Organic gardening is an interesting hobby and helps you get in touch with nature. When you enjoy this hobby, you often have a goal of growing healthier foods for your family to enjoy. Easier said than done, right? If you want to have the most professional gardening skills you can, read the tips in this article.
Plant a variety of flowers to keep your flower garden colorful and interesting. Annuals and biennials can add excitement and interest to your flower garden every season. You can use biennial and annual flowers to brighten the bed, and let you change how it looks. They are very useful for filling in the gaps between perennials and shrubs in a sunny area. Notable collections include sunflower, marigold, hollyhock, rudbeckia, cosmos, and petunia.
You do not need store-bought chemical treatments for plant mildew. Mix a little liquid soap and baking soda in water. Spray this mix on your plants every week and the mildew should go away. Baking soda will not damage your plants and treats the mildew gently but efficiently.
Ensure you have the proper soil for the plants you have selected. Different types of plants require different soils, so check soil requirements for the ones you choose. For special requirements, you can build separate areas with soil that is right for certain plants.
Check the soil before you plant anything in your garden. Soil analysis costs a little money, but the report can inform you how to enrich your soil and open the door to a lush garden. Cooperative Extension departments often offer this testing service. It is a worthwhile effort so a garden can be productive on the first year of planting.
A good but unusual organic solution for weeding your plants is try “boiling” your weeds way. Any vessel of boiling water that you can carry safely can be used as an organic herbicide. All you need to do is apply boiling water right to the weeds you want to get rid of. Be careful not to get any on the plants you want to keep. The extreme heat of the water will cause damage to the weeds’ roots, which will stop them from growing any more.
There are natural materials, and you can also use other plants to help keep pests away from your garden. Planting marigolds or onions around the border of your garden will repel slugs. Keep insects away from shrub and tree seedlings with mulch containing wood ash. Using these methods eliminates your need of chemical pesticides.
All of your vegetable plants should have approximately two inches, just outside the stem, of organic mulch placed around them. The mulch will add beneficial moisture to your soil. It also helps prevent weeds from growing. That helps you save a great deal of effort and time in weed eradication.
Aid them by dumping any leftover water from steaming vegetables over them. Tea and coffee grounds can also serve as acidifiers in the soil of your gardenias or rhododendrons. Chamomile tea can be effective if you have problems with fungus in your garden. Simply sprinkle it on the affected plant.
Being a success at organic horticulture requires patience, effort and a willingness to learn. However, the tastiness of the produce you grow will be a reward in itself. All it takes is a little studying and practice to become a successful organic gardener.