Organic Gardening How To Blog

Last November, I wrote an Organic Gardening How To Blog article that I need to make a correction on. That article was called Mold On Azalea Stems – Organic Garden Pest Control.

In that article, I reported that I had learned that “mold” that I had seen growing on some our azalea plants was Sooty Mold and all I had to do to control it was to do a better job controlling some of the insects in our organic garden.

Well, Sooty Mold can certainly be a problem that you might need to control in your garden, but after vigorously trying to control insects in our garden and the problem persisted, I figured the author of this Organic Gardening How To Blog needed to do something different.

So, last week I cut a branch off one of my azalea plants that had this “mold” on it and I took it to a field office of the Clemson University’s agricultural department… this office was about 30 miles away.

A professor there immediately identified my “mold” problem as that of being lichen (which is actually an organism…fascinating, huh). He told me that the lichen was harmless to the azaleas, but the fact that I had lichen on the azaleas was an indication that the plant was not healthy…something was wrong with the plant’s health.

The professor could not tell me exactly what was wrong with the health of the plants, but he suggested that I get a pH testing kit and test the soil immediately around the base of the plants that had lichen in them. Azaleas are very picky about their soil and like an acidic soil between 5.0 and 5.5.

He also suggested that I prune and fertilize the plants with an organic fertilizer (See all Fertilizers) that had a NPK ratio (nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium ratio) of 4-5-4.

These are now the things that I’m working on in an attempt to save our precious azaleas.

There is an important lesson learned here… if you have problems in your organic garden and you’re not sure how to correct those problems, seek out the help of other professionals. Many colleges and universities have field offices that can help you… for little or no charge.

I want to say “Thanks” to Clemson University for the help they gave me… and I’m not even a graduate of that University!

That’s it for now from the Organic Gardening How To Blog…

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It’s June and you know they’re coming…if they haven’t already arrived. Bugs, that is…bugs by the thousands. Don’t wait. Act now! Spraying your plants with organic insecticidal soap is today’s Organic Gardening How To tip.

Rather it be your roses, organic vegetables, or hibiscus you know that insects are going to soon be chewing away on your tender loving plants. Don’t wait until they’ve created damage…attack them before they attack your gardens.

One of the easiest and least expensive remedies is to spray your plants with an organic insecticidal soap. Here’s the recipe that I use the most:

• 2 Tablespoons of Dr. Bronner – Pure-Castile Soap Peppermint
• 1 Quart of water

Simply mix and transfer to a spray bottle.

This spray works best on soft bodied insects such as aphids, thrips, mealybugs, white flies, spider mites, leafhoppers and caterpillars. The fatty acids in the soap disrupts the outer membreane of the insects and their cell contents are able to leak out killing them quickly.

For larger insect or insects with harder outer membranes, spray with a pepper spray that I discussed in an earlier article…it’s also inexpensive to make.

Organic gardening is not difficult, but for the best results the gardener needs to be pro-active. Don’t wait until your garden is infested with these un-wanted insects…spray now and spray often!

Watch this Organic Gardening How To video for some more info on organic insecticidal soap:

Yes, you can buy already prepared insecticidal soap , but use the recipe I gave you above if you want to save money.

Also, a few words of caution…always spray your organic insecticidal soap on a few leaves of all the different types of plants that you want to spray and wait 1-2 days. Some plants will have a negative reaction to organic insecticidal soaps. If the leaves wilt, don’t spray!

For more info on controlling insects in your organic garden, check out one of my other posts called Pest Controls From Your Kitchen Cabinets.

Until next time from the Organic Gardening How To Blog…

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A few days ago, my husband and I had dinner at a local seafood restaurant. As they delivered menus to our table so we could decide what to order, they also delivered a small bowl full of raw sliced jicama along with a Ranch dressing dip… “on the house” our waiter said.

My husband and I were pleasantly surprised and we found the jicama to be extremely tasty. My husband looked at me and said, “How come we’ve never grown this?” That’s why I’m writing this post today in the Organic Gardening How To Blog.

I had never thought about growing jicama before and I feel a little foolish about it considering how tasty this root vegetable is. If you’ve never eaten it before, it tastes a little bit like water chestnuts, just a bit sweeter.

