Why Should Farmers Practice Organic Vegetable Gardening

July 8th, 2010

organic vegetable gardening has many advantages than conventional farming methods. This article will discuss that in the hopes that more people will realize that it has a lot of health benefits.

First, organic vegetable gardening does not use any fertilizers or pesticides. The ingredients used in making these products are harmful to humans and though they have been washed, people are still at risk of absorbing them when they are eaten.

A study shows that organically grown vegetables have 50% more nutrients and vitamins. This means that you are lesser at risk of developing certain health problems such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and cancer.

Also, organically grown vegetables taste much better because it is not tainted with antibiotics. Think of it like powdered juice versus the kind that is naturally squeezed. The first one is mixed with a lot of artificial ingredients while the other is straight from the source.

It should be pointed out that fertilizers and pesticides makes the soil unfertile. If this happens, we don’t get the right number of vitamins and nutrients from the vegetables we consume.

If this is true, why did people use fertilizers and chemicals? Because back then, the use of such methods was thought to help increase food production but studies later on have showed there was a flaw which is why this is being corrected.

You can easily spot organically grown vegetables and other food items in the grocery as they are placed in a separate area. You will notice that compared to other products, they cost a bit more but don’t you think it is better to buy such products that are healthier?

Organic farming is not only practiced for vegetables. This is also being done for fruits and animal livestock as well as research has showed that milk from organic cows contain more anti-oxidants, CLA, Omega 3 and vitamins compared to those that use hormones, antibiotics and the remains of other animals.

Given that, people should pressure their government representatives and even those who have not yet shifted towards organic farming to do so immediately.

The government for its part has done their part by offering incentives and subsidies to farmers in exchange for no longer using genetic engineering, irradiation and sewage sludge.

This changes how the game is played because the goal here is sustainable development and the only way to make sure the soil used is always fertile is through crop rotation. This means planting one variant this season and changing it with another in the next and so forth.

It isn’t hard to implement. Farmers just need the willpower to open their minds and make the change.

You can also get into organic vegetable farming yourself by doing this in your own backyard. You just need to buy the supplies, prepare the land, protect it from insects and other threats so you will be able to harvest it in the next few weeks.

Whenever you buy organically grown vegetables, don’t forget to wash them before it is cooked. Although it is chemical free, you don’t know what kind of compost was used to help it grow.

You hit two birds with one stone when farmers and you decide to go into organic vegetable farming. It keeps both the people and the environment healthy.

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Ten No-nonsense Steps for Organic Gardening

July 5th, 2010

“organic gardening is not just the avoidance of chemicals, in the larger view, it is organic living using nature’s laws.” I read this quote by an unknown person sometime ago and realized that my parents and others like them were organic gardeners long before the current resurrection of these principles. They didn’t use chemicals on the food they would feed to their children and gardening was a part of daily living to ensure there was sufficient food to preserve for the long winters. Everything was re-cycled and kitchen scraps were routinely thrown onto the garden to replenish the earth. Organic fertilizers such as manure were used and the only fertilizer on the roses was bone meal. My mother and father produced the best tasting vegetables and lots of them – enough to feed a family of seven throughout the winter. Birds, worms, and other signs of a living earth were welcomed into the garden.


In recent times synthetic chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides have become the practice most common among commercial agricultural practices. These practices have had some undesirable results such as the loss or depletion of topsoil, land becomes less fertile, and the excessive use of pesticides has resulted in pests resistant to the current chemicals resulting in the development of even stronger chemicals. Our environment is being damaged by toxic chemical spills, chemicals leaching into rivers and water supplies are contaminating our drinking water, and the effect of global warming is becoming a major part of the political agenda.


Our personal diet and health is a major topic of importance as more attention is being paid to the relationship between food and health. Research has demonstrated that organically grown vegetables are higher in vitamins and minerals than those grown with inorganic fertilizers. Gardening organically and growing as much of our own food as possible is one of the steps we can take to start healing the earth on which we live and in the process healing ourselves. Several key components are fundamental to the practice of organic gardening.


