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Organic Vegetable Gardening At Home

June 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Anybody can do organic vegetable gardening at home because the principle behind this is not that different from what they do in the farm. The only difference is that you work in a smaller area and you get to choose what you like plant.

The first thing you have to do is find an ideal location. A lot of people do organic vegetable gardening in their backyard. To make it work, whatever you are planting should get at least 6 hours of sunlight everyday and access to water.

Just like the ancient civilizations that relied on an efficient irrigation system, you too should do the same by making sure there is adequate drainage because if you don’t, you will have to do organic vegetable gardening using a raise bed.

When your ideal location has been found, it is time to cultivate the land. For that, you will need your gardening tools and a pair of gloves to pluck out the weeds on the ground. This might take a few days to make sure the area is ready for planting.

You will only know if the ground you are going to plant your vegetable is a good spot by testing it with some compost and mixing this with the soil. Should it be able to integrate and stabilize itself with the soil, this means that you can start planting your crops and see it grow in the succeeding weeks.

If you don’t like to buy compost from the gardening store, you can make your own using coffee grounds, dead leaves, grass clippings, food waste or even manure. They also serve as excellent fertilizers.

As for your vegetables, take note that some of these may not be suitable in the land you are planting these on. This is because of several factors that are beyond your control such as the weather, pests and other plant borne diseases. You can avoid making this mistake by doing some research on what vegetables are ideal to plant in your area and asking fellow organic gardeners.

One way to protect the organic vegetables you are planting is by planting a variety of them at a time since some of these protect each other from pests. Such practice is better known as crop rotation especially when you want to adapt with the weather in your area. Another defense system that works is getting the help of Mother Nature as birds, certain insects and even toads have proven to be useful.

If you live in an area where wild animals may eat your vegetables, you should put up fences so they are not able to get through. Other tools you can use are animal hair, baby powder and deodorant soaps.

Part of preparing the land is removing the weeds. But remember that new weeds grow after some time so you have to inspect the area from time to time.

Planting your own organic vegetable garden at home will surely save you money as these are quite expensive in the supermarket. If you have some excess stocks when it is time to harvest them, maybe you can give some to your neighbors or make some money by selling it at the local market which isn’t that bad given that you don’t shell out that much cash for this investment.

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Tips for Organic Vegetable Gardening

May 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Organic vegetable gardening is easy. But to help you, here are some tips you should know.

The most important thing to do is to decide what you want to grow. There are so many vegetables to choose from but keep in mind that certain vegetables cannot be grown because of the climate so take that into consideration as well.

So you want have a hard time taking care of it, choose those that are well adapted to the soil, temperature, sun and shade exposure.

If you live in an area where droughts are frequent, make sure you are planting drought resistant vegetables since it does not eat up that much water and can withstand dry weather.

You should determine how much space you have. This will make it easy for you to plot on a sheet of paper the layout of how you want your vegetables to grow.

You should mulch your vegetables with organic material. This can be made from food waste, dead leaves or grass and manure. This helps conserve water, adds humus and nutrients as well as discourage weeds from growing.

The best part is that you don’t have to dig deep to put these in because 85% of the vegetable’s roots are found in the top 6 inches of soil. 

Aside from compost, you can also use natural fertilizers and organic material to help the vegetables grow. They also encourage native earthworms that are nature’s tillers and soil conditioners.

The biggest threat that could destroy your vegetables are pests. To get rid of them, you should use other insects, birds, frogs. If your crops though have been infected, spray infected stems and leaves with dilute soapy water and then clear water that is very effective.

If you decide to buy vegetables that are grown instead of using seedlings, most of these come in plastic containers. Be careful when you remove them so you avoid tearing the outside roots especially if these have grown solidly inside the container.

When planting vegetables, don’t stick with just one but plant many different kinds because this invites insects to take up resident in your yard.

Believe it or not, only 2 percent of the insects in the world are harmful. This means the rest are beneficial. Some examples of these include ladybugs, fireflies, green lacewings, praying mantis, spiders and wasps since they eat insects that try to eat your vegetables. Another thing they do is pollinate the plants and decompose organic matter.

Don’t forget to remove weeds that come out in your garden. You can pull these out by hand or spot spray it with a full strength of household vinegar. Best of all, it is safe for the environment.

Practice crop rotation. This will make sure that the soil is always fertile. When planting the new vegetable, avoid regular deep cultivation as this will damage the roots, dry out the soil, disturb healthy soil organisms and bring weeds to the surface that will soon germinate.

If you follow these tips, you will surely be able to have a successful organic vegetable garden. You can plant and harvest them all year round so you don’t have to buy these goods anymore from the supermarket. That is assuming of course you have a huge parcel of land to work with.

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Sustainable Organic Vegetable Gardening

May 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Sustainable organic vegetable gardening can only happen if people know how to use and prepare organic matter.

This is because it improves the soil and prevents it from compacting and crusting. It increases the water’s holding ability so earthworms and other microorganisms can aerate the soil and it slows down erosion and in later stages of decay so that organic matter is able to release nitrogen and other nutrients which help the crops grow.

Such a technique is old but is now making a come back because the conventional method of using synthetic materials like fertilizer and pesticides have ruined the soil and depleted it or organic matter so this cannot be used for replanting.

So where do we get this organic matter? Believe it or not, the best form of organic matter comes from animal manure. The fresher the better because you can apply this directly to the soil but this should only be done in the fall and plowed down to give it adequate time for sufficient breakdown and ammonia to release before the planting season begins.

If you don’t have access to fresh animal manure, you can use the dried version that is being sold in nurseries and garden stores.

For those who don’t to use manure, you can use compost instead. This can be made from lawn clippings, leaves, food waste and other plant materials. It is cheap but its nutrient content is very low.

There is another kind of manure better known as green manure You don’t use any waste by animals here but rather growing a cover crop in your garden and then plowing it under so you are adding organic matter to the soil. The best way to maximize this is for you not to use the garden for one season.

You can also seed the green manure in the fall and then turn it under with a plow or a large tiller in the early spring. That way, you can use your garden normally while at the same time building up the soil.

Annual ryegrass is a good example for green manuring and covering. THIs should be seeded 1 to 2 feet per 1,000 square feet. If this is not available, you can use seed rye or wheat and place it 3 to 4 feet per 1,000 square feet. This helps prevent weeds from growing and in order for this to be effective, wait at least 2 weeks before you start planting.

Sewage sludge is also a good source of organic matter. There are two types namely digested sludge and dried activated sludge.

The first is relatively low quality. It contains from 1 to 3 percent of nitrogen and should only be applied during the fall. But you should be careful when you use it because it sometimes contain metal ions that are not good to use on vegetable gardens.

The second which is the dried activated sludge has been separated from coarse solids, inoculated with microorganisms and aerated. This is better than the other one because it is filtered, dried in kilns and screened. It contains 5 to 6 percent of nitrogen and 5 to 7 pounds can cover an area of 100 square feet.

Take note that these two types are different from raw sewage. That being said, never use that to garden any soil.

Sustainable organic vegetable gardening can only happen with organic matter. Now that you know this, choose from manure, compost or sludge.

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