Organic Options For Fertilising Your Vegetable Garden

I have often been asked what is the best organic fertiliser to add to the soil of a vegetable garden. Its not the sort of question that has an easy answer, but its not a complicated solution either. There is really no exact answer to a “best” product when it comes to organic nutrients.

Organic gardening is more about a system of gardening - Crop rotation, mulching, composting, vermicast, and companion planting all form a part of an Organic Gardening System.

The best place to start is to create 2 or 3 compost heaps in your backyard.

Whether you use a Compost Bin, Tumbler, Stack or Compost bays – the end result will still be the same - A nutrient rich soil conditioner and mulch ready to add to your vegetable garden. You should always ensure your compost heap receives sufficient heat in order to destroy seeds that may be present from lawn clippings and weeds.

Suitable ingredients for your compost heap includes – old hay or straw, vegetable scraps, shredded paper, lawn clippings & animal manure. Avoid things like Orange peel, onion skins and meat scraps.

If you live in a unit or have a small backyard, you might have vegetables growing in pots. An ideal way to make compost in these situations is with a small worm farm. The worms create enough compost (called vermicast) to feed your potted vegetables throughout the year. All your household scraps and waste paper can be added to the worm farm.

This is an ideal start for creating an Organic Garden System.

Eric J. Smith is an Organic Gardener and passionate Environmentalist. He is dedicated to promoting the need for an Organic, Natural World. Find out more on Organic Personal Care Products here

Organic Fruit

Some people maintain organic fruit is better for you than regular fruit, and some believe that it even tastes better. Organic fruit is grown using organic gardening and farming methods. Methods often differ from farmer to farmer, but the one thing that is consistent is that organic farmers don’t use pesticides or other chemicals on their crops. Instead, they use natural means.

Organic Fruit Health Benefits

Fruit is simply good for you, even if it isn’t organic. However, growing fruit organically strengthens the plant’s natural defenses. If the fruit is sprayed with chemicals, it has no need to develop these natural defense mechanisms against disease and insects. These natural defenses translate to added nutrition for your body.

Organic Fruit is Chemical Free

Also, the absence of chemicals is also benefits your body. There is some controversy surrounding the use of chemicals in farming and your overall health. Some believe that they harm the body and others believe that the effects are negligible. Either way, organic fruit is free of these chemicals so it is a non-issue.

Purchasing Organic Fruit

As little as ten years ago, it was difficult finding high quality organic produce. Now, there are markets and co-ops all over the country who specialize in providing organic fruit to the public. Mainstream supermarkets are also starting to include organic fruit in their produce sections. Don’t be afraid if you see a splotch or slight blemish on the surface of the fruit’s skin. This means that the farmer didn’t use chemicals to help prevent them from forming. The blemishes are harmless.

Growing Organic Fruit

You can also grow your own organic fruit. Before you begin, make sure you research proper planting methods and how to care for them. Organic gardening involves using special fertilizers, weeding, maintaining an organic compost pile, and testing the soil to make sure it is at the proper PH level.

Organic fruit is better for both your body and the environment. Farmers use methods that are friendlier to the earth, and the lack of chemicals in the organic fruit benefits your body.

Fruit provides detailed information on Fruit, Tropical Fruit, Organic Fruit, Dried Fruit and more. Fruit is affiliated with Gourmet Fruit Gift Baskets.

Tips and Advice for Organic Gardening

Organic gardening is becoming more popular as people are tending to move away from the harsher chemicals involved in artificial gardening and towards a more natural product. Organic gardening greatly reduces the use of pesticides and harsh chemicals, trying to keep the garden as natural as possible, and keeping the nutrients in the soil.

There are a lot of advantages to organic gardening. One advantage is the fact that you can enjoy a wide diversity of garden insects, birds, and mammals which are otherwise affected by artificial gardens; for the most part, it is considered that organically grown food tastes better all around; you can do your part to stop waste and environmental pollution from avoiding fertilizers and other chemicals that have been proven to harm the environment. Another advantage is that you can be assured completely that absolutely no pesticides whatsoever will go into the fruit, vegetables, or herbs that you eat.

If you are thinking about going into organic gardening there are some tips and advice you may need. One of the most critical is to be sure and avoid the planting up large areas with the same plants. Instead, grow plant companions, especially those plants which repel insect pests.