Practical Steps to Organic Gardening


1. Soil. The soil is kept healthy by working with Nature rather than against it. Practices include using organic fertilizers such as manure to replenish the earth and all refuse produced by the garden should be recycled back into the garden. Organic gardening uses all of the waste produced in the garden such as grass clippings, leaves, and leftovers from the kitchen to make compost that feeds the soil and keeps it full of the nutrients necessary to grow crops.


2. Avoid the use of all synthetic chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides. Eliminating the use of chemicals in the garden allows gardeners to not worry about children, pets, and wildlife coming in contact with synthetic weed killers and fertilizers on the lawn and shrubs. The food grown is pesticide-free, additive-free, and nutritious food for the table.


3. Sustainability. In his book, Gardening Organically, John Fedor defines sustainability as “the ability of a society or an ecosystem to function indefinitely without squandering the resources on which it relies.” Organic gardening does this by ensuring there is no loss of nutrients or topsoil in the garden.


4. Environmental Stewardship. Gardening organically means that the environment benefits from the reduction in contamination of the water supply and air pollution. It means that we provide a habitat for wildlife including beneficial insects and animals.


5. Wildlife-friendly Habitats. Informal areas can be created to assist wildlife in their search for habitat where they can survive the destruction of many areas; destructions that have now endangered many species.


6. Intensive planting. Plants are spaced closely together to conserve water and shield the soil from sunlight thus helping to prevent weed seeds from germinating and growing.


7. Biodiversity. Biodiversity ensures that when a change in growing conditions occurs, a single crop from a monoculture does not lead to a crop failure. The food supply does not become jeopardized when a diversity of species are planted.


8. Rotating Crops. Crop rotation assists in the control against soil-borne pests and diseases. This rotation makes a difference in the productivity of the garden as those diseases that affect the plants are kept in check by the rotation of the crops to other areas of the garden.


9. Watering and Weeding. Rainwater can be saved to water the garden. Soaker hoses, drip irrigation, and watering by hand conserve water. Mulches are invaluable in both water conservation and slowing down weed germination.


10. Saving Seeds. Save some seeds from your best plants when harvesting crops. Many old varieties are being lost at an alarming rate and preserving this biodiversity is important. Some of these saved seeds have been used to develop new strains after disaster has affected commonly cultivated varieties.

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Organic Container Gardening

July 3rd, 2010

organic gardening isn’t only for farmers or people who have backyards. This is because it can be do using containers.


organic vegetable gardening containers have advantages. You can use it décor every time you decide to let it get some sunlight when you place it by the balcony or patio. If the weather gets too cold outside, you can bring it indoors. But best of all, you don’t have to deal with certain threats that can only happen outdoors like weeds, insects or soil borne diseases.


Organic vegetable gardening containers do not use soil. You need to use potting mix that is much lighter and provides excellent drainage. You need to use organic fertilizer though to help it grow. An example of this is mulch that can be made from chipped bark, garden compost, leaf moulds and manure which helps prevent it from drying out.


Another thing the plants inside these containers need is a lot of water. Ideally, you should put these in small amounts at least 30 minutes after an initial watering because putting in too much could drown your plant.


The containers can be hung aside from just putting these on the ground. If the container that you purchased does not have any holes, make a few.


By now you may be asking, “What are the ideal vegetables to be planted in these containers?” To give you can idea, these are bush beans, capsicum, carrots, eggplant, lettuce, onions, peas, radishes, spinach and tomatoes.


You know that organically grown vegetables need sunlight. If you have a lot of these containers and it is getting pretty windy outside, you can protect them from falling by grouping these together with the taller ones with these as your walls.


The best organic vegetable gardening containers are those made from clay, plastic or wood. The length of the roots and its width is the deciding factor when choosing what size you will buy from the store. For instance, if your vegetable happens to have 6 inches of roots and grows to about 10 inches wide, it is best to get a container that measures 8 inches deep and 10 to 12 inches wide. You must always give room for allowance as this may grow bigger.


We mentioned earlier that one of the advantages of the organic container is that you don’t have to deal with insects. But sometimes, bugs like the hookworm manage to get to your plant. If this happens, just bring the container to the sink and wash the leaves. Should there be slugs, get rid of them by sprinkling diatomaceous earth on the soil.


