Organic Gardening: Going Back To The Basics
August 6th, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed
Because of an alarming condition of our atmosphere these days and the impact of technological innovations have on our health, everything seems to be resorting to a more viable option - organics. From foods to even hobbies like gardening, organics had definitely taken the limelight.
Nowadays, one of the gradually emerging lucrative activity for hobbyist, and environmentalist for that matter, is organic gardening. It slowly replaces the traditional type of gardening that involves harmful chemicals that speed up the destruction of our Ozone layer.
Organic gardening, basically, refers to one type of gardening that deviates from the customary use of chemicals like fertilizers and pesticides. Because of these, many agriculturists contend that engaging into organics gardening makes one in synchrony with nature.
The basic notion of organics gardening boils down to the fact that it is best to feed the soil and not the plant. Thus, we can hypothetically say that, in organic gardening, it is the soil that needs more nourishment than the plants, or simply because it’s from the soil that the plants obtain their nourishment. A healthy soil yields a healthy plant, so to speak.
In organic gardening, the basic concept of “fertilizing” the soil is to use organic materials like composts and manures. When fertilizing the soil, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you use fertilizers. In fact, fertilizers were primarily denoted as anything that increases the soil’s fertility.
Hence, organic gardening is a way of going back to the basics, the traditional use of basic fertilizers that increases the soil’s capability to enrich the plant. In this manner, the grower uses minerals like calcium coming from the fossils of dead animals, nitrogen from legumes or manures, phosphorus from bones of dead animals, and potassium from wood ashes.
On the other hand, organic growers also consider
composts of other living things like vegetables or plants when incorporating the idea of organic gardening. Its by-product is known as the humus, which is definitely good for the soil. In organic gardening, humus is an important element in plant production because it contains cellulose that performs like a sponge and retains moisture in the soil so that it will be made available for the plants as they grow.
Moreover, organic gardening incorporates the traditional way of controlling animal pests like physical removal of insects, crop rotation, interplanting, and introduction of prey species. These methods lessen the growth of insects and curb the multiplication of pests. It also impedes the development of diseases that were emphasized by “agribusiness monocropping”.
In addition, organic gardening employs the typical suppression of weeds and vegetables pests without having to opt for herbicides. In this organic gardening method of removing weeds, “mulches” are placed on the weeds to prevent them from obtaining the amount of light they need in order to grow. These mulches act as barriers for weeds and vegetable pests. They come in different forms like leaves, stones, wood, or straw.
In general, the technique of organic gardening lies on two agricultural concept: permaculture and biodynamic agriculture.
Permaculture or permanent culture refers to that area in agriculture wherein certain ecological principle, “shared ethics” like earth care and people care, and design tools are used so as to gain sustainable development in plants. On the other hand, biodynamics agriculture is composed of a biological at the same time sustainable system of agricultural assembly.
With these two concepts, we can safely derive the fundamental idea of organic gardening as a system based on environmental, sustainable, and ethical principles of man.
So, we now know for a fact that organic gardening is definitely a lot better than what science and technology teaches us these days.
The only drawback is that it is science that taught us the basic ways on how to care for the environment in the first place, and yet, it is also the same mentor who is teaching us how to employ concepts that eventually leads to nature’s destruction. Isn’t it ironic?
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Read more articles by: Gerardas Norkus
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The Allotment Keeper’s Handbook: A Down-to-earth Guide to Growing Your Own Food
August 3rd, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed
E. Willett “Laipai” (Nottingham) - See all my reviews |
| I am Statto! (Liverpool, UK) - See all my reviews |
It is exactly what it says, a down to earth guide. The advice is informative, straightforward, clear and realistic in terms of making you realise you dont get it right every time and failures should be taken in your stride.
This book is never more than a couple of feet from me and I spend hours in the evening poring over it, after a long day on the plot.
And for info the plot is no longer overgrown, and is in great shape with a bumber harvest due, thanks in no small part to this book, so thanks Jane!
Would recommend without reservation.
