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organic gardening – Page 2 – Homesteader Depot

Homesteader Depot

Tag: organic gardening

  • Simple and Natural Homemade Pest Control Tips

    Simple and Natural Homemade Pest Control Tips

    Most homesteaders have gardens. In fact, they have large gardens and they rely on the food they grow to feed their family throughout the year. If that sounds like you, then you know just how problematic it can be when you have pests that try to take hold and destroy your crops. Fortunately, there are some natural methods you can use to combat those pests. Here are some of the ways to get control of your garden once more so you do not have to worry about bugs and slugs ruining your harvest.

    Slugs can be a real pain, and they often feed on leaves and on seedlings. During the rainy season, they can be a real problem. You can use a range of methods to deal with the slugs, including essential oils. Some of the essential oils that can help to repel slugs include peppermint and cedarwood. Place five to six drops of the oils into about a cup of water, and then spray around the bottom of the plants. It can help to keep them away. If you notice slugs on the plant at the time of spraying, you can remove them by hand.

    A good way to keep other pests away from your plants is to add 12 ounces of water along with about 10 drops of peppermint essential oil, one tablespoons of liquid dish soap, two cloves of minced garlic, and a tablespoon of cayenne into a container. Mix it well and let it sit for about a full day. Strain it and then add it to a spray bottle. Spray this on the plants that are having problems with the pests about two to three times per week, and always after a rain.

    These are just a couple of simple tips to help you deal with pests in the garden. It is a constant battle, but you can have the upper hand.

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  • Composting: Good Materials, Bad Materials, and Special Materials (Infographic)

    Composting: Good Materials, Bad Materials, and Special Materials (Infographic)

    Composting. So simple, at yet so complicated. On the one hand, I feel like it’s really easy to just throw together some biodegradable, nutrient-rich material, wet it, and let nature do it’s thing. On the other hand, there are a lot of important considerations to keep in mind when adding to compost piles, and there are items that are not great to have in your compost pile, for many reasons.

    While for the most part, it’s not too complicated to start your own compost pile, there are are few “what not to do” considerations to keep in mind, and I thought this infographic from MarcLanders.com was a great little guide. It’s got some items that are great to add to compost piles, some items to avoid, and some items that you can add, but require special preparation, and the instructions on how to do that.

    If you want to grow your own compost to naturally amend and fertilize your soil, it’s not too tricky to do it right, just follow these simple guidelines and you’re sure to have success. Enjoy!

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  • How to Grow Cucumber Vertically

    How to Grow Cucumber Vertically

    Cucumbers are a delicious treat to grow in the garden, and it’s really fun to branch out and try different varieties, from pickling cucumbers for your root cellar to small, juicy Gerkins you’ll rarely find at the supermarket.

    The trouble with cucumber plants is that they crawl…like crazy. The cucumber plant from simply one seed can spread out up to 20 square feet when grown in garden beds. If space is a challenge in your garden, this probably doesn’t sound too appealing.

    Fortunately, there’s a very simple solution: letting cucumber grow upward, instead of outward! It’s very easy to train cucumbers on a trellis or other raised structure, and can greatly maximize both space and even yield.

    Here are some tips:

    Choosing Your Space and Structure 

    You can even grow cucumbers in containers and train them upwards, which can sometimes make the use of a trellis easier, such as using one along a fence. If you don’t have a lot of experience with trellises, this is a great option to give cucumbers a shot before planting a huge crop in your garden.

    You’ll want a deep, wide container, at least 12″ in depth and width.

    If you are planting in the garden, choose a trellis that you can install securely in your garden bed, with plenty of space around the garden bed you’ve chosen to safely access the trellis without disturbing other plants. Your trellis should be 5-6 ft in height, and ideally should be an a-frame trellis. This will be both more secure and easier for the plant to “climb”.