If there are aphids on your vegetables, fight fire with fire by getting other insects to do the dirty work. A pack of ladybugs will do the trick without causing any collateral damage.


The use of organic vegetables containers makes it people without a backyard the chance to plant their own crops at home. This is ideal for residents living in condos and apartments so they can save money to pay for rent or buy other things when the sustenance they need is just sitting by the balcony or window.


If you want to try it, go ahead and ask someone at the gardening store for some help to get you started.

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The Benefits of Organic Landscaping

July 2nd, 2010

Many people are becoming more interested in using landscape tactics that do not harm the earth. In addition to being great for the environment, organic landscaping can also provide benefits for your wallet and for your health. One of the most alarming things to many people is the fact that some pesticides and fertilizers can harm their children. When you have children or grandchildren, it seems kind of a waste if they cannot play on the lawn because there is fertilizer all over it. Likewise, the improper use of pesticides, or sometimes even the proper use of these chemicals, can result in sickness. Another benefit of organic gardening can also be felt in the wallet. If you make use of the resources that you have at hand, you can actually save money with do-it-yourself organic landscaping, rather than paying money for chemicals to unnaturally enhance your plants.


One of the best ways to practice organic landscape is to make use of native plants. It is much easier to naturally promote the health of your landscape when the plants you use thrive in your area. Bringing in exotic plants or non-native plants from areas with very different conditions only results in frustration and the possible reliance on chemicals to help you take care of them. If you want to keep a landscape that works with the natural setting, native plants, or plants from areas with similar conditions, can help you accomplish this.


The lawn is most often the most visible part of a landscape. It seems as though many people thing it is necessary to use a great deal of chemicals to keep pests from ruining the lawn or to help the lawn grow well. The truth, however, is that by actively caring for the soil in your lawn as well as the grass, you can create a healthier lawn. This can be done in a number of ways that do not involve chemicals that can be harmful to the environment and to your health.


One of these ways is the use of organic fertilizer. There are compositions of fertilizer made entirely of organic materials. These fertilizers do cost more up front, but as they are used regularly reduce long run costs. The decrease the need for chemicals that can become expensive (and if applied wrong can actually damage you lawn more than help it), and they do not need to be applied as often. So, the cost often evens out eventually, as you have to apply the synthetic fertilizer much more often.


Another way to take care of the lawn is to use practices that promote healthy soil and better grass roots. One of these practices is aeration. Aeration relieves soil compaction by punching holes in the ground. This helps by making the soil easier to go through. This means that the roots have more room to go deeper, and organisms, like earthworms, that actually help the health of your grass, have more room to move about and make their homes. This results in naturally healthy grass that withstands pests better and keeps weeds out on its own.


Top dressing and over seeding are other organic practices that improve the health of the lawn. Top dressing is the act of taking composted organic matter and mixing it half and half with sand. A thin layer is then spread over the lawn. This actually improves the lawn rooting, creating healthier, hardier grass, without fertilizer. Over seeding is a method that makes use of more than the recommended amount of grass seed — about one and a half times more than the recommended amount. Over seeding promotes quicker germination and results in a thicker lawn that fights weeds.


Fertilizer, organic or otherwise, is not even necessary if you practice common sense in using organic gardening techniques. You can even create your own compost and mulch by using grass clippings from the lawn mower and leftovers from the garden. Raked leaves and pine needles and weeds can also be used. By leaving them to decompose, you are creating nutrient-rich organic matter than can be used to, in turn, improve the health of all the plants in your landscape, not just grass. Organic gardening can be a very rewarding and money saving effort when you do it yourself.

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What Organic Really Means

June 30th, 2010

The word “organic” may appear on packages of meat, cartons of milk or eggs, cheese and other single-ingredient foods. Certified organic requires the rejection of synthetic agrochemicals, irradiation and genetically engineered foods or ingredients. Literally, of course, the term is a redundancy: all food is composed of organic chemicals (complex chemicals containing carbon). Any materials used in the production or processing of organic food must be proven safe.


