"Organic Gardening Tips" - ICanGarden.com -------------------------------------------¶¶ [ LINK ]  "Organic Gardening Tips"  from the Experts at Canadian Organic Growers (COG) -------------------------------------------¶¶ Saucers of beer among the lettuces; paper collars around the stems of young cabbage plants; beans and potatoes growing together in the same bed with a thick layer of straw at their feet: these are all signs of organic gardeners at work! Not that long ago, organic gardeners were considered fanatics for preferring techniques like these over synthetic chemicals to keep weeds, diseases and insects under control. But nowadays, with chemicals high on the list of suspects for many health and environmental problems, organic gardening makes a lot of sense to a lot of people. But not using chemicals is only a small part of what organic gardening is all about. Caring for the soil, one of our most precious yet most threatened resources, is a very important principle of this way of growing plants. Good soil should contain lots of humus. When bacteria, fungi, earthworms and other soil life feed on this decomposed plant and animal matter, they act as a fertilizer by releasing to the plants the range of nutrients essential for plant health and growth. Healthy plants give better yields and are better able to withstand attacks from disease and pests. Humus also makes the soil more hospitable to plants by improving its aeration, drainage, structure and ability to hold moisture. Making your own compost from kitchen and garden wastes and adding it to the garden soil is an excellent way to add humus to the soil. Well-rotted and odorless horse manure, peat moss and decomposed shredded leaves will also add humus to the soil. A "green manure" crop such as buckwheat or clover can be grown right in the garden soil and tilled under before it produces seeds; these crops compost right in the soil, adding humus to feed the soil life and condition the soil. Here are some tips to help you prevent infestations of weeds, pests and diseases in your vegetable garden without resorting to chemical use: * Whenever possible, choose disease-resistant varieties. * Rotate different vegetables to a different location in the garden each year. Pests that overwinter in the soil won't be able to locate their hosts, and the demands made on soil fertility will be varied. * Interplant different vegetables, instead of having large areas of the same vegetable, to confuse pests and impede the spread of diseases. * Try companion planting, growing different types of plants together for the benefit of one or both. (There are books in our local libraries on this topic.) Some well-matched companions are tomatoes and asparagus; potatoes and beans; turnips and peas. Try planting marigolds throughout the vegetable garden to get rid of nematodes, soil-borne pests which spread blights. * Use hay, straw, newspaper, sawdust, grass clippings, boards or stones as "mulch" around plants and between rows. This will conserve moisture, insulate the ground and keep weeds from getting a foothold. Mulches that will compost right in the garden are a bonus, feeding the soil as they decompose. If you see signs of pest or disease damage in the garden, you might want to take more aggressive action. Try some of these tried-and-true organic methods instead of a poisonous spray: * Hand-pick larger non-flying pests such as tomato hornworms or Colorado potato beetles. * Encourage beneficial insects, which destroy many pests, by growing patched of carrot family plants such as dill, parsley and even wild Queen Anne's lace. * Invite birds to your garden, where they will dine on all sorts of pests, by providing nesting boxes, birdbaths and winter feeders. * Make your garden hospitable to toads, also great bug-eaters, by creating shady, protected areas on the ground. * To get slugs and earwigs, set out saucers of beer with the rims at soil level. They will be attracted to the beer and drown. * Wireworms will stop chewing on the underground parts of your veggies if you bury a perforated potato buried just beneath the soil surface. Every few days, remove the potato and shake the worms into soapy water. * Protect young transplants with paper collars made from two-inch long sections of empty toilet paper tubes. Place the collar over the plant when it is being set out and bury the collar about an inch in the soil. * Spray small clinging insects (such as aphids) off plants with a strong jet of water from the hose. Special nozzles are available for this. * Spray infested plants with a homemade insecticidal soap solution (2 to 4 tablespoons of Ivory Liquid in a gallon of water). * To protect vulnerable plants from flea beetles, cabbageworms and other pests, cover them with spun row cover material (available at most garden centers) or with nylon screening. Tuck the edges under the soil. Canadian Organic Growers has created a Reference Series of useful information to organic gardeners. These are available for a nominal fee to cover printing and postage costs: REFERENCE SERIES GARDENING TOPICS: #2 Seed Sources for Organic Gardeners (8 pages) $1.00 #3 Nontoxic Lawn Management (8 pages) $1.00 #4 Composting for the Gardener (4 pages) $0.50 #8 Organic Gardening: The First Steps (4 pages) $0.50 #11 Successive Planting: How to prevent "feast or famine" in the garden (4 pages) $0.50 #12 Chemical-free Care of Trees and Shrubs (8 pages) $1.00 #13 Improving Soil Fertility (4 pages) $0.50 #14 Vegetable Garden Insect Management (8 pages) $1.00 (Postage & handling: Include 50c for each item up to a maximum of $2.50) To order, send list of items along with your name and full address and cheque or money order (payable to "Canadian Organic Growers") to COG, Box 6408, Station J, Ottawa, ON K2A 3Y6. Prepared and submitted by: [ LINK ] eirving@cyberus.ca (elizabeth irving) -------------------------------------------¶¶ [[ LINK ] What's New][[ LINK ] Your Gardens][[ LINK ] "Pick of the Crop"] [[ LINK ] Catalogues][ HREF="gardens.htm">Gardens][[ LINK ] Garden Bookshelf][[ LINK ] Groups][ HREF="events.htm">Upcoming Events][[ LINK ] Feature Article] [[ LINK ] Special Interest][ HREF="fedback.htm">Feedback][[ LINK ] Helpers][ HREF="links.htm">Links][[ LINK ] Pictorial Tours][ HREF="hortiss.htm">Hort Issues] -------------------------------------------¶¶ [ LINK ] ALT="home">Return to ICanGarden Homepage We welcome your comments....For additional information or to supply feedback contact HREF="mailto:tomd@compusmart.ab.ca">webmaster @ ICanGarden.com  [ LINK ] [ IMAGE ] Go to Top of Page ©[ LINK ] copyright -------------------------------------------¶¶