The definition of organic gardening is a garden that does not use pesticides to kill pests. This method can be used in either vegetable or flower gardens. In vegetable gardens organic is the safest for you since you will be consuming what you have grown. But, if you utilize it in flower gardening also, it is safest for the environment.
Raising an organic garden has many sound reasons to encourage gardeners to go this route. As mentioned above all of your vegetables will be pesticide free, which means no poison on the food you are growing. While in flower gardening, many people plant flowers that will attract butterflies or bees which you won’t attract if you use pesticides. You especially want to remain pesticide free if you have small children or pets because chemicals could be harmful for them.
Your organic garden will be anything but simple gardening. Every garden takes effort and research and your organic garden is no exception. As with all gardens you must start with a plan. Research the plants you wish to grow. Find out what their needs are when it comes to light, fertilizer, PH in the soil and drainage. Be diligent in picking a spot that is well suited to your plants. If you are planting an herb garden select a site that is close to your kitchen door for easy harvesting. Find out if there are companion plants and if there are, consider using them.
When planting an organic garden you will need some really good compost. You can make your compost out of soil and organic matter. Organic matter includes leaves, manure, vegetable refuse, coffee grinds and eggshells. You can include peels from fruits and vegetables. (Potato skins, apple skins, orange rinds, etc.) Start your compost early, find a place to put your compost and work it frequently. By working it I mean turn it with a shovel so the organic material will break down. When you are ready to start planting work your compost into the garden beds before you plant.
Your garden location is very important. You need to pick a spot that gets lots of light and drains well. If it is a very windy spot you will have to figure out some way of sheltering. Don’t pick a low spot on your property since that might flood during heavy rains. You really want to put the garden in a place that has easy access for you and for watering with your hose.
Mentioned above were companion plants. Companion plants are plants that repel unwanted pests. If you plant roses, plant some garlic. It is said that garlic will repel rose’s nemesis, aphids. Cucumber beetles will not be a worry if you plant oregano. Marigolds will also repel many pests. For a good natural pesticide follow this recipe:
In a jar, combine 1 teaspoon dishwashing liquid and 1 cup vegetable oil. Shake vigorously. In an empty spray bottle, combine 2 teaspoons of this mixture and 1 cup water. Use at ten-day intervals (or more often if needed) to rid plants of whiteflies, mites, aphids, scales, and other pests.
If you come up with a good plan you can have flowers and vegetables mixed together. Make sure that you know your zone and the conditions that apply in your area. Flower and vegetable gardens will be very different in Alaska than in Florida.
Your organic garden will take some work, but it will not be in vain when you can sit back and enjoy your beautiful blooms or make some culinary delights from the vegetables and herbs you have grown.
Happy Gardening!
Copyright © Mary Hanna, All Rights Reserved.
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Mary Hanna
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Gardening info needed…?
Okay so I’d like to know about materials for gardening and pest control. Please provide info about the advantages of both conventional and organic pest control and fertilization. What are the types of ingredients found in products used in conventional and organic gardening. Compare the two. Identify any poisons and harmful substances in each.
sounds like homework. and no way you could manufature a text under 10,000 words that even begins to cogently identify the possible poisons and harmful substances in each.
but long and short of it is, both ‘organic’ and ‘conventional’ agriculture are inappropriately named since neither is necessarily organic nor conventional.
to be certified organic in the US is only an agreement to not use SOME poisons, it is not an agreement to use no poisons. and it is not an agreement to refrain from chemical fertilizers.
‘chemical’ fertilizers’ touted as being ‘conventional’ actually came into use only half century ago, but, also contrary to popular knowledge, are not dissimilar from the compounds the soil makes naturally.
Primary difference between fertilizing chemically or naturally is, during chemical applications, only 3-7 of the possible 70+ nutrients are applied. so, instead of 70 or more that the plant wants and needs to grow into a regular plant, it generally only gets N, P, K, Ca, mg and Fe.
When a plant is denied it’s secondary building blocks but receives it’s primaries like that, then the plant can and will grow but it’s content will be weak. government studies show it will only have maybe half the vitamin/food value of a regular plant. so basically you must eat twice the food to get the regular amount of vitamins.
the weakness from feeding only a few nutrients can affect the soil as well. the soil will also become singular and undiverse in it’s secondary support systems. so, some soil-dependent pests and disease will be able to survive or even thrive on the singular diet but all other life-forms are denied a living; the singular population can begin to grow unchecked and if it is eating the plants or causing disease then the plant’s yield or crop quality can be comprimised.
excess nutrients to watch for in fertilization are:
the salts since a plant can use salt in place of potassium. But also an excess of potassium (nitrate) is to be watched for because it is ’salt peter’ the famous anti-sex substance. another good one to avoid OD on is molybdenum because longterm excess can bring on debilitating gout. Or, excess nitrogen means the N gets washed into nearby waterways and feeds algae which is what causes most water ‘pollution’.
Now, re pest or disease control, it can also be rather the same in it’s basic mechanisms when comparing organic and conventional methods, i.e. we use much the same methods that nature does; probably because the methods that nature already uses to kill are so very effective and ingenious; as a matter of fact, many of the most serious poisons are made from plants themselves or bacteria.
The most favored methods are ones that either kill very specifically or else very broadly because in a garden it is true that either you are clearing land or else u already have a (vulnerable) field and must just target a certain problem.
so, if it was not a specific killer it would kill your crop too. or if it wasn’t broad it wouldn’t effectively clear the field.
an example of organic conventional control is using ‘neem’. one of the most deadly poisons approved for use on food crops but made directly from the neem tree with no processing necessary. can and will kill almost anything except worms and humans but wears off in 24 hours AFTER exposure to air or water. so almost all texts say it is ’safe’ for fish and beneficial bugs because it stops killing after 24 hours but after that 24-48 hour mark it doesn’t Stop killing, it just becomes inactive if it hasn’t been injested yet. so if a bug already ate it then that bug will have the poison within it’s self for quite a while sometimes and can be eaten by fish (even if already dead) and so pass it on.
btw, neem can let the bug live for quite a while sometimes because sometimes it affects bugs by closing their throats or sometimes by halting sexual progression; such bugs take a while to actually die. how neem affects life depends what kind life it is; for earthworms it makes them have many many babies but for people it is used a birthcontrol device.
feeding or sexual intervention are common mechanisms found in pest control products. "Biological-control" methods similarly exploit singular and bizarrely unique relationships already existing in nature:
http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/ent/biocontrol/info/biocont.html
to successfully garden organically:
for pest control-use oil as a control; it smothers; vegetable oil at 3T per qt water. 1x day for 3 days repeat after 2 weeks.
for fertilization-import 1/3 raw organic material like plants or manure to soil annually.
and then keep your ‘well-draining’ soil moist.
general grow links:
http://www.dmoz.org/Home/Gardening/
References :