- Hardcover: 256 pages
- Publisher: Atlantic Books (11 Jan 2007)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1843545489
- ISBN-13: 978-1843545484
- Product Dimensions: 18 x 13.2 x 3 cm
- Average Customer Review:
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Organic Gardening Tips for Beginners
July 31st, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed
Organic Gardening Tips for Beginners
Organic gardening is not only about the pesticides and the soil that your garden is grown in. The key is to make everything work together; creating an ecosystem in your back yard is essentially your goal. Organic garden tips are highly sought after, and growers love to share their organic gardening tips with others. Organic garden growers can grow plants, flowers, fruits, vegetables and even herbs, allowing them to be pesticide free, and making the food taste and look better. There are center guidelines one must follow to ensure that they have a certified organic garden. This means that everything needs to be organic and that includes the seeds. The best organic garden tip for buying seeds would be to visit an organic garden center. Everything sold at these types of garden centers are guaranteed to be 100% organic.
Organic Rose Garden Tips
Roses are one of the most sought after flowers for many people. They are beautiful, colorful and have a sweet aroma. Organic rose gardens are a beautiful sight, and it can actually be quite ease to have an organic rose garden in your yard. Watering your roses is very important to the success of your garden. When they are first planted, you need to pay very close attention to the soil. It should be kept moist and not wet. You want to make sure that you check them often or they will dry out. When you make an organic fertilizer, you should use abundance, but only at certain times of the year. Spring and summer are perfect times to fertilize and achieve the desired results you are looking to achieve. Avoid fertilizing in the fall, as it is not recommended. Roses love to be grown next to garlic, so if you want an added benefit grow them near garlic. When you follow these basic organic rose garden tips, your roses should flourish in no time.
Organic Garden Fertilizer Tips
The fertilizer that is used for organic gardening should be completely organic and provide the essentials for your garden. Seaweed is a popular ingredient to organic fertilizer. Experts have found that seaweed is rich in hormones that promote growth and allow the soil to have vital micronutrients such as copper, zinc and magnate. These nutrients will help your garden flourish. Healthy organic soil contains decomposed plant and animal bacteria, insects, and fungi. This helps stimulate the growth of roots and is essential for any organic garden.
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Using Organic Herb Seeds in Your Organic Garden
July 28th, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed
Using Organic Herb Seeds in Your Organic Garden
Choosing the right seeds is the key to growing an organic garden. In order to grow an organic herb garden, you must use organic herb seeds. The organic herb seeds are 100% chemical and pesticide free as with all organic garden products. The best place to find organic herb seeds is at an organic herb seed distributor or at any of the organic garden centers near you. Here you will be able to get advice from other gardeners on the best way to plant your organic herb seeds. You have a wide variety of organic herb seeds to choose from. Finding the right organic herb seeds is essential to your growing garden. Certain herbs grow ell next to other specific herbs. Making a diagram before you plant your organic herb seeds will ensure that you get the total benefits from your seeds.
Herbs You Can Grow
There is a wide variety of organic herb seeds on the market. Some of the favorites include basil, chamomile, chives, lavender, lemon balm and even catnip. These herbs can be maintained for a healthy herb garden. Each seed packet should have directions describing when and how to plant them for achieving optimal results in your herb garden. Your herbs will grow and taste better, and will also be more nutritious.
Tips on Growing an Organic Herb Garden
The secret to growing a successful herb garden is knowledge. You should understand how each plant grows in their natural setting. If you can recreate these conditions without using chemicals, your garden will flourish with herbs. Watering is important, and you need to make sure your garden is getting the right amount of moisture at the right time of day. You can purchase a soil moisture testing kit that will measure the moisture in the soil. Ensuring that your garden is not over watered nor under watered is vital to the health of your herbal garden.
Mulching or composting is another vital issue that needs to be done right from the very beginning. Most gardeners choose to make their own compost using trimmings from your yard and a few items from your kitchen. Egg shells, coffee grounds and coffee leaves are ideal for making organic herb garden compost. Once you have the right fertilizer, you should mix it with the soil before planting any organic herb seeds. In no time your spice rack will be filled with organic herbs from your very own garden.
Why Switch to Organic Plant Food?
