On the other hand, the fruits and vegetables that are grown with the help of organic fertilizers do not pose any type of threats to the human health. Now days, everybody is opting for the organic gardening and showing interest in getting the required knowledge about the gardening procedures and essential elements required for it.

This article focuses on the various organic gardening supplies that are very much essential for a successful production. Let’s go into the details.

The vital thing to increase the productivity is the organic fertilizer. These are naturally occurring fertilizers or naturally occurring mineral deposits. These include manure, slurry, worm castings, peat, seaweed, guano and humic acid. Using the organic fertilizers increases the quality of the soil. The soil gets replenished with natural minerals. Soils rich in organic material hold more moisture and nutrients which fosters the growth of soil organisms and in turn promotes healthier plant root development. On the other hand, addition of harsh chemicals to the soil results in the loss of organic matter and microbial activity in the soil. So, you must always use the organic fertilizers.

One of the important gardening supplies is the compost tumbler. It is an equipment to compost the kitchen throw outs, organic yard waste and grass clippings. The tumbler quickly recycles the throw outs into nutrient rich compost. It is recommended that you should select the model with the largest capacity, which you can regularly fill. More volumes help in retaining the high temperatures generated by the materials and in this way speeds up the decomposition process.

Soils

“Vortex potting soil” is composed of a blend of five beneficial compost, mineral sand, expanded shale and perlite. House plants, annuals, perennials, herbs, vegetables, citrus and succulents can be successfully grown in this potting soil.

“Hill country garden soil” is a balanced blend of five types of composts, mineral sands and reclaimed composted topsoil. The blend contains both fungal and bacterial microorganisms.

“Rose magic” is a balanced blend of             five types of composts, reclaimed composted topsoil, decomposed granite and expanded shale.

Fertilizer

“Garden pep cottonseed meal” is a high nitrogen cottonseed by product with a naturally low pH of 6.5. It is best for fertilizing acid loving plants such as azaleas, gardenias, roses and vegetables. It is also appropriate for areas where soil test indicate the need to reduce phosphorus input.

“8-2-4 all purpose fertilizer” is one of the most economical organic fertilizers available in the market. It does not contain any artificial ingredients or urea or bio solids. It can be used in potted plants, vegetable, herb and flower gardens and around trees and herbs. The ingredients of this fertilizer are aerobically composted turkey litter, hydrolyzed feather meal, sulfate of potash and molasses.

Compost

“All American turkey compost” consists of 100 percent turkey litter that has been properly composted. This compost is used in the vegetable garden to help promote healthy root systems, water retention and more fruit production.

“Revitalizer compost” is a blend of humus and manure composts that provides a wide variety of beneficial fungal and bacterial microorganisms.

In organic gardening, when faced with pest problems; chemical pesticides are not used. Organic gardeners always opt for the least toxic, least environmentally disruptive solutions. They always strive to create healthy and balanced ecosystems. In this type of gardening, integrated pest management technique is used which combines biological, cultural, physical and chemical strategies to control pests.

Another important step that is conducted in the organic gardening is managing the nutrients. Plants need nutrients to grow and flourish and the best way to feed plants is to feed the soil. Various organic matters such as compost are added which provides food and a hospitable environment to the various soil dwellers such as fungi, bacteria, earthworms etc.

Now let’s discuss the reasons as why to opt for organic gardening. It has been shown from the various studies that organically grown foods have higher nutrient levels than their conventionally grown counterparts.

Most of the synthetic pesticides used belong to a group of chemical compounds called organophosphates. They are used to control insect pests on fruits and vegetables. They work by interfering with the nervous systems of the pests. But these chemicals are also found to affect the nervous system of animals and human beings. But, organic farming makes use of nontoxic techniques such as row covers and repellents to manage pests.

Fertilizers also pose an additional threat. Excess nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers from lawns, farms and gardens wash into the streams and lakes and contribute to excess algae growth. Maximized growth of algae depletes the oxygen in water, which kills fish and suffocates the native plant species. Organic gardening eliminates these types of risk factors.

After you have decided the design, now it’s time to think about the bedding plans. You can implement the dual concepts of raised and multiple bedding plans as per the design of the garden. It has been found that the raised beds heat up faster in the spring. Raised beds also allows for the easy soil improvement. It is recommended to build up a bed of 12 to 18 inches so that you can fill it with an ideal mix of topsoil. Your beds must also be restricted to a breadth of 4 to 5 feet and should be separated by paths. This allows you to reach in the middle of each bed without compacting the soil and crushing plants underfoot.

Now that you have prepared the pattern of multiple raised beds, it’s time to select from different kinds of vegetables. You can grow a large variety of vegetables such as tomatoes, eggplants, carrots, beets, lettuces, kales, cabbages, beans, okra, squashes and melons etc.

You can also customize your kitchen garden to give it a new look. You can frame the land by using stone or brick to enclose the planting areas. You can also combine vegetables with flowers, herbs and shrubs. You can also build a eye-catching structure out of bamboo.

Strong chemicals are effective in killing the pests but would also kill the other plants. Chemicals are not good if you have a small garden in your balcony ir backyard. But does that mean that you do not have any way o getting rid of the pests in a natural and safe manner? Well, yes we do have a more natural and better way of getting rid of organic garden pest control.

Manual removal: This is one of the safest as well as the easiest process to get rid of the pests. You would need to go to your garden at least twice daily and pick out the bugs with your hands. I know it sounds a little crazy but it can prevent your other plants from getting infected by the pests. In order to kill the bugs you can pick them out from the leaves or body of your plants and put in soap water. Well, this is an organic garden pest control method where you would not be required to spend any money not do you have to worry about the negative effect of using strong chemicals.

