Organic Gardening Products – A Healthier Option For You And The Garden!
People worldwide are becoming increasingly health conscious and want their food to be naturally grown. They need the fruits and vegetables that they consume not only to be free of chemicals, pesticides and other synthetic products, but also require them to be grown the organic way – treated with natural products, right down to the soil that they have been planted in.
This new organic frenzy has arisen because people now think about what harmful effects the chemicals and pesticides sprayed in their food crop must have done over the years. People want a healthier lifestyle now and are more aware on how to make it like that. Research has shown support to the organic theory which also points out to the adverse effects of using synthetic products and pesticides in the food crops, i.e. fruits and vegetables – among these include the root causes of many diseases, including some types of cancer.
An organic gardening product is a natural product that is free of any synthetic components such as chemicals and pesticides. Organic methods use alternatives to chemically made pesticides – they use natural products which are home grown and prove beneficial to the plants without any of the adverse effects of chemicals involved in any part of the process. They create a healthy cycle in which by keeping pests away naturally, they make plants healthy, thereby increasing the plants’ immunity to diseases, thus enhancing the health of the plants.
This is akin to the human immune system. Organic gardening products are not restricted to just the plants or the soil that they are planted in, but everything that affects the plant and/or is around the plant (the environment). Even everything that touches the plant is inclusive of this. Examples include gloves for weeding and planting, plant food, aprons, seeds, compost products, etc. Organically grown plants do not contain any harmful and dangerous chemicals and are overall healthier than their counterparts who are sprayed with pesticides and chemicals, not to mention other synthetic products.
This type of natural and organic gardening is healthier for both the human population, community and the environment at large. People are now much more concerned about what quality of food they are consuming and organic gardening is a boon for the health conscious eater, saving him or her from chemically induced allergies, lung problems, cancer or emphysema. Organic gardening is the modern answer to this very urgent demand of healthy and completely natural, chemical free food.
Watch the video related to organic gardening
Video # 11 in our Survival Gardening series go over soils and soil improvement techniques. Video #11 will follow shortly. Unless you are keeping a herd of large animals like cows, it’s going to be very hard to keep grow food long term using just what’s “on” the farm or homestead. For a handful of raised beds, half dozen rabbits and similar number of chickens MAY provide enough fertilizer to keep your soil in good shape. But for a serious amount of ground, ie, enough to truly keep a family of …
Help answer the question about organic gardening
Tags: author, books, fertilizers, flowers, fungicides, gardening, gardens, Jeff Gillman, organic gardening, plants, Timber Press
June 23rd, 2008 at 1:29 am
That sounds like a practical arrangement. But for us, we already invested in wire fencing& it’s adequate for sheep……but goats have a talent for escaping wire fencing(& any other kind, too) so I’m thinking we’d better stick to what we’ve got….besides, my mom spins & knits AMAZING warm sock & sweaters (my favorite Christmas gift)……….& she loves the wool.
June 23rd, 2008 at 1:41 am
in the North East. If we had less than the 10 acres (+woodlot) I know for sure we’d have to buy some fertilizer. It’d be interesting to hear from other people if the “formula” is different in other areas…..almost forgot to add….Thanks for the awesome & helpful videos.
June 23rd, 2008 at 1:50 am
Organic gardening is a total myth. there is no such thing. The last organic gardening on this Earth was in N.W. Europe 400yrs ago before the rich landowners forced villagers off the land with the enclosure acts. They even used their own excrement on their fields. They were doing so well they wouldn't work for the rich, so the Tories ( Republicans)stole their land from them.
June 23rd, 2008 at 1:51 am
Pepper plants are good for unwanted insects.
You can also use dish soap. Nothing fancy just regular "Joy" soap cheap soap only. But, there is a good chance you will kill the good insects too.
1st: Get a bucket, fill it with water
2and: Pour the soap in (not to much because you don't want to get rid of all the good insects)
3rd: stir it up so it can blend. (not to much suds)
4th: Let the bucket of soap sit out in the sun for at least a couple of hours.
5th: Use a sprayer and distribute it all over your plants.
See the soap gets in the insects esophagus and the insect dies because it can't breath.
You can use this anywhere in your yard.
works GREAT for cinch bugs.
June 23rd, 2008 at 9:42 pm
We got some goats a few months ago and have included “done” garden areas into their pasture rotations. You might could do the same with the sheep. The goats get in there, clean up a lot of the residual plant material, poop everywhere. Use combination panels to keep them where you want them. We’ll shoot a little video covering this soon. Basically let the animals do some of the garden cleanup and fertilization for you- saves some work hauling manure, etc.
June 24th, 2008 at 2:46 am
Should probably take a gander at episode 14 if you really believe that putting any fertilizer on the soil will kill earthworms…. Their is undisputable proof that isn’t true in that video.
