Organic Vegetable Garden Basics

November 23, 2008

Cost effectiveness and the ability to produce almost the same yield of crops are reasons more farmers are getting into organic vegetable gardening. You too can do this at home but first, you have to understand the principles of organic vegetable gardening. The use of fertilizers, nutrients or pesticides is forbidden in organic vegetable gardening. Nature is your partner here because you will be using two things to make it all work namely sunlight and water. You have to find the ideal area and provide adequate drainage because we don’t produce these ourselves.

Aside from sunlight and water, you can help the crops grow by using compost heap from leftover food, chipped bark, garden compost, leaf moulds and manure which you can mix together and then spread this throughout your garden. A lot of people are uneasy about manure but this is sold in stores so you don’t have to scoop this from the toilet and if you keep Chickens then they are great to have - just let them roam around in the garden. Some people use dead animals or meat products but you can’t put these in the soil. To help fertilize your garden, leave them for a couple of weeks in the bin and maggots will soon appear which can be used.

Bringing various minerals to the surface and providing better drainage as it digs deep into the ground and aerates the soil, is what makes the earthworm is another helpful creature. The casting this long pink colored creature leaves behind is five times as rich in nitrogen phosphorous and potassium, according to experts. Nearly all gardening stores or garden centers will have this in stock.

Organic gardening is challenging since you have to deal with unwanted guests - some of these pests include army worms, crickets, gypsy moth caterpillars, slugs and squash bugs. Despite the fact that at one time people used fertilizer to kill them, the toad, which is known to eat more almost every type of insect it is the best weapon in an organic setting. Caterpillars and spiders are not in the toad’s diet so if they are lurking in the garden you should get a bird.

In some cases, you don’t have to buy a toad or a bird from the pet store because they may come in to your home as long as you set the ideal environment for them. Erecting a bird house or a small pond means you will have some new occupants protecting your garden within days. The job could be done by insect killers such as the preying mantis and the ladybug as they mark their territory and eat anything that dares enter their domain.

Plants such as rosemary, sage or thyme and marigolds can be used to protect your vegetables as they are effective deterrents against butterflies and nematodes respectively. The rotation of crops is seen as the best way to keep the soil fertile, despite all the flowers and creatures that nature has to offer. Change the kind of vegetable for this season with a different one and, after this one is harvested, return to the first one. you just have to be practice it so you can harvest the vegetables you have planted weeks ago.

No Comments »

No comments yet.

Fatal error: Call to undefined function post_comments_feed_link() in /home/mixdelux/public_html/veginfo/wp-content/themes/diet-health-theme/comments.php on line 29