Awareness is growing about the value of organic foods. But, whether organic chicken or pesticide-free lettuce represents “healthier” alternatives has long been a subject for debate.


Organic farming is one of the fastest growing segments of the U.S. Gardening organically is much more than what you don’t do. In fact, sales of organics have surged more than 20 percent each year in the past decade. In terms of number of farms, acreage and value of production, the organic food industry is growing at a rate of 20-30% per year. As commodity programs are eliminated, more farmers have discovered that organic production is a legitimate and economically viable alternative enterprise.


The growth in the number of organic farmers has increased steadily, similar to the growth of the U.S.


In current organic production systems, growers are not permitted to use conventional synthetic organic fungicides in their disease management program. Non-organic milk comes from farms that are allowed to use genetically modified cattle feed, along with routine antibiotic treatments and synthetic pesticides. Arguments have long raged as to the effects these hormones and chemicals have on the bioproducts. Growth hormones in cows, pesticides on produce and antibiotics in poultry are among the reasons many Americans are turning to organic foods.


Organically raised animals may not be given growth hormones to or antibiotics for any reason. Producers are required to feed livestock agricultural feed products that are 100 percent organic, but farmers may also provide allowed vitamin and mineral supplements.


The US Department of Agriculture finally put in place a national system for labeling organic food. The new federal rule guarantees you, the consumer, organic products that are grown without toxic pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers. Pesticides derived from natural sources (such as biological pesticides) may be used in producing organically grown food. Limitations in relation to which pesticides may or may not be used, present the organic grower with some unique and very demanding challenges.


Food that is at least 70 percent organic will list the organic ingredients on the front of the package. More than 40 private organizations and state agencies (certifiers) currently certify organic food, but their standards for growing and labeling organic food may differ. Even with these labeling rules in place, consumers should be prepared for some confusion when shopping for organic foods. For one thing, organic products are not uniformly labeled because many farmers using organic methods do not pursue certification at all.


In addition, the language contained in seals, labels, and logos approved by organic certifiers may differ.


While consumers struggle with the fact that often, the availability of organic materials is limited when large quantities are needed. More and more people have come to appreciate the added dimensions of value and quality available in the organic marketplace.

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Organic Landscaping Tactics

June 29th, 2010

Many people are becoming more interested in using landscape tactics that do not harm the earth. In addition to being great for the environment, organic landscaping can also provide benefits for your wallet and for your health. One of the most alarming things to many people is the fact that some pesticides and fertilizers can harm their children.


When you have children or grandchildren, it seems kind of a waste if they cannot play on the lawn because there is fertilizer all over it. Likewise, the improper use of pesticides, or sometimes even the proper use of these chemicals, can result in sickness. Another benefit of organic gardening can also be felt in the wallet. If you make use of the resources that you have at hand, you can actually save money with do-it-yourself organic landscaping, rather than paying money for chemicals to unnaturally enhance your plants.


One of the best ways to practice organic landscape is to make use of native plants. It is much easier to naturally promote the health of your landscape when the plants you use thrive in your area. Bringing in exotic plants or non-native plants from areas with very different conditions only results in frustration and the possible reliance on chemicals to help you take care of them.


If you want to keep a landscape that works with the natural setting, native plants, or plants from areas with similar conditions, can help you accomplish this.


The lawn is most often the most visible part of a landscape. It seems as though many people thing it is necessary to use a great deal of chemicals to keep pests from ruining the lawn or to help the lawn grow well. The truth, however, is that by actively caring for the soil in your lawn as well as the grass, you can create a healthier lawn.


This can be done in a number of ways that do not involve chemicals that can be harmful to the environment and to your health.


One of these ways is the use of organic fertilizer. There are compositions of fertilizer made entirely of organic materials. These fertilizers do cost more up front, but as they are used regularly reduce long run costs. The decrease the need for chemicals that can become expensive (and if applied wrong can actually damage you lawn more than help it), and they do not need to be applied as often. So, the cost often evens out eventually, as you have to apply the synthetic fertilizer much more often.


