Natural, environmentally-friendly living is catching hold among legions of individuals, as is a preference for organic produce. Anyone living this kind of life usually has to organically grow their own herbs and plants to maintain their way of living. Read up on some great organic tips below.
Take the proper approach to laying sod. Before the sod can be laid, you should prepare the soil. Remove weeds and break your soil until all the clumps are gone. Lightly, but firmly pack the soil down, and make sure that it is flat. Make sure you work with a moist soil. Lay the sod in rows, and make sure the joints do not overlap. Pat your sod to form an even and flat surface, fill any gaps with some soil. Water your sod daily for a fortnight, which is enough time for it to root and be able to withstand foot traffic.
Make sure to be weary of stink bugs whenever you garden, particularly during the fall months. They like to feast on all kinds of fruits, as well as peppers, tomatoes, and beans. Proper measures should be taken in order to ensure minimal damage to your crops.
To prevent shocking your plants, you must gradually introduce new temperatures and other conditions to them. You need to give them about an hour of sunlight during the first day. Gradually increase the the time they spend outside over a one week period. When the week is done, your plants will be ready for the big move without any problems.
Plant some wheat grass or cat grass near where you car tends to nibble in your garden. You may also place something offensively smelly atop the soil, like citrus peel or mothballs.
Try to plan a variety of perennials that are slug-proof. If slugs or snails find their favorite perennials in your garden, they’ll snack all night. When you wake up in the morning, there will be very little left of your plants. Snails and slugs have a good time destroying perennials that are young and have tender and smooth thin leaves. Perennials with hairy, tough leaves as well as those with unpleasant taste are not appetizing to snails and slugs. Several good choices include heuchera, campanula, achillea, and euphorbia.
Vegetables in a garden need to have at least six hours of sun every day in order to thrive. Most vegetables require this amount of sun in order to grow properly and at a quicker pace. This is also true for some flowers.
Pull all the weeds in your garden. Weeds steal nutrients from plants, robbing a garden of its potential harvest. Try using white vinegar to get rid of weeds. Weeds can be killed by white vinegar! Putting white vinegar on your plants gets rid of much of the need to pull out the weeds.
If you’re like many gardeners, autumn means that it’s time to get some delicious fall edibles growing in your garden. Clay pots are boring, so replace those ordinary lettuce and kale pots with pumpkins. Cut an opening in the top of your pumpkin, scoop out the inside, and spray the entire thing with Wilt-Proof. This will prevent rotting. After that, your pumpkin planter is ready to use!
Consider adding coffee grounds to your soil if it contains high levels of alkaline. Coffee grounds contain plenty of acid to get the soil back to a good balance. With it, you will find that your greens and vegetables will be more vibrant and tasty!
If you want a strange, yet successful, green answer to getting rid of weeds, boil them to death. Boiling water is a very safe alternative to other potent herbicides. Make sure to pour only on the weeds and to stay away from healthy vegetation. The boiling water will damage the roots of the weeds and will usually prevent further growth.
Irises can be easily divided. You can divide those overgrown clumps and increase the amount of irises you have. Lift bulbous irises when the foliage is dead. As soon as you pick up the bulb, it’ll split into pieces. That’s okay – in fact, it’s desirable. You can replant the bulb pieces and next year you’ll have a healthy bed of new irises. You should divide rhizomes using a knife. Cut new outside pieces and dispose of the center. Each piece should have at least one strong offshoot. Replant your new rhizome pieces as soon as you have finished the cuttings.
Always fertilize your garden. Manure can help your plants grow quickly, but you must use only commercially created products to reduce the chance of contracting pathogens. Choosing a specific type of fertilizer is not particularly critical; as long as you’re using fertilizer, you’re improving your soil.
A good green garden should start from seeds and not plants. Planting seeds is the most eco-friendly way to start a new garden. The plastics used in nurseries are rarely recycled and ends up in landfills, so it is best to start with the seeds or buy from nurseries who use organic materials in packaging their plants.
You can keep pests away from your garden by using other plants or natural materials. For example, if you plant onions or marigolds along the edges of your vegetable garden, you can ward off slugs. Wood ash can be used as mulch, and if put on the base of shrub and tree seedlings, will keep insects away. These are proven methods without having to use harsh chemical pesticides.
As in most things, the more you know about organic gardening, the more successful you will be. The tips in this article are just a jumping off point for you.
If you are new to gardening, make sure you read and follow all the directions on any tool or chemical you use. Garden chemicals can cause skin irritation and eye injury. Ensure that your body is protected by always following instructions.