Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Organic Vegetable Gardening - A Labor Of Love


Successful organic vegetable gardening can demand a great deal of work and careful planning. This includes the preparation of the soil by enriching it and protecting the soil from the infestation of harmful insects.


Organic vegetable gardening is unlike from conventional gardening in two major ways. They differ from the utilization of fertilizers and pest control. The fertility of the soil depends on three components: nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.


Nitrogen increases the growth of lush foliage. Phosphorus assists with strong roots and sterns. Potassium protects the plants from disease and low temperature. These nutrients are required for every plant that stays alkaline for more than a year. In conventional methods, man-made fertilizers are used to enrich the soil. Commercial fertilizers are available as a mixture of the three primary ingredients mentioned. However, in organic vegetable gardening, these nutrients are added in a different fashion.


Composting is a very effective organic way of enriching the soil. Compost can be made easily in pots from your backyard with garden and kitchen food waste. Materials like leaves, lawn cutting, pine needles, weeds, carrot tops, spoiled fruit and vegetable, animal manure and the like, can be used to attain good compost. The decomposition reaction of the organic material forms bacteria and fungi in the soil. This aids in changing over unavailable nutrients like nitrogen to ammonia and nitrates making it usable for the plants. This process is known as nitrification. Rock phosphates, natural occurring deposits of phosphorus in combination with calcium, can be mixed with the compost. Natural potassium occurs in substances like wood ashes, tobacco stems, seaweed, potash salts and ground rock potash. They can be also mixed for organic vegetable gardening.


The organic material takes longer to break down and affect the soil. Therefore it should be added at least two weeks before planting the vegetables.


The pH scale extends from 0 to 14. 0 indicates extreme acidic conditions. 14 is extreme alkaline and 7 suggests a neutral soil. The most inexpensive and effective material for elevating the pH is ground limestone. Dolomite limestone has an extra ingredient, magnesium, which many soils lack. If the pH of the soil is alkaline, finely ground sulphur is used to lower it.


Pest control in organic gardens is likewise done in a dissimilar manner. Organic vegetable gardening relies in the theory of manageable pest levels. This model theory, suggests that the pests are not to be completely eradicated, but kept at an easily manageable level maintaining the balance and concordance.


When pest resistant varieties are planted, natural predators and parasites are used to consume the harmful insects. Mulching the soil serves to avert direct contact with sunlight as the harmful organisms need bright sunlight to develop. These methods employing organic vegetable gardening techniques will facilitate in enhancing a healthy and abundant crop.








When you need a handy resource for not only organic gardening, but gardening in general, see all that is available to you at http://www.gardeningandhorticulture.com A free report on indoor gardening secrets is there for you just for dropping by.

1 comment:

Hydroponics4u said...

Thanks for the great info really answered a couple of my ??