Another way to take care of the lawn is to use practices that promote healthy soil and better grass roots. One of these practices is aeration.


Aeration relieves soil compaction by punching holes in the ground. This helps by making the soil easier to go through. This means that the roots have more room to go deeper, and organisms, like earthworms, that actually help the health of your grass, have more room to move about and make their homes. This results in naturally healthy grass that withstands pests better and keeps weeds out on its own.


Top dressing and over seeding are other organic practices that improve the health of the lawn. Top dressing is the act of taking composted organic matter and mixing it half and half with sand. A thin layer is then spread over the lawn.


This actually improves the lawn rooting, creating healthier, hardier grass, without fertilizer. Over seeding is a method that makes use of more than the recommended amount of grass seed — about one and a half times more than the recommended amount. Over seeding promotes quicker germination and results in a thicker lawn that fights weeds.


Fertilizer, organic or otherwise, is not even necessary if you practice common sense in using organic gardening techniques.


You can even create your own compost and mulch by using grass clippings from the lawn mower and leftovers from the garden. Raked leaves and pine needles and weeds can also be used. By leaving them to decompose, you are creating nutrient-rich organic matter than can be used to, in turn, improve the health of all the plants in your landscape, not just grass. Organic gardening can be a very rewarding and money saving effort when you do it yourself.

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Many Experienced Gardeners Have Turned to Organic Gardening

June 28th, 2010

Over the course of the past decade, a significant number of men and women from different parts of the world have taken up gardening. In this regard, these people have found themselves interested both in creating magnificent flower gardens as well as in cultivating thriving vegetable gardens.


A majority of gardeners still rely on what might be considered “mainstream methods” when it comes to the care and maintenance of either their flower or vegetable gardens. In other words, these gardeners tend to rely upon various commercially availabable chemical treatments and products to care for their gardens. Various types of garden-related chemicals — from pesticides to fertilizers — are available readily at garden supply shops and discount retail stores.


More often than not, these basic products can be obtained for a fairly reasonable cost.


As a person becomes more involved in the care and maintenance of his or her garden, such an individual tends to become more conscious and aware of how the materials he or she utilizes to tend a garden space actually effects the environment and the plants being grown (particularly vegetables).


Consequently, many experienced gardeners (and, in reality, an ever growing number of novices) have turned to organic gardening practices.


organic gardening practices actually have been around and utilized by people since certain ancient tribes gave up hunting and gathering and settled down to grow their own crops and to maintain their own domesticated animals.


In their most basic form, organic gardening practices consists of the use of naturally occuring materials (organic materials) in the care and treatment of a garden patch — vegetable or floral. No man made chemicals or any type are utilized in true organic gardening regimens.


For example, when it comes to providing nutrients for an organic gardening, two resources normally are relied upon: compost and manure. Likewise, when it comes to the issue of pest control, natural steps are taken to rid a garden of offensive bugs and insects. In this regard, benign insects that do not damage plants but who prey upon bugs that harm foilage are placed in a garden or patch to deal with a harmful infestation problem or situation.


In the final analysis, people who espouse organic gardening practices and techniques maintain that the goal or such natural programs is to nourish and protect the soil well into the future rather than providing a quick, seasonal fix for one planting period. Through organic gardening, soil and water contamination is reduced significantly. Additionally, when it comes to the production of vegetables, the food generated from an organic garden is free of harmful chemicals and deemed to be far healthier for human consumption.

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Stay The Course — Be Organic

June 25th, 2010

It’s not always easy to be an organic gardener. Even committed organic gardeners sometimes long to spray herbicide on goutweed or pesky poison ivy. When Japanese beetles or rose chafers arrive in throngs just before your garden party, you may suffer an urge for the good old days — the time before you understood that spraying an insecticide would kill beneficial bugs along with the bad, aggravating your pest problems.


But there are also problems that are more easily addressed with organic solutions.


Each winter, the Ecological Landscaping Association (www.ela. org) holds a conference and eco-marketplace where researchers, landscapers, gardeners and environmentalists meet to share knowledge and ideas. This year, one of the presentations I liked best was by Dr. Richard Casagrande of the University of Rhode Island, who spoke on biocontrol of invasive species. He explained that for some problems, organic controls work better than chemical controls.