    Planting and Training Your Cucumbers 

    Cucumbers are heavy feeders, like tomatoes, so make sure your container or garden bed has healthy, well-fertilized soil before planting. Sow directly into the ground according to the seed packet instructions, and thin out according to these instructions as well. Once the plants are beginning to “crawl”, which is typically about 10-12″ in length, gently train them onto the trellis. This means picking them up and placing them on the trellis. Cucumber plants will

    “Training” the cucumber means picking them up and placing them on the trellis. Cucumber plants will naturally attach themselves to it and crawl up it, it just might take a bit of coaxing at first, but it will be very happy to have a home. In this period, you’ll want to check it every day, and train each plant accordingly.

    Care

    Cucumbers will require frequent watering as they are very thirsty plants. However, take care to water just the soil underneath your trellis, as getting the leaves too wet can encourage fungal growth.

    You should have already planted in well-composed, nutrient-rich soil, but once the plant starts to flower, side dress the plant with aged manure.

    Harvesting

    Once your cucumber plants begin to produce fruit and ripen, begin harvesting as soon as you determine ripeness. You won’t want to leave the cukes on the stem too long as they can attract pests and can rot very quickly. As soon as you begin harvesting, make a daily trip to the cucumber plant to collect what you can.

    Happy gardening!

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  • Straw Bale Gardening (Inforgraphic)

    Straw Bale Gardening (Inforgraphic)

    Straw bale gardening has gotten very popular in recent years. It is a great option for smaller container gardens, and takes away a lot of the demand for buying and/or building soil.

    The idea is simple, you take a straw bale, condition it over a season so it begins to decompose and form a perfectly shaped container garden, full of fresh nutrients, and you plant directly in it for a very low-maintenance, weed-free garden bed.

    If you have a hard time getting soil, creating compost regularly, or weeding, straw bale gardening might be a great option for you, and especially if you happen to have a lot of straw bales lying around your homestead or can get them for a good price in your local area.

    It’s great to start in the fall and plant in in the spring, because straw is put into bales in the fall so you can begin the conditioning process then. One advantage to straw bale gardens is also how much easier they are to plant in come springtime verses cold ground, so if you’re struggling to get your garden started this year because of hard, frozen ground, maybe next year you’ll have a much easier time with a few conditioned straw bale gardens.

    This great infographic from Fix.com breaks down every aspect of conditioning and planting in a straw bale garden in an incredibly through and detailed format. It should be able to give you a good idea as to whether or not straw bale gardening might be right for you. Enjoy!

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  • 20 Ways to Control Your Pests Without Spraying Anything (Video)

    20 Ways to Control Your Pests Without Spraying Anything (Video)

    One of the principal reasons to go organic when it comes to your garden is to avoid toxic chemicals. However, there’s a reason cheap pesticides are appealing to so many farmers: pests are a real pain, and can destroy your whole crop, even your whole garden.

    So, you’ll need to find some natural alternatives to pesticides, and fortunately, there’s many very effective, 100% safe solutions for pest problems in the garden. This video, from an excellent organic gardening YouTube channel, has 20 suggestions for how to keep your garden pest-free.

    You don’t have to sacrifice pest control for the sake of being healthier, you can keep your garden safe from bugs and critters with any one of these 20 great ideas!

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  • 3 Beginner Compost Mistakes to Avoid

    3 Beginner Compost Mistakes to Avoid

    Getting a good compost pile going is an awesome way to build your soil and contribute valuable nutrients to your organic garden.

    There are lots of methods for getting started, and lots of options as far as bioavailable, organic material you can use to build it.

    However, you can also make mistakes, and before you build your own compost pile, try to avoid these simple “don’ts” to ensure you have a successful compost pile and save yourself a lot of trouble.

    Cover your pile

    Compost piles left out in the open are not only stinky and unsightly, but they also attract flies and even wasps, which will make it no fun to turn the pile. While there are many creepy crawlers you’ll happily welcome into your pile, that help decompose and contribute nutrients to compost, flies in particular you do not want. They are unsanitary to have around, can spread harmful bacteria, and are also super annoying.

    Covering up your compost pile also helps it to decompose faster. By wrapping it in a tarp, for example, you’ll trap in warmth and moisture, speeding up the composting process and getting you the end result quicker.

