Organic Gardening How To Blog

What kind of tools do you use in your organic garden? Of course, I think hand tools are the best type of tool to use, but who wants to cut a hedge that is 6′ tall and 40′ long with a pair of hand clippers? I know I wouldn’t want to. So, when I do use a motorized tool, I try to make sure its electric. Electric tools are quieter and produce no emissions.

Electric tools that require an electric cord are lighter and are easier to carry. There only drawback is that the cord can be a nuisance and if you have a large organic garden, you will need a lot of cord.

Cordless electric tools have a battery attached to them This makes them heavier and they often have to be recharged. I always try to buy an extra battery. These batteries have potentially harmful heavy metals in them such as cadmium, silver, mercury, and lithium. Be careful when disposing of these batteries and check with local authorities on the proper disposal technique in your area.

Electric tillers, pruners, trimmers, diggers, chainsaws, lawn mowers and a host of other equipment is avilable for your organic garden in todays market. The Neuton Electric Lawn Mower is a good example. It has almost a cult following. It is extremely light and easy to use. You can cut grass for almost one hour before having to recharge it. The Neutron was one of the first electric lawn mowers and has been around for a decade.

Robotic lawn mowers are the up and coming tool. While they have been around for almost 10 years, they have pretty much been a novelty item because of the problems with battery life. But, technology is changing, and improvements have been made to extend battery life. Who knows, before long you may have a robotic lawn mower mowing the grass around your organic garden. Watch this video for an organic gardening how to:

If you are new to organic gardening or you would like to learn more, try any one of these two great e courses: Organic Gardening Magic or My Organic Food Garden. Or, try them both! Satisfaction Guaranteed for your Organic Gardening How To needs, or your money back.

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Here are a number of tips for preventing fungi and to add to your organic gardening how to:

• Fungi normally starts due to poor air circulation. Be sure your plants have plenty of space around them. This may require you to do some pruning.
•  Try to water only the soil. Try to keep moisture off the leaves and stems of your plants.
•  Remove stems and leaves that are infected. Discard these into your garbage can – do not use for composting!
•  Fungi and bacteria will take up residence on the leaves and debris at the base of your plants. Remove all of this debris, especially at the end of the growing season. 
  
• When pruning, disinfect your shears before moving on to the next plant. Use a solution of i part bleach to 10 parts water.
  




• If fungi and bacteria continues to be a problem, try using a product like Arbico Organics PlantShield HC Biological Fungicide in your organic garden. This is a foliar and root fungicide made froma formulation of the beneficial fungus called Trichoderma harzianum strain T-22.

And, that’s another Organic Gardening How To tip. Until next time…

If you are new to organic gardening or you would like to learn more, try any one of these two great e courses: Organic Gardening Magic or My Organic Food Garden. Or, try them both! Satisfaction Guaranteed for your Organic Gardening How To needs, or your money back.

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Smack!!Another mosquito eradicated from my organic garden. I do that over-and-over again while I am gardening. I think all gardener’s do the same thing. Its a natural thing to do. But, there are things we can do to minimize the smacking.

First, you have to understand the mosquito. The mosquito has four stages in its’ life cycle: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Female mosquitoes lay eggs in pools of water. They try to find water sources that are shallow and not moving because the larvae are not strong swimmers. The larvae feeds on algae and bacteria and will eventually pupate and emerge as a flying adult.

The adult mosquito are nectar feeders and help pollinate some plants such as orchids. So, not everything about the mosquito is bad. It is the female mosquito that becomes the biting nuisance. As she approaches reproduction, she needs blood for a source of iron and protein. All vertebrae animals can provide her this blood including dogs, cats, horses, and humans. At the same time, the mosquito is a source of food for many wildlife species including lizards, frogs, fish, dragonflies, birds, and bats.

Female mosquitoes can transmit diseases to humans and animals. In dogs, cats, and horses they can transmit heartworm. In humans, they can transmit several types of encephalitis including the West Nile Virus. But, with that said, in North America mosquitoes are more of a nuisance than a threat. Very few people get sick and overuse of pesticides leads to pollution and death of beneficial insects. The key is to minimize this annoyance.

