Growing Organic Vegetables
January 27, 2010 by organic6
Filed under Organic Gardening
Most people who have a garden will likely have vegetables growing. If this is your first time gardening or want to start growing organic vegetables, you’ll want to know as much as possible first in order to grow organic vegetables correctly. Below are some helpful tips to help you get started.
Vegetables
What ever vegetables you eat a lot of will be able to be grown organically in the garden. Most of the gardener’s favorite vegetables to grow are tomatoes, carrots, lettuce, and cucumbers. However, you can grow just about any vegetables imaginable.
Soil
The vegetables is not the problem to have organic vegetables, it’s what you used to grow them. One of them is the soil and it should be free of any chemicals. If there are, you will need to remove them first before planting the vegetables. Also, it’s a good idea to add compost to the soil. The compost are highly nutritious for the plants and it will help them grow strong and healthy.
Fertilizers
All fertilizers that contain chemicals should never be used. It will not only hurt the environment, but also put a lot of harmful chemicals into your body. An alternative to fertilizers is compost. Even though the compost will make the plants grow slower than using fertilizers, the vegetables will be more healthier and better tasting.
Season
Many of the vegetables are grown in the spring and will be ready for harvest in the summer or late fall. For this reason, you’ll want to plant them as soon as the last frost is gone.
Growing organic vegetables in the garden is fun. Once they are ready to be harvest and eaten, you’ll know why organic vegetables are more expensive than their counterpart at the supermarket. With organic vegetables, you don’t have to worry about any harmful chemicals going into your body.
Growing Herbs In The Garden
January 27, 2010 by organic6
Filed under Organic Gardening
If you have been buying herb from the store to use for cooking or just adding to your meals, you should consider growing them in your own garden. Many of the herbs are easy to grow and don’t require a lot of maintenance. They can grow with other plants or grown alone.
There are probably hundreds of herbs out there that you can grow on your own. Herbs are used for medicinal uses, culinary, ornamental, and aroma therapy. Depending on what you’ll be using it for, find the right one to grow.
As for culinary, some of the favorites among herb gardeners are basil, dill, chives, parsley, spearmint, oregano, and sage. These are great to be used for cooking or added to any meal to enhance the flavors.
Most types of herbs grow best in well drained soil. Growing them in wet soil could cause fungus and other diseases to attack the roots and kill them. To help prevent this problem and to improve drainage, remove the soil to a depth of 14 to 17 inches. Place a 2-inch layer of crushed stone or something similar on the bottom. Before filling the hole with soil, add some compost or sphagnum peat and sand for support and better drainage. Then fill the rest with soil and water the soil down.
Many of the herbs can be harvested throughout the growing season. For example, the basil can be picked once they start producing leaves. Pick the leaves at the bottom first. You’ll want to pick just enough to be used for cooking or adding to a meal. In a couple weeks, another leaf will replace the one you picked.
Herbs has many fascinating uses and the reason why you should start growing them. Lavender is great to give a nice smell throughout the whole house, while chives make any meal more delicious. Start growing herbs in your garden today and you’ll have fresh herbs to use every time.
Storing Your Organic Vegetables
January 26, 2010 by organic6
Filed under Organic Food, Organic Gardening
After harvesting your vegetables from your garden you will need to find a way to store them for later use. Since many of the vegetables can spoil within a week, properly storing them is important. Some vegetables are easier to store than others but most organic vegetables can be stored and saved in some way or another.
Before you start, you’ll need to know how many of the vegetables you will want to store for later. If you have a lot, you can give some away to friends and family. The rest will need to be properly stored. Many grocery stores sell jars and supplies needed for preserving and canning vegetables. Some manufactures will even include instructions on how to store the vegetables too.
Another way to store vegetables is to use food dehydrators. This is a machine that is used to dry the vegetables before storing them. Many vegetables can be used in this machine, but you’ll want to be careful to make sure the vegetables are not roasting.
Root Vegetables
Root vegetables include potatoes, carrots, potatoes, and more can be stored in places that are cool, dark, and dry. Storing them in cellar, basement, or some pantries is an excellent place and the vegetables can last for up to 2 months.
Corn
Corn can be stored in the refrigerator for a couple months. If you’re planning to store them longer, freeze them with the husk removed first.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes are a gardeners favorite. They can be stored on the counter-top if it’s still green. Tomatoes can also be stored in the refrigerator. For others who want to use tomatoes for later use in sauces, drying them is the best choice.
Above are some storage tips for a couple vegetables. Each vegetables will have their own different storage needs and you’ll need to know if you want them to last for a long time. If you are unsure, try searching the Internet for each type of vegetable storage needs.
