Ready to grow your own organic garden but unsure of what is the best way to proceed? Don’t worry, here are some wonderful organic gardening tips! This collection of hints should provide you with practical advice that can be used in many settings.
To keep rodents, deer, and other pesky animals away from your organic garden, use organic repellents. A spray made from hot peppers can be effective. Otherwise try a spray containing urine or rotten eggs. Regardless of what you use, apply the sprays liberally and reapply regularly especially after a rain shower.
Make your garden appeal to you. A garden should appeal to all your five senses. Devote space to a vegetable garden, install a birdbath, mix in strongly scented flowers or foliage, and plant tactile specimens like fountain grass. When you have all five of your senses pleased will make you happier.
Discourage rabbits from using your garden as a snack bar. Rabbits will take advantage of your organic garden if you give them the chance. They don’t tend to discriminate between certain foods, eating anything that they encounter. Blood meal, wood ashes, hot pepper flakes, chili powder or garlic powder sprinkled around your plants will deter them. You can also sprinkle black pepper directly on a plant, which will give the rabbit a sneezing fit.
When you plan your organic garden, remember that some plants, especially leafy greens like lettuce and spinach will mature well before the end of the growing season. Beds for fast growing plants can often produce two harvests in one season. Have more quick-growing plants ready to replace the early harvest so that you can maximize your garden’s productivity.
Use companion plants. Companion planting is the pairing of plants within your vegetable garden, such as planting cabbage with tomatoes. Companion planting helps reduce the problems with insect pests, as it attracts natural pest-controlling wildlife. Companion planting is also a better use of the space in your garden, since you basically have two plants in the same plot.
Choose the fruit and vegetable types that are suitable for your area. When growing fruits and vegetables, try to grow something that is native to your area. This way, you won’t have to add any kind of chemical fertilizer to aid growth. Native plants will provide you with the best crop possible, as they are used to the soil, temperature and light conditions.
Don’t use chemicals to clean your patio or deck. They will wash off onto your lawn or plants causing irreparable damage. Any run-off will leach into the soil destroying the roots of the plants. Use plain or soapy water to clean the patio, and feel free to pressure wash your deck, but just use plain water.
Chickens can add a good source of fertilizer for your garden. Having a small coop with a chickens not only gives you a supply of fresh eggs, you can also use top layers of the soil in the coop as fertilizer since it has been saturated with chicken manure. There will also be a large supply of egg shells for your compost bin.
So, whether you are a new or experienced gardener, you’ve now got some ideas that you can implement in your garden. Few things in life are more satisfying than working the soil; and it’s even more satisfying when you can do it nature’s way.