    Water your compost pile

    You don’t have to water your compost pile everyday, but keep it consistently moist enough that it never dries out. Compost piles are essentially their own little ecosystems, full of life that work to decompose the soil, so they need moisture to thrive. Every week or so, stick your hose in the compost pile and let it run for an hour or so, soaking the whole pile thoroughly.

    Avoid weed seeds

    Be careful about the manure or foliage you add to your pile; anything that might have weed seeds in it will not only sprout in your pile, they could easily survive the whole composting process and sprout in the garden you add your compost to. And that’s not something you want to do!

     

    When you invest your time and effort into starting a compost pile,  make sure you’re doing it right!

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  • 5 Ways to Cut Back on Weeds

    5 Ways to Cut Back on Weeds

    Weeds are one of the biggest downsides of gardening. Just as soon as you get the whole garden weeded it seems like they’re sprouting up again.

    It is true that weeds are nearly impossible to fully get rid of, but fortunately, there are ways to stunt them so much they’re barely a problem in your garden.

    Here are ten ways to reduce your need for weeding.

    1. Mulch

    Mulch is the go-to for many gardeners, and for good reason. You can use all different kinds of organic material for mulch, such as hay, grass clippings, leaves, wood chips, even store-bought organic mulch. It will also retain moisture in the soil, which is great for the warmer, dryer months.

    2. Plastic 

    A very common conventional way to keep weeds back, black plastic will keep the soil completely dark so any unwanted plants simply can’t thrive. A plus for using plastic is it will keep your soil warm, so it’s great for early spring planting.

    3. Cardboard 

    Cardboard is an excellent and, if you have enough leftover cardboard boxes, a very affordable way to keep weeds back in your yard or garden. It will block out light like the plastic and mulch do, but unfortunately, water doesn’t penetrate it very well so it’s better for outer edges of gardens or walkways. It’s awesome if you want to cover up a resting garden bed, as it will naturally decompose into the soil eventually.

    4. Boiling water

    Boiling water, like cardboard, is probably best for walkways or along yard or garden edges. It’s ideal for in between bricks or cement. It’s as simple as it sounds, though of course you’ll want to be careful not to splatter yourself with boiling water! Simply boil a kettle and pour over the plants you want to kill.

    5. Vinegar

    Another method you won’t want to broadcast over your whole garden so as not to kill the plants you do want, vinegar still works great for killing individual leaves. One awesome trick is to put a dog cone around the weed you want to kill, and then spraying the dickens out of it with vinegar.

     

    Weeding can seem like such a time-consuming part of gardening, so try some of these methods out to keep back your weeds and free your time for other things!

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  • 5 Ways to Increase Your Garden’s Productivity  

    5 Ways to Increase Your Garden’s Productivity  

     

    If your garden just isn’t meeting your expectations or productivity don’t get discouraged, there are plenty of things that you can do that can increase your production of food this coming growing season.  Here is a list of 5 things you can do that will increase the amount of food you can produce in your garden.

     

    Interplanting

    Interplanting different crops together (not all crops grow well together so check individual crops for what will work and what will pose its own problems) will allow you to grow more food in the same space.  The “3 sister” method is a great example of this, starting corn, then adding pole beans to climb corn stalks, and lastly adding pumpkin or squash which will crawl over the ground.

    Organic Mulch

    Using organic material to mulch with, such as wood chips, comfrey leaves, or even cardboard, will not only keep soil moist and reduce the amount of weeds that compete with your crops but it will also help to build and amend soil as it breaks down.

    Cover

    Growing under the protection of cover will protect crops from the cold.  This will allow you to both start gardening earlier in the year, and to grow longer.  Lengthening the amount of time that you can produce food will result in a larger amount of food being produced even if all other factors remain the same.

    Soil Tests

    Testing your soil will help remove the guess work out of treating your plants health issues.  Sometimes even pest problems can be solved by addressing a nutrient deficiency in the soil.

    Perineal Crops

    Selecting crops that do not require being planted again will increase the amount of time that that patch of soil is producing food by completely eliminating the time that you wait for the plant to mature, go to seed so you can grow it again, and the time the soil must be left fallow between crops.

     

    Don’t let an under producing garden get you down, put these tips to use and your production level is sure to rise year after year.

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