Organic Gardening Compost
January 27, 2010 by organic6
Filed under Organic Compost, Organic Gardening
When you have an organic garden, one of the most important ingredients that you’ll need for it is organic compost. Compost is a natural fertilizers that can improve the health and growth of your crops. These natural fertilizers can be found around your house. It’s simple to do and below are some helpful tips to get you started with organic compost.
First, you’ll need to gather the materials. Organic compost can be made up of dead leaves, tree branches, grass clipping, dinner leftover, bones of cows and other farm animals, food scraps, and dead plants. All these things are a good source to start a compost.
Once you gather everything together, pile them up somewhere around your house. You may want to put it somewhere that’s hidden from view because the smell and look of it will disgust most people.
Next, you must aerate the pile of compost. You can use a rake or pitchfork to turn your pile over. This must need to be done every 2 days or so. Mixing them will get the air to help the materials decompost.
After mixing it, gather some worms and put them in the pile. Red worms are the best to use because not only will they produce excellent compost on a regular basis, but they will reproduce themselves allow you to create more compost as the population of the red worms increases. In addition, there will be some worms that will entire the compost pile on their own.
In a few weeks or so, you should have beautiful dark compost that is full of natural ingredients ready for your plants. If you have already planted the crops, take some soil around the crops and mix some of the compost with it. This will make the soil full of nitrogen and potassium for the roots of the plant to absorb.
Creating organic compost can be fun to do and will make your vegetables in the garden very happy. They will grow healthy and strong, and it will taste better than those than uses traditional fertilizers to grow them. Best part to using compost is that you’re helping save the environment by nothing releasing anymore harmful chemicals into the soil.
Types of Organic Fruits To Grow
January 27, 2010 by organic6
Filed under Organic Food, Organic Gardening
When it comes to what fruit to grow in your organic garden, you could grow just about any fruits. The most popular fruits to grow are pears, apples, grapes, and peaches. These fruits are easy to grow and don’t require too much maintenance. However, other fruits that you see at the supermarket can still be grown in your garden too.
To grow organic fruits, you will need to prepare the soil first. If the soil has been contaminated with fertilizers and other chemicals before, it will need to be cleaned up first. The easiest way to get rid of the contaminated soil is dig about half way down into the soil and replace it with new soil. If you have a large garden, it might be easier to use a raised bed system. Raised bed garden is simply a box with soil that is higher than the rest of the garden or land.
Before planting the fruits, add compost to the soil for better soil quality and it’s more nutritious for the plants to feed off. The compost can be anything from dead leaves to dinner leftover. Once you have the compost mixed with the soil, you can begin to start planting the fruits.
When buying the fruits to plant, it is better to get the one that already start growing. This will give you a head start and you might be able to harvest it at the end of the season. With seeds, it might take about 2 years before you start seeing any fruits. Each fruit plant will come with instructions on how to plant and care for them.
Caring for them is simple and make sure to never use pesticides or anything that contains chemicals. That would destroy the whole idea of organic gardening. Once the fruits are harvested, you will be able to tell the difference between fruits that are organic and the ones that are not. Organic fruits are most tastier and brighter in colors.
Keeping Pest Away From The Garden Organically
January 27, 2010 by organic6
Filed under Organic Gardening
For many gardeners, one thing that they fear most is pest. Pest can destroy the whole garden in a single night or even in a couple hours. When it comes to dealing with pest, many gardeners turn to pesticides. Pesticides contains all the chemicals to stop the pest from eating the plants, but the chemicals can do harm to the plants as well. If you’re looking to grow organic fruits and vegetables, then it is best to find an alternative for pest control.
There are a couple ways to stop pest from eating your crops or even coming near it. One of the ways is using organic soap and water. Organic soap can be found at your local supermarket or the farmer’s market. Once you have it, mix it with hot water for a couple minutes and pour it in a bottle. Go to the garden and spray all the plants from top to bottom. The residue from the soap will deter most insects from landing on your plants. The plants will not be harmed from the soap since it only contain natural ingredients.
If you rather not want to mix the soap yourself, many gardening center sells organic solutions for pest controls. It will be a little more expensive than pesticides that contain chemicals, but it will worth it.
Other pests such rabbits, moles, and even deers will still eat the plants that has been sprayed with organic solutions. To fix this problem, you’ll need to build fences around the plants or the whole garden. Most people choose to build around the whole garden as it makes it easier to maneuver in the garden and easier to care for each plants.
By not using pesticides to control pest, you’re not only helping your plants be more healthier, but also helping the environment by not destroying with chemicals.
