Organic Gardening How To Blog

Fall is coming to an end and now is the time to do one of those last things that you need to do in your organic garden – collect and dry those aromatic herbs. In this Organic Gardening How To, we’ll show you how easy this is to do.

Instructions for doing this is demonstrated in the short video below. But, before watching this video, keep these things in mind:

> You should harvest and dry your herbs 2-3 times per year

> Harvest your herbs in the early morning hours before the sun dries the oils on the herbs leaves

> Use a sharp knife, scissors, or pruning shears to harvest your herbs

> After picking, lightly rinse the herbs with cold water and pat them dry with a clean cloth or paper towel

> You’ll get the most flavor from many of your herbs (such as basil, marjoram, parsley, and etc.) if you dry them hanging upside down

> Store dried herds away from light and heat

> If you freeze your herbs, don’t refreeze them after thawing them out

Now, watch this Organic Gardening How To video on drying herbs naturally:

Remember, dried herbs can last up to a year and still add lots of flavor to your home cooked dishes. Just smell the herbs before using. If you can’t smell the herb, discard or you’ll just be adding “green dots” to your food.

That’s it for this Organic Gardening How To. Until next time…

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This year, I got a little concerned about the azaleas that we have in our organic garden. I started noticing that a lot of the stems on the azaleas were developing a mold that was growing on the stems of the plants.Not all of our plants had this mold, but a lot of them did.   Last month, my husband and I traveled several hundred miles to Florida to visit my husband’s brother and his family. My husband’s brother also has an organic garden. While in their garden, I noticed the same mold growing on the stems of their azaleas.

I asked my husbands brother if he had seen that mold. He said he had seen it and it was a concern to him, but he had no idea what may be causing it. He told me that if I found an answer, to let him know.  

Well, after coming back home, I started doing some research and I believe I found the answer. First off, take a look at the mold growing on these plants:

As you can see, the mold is grayish and in some places it is turning black. The mold is only on the stems of the plant and not on the leaves. I believe this mold is a fungus called Sooty Mold.

The fungus does not penetrate into the plant, but it does block sunlight and reduces the plant’s ability to produce food. If severe enough, it can kill the plant.

Sooty mold is the result of insect infestation – white flies, aphids, scale and mealybugs. When these insects are on the plant, they leave a sticky substance called “honeydew” on the plant. Honeydew is an excellent growing medium for sooty mold.Sooty mold is blown by the wind and when it sticks to the honeydew, it begins to reproduce.

To fix this problem, all you have to do is wash the sooty mold off the plants.

To cure this problem, you have to control the insects in your organic garden – something I thought I had done a pretty good job with, but, obviously not good enough. But, I’ll certainly work harder at it during the coming growing season.

If you need some tips on controlling insects in your organic garden, read my article called Pest Controls From Your Kitchen Cabinet. Until next time…

UPDATE: For an update on this organic garden article, visit Mold On Azalea Update | Oraganic Gardening How To

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Most households make a pot of coffee almost every morning, or, at least several times a week. In this Organic Gardening How To article, let’s discuss how you can use those left-over coffee grounds to give your organic garden an added boost. Coffee grounds are rich in nitrogen and are acidic. Coffee grounds also contain magnesium, potassium, calcium, and small amounts of other minerals.

Coffee grounds are an ideal organic fertilizer for acid loving plants. These plants include azalea, Camellia, juneberry, balsam fir, white cedar, crape myrtle, dogwood, fir, gardenia, hemlock, hibiscus, holly, huckleberry, hydrangea, magnolia, oak, rhododendron, spruce, and many others.

Tomatoes also love coffee grounds!

There are a number of ways that you can use and apply your spent coffee grounds:

> Sprinkle the grounds lightly on top of the soil at the base of your plants.

> Add your coffee grounds to your compost pile to make it acid rich.

>Make a liquid fertilizer “tea”. Put two cups of coffee grounds in a 5-gallon bucket of water. Stir it up and let it sit overnight. Now, you can use it on any of your ground or container plants. You can also strain it and it’s excellent for foliar feeding (if your not familiar with foliar feeding, read my article Organic Gardening How To – Foliar Feeding).

> Add your coffee grounds to your worm bin – worms love it! Just don’t add too much at once or the high acid levels may bother your worms. One cup per week for a small worm bin is fine.

> Use coffee grounds as a slug and snail barrier. Coffee grounds are abrasive and acidic. Apply coffee grounds around the entire base of slug-prone plants.

Watch this Organic Gardening How To video for some further ideas:

Oh, one more thing. If you don’t have enough left-over coffee grounds around your home, check with your local coffee shops and find out if they’ll supply you with their left-over grounds. For example, Starbuck’s has a Grounds For Your Garden program (Starbuck’s coffee is in a lot of gardens!).

That’s it for this Organic Gardening How To. Until next time…

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It’s November and that cold arctic air is moving further South. In the past, I’ve always given up on my organic vegetable garden by now, but not this year! This year, I’m extending my organic growing season with the use of some plastic and a few wood stakes. Thanksgiving is coming up and I’m determined to have a fresh organic salad for this year’s holiday feast. You can, too! Watch this short video to get an idea on how you can extend your organic growing season:

Small greenhouse’s are inexpensive to build. If you’re interested, check out my article on making An Organic Vegetable Garden Dome House For under $50. It’s a fast and easy way to extend your organic growing season.

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Fall has now arrived and my lawn, like most lawns, has certainly slowed down in it’s growing cycle. I was mowing 2-times per week. Now, once every 2-3 weeks. Winter is coming and in this Organic Gardening How To article, I want to discuss fall and winter lawn care.

I’m often asked how long should we cut the grass in preparation for the long winter months. My answer is simply this: Don’t do anything unusual – keep the length of your grass to the same length that you normally keep it at. Don’t put any additional stress on your grass by mowing it shorter or growing it longer. Winter is stressful enough without adding to it.

One important thing that you do need to do for your lawns in the fall is to check how much thatch is in your lawn. Thatch is the combination of chopped grass and leaves that accumulates on the ground surface just below the grass line. It’s hard to see, so get down on your hands and knees and feel for how much accumulation you have.

You don’t want too much thatch. If the thatch is too thick, the grass will have a difficult time growing and spreading in the next growing season. If the thatch is thicker than 1/2″-3/4″, you’ll need to dethatch it. If you have this problem, watch this video to learn how to fix it.

As winter approaches, your grass will begin to hibernate. Put your hoses away and drain your sprinkler system. You won’t need to water your lawns in the winter months.

If you have plants that are sensitive to the cold, such as roses, get out your organic mulch and spread a thick layer of it at the base of these plants.

For some additional tips on preparing your organic lawns for the fall and winter months, watch this Organic Gardening How To video:

One more thing – you may want to give your organic lawn a dose of Winter Blend Natural Liquid Fertilizer before your grass does go into complete hibernation. This formula delivers an important blend of minerals to the grass that will enable it to withstand the cold winter months. It also provides a protein that will provide a boost to the grass when spring approaches. Your grass will grow greener and faster.

I hope this Organic Gardening How To has helped you. Until next time…

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