Use the good bugs: It is better to use the good bugs that would eat away the bad ones! Yes, there are many good bugs that can act as your natural organic garden pest control. For instance the use of ladybugs can be very effective in reducing the aphids as they love to feed on them. You can use the Lacewings as well as the praying mantis to kill the bugs that are a threat to your organic garden. You can either get these pests from your neighbor’s garden or you can even purchase it from the market.

Organic sprays: There are also a lot of organic chemicals that are very effective in getting rid of the bugs. You can even use soap water to kill the bugs. Yes, soap water is also very effective and kills the bugs instantly. What you can do is use natural soap and water solution and then spray the same on the plants.

Scary plants: This is another natural but effective process of warding off those evil bugs. Planting a few scary plants like Marigold, Lavender and onions would act as a deterrent in the growth of bugs and would even help in killing them.
Well, use all the above methods to get rid of the bugs permanently and see your organic garden flourish.

The best thing about organic container gardening is that it is even easier that the pot organic gardening. But before you move ahead to create your own organic container garden, you should be aware of the essentials. Let us have a look at the things that you would require to crate an organic garden of your choice:

1)Containers are the most important part of organic container gardening because you would have to take care of the type of containers where you would grow your vegetables and plants. There are a lot of people who opt for the wrong containers and end up making a mess out of their gardening endeavor. You would need to choose the containers that do not fall apart. You would also look into the fact that the containers are large enough to accommodate the growing roots of the plants and also the container should have a proper drainage.

You can use containers made out of many day to day equipments like buckets, plastic carton, wheelbarrow etc. You can even use the wooden pots or the plastic pots too. Once you get the plants in the containers, it is time that you put them at a place where the plants would get optimum light and air.

2)The other most important thing that would be required for your organic container gardening is soil. You would have to take a soil that contains a mix of peat and sphagnum. You need to keep in mind that regular use of compost in the soil would keep the soil filled with nutrients.

3)In order to grow organic plants you would have to use organic plants or seeds in the containers. It is better to use the draught resistant plants and avoid over watering the plants. Now, you do not want to see your plants wilting just because of lack of water or over-watering.

4)People feel that collecting or making the compost is the toughest part of gardening but this is obviously not when you are opting for organic container gardening. Anything that is not produced or manufactured chemically can be used as compost. Use the natural wastes like grass, flowers, animal manure, leaves etc.
Thus, if you are interested in giving shape to one of the most creative gardens then you need to opt for the organic container gardening. So even if you do not have a big garden, still you can give shape to your green dreams with organic container gardening.

So, let us get started, there is no need to remove any of the sod or rock, or do any excessive work, just leave your organic garden area as is, weeds and all. Mark the area for your organic garden using a water hose, this will aid us in the next step, if you already have your area boxed in, or however you have it setup, just spray the area, no need to fully saturate it, we just want to get it moist for now. We have talked before about using newspaper as an organic weed control, this is our next step, you want to cover the area in wet newspaper, cardboard, or another organic paper-based product. What a way to self recycle that newspaper! Remember to overlap the edges with multiple sheets. Now you want a one to two inch layer of peat moss, or some type of substitute, or another type of organic moisture holding materials. Alternate layers of compost and your peat moss material, and compost or other organic materials, whichever your organic gardening methods call for. You should regularly increase soil levels by adding large amounts of compost and other organic materials to your garden. Now that you’re done with that, water it evenly, to the consistency of a damp sponge, and you are good to go.

A good tip for some of those last few lawn cuttings is covering your organic garden bed with it, this will help to prevent weeds early spring, before planting, not to mention help enrich the soil also. There are articles here about organic garden composting and we will also have an article coming up about smaller scale organic garden composting for those of us that do not need much, reference them along with your research to see what type of compost you want for your organic garden, and what kind of consistency you want. As for a summary, use your winter to plan your organic garden to be the best it can be, so you can enjoy your lovely and very tasty organic vegetables!

]]> http://thisorganicgarden.com/2008/10/the-worst-garden-idea/feed/ 0 http://thisorganicgarden.com/2008/10/organic-gardening-some-nutrient-deficiencies/ http://thisorganicgarden.com/2008/10/organic-gardening-some-nutrient-deficiencies/#comments Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:58:47 +0000 OrganicGimp http://thisorganicgarden.com/?p=40 Usually in well prepared organic gardens, with some of the mentioned organic gardening techniques in the articles on this site, you wont run into problems with nutrient deficiencies. But sometimes things just happen, so let’s take at some deficiencies and solutions for your organic gardening needs. Boron deficiencies can include dying growth tips, or short stubby growth, boron is believed to help with stem productivity among other things, this can be prevented with the proper organic gardening fertilizer mixes, and ensuring your pH is below seven. Borax may also be raked into the soil. Boron deficiencies are rare, and usually are because of very poor soil conditioning or abnormal pH. Calcium deficiencies can be caused by poor environment in your organic garden also, but it is most commonly because the plant is having trouble transporting it, caused by lack of water. Another more common reason is pH, so check your levels and correct them. Common symptoms include stunted growth, effecting the growth tips first, of course, but also looks like many other things. Damage is hard to reverse, so fix this problem immediately. Iron deficiencies in your organic garden is usually rare, except for acidic loving plants, are much more susceptible, because iron deficiencies are usually caused by more acidic soils. Iron deficiencies can be confused with manganese deficiencies. Common symptoms include yellowing and browning between the veins in the leafs, and the veins remain green. Avoid growing acidic loving plants in soils with lime, and you will most likely avoid this deficiency in your organic gardening endeavors.