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Organic Seeds

June 24, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Organic SeedsWhile you hear plenty about eating organic or using organic products, not many people outside of major organic farmers often have to consider the benefits of buying organic seed. Often a bit pricier and limited in their varieties, many casual gardeners may wonder what the benefits are to buying organic seed – can one tiny little seed really make such a difference when you’re going to be growing the whole plant organically otherwise? The arguments for buying organic seed are both numerous and varied, but here are some of the major reoccurring themes:

Being Organic Means Beginning Organic

To have a fully organic garden, you have to start at the beginning – with the seed. The organic farmers who grow the food you buy in health food stores are actually required in most cases to grow only from organic seed if they want to be certified. Buying organic seeds helps support organic farmers who have to do the same. It also means that you’re not starting off your garden on the wrong foot – several non-organic seeds are pretreated with chemicals that you can actually see on the outside coating, contaminating your garden from the word go with potentially harmful and certainly unnecessary chemicals.

Organic Seeds Adapt to Organic Conditions

The ultimate goal behind organic seed cultivation is to create seeds that are hearty enough to produce a good crop under organic growing conditions. Buying organic seeds encourages plants that are naturally going to be better at resisting pest infestation and disease, growing through environmental extremes, and thriving despite weeds without the help of chemical pesticides, herbicides, or fertilisers. Organic seeds typically produce plants with better roots systems and more heartiness, all the while keeping an evaluating eye on the flavor and color of the produce. By buying organic seeds, you help to create a better overall organic product.

Increase the Demand

Heaps of people might overlook the need to buy organic seed and as such the demand is constantly shifting. Planting organic seed ensures that these remarkable seeds not only stay on the market, but will continue to diversify in availability as the demand for them increases. This means more tasty produce for you and more options for the hard working farmers who grow it. It supports the current organic farming system as well as the future of organics as a whole. By starting off organic, you can look forward to not only this year’s home grown crop, but all the varied years to come.

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Organic Gardening | Weed Control

January 28, 2010 by Leave a Comment

I’ve discussed organic weed control a number of times before and this video also provides some good ideas and tips on how to prevent and control weeds in an organic garden.

Organic Gardening | Weed Control

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Organic Gardening | Compost

January 21, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Great soil is probably the most important ingredient in a successful organic garden. Composting garden waste, food scraps, and other plant materials is a great way to recycle and create a product which can improve your soil, enabling you to grow bigger and healthier vegetables.

Organic Gardening | Compost

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Organic Gardening | Tips for Beginners

January 14, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Good tips for beginners starting an organic vegetable garden:

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Propagating Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes

January 7, 2010 by Leave a Comment

I’ve discussed propagating plants in the past and why you might want to do it. This video showing you how to propagate potatoes (which I’m sure everyone knows how to do) as well as propagating sweet potatoes (which I have never done but will definitely try).

Propagating Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes

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Fantastic Organic Garden

December 23, 2009 by Leave a Comment

Gardening Australia shows a fantastic edible organic garden in Sydney which is both beautiful and practical.

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How to Drought Proof Your Garden

December 2, 2009 by Leave a Comment

If you live in Australia, then you most likely know how it is to try and contend with those long, dry seasons. Does it ever seem like your garden just needs way too much water? Well, not only does watering your garden several times a week take up a lot of water, but it also takes up a lot of time! So, if you are into gardening, but would be into a garden that didn’t need so much water a lot more, then here is an idea for you… you need to drought proof your garden! Drought proof gardens are becoming more and more popular in Australia for one main reason… and that is the fact that drought proof gardens just take a fraction of the work.

You might think that a drought proof garden is dull and drab, but this does not have to be the case. You can have a lot of plants that look amazing, build your garden well, texture it, and have an absolutely amazing drought proof garden! There is a little more work involved in finding the right plants, but other than that, a drought proof garden is a piece of cake!

How to Drought Proof Your Garden

Here is how to drought proof your garden. First of all, you need to search for plants that require either minimal, or even no watering whatsoever. You may ask what kinds of plants do not need to be watered, and the answer is plants that are used to growing in the wild with only rainfall as their water source! A lot of plants do not require constant watering, and finding these is the key to having a drought proof garden.

Now, your next question might be… why would you want only local plants in your garden? Isn’t the point of a garden to have something a little bit exotic? Well, you are right! That is why you should look into buying plants from locals similar to yours. There are a lot of places like Australia, and you should be able to find plants that will thrive in your location without much trouble.

As far as grouping your plants, if you are going to be putting any plants into your garden that need to be watered, try to group them together so that you do not accidentally over-water the others. This also helps you to avoid wasting water by watering plants that do not need it.

