Organic Gardening How To Blog

Hydrangeas are such a beautiful bush with big, lovely flowers that bloom from spring to fall. I have two in my yard – one has blue flowers and one has pink. This Organic Gardening How To is about why hydrangea flowers have different colors and how you can easily change those colors if you want to.

There are three standard colors for hydrangea flowers – pink, white, and blue.

Hydrangeas are unique in that it’s the soil that they are planted in that will determine their flowers color. Acidic soils produce a blue flower and less acidic soils produce the white and pink flowers.

If you have blue hydrangeas, you can change them to pink. If you have pink hydrangeas, you can change them to blue. Only the Almighty can change the color of the white hydrangea.

Watch this Organic Gardening How To video on how you can change your pink hydrangeas to blue one’s if you choose to do so:

So, if you have hydrangeas in your garden, you can change their flowers color by slightly changing their soils pH level.

If your hydrangeas have pink and you would like to make them blue, you now know that your soil needs to be slightly more acidic. You can add Bonide Organic Aluminum Sulfate to make it more acidic, but you should really test your soils pH level so you have a good idea on how much aluminum sulfate to add. I recommend the Luster Leaf Mini Soil pH/Moisture Tester to do that with.

For blue hydrangeas, it’s best to shoot for a pH level between 5.0-5.2.

Be cautious! If you add too much aluminum sulfate you will damage the plants root system and possibly kill the plant. If you have time, you can also increase the soils acidity level by mixing peat or coffee grounds into the soil.

If you presently have blue hydrangea flowers and you would like to make them pink, you can do that my adding Good Earth Organics Hydrated Lime into your soil. The pink hydrangea prefers a pH level between 6.0-6.2.

One last tip to this Organic Gardening How To – it’s best to make these changes to your soils pH level in early spring before the hydrangea blossoms.

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Hydroponic gardening is growing in popularity and it’s easy to do. Vegetables and herbs grown hydroponically will grow faster and taste sweeter. That’s because nutrients and water are readily available to the roots of the plant.

You can build your own hydroponic system and I’ve provides a video below that shows you how to do it. To make your own hydroponic gardening system all you need are:

- One 10 gallon glass tank

- One pump, check valve, and bubble stone

- Styrofoam, poster board, air filter, and clear caulking

- Bag of gravel and potted herbs

Watch this video to learn how to do it:

Remember, it’s important to completely cover the outside of the glass tank so that light is not visible inside of the tank. This prevents algae from growing inside of the tank.

There are professionally built hydroponic gardening systems that will really accelerate the growth of plants even more than the simple homemade one shown above.

The one I like best is produced by Stealth Hydroponics and is called the Dual Spectrum Bubbleponics. Bubbleponics is the art of delivering highly oxygenated nutrient solutions DIRECTLY to the plant’s root systems. The system maintains the ideal oxygen level in the nutrients to promote even faster plant growth. Yes, buying a professionally made hydroponic gardening system will cost you more than a homemade one, so if you’re new at it, try making your own first and find out if you like this type of gardening. Hydroponic gardening allows you to grow plants all year long.

If you get hooked on hydroponic gardening, give the Dual Spectrum Bubbleponics system a try. You’ll be even more amazed at how much more you can grow.

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To help you raise delicious tomatoes in your organic garden, I’ve posted an excellent video below that has a lot of information that will help you. But, watch it with caution!

This video has excellent information, but it was not made for the organic gardener. So, in the video when they suggest using non-organic fertilizers and such, be sure you replace these chemicals with products that have been approved by the USDA National Organic Program.

For example, the video below suggests using 10-10-10 fertilizers for promoting the tomato plants growth. Don’t use just any fertilizer. Use something like Monrovia Organics Vegetable & Tomato Food . Stay with organic products in your organic garden. Now, watch this video:

And, here are a few other tips to help you to raise those tomatoes in your organic garden:

=> Save your lawn clippings and leaves and make your own compost (read Compost For Your Organic Garden). Mix this compost into your soil in early spring for healthier tomato plants.

=> Grow your tomato plants near garlic, carrots, onions, marigolds, and chive. These are great companion plants.

=> Water your tomato plants in early morning so the foliage has time to dry.

=> If you smoke, wash your hands thoroughly before touching your tomato plants. Otherwise, you may infect your plants with tobacco mosaic virus.

=> When temperatures rise above 85 degrees Fahrenheit, pick your tomatoes while they are still partially green and let them ripen inside.

Big, red, juicy tomatoes – right from your own organic garden!

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I found a terrific new tool that will help you with your organic gardening how to chores. This tool is called the Garden Planner and it will help you design and layout either a vegetable garden or a complete landscaping job.

The tool is full of valuable information related to plants, flowers, and vegetables. For example, if the spacing between certain types of plants is a 12″ minimum, the tool won’t let you put anything anything closer than 12″.

Watch this video to get a better idea on what this Organic Gardening How To tool can do for you:

Pretty nifty, isn’t it!?

Yeah, I know – there is a $19.95 charge if you want a full version of the product (and,no, I don’t receive a commission), but you can get a FREE 15-DAY TRIAL by Clicking Here.

And, you can also try a FREE ONLINE VERSION by CLICKING HERE. You just won’t be able to print out any copies of you gardening plans.

Give this Organic Gardening How To tool a try. Use the Free Online Version first, and if you like it, try the 15-Day Free Trial

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