Posts Tagged ‘organic gardening’

Worm Composting: Turn Scraps into Fertilizer

Saturday, March 27th, 2010

Want to know the secrets of vermiculture? These are the terms given for the process of using worms to compost your organic scraps breakdown organic waste into supercharged compost.

Not any worms will do however; you need to use special composting varieties such as red worms. This process is an organic, eco-friendly way of producing a nutritional supplement for your garden plants and reduces landfill waste.

Making use of vermiculture to create vermicompost is similar to having an ant farm or raising bees. You basically give the creatures the substance they want and need. In our case a comfy environment and organic leftovers and they simply go about their business living. The leftover product, compost, is in return something you want. Both sides win!

And the stuff you want is the worm castings. This outstanding organic fertilizer is like high octane racing fuel for your garden plants. Red wigglers will flourish in a storage bin eating their food, again your scraps, digesting the scraps and leaving behind excellent organic, environmentally friendly worm castings in a moderately small amount of time.

The majority of garden shops will supply vermicompost. The various types of compost are often referred to as “black gold” and worm castings is some of the best “gold” out there. It is sterile, clean, and practically odorless. There aren’t health risks if you handle it with your bare hands and it will not hurt the natural creatures in your backyard. Finally, if you haven’t guessed, it will noticeably improve the plant soil, promoting the health and growth of all your plants.

Getting Your Hands On Some worm castings – As mentioned above you can acquire worm compost from a local garden shop. However, if you want to take full advantage of worm composting you can get started quickly by purchasing a commercial (pre-built) worm bin. Many of those available online will come with some red worms to help get you started.

If you are the adventurous type or a regular DIY type person making your own worm bin can be completed in one afternoon. A handmade worm compost bin will probably cost only a fraction of a commercial bin and red wigglers can be purchased attained from a number of sources, local and over the Internet.

Taking Care of Your Worms – Vermicomposting can be an easy process if you attain the correct information. It is rather easy to watch over worms in composting bins. After just a short period you will get use to caring for your compost pile and you will come to think of the composting worms as your pets. Only your composting worms should be much cheaper than the average pet.

Consider using this as a chance to teach your children about science, gardening, and helping to protect the earth. Opportunities for education are priceless moments.

For some resources on creating your own worm compost and information on building an army of worms, and much more visit us at DiscoverComposting.com. Don’t reprint this exact article. Instead, reprint a free unique content version of this same article.

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Eliminating Garden Pests Organically

Thursday, March 18th, 2010

Organic pest control treatments in the garden are an important step towards reducing the hazards of commercially produced pesticide products. Chemical pesticides can be highly detrimental to humans, causing all sorts of diseases and health problems. The are also harmful to the air, water, soil, plants, and animals around us.

Those who adopt organic pest control treatments in their garden practice various methods of companion planting or make use of natural pest repellants. With the prolonged use of such organic treatments, you not only protect the desirable visitors to your garden like butterflies and bees, but you protect plants, humans and pets as well against unintentional harm.

When you use organic treatments like neem, predatory nematodes or fungal biological control agents, you greatly enhance the richness and overall health of your garden soil. Organic treatments in the form of fungi work in harmony with your garden environment and most significantly with the garden soil.

Fungal biological control agents work to improve many elements of your garden, such as the soil constitution, availability of sunlight, water availability and nutrient supply. When all of these factors are optimally available, fungal biological control agents are best able to enhance the richness of your soil and offer protection against dangerous pests.

When you use predatory nematodes in your garden, you encourage the presence of helpful insects in your garden, while you successfully control unwanted garden pests. Nematodes, which are a major part of organic treatments, do not become pests in your garden. Rather, their survival is dependent on the availability of pests that these treatments target. Once the nematodes have consumed the unwanted pests, the nematodes will perish as well! Now, don’t you think organic pest control treatments are a safe and desirable option for controlling unwanted garden pests?

To find out more gardening tips, visit Cindy Robles’s site for the lastest in gardening news trends and inspiration.

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The Basics of Growing Vegetables Organically

Sunday, March 14th, 2010

Growing vegetables organically is one of the hottest new concepts in gardening. Organic gardening requires proper planning, regardless if you are doing it for fun, or to support your family. Growing vegetables organically has many good effects. You will experience better health, as well as a bigger wallet. Understanding the preparation for organic gardening will help you have a successful garden.

A very important aspect for gardening to consider is location. Here are some tips for picking a suitable garden spot:

* First, make sure the area is going to get plenty of sunlight. At least 6 hours a day is ideal. If you are planting near the house, the side with southern exposure will work best.

*The site should drain well. Many options are available to improve drainage of a site. Do not plant on an incline if possible. Your garden can be ruined by erosion. Seeds will wash away if it comes a heavy rain right after planting.

* Your site should have a supply of water nearby.

* Sites that have excessive weeds, such as kudzu, should be avoided for growing vegetables organically.

* Fence of the garden area if you have a lot of wildlife in the area.

