Organic Gardening How To Blog

Water has always been important to us, but with our exploding populations, water is becoming a scarce resource. Every drop you can save is a little extra you can use for your organic growing needs. Many families use too much water to keep their lawns green. In humid areas, lawns only need to be watered every 5-7 days during the summer and even less in the winter months. In drier climates, lawns need to be watered every 2-3 days in the heat of summer and probably not at all during the winter.

Lawns should be watered in the early morning hours when temperatures and wind speeds are at their lowest – this allows for less evaporation.

Adjust your sprinklers so that they are watering only areas that need moisture. Too much water is wasted on driveways, pavement, and sidewalks and that’s not helping us with our organic growing needs.

Plants are often watered more often than they need to be. Plants prefer a deep watering every few days to encourage growth in their root systems. Watering every 1-2 days leads to a shallow root system.

To determine if a plant needs watering, dig 2-3 inches into the ground and feel the soil for moisture. Water is not needed unless the soil is completely dry.

If water is needed, water with a watering can instead of a hose. You will use a lot less water. And, besides, who doesn’t need the exercise?

If you place plants in baskets and hang them outside, hang them over the top of plants that are already planted in the ground. When you water the plants in the basket, water will likely drip out on to the plants underneath.

Inside, save your “grey water” to water your plants outside. Grey water is simply water you use to wash dishes and such. Most dish washing detergents will not harm your plants. Simply save the water, let it cool, pour it into a bucket, and carry it outside.

A great way to save as much water as you can is to collect rainwater. I’ve previously written a “How To” article on this and you can read it at Drought Insurance For Your Organic Garden. If your collection system is big enough, you may never need to use city or well water.

Every drip of water saved will help you with your organic growing needs.

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April showers have now brought May flowers. Here are some organic gardening how to tips for the lovely month of May:

* If you haven’t done so already, your cool weather spring crops should now be ready to harvest.This includes peas, rhubarb, lettuce, spinach, radish, and beets. Pick these now before the heat starts to deteriorate their flavor.

*After removing your spring crops, add compost and barn yard manure to your soil and work it into the ground to get it ready for your summer crops. If you don’t have home made compost (read my article Compost For Your Organic Garden), you can buy it locally at most garden centers.

* Plant your warm weather summer crops. This includes tomatoes, peppers, okra, eggplant, beans, squash, and corn.

* Start your vertical gardens. Besides giving you additional space for your garden, there are many other reasons for vertical gardening (read my article Go Vertical In Your Organic Vegetable Garden). Crops ideal for vertical gardening include tomatoes, beans, and cucumbers. Grow these vertically on the north side of your garden.

Watch this Organic Gardening How To Video for some additional tips:

Are you new to organic gardening? If so, or if you just want to learn more, try one of these great eBooks – My Organic Food Garden or Organic Gardening Magic. Or, try them both with an Organic Gardening How To 60-Day Money Back Guarantee!

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