Yes, kinda late for folks just getting into it to do a lot to build their soil. That’s the main reason we are covering this the way we are covering it. Do everything you CAN for your soil, and we show that and talk about that, but most people will only start serious gardening as they get hungry.
June 24th, 2008 at 1:38 am
Well, far from self sufficient now. But organic gardening is fun. We started that idea from 40 over years ago. In those days, My dad would collect all the garbage and incinerate them and use the ashes as fertilizers. Our garbage bin is always empty. After harvesting all the beans, he would chop up the vines and bury them under the ground to keep it fertile for the next crop. We used to plant corn, long beans, kale, peanuts and sweet potatoes and cucumbers. Of course we have the problem of snails and catepillars. Organic was unheard of then. He just could not spend money on fertilizers. We had a big land area surrounding our house. All used water from the house flows into a pool and we use them to water the plants. Come to think about it, it is what people have been trying to advocate these days. Going green and organic and all that. Alas, Dad passed away at 1994 at age 85. Also, would be great to be still staying at that place. Keep it up, you are fortunate to have land like that.
June 24th, 2008 at 11:07 am
We keep 4-10 sheep(& their lambs for the spring/summer)on 4acres pasture from May to Oct .Keep them out there 24/7 & manure replenishes pasture.We need another 4 acres hay to keep them over the winter &most of this winter manure is put on the garden(acre +).We rotate crop/hay/pasture so fertility’s maintained adequate(only the garden needs really high fertility). So I guess it takes us 8 acres of hay/pasture to keep our garden productive! Still need to “import” lime every 4-5 yrs.This is…..
June 24th, 2008 at 8:34 pm
Then you use bokashi, indigenous microbes, compost tea to feed your plants. HEY but really thanks for what you are doing is NEEDED!
June 24th, 2008 at 9:44 pm
Corn Gluten is a pre-emergent; meaning it wont kill any existing weeds it just keeps the new weeds from sprouting. You can apply the gluten now, but I wouldn't use it in any beds that you'll be starting seeds in. It's safe for beds that will be planted with starter size plants or existing plants.
June 25th, 2008 at 1:20 am
Square Foot Gardening.
http://www.squarefootgardening.com/
June 25th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
I agree, you can’t really always grow EVERYTHING with 100% Organic everything, but you can use a majority of at least 85-90% organic, it just tends to be more expensive, But if you’re hungry enough, it’s not important if it’s organic, or not, as long as it’s edible, and gives you some nourishment.
June 25th, 2008 at 8:29 am
In organic gardening, soil quality decides vegetable quality. That's why you need good quality compost to keep the soil productive for organic vegetable gardening.
Compost can be made from leaves, dead flowers, vegetable scraps, fruit rinds, grass clippings and manure. The ideal organic soil has a dark color, sweet smell and is full of earthworms. Some soil may need more natural additives such as bonemeal, rock phosphates or greensand. A simple soil test will tell you the pH balance and which nutrients you need to use.
June 25th, 2008 at 9:39 am
I have been making my living growing produce organically for the past 14 years. For 8 years i was certified organic. I assume you don't care to get certified, you just want to grow pure food.
http://www.idigmygarden.com/forums/ is a great forum to learn the ropes. Organic gardening also has a really good forum and the magazine is an excellent resource http://www.organicgardening.com
It will take many years to get you soil in shape and learn the techniques for successful organic growing so don't expect a great garden for a few years. Start small, no more than a 10' x 10' (3m x 3m) garden the first year or you will get overwhelmed in august when the weather is hot, the insects are out and the weeds are growing high.
Mulch everything with straw (not hay as hay tends to have a lot of weed seeds) and mulch well-at least 6" thick. Straw mulch will keep weeds down, moisture in the soil and blight from happening on plants like tomatoes. It also adds organic matter to your soil.
Have a good hoe, rake, wheelbarrow, trowel and garden fork as your basic garden tools.
Start a compost pile ASAP, compost will be the main thing you will feed to the soil/plants. Compost is the best thing to build healthy soil and organics is all about building healthy soil as any organic grower worth their salt knows soil is alive and healthy soils means healthy pest free plants.
Good luck
June 26th, 2008 at 12:51 am
great stuff man, watched through #10 will catch the rest after dinner.
June 25th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
Contact your county extension agency and ask if there are any gardening classes.
Some websites
http://www.rodaleinstitute.org
http://www.gardenweb.com/forums/organic
http://forums.farm-garden.com/index.php
http://alanbishop.proboards60.com/index.cgi
http://www.johnnysseeds.com
June 25th, 2008 at 11:53 pm
I love the book Secrets of Companion planting. I've never used any chemicals, but thats probably why I spend at least a hour a day in my gardens pulling weeds. Composting is another great thing (and I have horses!)
June 26th, 2008 at 7:38 am
I love that you talk about the weeds. Every time I see people pulling up all the weeds to make the perfect little rows it drives me crazy. Any sort of decomposing plant should add nutrients to your soil. As long as it’s not a forest it’s not a big deal.