Soil testing is the next step. If you are getting the soil tested, let the testing site know that it is exclusively for organic gardening. Most local agricultural offices will do this for a small price. Garden centers are also a good option for getting your soil tested. Testing your own soil is also an option. Having it done is recommended if you are just beginning. You will be provided with a report stating what will have the best yield, as well how to condition the soil.

After you have the soil tested, it will be time to condition the soil for growing vegetables organically. When conditioning, you should turn your soil 10-12 inches and add organic matter. The best form of organic matter is compost. Compost can be man made, or you can make your own. Using compost releases natural nutrients within the soil and helps the soil retain water. The amount of compost to use is determined by the type of soil and weather conditions for your area. Once again, get recommendations from your local extension office.

Planting is the next step for organic gardening. It is now time to let your imagination go to work! Because you have taken all necessary steps and properly planned, you will reap the benefits for many years.

Learn more about growing vegetables organically. Stop by Will McGee’s page where you can find out all about organic gardening.

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Perks of Using Organic Fertilizer

Saturday, March 6th, 2010

Organic fertilizer application has become very standard but when the whole organic thing began, individuals were not prepared to accept the notions of organic gardening.

Have you read the gardening book, How to Have a Green Thumb Without an Aching Back, by Ruth Stout? in the 1955 literary masterpiece the author shared a distinctive method for making crop production more enjoyable. She said mulching will greatly make gardening a lot easier. Furthermore, chemical fertilizers are not important to start gardening. Most of what is mentioned in the book are now popular strategies for growing an organic garden. But during that time, these ideas seemed peculiar.

It is hardly surprising that people around us are still skeptical of organic gardening systems.

With the propaganda geared towards the widespread application of synthetic fertilizers, it’s not easy for composting enthusiasts to convince people of the many benefits of organic systems. The situation reversed when individuals discovered organic food and how eating something that was grown and bred using only natural elements can save the lives of millions.

Even without the implications on how organic fertilizer schemes can improve the global food condition, people have started seeing the light about the feasibility of going natural all the way.

Do you truly know how to grow an organic system?

Any holistic technique of farming that won’t disturb the fragile balance of soil factors, crop potential and the natural order of things can be classified under an organic scheme. You must understand how to create your own organic fertilizer scheme using waste material.

Pesticides made from organic ingredients, such as blossoms or cayenne pepper, are allowed. Conditioners and insecticides created from chemicals using manufacturing processes as not acceptable. Organic products must not have any genetically changed elements.

If you’re going to go organic, you must learn to section your garden in a way that some of the soil plots can rest while the others are growing plants. It also involves cropping green mulch, or crops that increase nitrogen yield in the soil organically.

Want to find out more about organic gardening, then visit Marie Hull’s site on how to choose the best organic fertilizer for your needs.

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Take Back Your Life With Organic Gardening

Saturday, February 13th, 2010

The only way to guarantee that you and your family are eating the healthiest food possible is by growing your own organic food. Organic gardening will definitely ensure this. Fish emulsion is a wonderful fertilizer for organic gardening. The greatest nutrients and highest yields come from gardens grown organically with fish emulsion, hands down.

Gardeners around the world have been using fish emulsion for centuries to ensure that their gardens are getting optimal nutrition. There are many methods for organic gardening, and using fish emulsion for fertilizer has delivered tried and true results.

But organic gardening means a lot more than just a natural way to feed the family. Organic gardens are an example to your community, showing them how to grow their own food too without any harm done to the environment. Huge farms that mass produce chemically laden crops will inevitably be brought to their knees, and they might even rethink how they do business. With open eyes, they\’ll see that their use of synthetic fertilizers is harming the world, and their own soil.

Organic gardening benefits so many people right now, but the possibilities are endless. The amount of people who could and should be growing their own food is enormous. The chances of getting food that\’s been tainted by a toxin is actually pretty high, and if more people realized this they\’d think twice about their purchase at the grocery store and consider organic gardening as a viable alternative.

All walks of life are changing their eating habits these days. Unfortunately for the consumer, buying organic can be pretty expensive. It\’s great for the organic farmer, but too many people simply can\’t afford to eat healthy, and they suffer in the long run. That\’s why organic gardening can make a tremendous difference in the overall health of people in general. Since eating organic has made a comeback, more participants benefitting from a healthy diet will make this a health food revolution instead of just a trend.

Green is the way to go. Somehow we became disillusioned that the use of chemicals in our gardens was a good thing, when in fact we were destroying the foundation of our gardens. How much more pain will be inflicted before society realizes what\’s going on? Organic gardening is playing a huge part in repairing what has been done to the environment.

The only way we can truly know what we\’re putting into our bodies is to eat what we grow ourselves, and organic gardening will ensure that we are getting the highest quality food possible. Stereotypes attached to organic gardening need to be put aside and the true dilemma at hand addressed. It\’s time to stop messing up and start picking up the pieces, making our world the beautiful planet it was meant to be. Fish emulsion is serving a grand purpose in fertilizing our organic gardens, and let\’s not forget the other methods that play an important part in keeping our gardens natural. Go green.

Want to find out more about organic gardening, then visit Tina\’s site on how to choose the best organic fertilizer for your needs.

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