A green thumb and a great deal of patience is needed to take on the hobby of organic gardening. This is a hobby where the goal is to grow food that is healthy and pesticide free. Easier than it sounds though, correct? Review the tips in this article and you'll be on your way to creating a wonderful organic garden.
Get your kids to help you grow your organic garden. Children will benefit from the fresh air while bonding with you in your efforts to provide healthier food alternatives for them.
Plant ever-bearing strawberries for your children in the organic garden. Kids are quite eager to pick fruit from a garden, and will help with the planting if they get a nice snack out of it at the end.
Grow Plants
One of the problems that people come up against when trying to grow organic plants indoors is a lack of natural light. If your residential space has limited sunlight, it will be best that you grow plants that are ideal for this type of environment. If you want to grow plants that need a lot of light, consider using artificial lighting.
Perennial gardens should be prepared easily and quickly in the ground. Take your spade and work up a thin layer of soil. Turn that soil over, then spread a few inches of wood chips on the newly turned area. Allow a few weeks to pass by before you dig down into the applied soil.
Be efficient when working in your garden. Don't waste your time by looking all over for your tools. By keeping your tools in a certain area, they will always be ready whenever you are. Invest in a tool belt or wear pants that have lots of pockets.
Coffee Grounds
Add used coffee grounds to your soil. These coffee grounds have many nitrogenous nutrients that your plants could use. Many times, nitrogen is a limiting nutrient in soils. Adding coffee grounds or compost can add nitrogen to your soils will help your plants grow tall and healthy.
In your compost, use green and dried plants in equal parts. Examples of green plant material are spent flowers, fruit and vegetable waste, grass clippings, weeds, and leaves. Dried plant matter, on the other hand, includes shredded paper, used wood chips and straw. Do not include charcoal, ashes, meat, carnivorous animal manure or diseased plants.
You can kill weeds naturally. You need to have many layers of newspapers in order to provide proper weed control. Without light, there can be no weeds. When you put newspaper on top of weeds they will suffocate because they are not getting enough light. As an added benefit, the newspapers will decompose over time, becoming organic compost. Use mulch on the top in order to make everything look attractive.
While organic gardening takes a little extra work, it is healthier and more gratifying than regular gardening. While the chemical companies claim great benefits, organic gardening will always provide the most rewarding and healthy crops.
Calibrate how much you water based upon the time of the year and the weather conditions. You will need to water differently depending on what time it is or what kind of soil you are using. Overzealous watering in an already humid climate can lead to leaf fungus. Rather, see to it that you water the root system well.
Over-watering plants is counterproductive, as too much water reduces plants' ability to absorb nutrients from the surrounding soil. You should always check the weather forecast, in advance, for chances of rainfall before you water the plants. If rain is on its way, you are probably safe to skip watering duties for the day.
Successful organic gardening incorporates quite a few elements, such as patience, knowledge and nature. It is a hobby that uses the land to grow something delicious. By using these tips and giving some effort, you can be a skilled organic gardener.