Sunday 2 November 2008

The Principles Of Organic Vegetable Gardening

Organic vegetable gardening is becoming a favorite with farmers as they can grow the same volume of crop with less money. Should you want to practice this at house, you have to know the rules of organic vegetable gardening first. Foremost, organic vegetable gardening does not use any chemical fertilizers, nutrients or pesticides. Nature is your partner here because you will be using A couple of things to make it all work, namely sunshine and water. While these can never be made by artificial means, you have to find the ideal place for it and provide right kind of water drainage facilities.

Aside from sunshine and water, you can help the crops grow by using compost heap from leftover food, chipped bark, garden compost, leaf moulds and manure. You can mix these all together and then spread this throughout your garden. Some individuals simply cannot stomach the idea of procuring animal fertilizer, but for this you do not have to use your toilet, as they are available readily in stores. Get chickens and let them roam unhindered around the garden. A lot of people use dead animals or meat grow - this should be left in the bin to rot for the maggots to arrive and then you could use them to fertilize your garden soil.

Earthworms could help by digging out several minerals from deep down under the soil and thereby helps the soil to get aerated and this can provide superb drainage for your garden. This creature also leaves casting behind that professionals say is five times as rich in nitrogen phosphorous and potassium - once again, this can be bought from the gardening store. Organic vegetable gardening is tough sometimes since you have to deal with unwelcome guests - some of these pests include armyworms, crickets, gypsy moth caterpillars, slugs and squash bugs. Early fertilizers were employed to get your garden free from such pests, but when you go organic, you keep some toads in the garden, which are expected to eat up all these and more. When spiders or caterpillars invade your garden, get the birds to get rid of them, since toads hate to eat them.

Most of the time you do not have to invest in the purchase of toads or birds, as they would visit your garden in any case, provided you keep your environment conducive. Just build a birdhouse or dig a pond and you would be soon welcoming these Samaritans. Two natural insect killers are the preying mantis and ladybirds both of who clearly demarcate their individual territories and any invasion by a foreign body soon gets destroyed.

Plants also protect vegetables. For example, the rosemary, sage or thyme is an efficient deterrent against butterflies and Marigolds are efficient against nematodes. But despite all the flowers and animals that nature has to offer, crop rotation is seen as the foremost way to keep the soil productive when you have an organic vegetable garden. If you established this kind of vegetable for this season, change it with another and the return to the first after this one is harvested. Come to think of it, rules of organic gardening are rather elementary. Only practicing it for a while, can make you better.

Organic Vegetable Gardening

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