Casagrande said that when gardeners hear that foreign species of insects have been introduced to help control invasive plants like purple loosestrife, there is a knee-jerk reaction: “Great.


And when they’ve finished eating the loosestrife, what’s going to happen next? Will they eat my delphiniums, or my peonies?”


He explained that although people of good will did introduce some evil exotics like kudzu and oriental bittersweet, the process of introducing foreign insects to combat these plants is very tightly controlled. The University of Rhode Island has quarantine labs that are as tightly controlled as the perimeter around the White House.


First, scientists look at how the invasive species performs in its native land. Purple loosestrife came from Europe in the early 1800s, probably in soil used as ballast in ships. But it is not a problem there. Why not? It evolved there, and over time some 120 species of insects learned to love it. Of these, 14 are host-specific, meaning that they don’t eat anything else. A few of these insects were brought to quarantine labs to determine if they eat related species of the target plants, or if they would attack any of our major crops, such as corn, wheat and soy.


If you’ve ever tried to dig out purple loosestrife, you know that it has an amazing root system that will challenge even the strongest back. Scraps of roots left in the ground will start new plants. Not only that, each mature plant produces millions of tiny seeds every year, so even if you did poison or pull a plant, the soil is full of time-release capsules — seeds that will start the process all over again next year, and the year after that, and so forth. Even burning the plants will not solve the problem. But it can be kept under control with the use of introduced beetles.


Since 1994, beetles that eat purple loosestrife have been successfully reducing stands of this exotic.


They reduce the number of plants to about 10 percent of pre-introduction levels; as the number of plants drops, so does the number of predator beetles. Similar efforts are under way to control phragmites, that tall grass that has such beautiful plumes in wetlands and roadside ditches.


Casagrande has been using biocontrols to reduce populations of the lily leaf beetle that has been decimating our oriental and Asiatic lilies in recent years. The beetles are so pretty that you might want to use them as earrings: bright red with black trim, about 3/8ths of an inch long. Their larvae, in contrast, are disgusting:


They carry their excrement on their backs to deter birds — and organic gardeners. Casagrande and his co-workers have introduced parasitoids from Europe, tiny wasps that reduce the beetle’s population. The parasitoids are doing the job at test sites in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and are established at release sites in New Hampshire and Maine.


So what can the home gardener do? First, realize that help is on the way in the form of biocontrols. Second, recognize that herbicides for plants and insecticides for beetles ultimately don’t work. Yes, you can kill lily leaf beetles or loosestrife with a spray, but you can’t eliminate them.


Third, use pest-resistant species such as ‘Black Beauty,’ a lily that is less attractive to the lily leaf beetle. Lastly, handpick beetles. I handpicked lily leaf beetles twice a day last summer and never saw a larva.


As organic gardeners, we have to accept that we are not in total control of the environment, and that sometimes we have to wait or endure some losses. Biological controls do work. Some exotic pests, like the birch leaf miner, are now nothing more than a minor annoyance, and there are already places where purple loosestrife is no longer a problem. So stay the course — be organic.

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The Importance of Mulching

June 23rd, 2010

One of the most important part of gardening is mulching. It keeps down weeds by blocking the light that allows weeds to germinate. Mulch will slow down the evaporation of moisture from the soil, which also will keep the soil from drying out and creating a crusty soil.


Earthworms love organic mulch, they eat the organic matter and produce castings.


When they move around in the soil the tunnels they make aerates the soil and improves the texture. Other organisms do the same. All the work they do makes a nutrient-rich substance that our plants need.


This process is actually decomposition, which adds valuable organic humus to the soil.


Simple steps to mulching:


1. Distribute the mulch material to a depth of at least 3 to 5 inches. The more coarse the material, the more you add.


2. Place the mulch between and around the plants, but allow the immediate area around the base of the stems of annuals and perennials to be free of it.


3. Moisten the mulch.


When mulching trees and shrubs, keep the mulch approximately 5 – 10 inches from the base of the tree.


