbed as a home for the wildlife in the area. A natural area will allow beneficial birds and insects, many of which pollinate plants, to live on your property and help your garden grow stronger.

Pine can make surprisingly great mulch. Some plants like acidic soil because they have high acidity. If you have acid loving plants, use pine needles as a mulch. Sprinkle the pine needles over your beds. As the needles decompose, they add to the acid level in the soil.

TIP! Use a laundry basket to help you collect produce from your garden. An old laundry basket makes an excellent strainer for cleaning your produce.

An old laundry basket works great for gathering produce from your garden. You can also use a laundry basket as a strainer. You can clean and rinse the harvest when it is the laundry basket and the water will go out of the holes.

TIP! If you need to prove to customers that your produce is legitimately organic, you can become certified as an organic grower. This will up your sales and prove to your loyal customers that what they have been getting is only the best that you possibly could get.

When planting seeds in containers, remember that the depth should be at least three times bigger than the seed. There are some seeds, however, that you should not cover at all, since they need sunlight to germinate. Some common examples include ageratum and petunias. Always be sure to check online or with the company you’re purchasing the seeds from as to their sunlight needs.

TIP! The best feature of organics is that they are pesticide free. However, although this is a much healthier alternative, it is important to check surfaces of organic fruits and vegetables thoroughly to be sure that no unwanted pests are living in or on them.

If you need to prove to customers that your produce is legitimately organic, you can become certified as an organic grower. Having certification will increase your sales and verify to your customers that what you are selling is the best produce available.

TIP! If you plant tomatoes, make sure you plant a second batch roughly three weeks after the first ones were done. When you stagger your planting in this manner, your tomato plants will not be in bloom all at once, meaning you have fresh tomatoes for longer.

Water your plants appropriately for the climate. Other factors that influence how much you need to water include time of day, soil factors and how hard your water is. Overzealous watering in an already humid climate can lead to leaf fungus. Instead, the roots should be thoroughly watered.

TIP! It is possible to quickly and easily prepare your garden for new perennials. Cut underneath the turf, then flip it.

Organic foods do not possess any pesticides on them. This is great for the health of your family, but you will still have to regularly check your plants for bugs and pests.

TIP! This will make organic gardening easier. Plan your landscaping based primarily on native bushes, flowers and grasses.

Gardening is a good way to connect with nature, but organic gardening remains the best way to observe natural cycles. Organic horticulture techniques allow you to be involved in the entire planting and growing process, while using only the safest and most sustainable resources.

TIP! When adding a new tree or shrub to your garden, remember that a ragged planting hole is best. If you place a plant in a hole with glazed sides, the roots will not be able to penetrate the soil properly.

To get a good start, look below the surface! When buying tomato seedlings, avoid the ones with a bad root system or green starts. These starts will stick to the seedlings for quite some time, which prevents the seedlings from growing until the starts are gone.

TIP! Weeds are pesky for any type of garden, whether or not it is organic. Fortunately, there are many organic products that can be used to kill weeds without harming the environment.

Mulch your garden with no less than 3″ of organic bedding material. This strategy is highly effective because it benefits both your wallet and your planet. Water conservation is a major environmental concern that accompanies other, non-organic horticulture practices. You can grow to appreciate it as well.

Organic Horticulture

TIP! When you plan your garden, pick the vegetables your family uses the most and plant those. That way, you’ll be the most excited about using the plants you grow, and save some money on groceries.

As you’ve read, there is more to doing organic horticulture than many think. It requires patience and work, but it’s worth it to have a successful organic garden. If you take the information in this piece to heart, you will soon have an effective arsenal of organic horticulture techniques.