What are your personal thoughts on organic gardening? Do you view everything you can on the subject, and try to improve upon your own garden? There are numerous resources available such as magazines, videos, books, shows, etc. So where do you begin with your own techniques? Try going through these tips to find your starting point.
A good idea when gardening is to keep a record of progress. If it is a journal form or photographic form of recording the progress of the garden is helpful for the years to come. Recording which types of plants work well, which did not work or what types of soil can help future gardens start without any trial and error of previous years.
For a natural way to control aphids, populate your garden with ladybugs. Ladybugs are natural predators of aphids and scaly bugs. They are pretty to look at, and they are beneficial to your garden. They do not eat flowers, so you can safely use them on your flower beds. This is a good alternative to using commercial pesticides.
Create a record journal for your garden. Keep track of when you planted your seeds, when they germinated, how many grow to full size, the yield, etc. You will have more knowledge about your plants and a good idea of how successful your methods are. Use this information for your next grow cycles.
Try growing crops that are easy to store or store themselves. If handled properly and gently, given the right amount of time to cure, garlic, onions, sweet potatoes, squash, dry beans, or shallots will keep for a very long time in a cool, dry place. No canning or freezing required. This will ensure having fresh vegetables from the garden all winter long.
Be careful not to over-water your garden. Giving your plants too much water can actually kill them faster than not giving them enough water. Soil that has too much water in it prevents root systems from growing properly. It can even cause your plants to rot from the bottom up.
Fertilize your garden. Manure is an excellent fertilizer, but it needs to be combined with a synthetic compost to stop diseases from infecting your plants. The options for fertilizing are vast and include environmentally sound choices, so no matter which you choose, just be sure to use one.
When gardening, it is important that you protect your ears. If you can not hear someone around you while you are working with machinery, than the sound can be damaging to your ears. An easy way to help alleviate this problem is to wear ear plugs when using loud machinery.
An important prerequisite for having a successful garden, is preparing the soil for your seeds or seedlings. Poor soil grows poor plants. One way to obtain rich soil is to buy or make organic compost and mix it into the soil that you plan to plant the garden. You can also add manure to the soil to make it more fertile. It is wise to refrain from using chemical fertilizers, since they can burn your crops and also be harmful to your health.
When planting your bulbs, have you ever wondered what end of the bulb should be pointing upward? Even though the growing end will naturally grow towards the warmth of the sun, being planted in the right direction will make it easier on the growing shoot. If a bulb has a pointed end, the end with the point should be planted upward since it contains the stem. Long tubers and rounded corms are more difficult to figure out which end to plant upward. If they still have dried roots attached, plant that end downward.
Now that you have an idea on where to start crafting your own organic gardening techniques are you ready to start experimenting? Are you ready to apply what you read to your garden? Can you help your garden grow properly? If you can, then have fun! If not, make sure to review the tips again.