Having never grown it before, I started doing some research. Here are some things that I found out about jicama that you might be interested in:

1. Jicama is also called Yam Bean, Mexican Potato, and Mexican Turnip.

2. Native to Mexico and Mexico is still where most of it is grown.

3. Farmers in California’s fertile valleys have been largely unsuccessful at growing it.

4. A long, warm growing season (up to 9 months) “under relatively short day length is required to initiate good quality fleshy root development.” But, the plant can be grown in shorter growing seasons, but the roots will not be as big.

5. Jicama is grown from a green vine that can reach 3 feet in height. It’s a beautiful plant with heart shaped leaves. The vine blooms with white to lavendar colored flowers.

6. After blooming, the vine produces a pea-like pod. CAUTION: These pea-like pods are toxic and narcotic. Pinch these off to prevent children or animals from eating them. However, if you let them fully mature, the seeds can be used to grow next year’s crop.

7. Jicama is propogated by seed.

8. Jicama can be eaten raw or cooked.

And, here is one last Organic Gardening How To fact…. followers of this blog realize that I always include a video on my posts. Well, I could not find one video on YouTube or the internet that showed how to grow this plant… thats got to be a first!

It’s already June and too late for me to try to grow Jicama this year. But, you can bet it’s on my list of things to do next year!

My challenge to you is to try it, also. If you would like some more info on how to grow it from seed, read this eHow article for more details. Seeds can be purchased from Amazon.com … they’re inexpensive.

Until next time from the Organic Gardening How To Blog…

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Not only am I stuck on organic gardening, but I’m also stuck on the water features that I keep adding to my garden. The peaceful sound of bubbling water on the other side of my red roses seems to make my gardening experiences even more pleasurable. That’s hard for me to believe, but, that’s what I wanted to discuss in this short Organic Gardening How To article.

You see, I’ve always enjoyed my garden. My garden give me comfort and pleasure. Working in my garden is a real joy and gives me a sense of accomplishment. It’s been that way for years.

So, why am I now feeling even more comfortable in my garden ever since I started adding water features two years ago? I’m not sure that I have an answer for that.

Two years ago, I first added a small bird bath next to my vegetable garden. Last year, I added a bubbling rock close to my roses. Now, this year, I’m adding a Koi Pond next to our cedar deck…I’m building it myself.

These water features are enhancing the beauty of my garden…they are giving it a new dimension…at least, that’s what I believe. And, since it’s my garden, I’m the only one that needs to believe that.

Until next time from the Organic Gardening How To Blog…

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Plant your organic garden seeds early and you can enjoy your plants for a longer period of time and harvest more vegetables. In this Organic Gardening How To Blog post, I want to show you one of the best ways to do that.

The length of time that it takes seeds to germinate depends largely upon soil temperature. Soil temperature also influences the percentage of seeds that will germinate.

The optimal soil temperature for a given plant varies depending upon the species of the plant. For example, onions germinate best when the soil temperature is about 68 degrees F and cucumbers prefer a soil temperature of 86 degrees F. Most seed packets will designate on the package the ideal soil temperature. Or, examine Tom Clothier’s Germination Database for more information.

So, does that mean you have to wait later in the season to plant cucumbers than you do onions? Well, if your planting the seeds outdoors and directly into the ground, you probably should wait.

But, if you want to start your plants early, all you have to do is control the temperature of the soil that your germinating the seeds in. You can do that with a Seedling Heat Mat.

Watch this Organic Gardening How To video to get a better idea on what I’m talking about:

One of the best Heat Mats that I could find I found at Amazon.com. It’s called the Hydrofarm MT10006 Seedling Heat Mat and it’s inexpensive at $19.43. It has worked well for me.

I initially chose this Heat Map because of all of the positive reviews that customers had given this product. There were a total of 80 reviews and 70 of them had given this product excellent reviews. I didn’t figure I could go wrong.

So, if you’re anxious to get your garden started early this year, invest in an Hydrofarm Seedling Heat Mat… you will enjoy your organic vegetables and flowers much longer this year and for years to come.

Until next time from the Organic Gardening How To Blog…

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