As organic horticulture and lifestyles are all the rage, the ideas become increasingly mainstream. Those who live this lifestyle grow their own foods for their health benefits and they tend to do this via organic horticulture. This article provides several useful tips on organic gardening that can help.
Use both biennials and annuals to add color to your flower bed. Fast-growing annuals and biennials can brighten up a flower bed, and allow you to change the look from season to season and year to year. In addition, they work well as gap fillers between other areas, as long as those areas receive plenty of sunlight. You should get varieties such as cosmos, petunia, rudbeckia, hollyhock, sunflowers or marigold.
Use bulbs to ensure continuous flowers throughout the spring and summer. Bulbs are one of the easiest plants to grow and are hardy perennials that return each year. Various bulbs do not all bloom at the same time, and if you employ this knowledge wisely, your garden can provide freshly blooming flowers for half the year.
Knee Pads
If your landscape includes low-growing plants, you should invest in a set of knee pads specifically designed for horticulture. Without pads, you may have pain in your knees from spending too much time kneeling on the hard ground. Knee pads offer your knees the extra cushioning they need to stay comfortable during extended periods in the garden.
Using boiling water to kill weeds is both efficient and organic. A pot of very hot water is one of the most effective ways you can get rid of the weeds in your garden. Soak weeds with freshly boiled water, just being mindful to not afflict damage on plants you want to keep. The roots of the weeds are damaged by the boiling water which, in turn, inhibits further growth.
Keep your plants dry and aerated daily. Moisture on your plants is a sure way to attract parasites and disease. Fungus infections are common in overly moist plants. Fungicide sprays can deal with fungal infestations, but they are most effective if you apply them before a fungus problem becomes noticeable.
An excellent garden shouldn’t begin from plants. They should begin from seeds. The environmentally conscious way to start a new garden is to start with seeds. It’s better for your garden, in particular, because transplants have high failure rates; whereas, sprouting a seed and growing a plant in the same conditions is better. Additionally, it’s better for the environment, because the plastic pots used by most greenhouses are generally not recycled and are cluttering landfills.
Try placing evergreens that grow berries around your garden. They will provide a splash of color in the drab and dreary winter months when a lot of other plants have lost their colors. Some evergreens that will add life to your yard in the wintertime are the American Cranberrybush, Common Snowberry, Winterberry, and American holly.
You should get a wheelbarrow and a kneeling stool for garden work. You can make gardening much more comfortable on your knees by using a portable garden stool. Gardening also usually requires that you transport heavy loads, such as dirt or mulch, and a wheelbarrow will make this much easier to do.
Your organic horticulture efforts will get easier as you pick up more and more tips and techniques about this activity. Keep in mind that these pointers are simply the tip of the iceberg.