Fertilizers

“John’s recipe” is a mixture of seaweed, medina soil activator, humic acid, and molasses along with emulsified and hydrolyzed fish. This product does not contain any artificial chemicals. The fish products present in the mixture are a nitrogen source ideal for all plants. Seaweed contains trace minerals that promote strong root systems. The medina soil activator stimulates beneficial foliar and soil microbes. Humic acid unlocks the soil minerals, stimulates enzymes and encourages the beneficial microorganisms.

“Flower power” is another all-natural fertilizer which is made from aerobically composted turkey litter, hydrolyzed feather meal and sulfate of potash. It is a great starter fertilizer for plants with higher phosphorus for root development and right amount of nitrogen to keep the plants green and healthy.

Soil amendments

“Glittering greensand” is a natural source of iron and potassium and is used to cure iron chlorosis, improve water retention and build strong roots. It is also used to reduce the stress caused by hot weather.

“Humate” is an important part of healthy garden soil.  It is naturally occurring unaltered oxidized lignite. Adding humate to the soil increases aeration, increases water, mineral and nutrient uptake.

Compost

“Farm style compost” is composed of composted diary manure with wood shavings to provide fine-textured and high quality compost. The compost contains the beneficial microbes for topdressing lawns, preparing the vegetable garden and planting annuals.

The “revitalizer compost” is a blend of humus and manure and it provides a wide variety of beneficial fungal and bacterial microorganisms. The compost is used to enrich and improve the texture of garden soils. It also stimulates the microbial life for natural disease suppression and nutrient availability.

This article is purely based on the facts revealed by the organic gardening magazine. In this particular guide, we will discuss about the tips and tricks that you must know and implement in order to prepare cold weather compost. Cold weather generally slows down the decomposition process but it is possible to maintain warmth inside which indicates that the microbial activity is taking place inside the pile.

Microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes are responsible for most of the decomposition activity that occurs in a compost pile. The decomposition process is exothermic which means that heat comes out as a byproduct of the microbial action. In cold weather, the microbial action is decreased and due to this delay occurs in the decomposition of the compost pile. At this time, you should focus on how to create an ideal habitat for the microbes so that they can be able to foster and decompose the compost to organic matter.

You should feed the microbes with their required balanced diet that is a mix of carbon and nitrogen rich materials. The things rich in nitrogen are kitchen scraps, fruit and vegetable peelings, houseplant trimmings etc. You can also add eggshells and domestic waste products such as tattered newspaper etc. The things that are rich in carbon are straw, fallen leaves, sawdust etc. You can also add ashes extracted from the fireplace or woodstove which enhances the calcium, phosphorus and potassium content of the finalized compost.

Layering is one of the important tasks to be performed during the cold weather to maintain the decomposition process. You can just add the ingredients to the compost pile in the warm weather. But in winters, you need to add layers of brown ingredients to the green materials. The layers help in insulating the piles and trap the heat inside.

You must also water the compost pile on a regular basis in the winter because the required moisture is not maintained in the compost pile due to winter winds and low humidity.

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.

Tilling your soil is a good idea, but turning over the soil can cause issues, like soil compaction, and upset the micro biological balance, we do not want that, as those are essential for a great healthy organic garden. If you are having a hard time getting the right consistency after mixing your soil and compost, things like perlite and sand are options, however sometimes it can take a lot to improve the conditions, proper composting for your type of soil and area should take care of any issues, which is why you should always do your research and properly compost, and soil mix for your organic garden.

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.