There are also some tips that every organic gardener should know. Garlic is used as a natural antibiotic and antifungal remedy and when garlic is combined with mineral soap and oil, it then becomes a very effective pest control product. Milk is used to help control powdery mildew on cucumbers just as effectively as a synthetic fungicide. Beer is used to attract slugs, which are actually beneficial to gardens. Floating row covers are used for preventing insect pests from reaching the plants, and newspaper is used to smother and rid the garden of weeds.

Protein fertilizers are available almost everywhere these days, and besides that, there are numerous household recipes for starting and maintaining a fresh and healthy garden - without the use of harsh pesticides.

Organic gardening has become so popular that there is so much information available on the issue of organic vegetable gardening. Whether you are interested in starting in on this trend yourself, or you have already begun and simply want more information on the subject, it will not prove difficult to find.

Learn more Organic Gardening information at http://www.homegardenyard.com/

Organic Gardening Business Tip 2: Word of Mouth Advertising

How to Make Money from Organic Gardening

Here's a real quick tip for marketing your organic gardening business.

Word of mouth advertising is invaluable. Trouble is, HOW do you get it happening?

One really simple way is hand out vouchers or flyers.

Your voucher offers a free offer ... free gift ... 2 for 1 offer . . . half-price offer (let your mind run free with ideas!), and then include your contact info.

They don’t need to be printed on expensive paper or designed by an expert . . . just what you have to offer. Include the main benefits of organic food, the effect it may have on their health etc and include a cracking offer!

You could include a list of your best sellers or what is currently 'in season' or any special offers you have right now.

It’s cheap and easy and could send a flood of potential customers your way in no time at all.

And what's more, the people who buy from you, will tell their family and friends. So just 1 voucher or flyer could easily quadruple the number of customers you get in return.

Of course, more tips and techniques are included in "How to Make Money with Organic Gardening" - available for a limited time at:

www.organicprofits.com

Warmly
Peter Tremayne

The demand for Organic Produce is about to explode! You can make money from this right now! Learn how to make money from organic gardening - by Peter Tremayne http://www.organicprofits.com

3 Flower Gardening Tips

Flower gardening is a simple and rewarding hobby for many people. It does require hard work and dedication but the rewards are far better. Here are a few flower gardening tips that will keep your flower garden in tiptop condition and in the process enjoy yourself.

Flower Gardening Tip #1 : Planting

One of the most important steps in flower gardening is deciding where to do your planting. If you decide to plant it in a container, you can pretty much replicate the soil conditions you wanted. It is easier and much simpler to manage.

If you decide to plant it in your backyard, you should do a soil test first to determine the type of soil in your backyard. You can grab a test soil kit from your neighborhood gardening store which should be readily available.

Ideally, you want the soil to be composed of equal parts clay and sand. Too much of either clay or sand is not suitable for flower gardening. Clay does not drain well and roots cannot get hold easily in clay. Sand does not retain nutrients and elements well and does not hold together easily therefore it is impossible to grow flowers on sand.

Flower Gardening Tip #2 : Gardening Journal

A gardening journal can help you keep track of your flower garden progress and is recommended. With a gardening journal, you can keep track of the success and failure you have with the type of flowers you have grown in your pot or backyard. Doing so can reduce the amount of time you need to grow your next flower garden. You can use any notepad to keep track. There are even professional software available on the market that does this.

Flower Gardening Tip #3 : Organic Materials

All flowers require fertilizers to grow well. A suitable amount of organic matter or fertilizer in the soil makes it fertile and nutrient rich. It would be easier to grow flowers on such soil.

If your soil does not have much organic matter, it is still pretty easy to change the soil by adding compost to it. Compost is the remains of plants and animals and you can get it easily from your gardening supply store.

Compost provides nutrients and can help in drainage and hold moisture, conditions necessary for flower gardening.

There are other flower gardening tips as well but the above 3 flower gardening tips are in my opinion the most important to growing a flower garden.

Ricky is the online editor of a flower gardening site. Visit his site today for more info such as perennial flower gardening and wild flower gardening.

Organic Gardening

Organic gardening is gardening that uses no harmful chemicals. It is healthy and has become a popular trend among gardeners. Growing an organic garden is not as hard as it may seem, and the following tips should help you start and maintain an all natural, healthy flower or vegetable garden.

Three of the most important elements to growing a successful organic garden is mulching and pest control. Mulching helps hold water, reduces weeds and adds essential nutrients. You can either purchase organic mulch, or if the plants require acid, lay a thick bed of pine needles in the fall. Make sure you are not using mulch that has been artificially colored; although the coloring preserves the look of your mulch even after it gets old and dry, it is not organic and may contain chemicals that can contaminate your otherwise pristine mini-ecosystem.