July 25th, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed
For many gardeners who have been used to sprays, fertilizers and chemical dusts to produce different kinds of plants, it can become an exhausting task to switch to organic gardening. While you may find it challenging to use organic plant food and fertilizers or follow a new process for organic gardening, you may find it rewarding that you will save lives as well as preserve the environment in doing so.
For gardening beginners, it is best that you consider organic gardening and learn about the benefits of using organic plant food for your garden. However, expert gardeners who have been using and following traditional methods for gardening should be aware of the benefits that organic plant food could bring for you and your garden.
Benefits of Organic Plant Food
In order to appreciate organic methods of gardening and using organic plant food, you have to understand the benefits of these fertilizers and plant foods. This information can surely break your routines of chemical gardening for good.
Organic plant food and fertilizers spread more slowly compared to chemical fertilizers. However, these products offer a more stable and steady release of essential nutrients to your plants. In addition, organic foods for plants supply a handful of micronutrients that are not found in chemically produced plant food. If you are very particular in keeping your garden’s soil healthy, switching to organic plant food can be a great choice because it serves as an effective soil conditioner. It provides the soil with its needed organic compounds that helps in the soil’s friability.
Fertilizers with chemical compounds usually cause an unwanted accumulation of inorganic salt. When this happens, it can greatly affect your soil’s condition and your plants’ development as well as decreasing the population of helpful microbial and soil insects. While there are still a few build-ups of insoluble salts when you use organic plant food, you can ensure less harm done to your soil compared to synthetic fertilizers.
If you use excessive amounts of chemical-based fertilizers, it could easily burn your plants. Since organic fertilizers are slowly released into the soil, accidentally adding too much of the organic plant food can have lesser chances of damaging your soil and plants. In short, there is a greater margin for gardening errors if you use a little more fertilizer than needed.
When you adopt an organic gardening practice, you can ensure that your soil becomes healthy and your plants flourish beautifully and naturally. You can prevent drought conditions, disease and unwanted insects that are commonly associated with chemical-based products by simply going organic.
What You Need to Know about Organic Gardening
July 22nd, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed
Organic gardening is a “natural” way to grow things without chemical additives. For the most part, that means that you don’t use chemical fertilizers or pesticides, but organic gardening may entail far more than that, especially if you intend to sell produce from your garden.
Organic Gardening for Personal Use
If your goal in organic gardening is to grow produce for your own personal use, you are not required to meet USDA standards. You decide how organic you want to go. Most organic home gardeners pay a lot of attention to the soil, making sure they don’t use chemical additives. Most also eliminate chemical pesticides, but may fudge a little if they are invaded with some bug that they can’t get rid of with organic means.
Most home organic gardeners do not worry about buying organic seeds or making certain there are no foreign chemicals in the soil. And most home organic gardeners produce healthy, chemical-free produce. They are also protecting the environment by keeping chemicals out of the water supply and food chain.
USDA Organic Certification
If you start organic gardening planning to sell organic produce, you will want to look into getting USDA Organic Certification. You cannot label the produce you sell as “organic” without this certification.
USDA Organic Certification came about because there were no standards for organic gardening, and consumers had no way of knowing what they were getting. Now, if you buy food that is labeled “organic,” you know that it was grown without chemical additives. You also know that the seed was organic, and that the soil has had no chemical additives in it for at least five years. It is time-consuming, expensive and a paperwork headache to get USDA organic certification and many organic gardening enthusiasts don’t go through the process.
Other Organic Certification
There are other certifications you can get if your organic gardening is going to produce profit as well as food. These certifications are not authorized by the USDA, and you cannot call your produce “organic” if you choose them.
One such certification is “Certified Naturally Grown.” Produce with this label is grown under the same conditions as USDA Organic produce, but you don’t have to pay the USDA fees and do the USDA recordkeeping. It is a realistic option for small organic gardening endeavors. Organic gardening is a good way to provide healthy produce for you and your family (and your neighborhood, if you grow zucchini). Whether you grow food just for your own use, or you grow it to sell, you are protecting the environment and the health of those who eat it.