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Home Made Natural Disease and Pest Control

November 23, 2009 by 3 Comments

If you have a garden, or even just a house in Australia, then you have probably noticed a problem… bugs. Well, don’t worry. These tiny pests bother gardeners all over the world, but how are you going to handle them? This is a good question, and a lot of people answer it by saying that they are going to commercially spray for bugs and pests using the popular pesticides and chemicals. Well, while this will get rid of the pests, it does pose another problem… and it is much bigger. In fact, these chemicals may kill the pests, but they are damaging our planet at the same time. You see, when you spray artificial chemicals into the ground, you are hurting the water supply and putting unneeded toxins into the ground. You might ask what other way there is to handle the situation though, and luckily, there is an alternative… homemade pest control.

Home Made Natural Disease and Pest Control

Making your own pest control substances is great for a lot of reasons. For one, they are eco friendly, meaning that they are better for our planet because they lack some of the nastier chemicals. Two, these types of pest control mixtures are cheaper because they can usually be put together with ingredients you already have at home. And three, they actually work quite well! Just remember… these mixtures might be better for the planet, and while they are not as dangerous as the commercial chemicals, they should still be used with caution. Now, here are some of the most popular pest control mixtures being used in Australia today… with any luck, any of these should help you cut down a lot on your bug problem!

For mealy bugs or scale bugs, you can make an oil mixture that suffocates them. To do this, mix about four tablespoons of liquid dishwashing soap into a cup of vegetable oil. Mix this part to about 20 parts of water, and spray it on your plants. It is completely safe for your plants, and it will take care of these pests in no time!

Are you having trouble with aphids, caterpillars, or other insect pests? Well, you can put two tablespoons worth of soap flakes into a liter of clean water, and stir this mixture until it dissolves thoroughly. Spray this directly onto your plants, and it should take care of the problem!

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The Dangers of Pesticides

November 10, 2009 by Leave a Comment

Pesticides are chemicals which are sprayed on plants to kill pests (usually bugs), that threaten to eat the plants or cause damage to them. Now, it is true that bugs used to do a significant amount of damage to goods every year, and it is true that this did, in a small part, cut into the profits made by the big-time produce providers. So, as a result, pesticides came into use. But while this eco-destructive practice of spraying deadly chemicals on the world’s food supply might spell bad news for bugs, it may also be spelling bad news for us and for our planet as well.

Pesticides come with many dangers, and most of these are ignored by the majority. A lot of people just do not realise what kind of dangers these harmful concoctions bring to us as humans, and that the dangers they pose to our planet are significant enough to make a huge difference. So, just how are these chemicals dangerous to us and to the earth? Well, here are a few ways.

The Dangers of Pesticides

First, when pesticides are sprayed on plants to kill bugs, they do cover the bugs like they are supposed to… but they also penetrate deeper. The chemicals seep down into the soil, and are absorbed by the roots of the plants. As a result, the chemicals make it to us not only inside of the food itself, but also on the outside. A lot of vegetables still have pesticides on them when they come to the supermarket, so make sure to wash all of your vegetables with soap and water before eating them!

But, unfortunately, the chemicals do not stop by seeping into the soil. They continue to seep downward, and sometimes they go as far as to enter the ground water supply. When this happens, the chemicals end up in our drinking water! And a lot of times, we get all of these chemicals straight from the water without realising it. Unless you filter your water, there is no telling how many pesticides you are getting in your drinking water right now because of excessive pesticide usage!

But it does not stop there… farm workers exposed to pesticides have been coming down with sicknesses and have been reaping negative effects from these chemicals for years! This is not only a great way to destroy our planet, but a good way to destroy ourselves right along with it!

So, whenever possible, try to use natural pest control mixes, and stop using harmful chemicals. Even spraying a small yard can do a lot of damage to the water supply of a neighborhood, so don’t take the risk!

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How to Make Seed Boxes

March 29, 2007 by 2 Comments

Growing plants by seed is the cheapest way to get fresh, home grown fruit and vegetables. You can buy organic seeds to ensure that no nasty chemicals have been used and if you use organic gardening methods you will have an abundance of healthy, pesticide free food.

When growing vegetables (or any plants) from seed, you have two options; plant the seeds directly in the garden bed or plant them in a seed tray and then transplant the seedlings once they have established themselves. Planting the seeds directly in the bed can work well but the seedlings are at risk of attack by predators, such as snails, as well as the weather. Using a seed tray avoids these risks but you can lose some of the seedlings when planting out due to transplant shock.

So what is the best solution? Use individual seed boxes which can be planted directly into the ground. This way there is no transplant shock and the seedlings will be strong enough to survive being out in the open.

You can buy seed boxes or containers from garden centres but they are so expensive that it defeats the purpose of growing your own plants from seed. If the purpose is to save money, that is. The best way is to make your own. You can try using egg boxes or the cardboard from toilet rolls or paper towels. These will work. The other option is to make origami seed boxes. It will take a little effort to make them but once you get the hang of it you’ll get them done in no time. Small Meadow Farm also has some info on making newspaper pots.  Thanks to Groovy Green for the links.

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