Shut down the mosquito breeding ground. Keep your gutters unclogged. Keep unused pots and buckets dry. It takes 5 days for the mosquito larvae to mature to an adult, so empty your kiddie pools and birdbaths at least twice a week. Watch for puddles on tarps and plastic. If you have a garden pond, stock it with fish and try to attract other predators such as frogs and dragonflies. Never put oil on your water surface as it will pollute your organic garden and will kill many beneficial insects.

If you are doing all of these things properly and you still have too many mosquitoes, you can use a product like Arbico Organic Bti Mosquito Controls. These products contain Bacillus thuringiensis israelenis. This is a bacteria that will infect and kill mosquito larvae within 24 hours. It will also help control insects closely related to the mosquito larvae such as gnats and black flies. Bti will kill only these types of insects and it will not harm other insects, fish, birds, worms, or any mammals.

Common sense can be the best solution for mosquito control. If you don’t have to, don’t go out in the early morning or late evening hours. If you do, wear long pants and long sleeves. Mosquitoes don’t fly very well, and if you want to enjoy your organic garden in the evening hours, a simple fan can keep the mosquitoes away.

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Dividing some types of perennials is an important Organic Gardening How To. After a few years of growth, many of these plants have multiplied their bulbs, root systems, and stems. Dividing these and giving them more room makes them healthier and promotes new flowering.

Perennials that benefit most from division are: Ajuga, Artemisia, Aster, Astilbe, Bee balm, Chrysanthemum, Coreopsis, Delphinium, Daisy, Daylilly, Dianthus, Helianthus, Hosta, Iris, Lamb’s-ear, Phlox, and Yarrow. These need division about once every three years.

Generally speaking, the best time of year to divide is in the spring and fall. If your perennial has early spring flowers, divide them in the fall. On the other hand, if your perennial flowers in mid-to-late summer, divide them in the spring.

Tools that are needed to divide your perennials are: garden gloves, pruning saw or axe, a digging fork, and a hose attached to a water source.

Always prepare your soil where you are going to move the additional plants to before you start digging up your plants and dividing them. Work compost or other organic matter into the soil. Doing this before dividing your plants mwans that it will take less time to re-plant them and reduces the chance of the roots drying out.

The first step to division is to dig up your existing plant. Stick the digging fork into the soil 2-3″ away from the existing plant. Rock backwards with the fork gently and work your way 360 degrees around the plant. When the plant is loose, lift the mass of roots out of the ground.

Try to leave as much soil as possible attached to the roots and bulbs. This will reduce some of the trauma that the plant experiences. With your bare hands, pull apart masses of spreading plants such as ajuga, bee balm and daisies. Plants that have fleshy roots such as astilbe, daylillies, and hosta must be pried or cut apart using a sharp, non-serrated knife. For clumps of ornamental grasses, you may have to use a pruning saw or axe.

Before you make these divisions and cuts, cut off any parts of the plant that are old or woody looking. Now, look at the crown of the plant, identify it, and look for any natural divisions. These are the areas where the plant should be pulled apart or cut. A good rule of thumb is to leave three to four live buds or growing shoots per division with a good root system.

Replant your healthier divisions and discard the old ones into your compost pile. Plant at the same depth that they originally planted at. Spread out their root systems and water thoroughly. Keep the plants moist until they are well established.

Here are a few other tips on this organic gardening how to:

• Plan on dividing your perennials on a calm, cloudy day so that the wind and sun won’t dry the root systems out.
• Keep the divided perennials moist by watering often and covering them with wet newspaper.
• Discard old, woody centers. Perennials bloom best from young, active growth.
• Mulch divides perennials in the fall to help protect them from frost.

Watch this video to learn a little more about this organic gardening how to:

If you are new to organic gardening or you would like to learn more, try any one of these two great e courses: Organic Gardening Magic or My Organic Food Garden. Or, try them both! Satisfaction Guaranteed for your Organic Vegetable Garden needs, or your money back.

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