Pests are always a problem in any garden. To hold them at bay in an organic garden you can rotate a spray of soapy water followed by clean water on the infected stems, leaves and buds of the plants. Weeds can be treated with vinegar.

Compost is also important for an organic garden to added essential nutrients. It can be made from almost anything you have on hand including ground up leftovers, leaves and grass.

If you want to plant herbs for organic cooking, they make great landscape plants in the organic garden and don't need a lot of attention. Mix in some annual flower plants for a creative, colorful blend.

Gardening provides detailed information on Gardening, Organic Gardening, Flower Gardening, Gardening Supplies and more. Gardening is affiliated with Garden Décor.

Organic Gardening Gifts Online

Organic gardening gifts online are plentiful and, with a bit of imagination, can be found in highly unlikely places. You can, of course, give organically grown flowers – a bunch of roses or a wildflower bouquet. You can give an organic live plant, nicely displayed in a natural basket. You might even give a gift of organic tea.

Organic gardening gifts online don't stop there, though. As the popularity of organic gardening grows, the number of gifts for the gardener also grows.

Organic Gardening Tools

Organic gardening calls for tools that chemical gardening does not. Anyone doing organic gardening will enjoy receiving unique tools. For example:

1. Compost Container: Small-scale organic gardening does not require a large compost pile. A compost container, made from recycled plastic, can recycle kitchen waste into organic compost without a compost pit or pile.

2. Worm Factory: This organic gardening gift is another efficient way to compost. Just put worms, their bedding, and some scraps of food in the worm factory's bottom bin. Stack other bins on top, with more food scraps in each. As the worms finish their meal on the first floor, they move upward to get more food. Their castings in the bottom tray, an excellent organic fertilizer, can be harvested. A handy spigot on the bottom tray drains off compost tea.

3. Compost Crank: If your gardener does use a compost pile or pit, a compost crank makes a good organic gardening gift. He or she will simply have to crank the corkscrew tip into the pile and pull out to aerate the pile.

Earth-Friendly Organic Gardening Tools

Organic gardening gifts online also include some regular tools that are earth-friendly. Think of mowing the lawn with a push mower to reduce pollution. While pushing, wear lawn aerator shoes to keep the lawn aerated so that nutrition and water get down where the roots can use them. Someone who is "into" organic gardening will also appreciate a tree and shrub root irrigator kit. It saves water while being sure organic fruit trees and shrubs receive deep watering.

Ergonomic Organic Gardening Tools

Organic gardening requires more work than chemical gardening. Ergonomic tools will be appreciated by an organic gardener. Sets of ergonomic tools with a convenient canvas bag can be found at many online gardening supply stores.

We found a unique organic gardening gift online – an ergonomic gardening tool called a detachable ergonomic gardening tool set. One handle can be used with every tool in the set.

A wearable gardening stool lets your organic gardening friend rest feet and back while gardening. Even with hands full, the stool is always available.

Organic Gardening Seeds or Seedlings

Organic gardening gifts online include organic seeds or seedlings, too. A home window garden kit set we saw would be a great gift for an organic gardener. Each set has four window garden cans, with everything you need to grow organic seedlings on a window sill. You add water and sunlight, and transplant the plants when they are big enough.

Any organic seeds or seedlings would be a good organic gardening gift. Herbs are always nice – fragrant and useful.

Organic Gardening Books

A book or two on organic gardening is a good idea, especially for the beginner. Find a beautiful and informative book, and your organic gardener will spend happy hours reading.

Organic Vegetables Mail Order

An ongoing gift of organic vegetables by mail order is also good. Find one of the online organic sites that ship via next day in the U.S.

Just for Love

One organic gardening gift we found online would be fun to give, especially to someone you love. The "Amazing Message Plant" comes in its own planter, ready to grow. The recipient pops the lid, waters the plant, and places it in a sunny location. As it grows, the plant reveals the message "I love you" on its leaves.

Can't Decide What to Buy

It can be hard to choose just the right organic gardening gift. Everyone has their own likes and dislikes. If you can't decide what to buy, check online gardening supply retailers for gift certificates. You can often get them in denominations of $25 or $50. Order one or more, and place them in a nice organic gardener's greeting card.

©2007, Anna Hart. Anna Hart invites you to read more of her articles about organic gardening at http://www.organicspringtime.com. Anna is posting new articles regularly on that site, each article dealing with some facet of organic gardening. If you want information on locating organic vegetables by mail order, you won’t want to miss Anna’s article on the subject.