As organic gardening and lifestyles are all the rage, the ideas become increasingly mainstream. It makes sense that people who make the choice to live this way can benefit from organic gardening. Read up on some great organic tips below.
Plant garlic in different places to keep the bugs away. The smell of garlic repels the majority of garden pests. Be sure to plant the garlic around the perimeter of the garden and near pest-attracting plants. Garlic also has the added benefit of being a great raw ingredient for home cooked meals.
Research botanical insecticides that can be purchased locally to aid in ridding your garden of pests. Under certain conditions, organic pesticides can outperform chemical products in effectiveness and safety. Keep in mind, however, that these insecticides have very short half lives. Since they are made out of all natural ingredients, they may decay and disappear soon after you use them.
Take the season and weather conditions into account when determining how much water to give your plants. The amount of water you need depends on when you are doing the watering, whether your water is high-quality and the grade of the soil in your garden. For example, if your climate is humid and warm, you should not water the leaves because it will encourage leaf fungus. Make sure you give the roots plenty of water.
When growing indoor plants, the thermostat should be set between 65-75 degrees throughout the day. This level of heat is required in order for plants to grow. Another option is the use heat lamps that will protect your organic plants.
Use the ingredients in your kitchen to create a natural pest-deterring spray. Make a spray from water and garlic, chives, or onions. You can make this organic spray by finely chopping chives, onions or peeled garlic, and adding them to half a cup of water. After steeping for a little while, strain the water into a spray bottle.
Don't use pesticides - kill your weeds naturally! Layer sheets of newspaper on the surface of areas where you are trying to control weeds. Weeds can't grow without sunlight. The layers of newspaper over the weeds will block out the light and kill them. Newspapers easily break down over a period of time, and eventually become a portion of the compost. One way to enhance the appearance of your garden if you are using newspapers is to add an additional layer of mulch.
Get to the root of the matter! Even if the plant looks lush on the upper leaves, the root system can have problems. The reason that these starts will still look green with bad roots is because the seedlings will not grow until the starts are gone.
Keep the soil healthy by adding mulch. The soil will be efficiently protected. It protects the plant roots, keeping the ground cool on a hot summer day. The layer of mulch will also minimize evaporation, reducing your need to water as frequently as you would a garden without mulch. Mulch is also excellent for keeping weeds at bay.
Gather together as many tips and tricks for improving your organic garden as possible. The more you have, the more knowledge you can potentially gain. Keep in mind that these pointers are simply the tip of the iceberg.
