Meticulous attention to your garden is one of the primary tenets of the green horticulture movement. This can be achieved by using smart, eco-savvy gardening techniques. Nurturing your organic garden ensures that your veggies are bigger and your flowers are more beautiful. Use the advice that follows in order to cultivate a truly impressive organic garden.
Get a slug-proof variety of perennials. Slugs or snails can kill a plant very quickly. Certain perennials that don’t have tough leaves are especially tasty to snails and slugs. Perennials that have tough or hairy leaves are often times unappetizing to snails and slugs. Consider planting these varieties of perennials to discourage slugs and snails from eating your flowers. Euphorbia and achillea are examples of slug-proof perennials.
Plants require a good amount of CO2 in order to grow to their maximum height. A higher level of CO2 will help plants grow better. A greenhouse is the best way to create an environment rich in CO2. Make sure to keep CO2 levels high to provide the best growing environment for your plants.
Be sure to get rid of the weeds growing in your garden. Weeds can take a promising garden and turn it into a shell of its potential. White vinegar has been known to kill weeds quickly. That’s right, you have safe way to get rid of weeds right there in your kitchen cabinet. Apply it full strength to any areas where weeds are a problem.
Try dividing the irises. To increase the number that you have, you need to take all your overgrown clumps and split them up. When you see the foliage is definitely dead, lift up the bulbous irises. The bulbs often divide in your hand with no intervention on your part, and when you replant them, they will usually flower the following year. Divide rhizomes with a knife. Cut the center out of each rhizome but save the pieces. If done properly, each piece that remains for planting should have a minimum of one viable offshoot. Replant your cuttings immediately for the best results.
To keep pests away, you can use plants in the garden or other natural materials. Planting marigolds or onions around the border of your garden will repel slugs. Wood ash can be used as mulch, and if put on the base of shrub and tree seedlings, will keep insects away. Using these methods eliminates your need of chemical pesticides.
Do some research to find out the best time for harvesting your vegetables. Each variety needs a slightly different amount of growing time to produce the most flavorful vegetable. For instance, zucchini and baby peas have the best taste when you pick them early. Yet, in reverse, tomatoes must wait for prime-ripeness before they are subject to being picked. Simply educate yourself on what the best time is to harvest each of your garden vegetables.
When planting anything, think about planting for color so that you have something to enjoy in the fall. Fall, though, can still be an interesting time for trees. the most colorful foliage appears in the fall. Fall trees sport a variety of colorful leaves that range from subtle yellows to rich crimsons. Shrubs such as barberry, cotoneaster and hydrangea all have gorgeous fall foliage.
To make the most of your time in the garden, you should store all of your tools and implements in a close, accessible location. You can keep them in a good sized bucket, or wear utility pants that have plenty of large pockets. You should always have your gloves, pruning shears and a trowel close to you.
Use an aged laundry basket when you want to collect your produce. It makes a great strainer for your vegetables. If you leave your produce in the basket while rinsing it, the basket will be able to serve as a strainer, with the extra water dripping out the holes in the bottom of the basket.
The tips above have shown you that there is a noticeable difference in the quality of produce produced by organic gardening. While it is labor and time intensive, your garden will be quite amazing as a result.
