Gardening may seem difficult if you don’t have a natural green thumb. But with the right ideas and information, anyone can become a great gardener! Read on for some fantastic tips on how to create a beautiful organic garden.
Be sure to plan your garden according to the weather. If you live in an area where the ground freezes during winter, wait until after frost to plant anything. In warmer areas, take a break during the hottest months of summer to avoid wasting water.
If you see powdery mildew, avoid using expensive chemicals to treat it. You can mix plain baking soda with a small amount of liquid soap and water, then spray it onto your plants about once a week or until the mildew fades. Baking soda won’t harm your plants, but it can help get rid of mildew.
Leaving some areas of your lawn uncut can be beneficial for your garden. Long grass provides a great habitat for beetles, young amphibians, and grasshoppers, as well as serving as an essential food source for some butterflies and caterpillars. A garden without wildlife would be sterile, and most plants can’t reproduce without the help of wildlife.
When using fertilizer, make sure to apply it in moderation. While fertilizer can enhance your garden’s productivity, too much of it can cause excessive growth of the plant’s foliage with stunted development of the fruit or vegetables, reducing your harvest.
Used pantyhose can be useful in gardening in two ways. You can wrap old soap slivers in pantyhose to scrub stubborn ground in dirt off your hands, without needing expensive garden soaps. Pantyhose can also be used to support your squashes and melons as they grow to give them more support on the vine, while still allowing the sun to get through.
A garden with a wide variety of plants is more resistant to garden pests and attracts more beneficial insects that eat bad bugs. So, try to fill your garden with a variety of plants instead of just a few types. A garden with only a few types of plants will sustain more damage from pest invasions.
When buying seeds for your garden, choose seeds labeled “certified organic.” This guarantees that your plants will be organic throughout their lifespan and that the seeds you buy aren’t contaminated with chemical fertilizers or pesticides. Watch out for labels such as “genetically engineered” or anything that does not include the phrase “certified organic.”
Make sure to plant both early and late blooming plants next to each other, so that you have flowers all season long. Shallow-rooted annuals can be planted around deep-planted spring bulbs, and for each season, choose one outstanding plant to serve as the key flower. Plant in drifts throughout the bed, and fill in with secondary flowers.
It’s best not to do any gardening with open wounds, since you run the risk of your cut being exposed to dangerous chemicals and dirt. It’s possible for a cut to become extremely infected if exposed to dirt and grime while gardening. Bandage all cuts completely, using bandages that cover and seal cuts.
If you’re busy with your organic garden, remember before you replant your flowers or vegetables outside in cooler weather, you need to get them ready for the change in temperature and light! For a few weeks, move your plants to a colder spot with no light for a few hours. Gradually increase the amount of time you leave your plants in the cold. After a few weeks, your plants should be ready for the cooler outdoors.
Pine needles can make a great mulch since they are relatively acidic. Plants like these thrive when you use pine needles as mulch. Cover the beds with a couple of inches of needles, and as they decompose, they will disperse acid into the soil.
Before planning and planting your garden, be sure to test the pH of the soil. The acidity or alkalinity of the soil has a huge impact on the types of crops that can be successful on the plot. Take readings from several different areas of the garden, as pH can differ from spot to spot. Adjust the soil or your plants as necessary based on what you find.
When starting an organic garden, test the pH level of your soil. You need to know the pH level of your soil in order to choose the appropriate plants that will grow well in it. Test kits can be purchased to test the pH level of your soil.
Organic gardening simply means that no types of pesticides or preservatives are used on the product which results in a more natural form of produce. Avoid over-fertilizing your plants since this can lead to a lot of lush growth that is soft and attractive to pests and animals. Slower-growing gardens are often hardier, which means they are better at resisting pests and diseases. This is one of those cases where too much of a good thing isn’t a good thing at all!