Over time mulch on trunks, even with organic matter too close to the trunk of the plant, will cause many problems down the road.


The wood mulch keeps the soil cool and maintains an even soil temperature. If bark chips and sawdust are used they may delete nitrogen from the soil when they decompose, so add some nitrogen to the soil first before and then after laying down such mulches.


Look at organic wastes like shredded tree barks or light pruning, seasoned sawdust, wood shavings, peanut shells, cocoa bean hulls, rice husks, ground corn cobs, grass clippings, unused vegetable waste and seaweed.


Black Plastic Sheets


If organic methods are not your style then take a look at black plastic sheets that are used for mulching the soil. It affords excellent weed control and moisture conservation, if done properly.


Lay the plastic mulch on top of the soil or beds beforehand, then cut x-shaped slits in the plastic and then just fold back underneath the flaps to plant. When performing this method make sure not to completely fill the hole in the plastic with the plant even when mature.


Place holes or slits on the sides around the plastic to allow the passage of water and air for the benefit of the roots. The extra slits are crucial when using plastic to allow excess moisture to drain and prevent water-logging, which can happen on wet days.


Compost


When we speak of mulching we often mean using a layer of organic material on the surface of the soil, from dried lawn clippings to strips of newspapers.


As time goes by this organic material decomposes because of the various agents present in the soil and will yield the all-important humus matter.


If you plan on using animal manure, which is a nutrient-rich mulch, it should be combined with other material like lawn clippings or straw. Make sure this mixture is well rotted and then it will provide much needed nitrogen to the soil.


Compost mixed with a rough mulch (called living mulch) is an excellent pick for mulching your soil or beds. Compost is the best form of mulch.


Mulch-mowing Method


Mulch-mowing is a simple method of using fallen leaves. A good sharp mulch blade on a lawn mower will be the best mulcher you can find. It will cut the grass blades and leaves into tiny pieces and at the same time, using the shredded leaves, produce a rougher textured mulch to cover the soil.


Use this method every week to get the maximum benefit of the mulch on the ground. This will keep the chore easier to handle every week and provide a fresh supply of mulch to start decomposing and forming new organic matter to feed the soil and keep moisture.


With mulch-mowing it keeps fewer leaves on the street that clog the drain system and from causing other hazards for the community.


Whatever you do, mulch is a critical part of gardening and lawn maintenance. You never know when there will be a lack of rain or too much of it, a freeze comes along, lack of nutrients needed for the plant. If you mulch properly then you are prepared for the unexpected. Back to the basics.

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Weeding For effective Growth Control

June 20th, 2010

A good garden aficionado must know that cultivation or weeding is effective for growth control. Weeds are your garden’s most persistent and cloying 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, sunlight and revenue for farmers, so the earlier you try to eliminate them, the better will it be for your gardening. This can eat up your time to such extremes at certain seasons, but monitoring weeds and eliminating them is definitely worth your time and effort.


Weeds are usually much harder to remove when they have matured. So it might require you a keen observing eye to really check out and inspect your garden for the earliest appearances of these culprits. Cultivating your soil regularly in the garden will help eliminate the younger weeds. 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 from your garden.


Seasons also affect the appearance of weeds. Warm-season and cool-season 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. Some of the weed seeds may also lie in your garden, so make sure that you are able to cultivate your soil properly to remove them as well.


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 secure that area for their growth. If you are unable to fill the entire area with plant outgrowths, at least have a good cover to keep the weeds from invading your plant territory.


In the case where weeds have already grown when you discovered them, chopping them off from the ground is the most efficient way to remove them. Some of these weeds may cease to be removed, and will not stop even when you cut them down. But repetitive cutting down of those weeds will help eliminate them for good after some time.


The use of herbicides and pesticides is also advised, but it is not entirely necessary when you are able to do good cultivation of your land. The pesticides and herbicides, especially the commercially available ones, may prove to have other harmful effects. It may also pose as a threat to other useful organisms living in your garden. In any case, when you are presented with a huge weed problem, you may use herbicides and pesticides but only 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.

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