Organic Gardening How To Blog

Do you have unwanted weeds in your organic garden? Of course you do and so do I! Sometimes I think the weeds grow better than all those plants that I so lovingly take care of.

In an organic garden, the best way to rid the garden of weeds is to pull them by hand – this certainly eliminates the chance of getting unwanted chemicals in your virgin soil.

But, the problem with pulling weeds by hand is that if you don’t get all of the weeds roots pulled, they’ll often grow right back.

I know I have this problem on my back porch where two layers of concrete come together. Weeds grow between these two layers and when I pull them by hand, the roots often break off – the weeds grow back.

Here’s a solution I found to my problem:

INGREDIENTS NEEDED

1-1/2 Gallons Water

2/3 Cup White Vinegar

1/4 Cup Salt

Bring the water to a boil and add the vinegar and salt. Stir briskly. Pour this solution over those unwanted weeds while the solution is still HOT.

Results: DEAD WEEDS! My organic garden is weed free!

Watch this short video for further details:

For more solutions to problems similar to this in your organic garden, read my articles An Organic Gardening How To On Pest Controls and Pest Controls From Your Kitchen Cabinet.

Technorati Tags: hydroponic gardening, killing weeds, organic foods, organic garden, organic gardening how to, organic growing, organic vegetable, organic vegetable garden, organic weed killer, vegetable garden organic, vegetable organic, weed killer, weeds

Dandelions…dandelions…dandelions. Everywhere I look…there are more dandelions. In this Organic Gardening How To, we’re going to explore ways to rid your lawns and garden of this pesty little weed. What makes it so difficult to control dandelions is that their seeds so easily ride the wind currents. So, if you have neighbors that have dandelions in their lawns and gardens or if you have a vacant field nearby, you’re likely to always be fighting this rapidly growing weed.

Of course, you can try to control then in your lawn and garden by manually pulling them. The biggest problem with doing this is that you have to be sure that you not only remove the leaves on the dandelion, but that you also remove the center taproot. The taproot can extend down into the soil up to 10″ deep. When pulling, it easily breaks off and if you don’t get all of it the dandelion will grow back.

If you are going to manually pull dandelions, be sure that the soil is damp before pulling. Otherwise, you’re probably wasting your time.

An easier way to kill dandelions is with table salt from your kitchen. Salt kills the root and will keep it from spreading.

Simply apply 1 tablespoon of salt underneath the dandelions leaves in a tight circle around the weed. Apply the salt when the ground is dry and it’s not going to rain for 1-2 days. You may have to reapply once or twice more.

Watch this Organic Gardening How To video for more information:

One other way to kill dandelions is to use white distilled vinegar – once again from your kitchen.

Apply the vinegar directly to the dandelion’s leaves on a day that it’s not going to rain. I do it using a cotton swab.

It will take 3-4 days and I reapply the vinegar each day.

From the Organic Gardening How To Blog…Until next time…

Oh, by the way. If you would like to learn more about using simple household products to control insects in your garden, read my Organic Gardening How To article Pest Controls From Your Kitchen.

Technorati Tags: dandelion, hydroponic gardening, organic foods, organic garden, organic gardening how to, organic growing, organic vegetable, organic vegetable garden, organic weed killer, salt, vegetable garden organic, vegetable organic, vinegar, weed, weed killer

Got too many cucumbers? Are tomatoes running you out of the house? You’ve probably had a bountiful harvest and have given much of it away. Well, why not save those fresh organic foods for a delicious meal in late January? Preserving organic foods is fast and easy. Over the next few weeks, I’m going to discuss a number of different ways that you can preserve your harvest. Today, I’m going to discuss the time-tested method of dehydrating.

Using the sun and wind to dry food has been practiced since ancient times. Thankfully, most of us today can do it much faster in our own ovens.

Fruits, vegetables and meat can be dried in the oven. Take the organic foods that you want to dry out and was them thoroughly. Slice them up and spread them out evenly on cookie sheets.

Put your cookie sheets in the oven. Cook slowly at 250 degrees F until your dried foods are leathery to the touch. This will take several hours and you may have to flip your organic foods 1-2 times.

It’s difficult to get all of the moisture out using this oven method, so store the dried food in plastic bags in the freezer.

Food dehydrators are the best way to dry food and that’s how I do it. They allow you to dry large amounts of vegetables and fruit in a small space. Food dehydrators will dry organic foods quickly, evenly, and completely. Once dried, you can keep dehydrated fruits and vegetables at room temperature for months.

Food dehydrators can be purchased for as little as $35.00 . But, be sure that you get one that will handle the amount of organic foods that you want to dehydrate and one that will last more than 1-2 uses.

One of the best food dehydrators on the market is the Excalibur Food Dehydrator . That’s the one that I use and have used it for years. I like it because it has 9 racks and can handle all of the organic foods that I dehydrate. I only have to use it 9-10 times per year.

If you want to try food dehydration, choose the food dehydrator that best fits your needs.

For more information on food dehydration, watch the two videos that I have below. They provide excellent information. Watch this one first:

Now, watch Part 2:

Also, if you’re the type of person that likes to have something in writing to help you out, try The Dehydrator Bible . It provides written instruction on food dehydration along with over 400 recipes.

So, give food dehydration a try. It’s a great way to save your organic foods for the middle of winter.

Technorati Tags: dehydration, drying food, food dehydration, hydroponic gardening, organic foods, organic gardening how to, organic growing, organic vegetable, organic vegetable garden, vegetable garden organic, vegetable organic

Use organic methods to control and kill annoying bugs in your organic garden. In this Organic Gardening How To, we’re going to examine a number of organic methods that you can use to control problematic insects. Of course, there is the hand method. Look for bugs, find them, and squish them. If you don’t want to squish them with your hands, put them under your shoe and stomp them,

Too time consuming? Well, yes, it is. It’s old school, but, it works.

There are other things you can use to help you.

Spread Diatomaceous Earth on top of your soil in your organic garden. Diatomaceous Earth is mostly fossilized sea creatures. It’s harmless to humans, but for bugs, it’s like razor sharp broken glass. It slices up and kills almost any type of bug – ants, roaches, earwigs, and silverfish. It’s lethal to bugs.

Slugs and snails are a problem in many gardens. If they’re a problem in your garden, read my article Slug That Beer. Slugs love beer.

Or, you can use a product called Sluggo . Sluggo is made from iron phosphate and comes in pellet form. Simply spread it around your organic garden, especially under leaves. Slugs are attracted to it and it will kill them.

Another organic gardening how to method to safely control insects in your garden is to use an insect killing organic soap. You can buy this soap pre-made , or make your own.

Watch this video to learn how to make it:

There are some other things you can safely use to control insects in your garden. Read my Organic Gardening How To article Pest Controls From Your Kitchen Cabinet.

Technorati Tags: bugs, garden, gardening, hydroponic gardening, organic foods, organic garden, organic gardening how to, organic growing, organic pest control, organic vegetable, organic vegetable garden, pests, vegetable garden organic, vegetable organic