Organic Fertilizers
Take a gallon bucket and fill halfway with compostPour liquid on to the roots of your plants and add solids to soil. There are many commercial organic fertilizers sold in garden stores large and small.
Organic Herbicides
Use a funnel to place the following ingredients in a medium spray bottle approximately the size of a quart, but it doesn't have to be exact:
1 cup of vinegar
Shake well before each use. Spray mixture directly on the weed itself; if weed is out in the yard, be careful not to spray the grass! The vinegar is what kills the weeds, but the dish soap holds the vinegar in place so it stays on the plant instead of running off. This works great on grass or weeds in sidewalk or driveway cracks, too. Best time to spray is in the middle of the day when the sun is beating down on you.
Just a quick comment on the weed killers: Add dish soap to the vinegar and mix it with water to spot-weed the yard (usually 1 part dish soap, 2 parts vinegar, and 2 parts water). The dish soap makes the vinegar stick to the weed longer, and a couple of days baking in the sun should do the trick.
Organic Fungicides
Powdery mildew is a fungal disease that affects beans, cucumbers, melons, peas, pumpkins, squash and strawberries as well as many fruit trees and roses. Black spot is a fungal disease that produces black spots on the leaves of infected roses. In severe cases, the plant can be defoliated. To remedy these problems, mix: 3 Tbs Baking Soda Spray the mix onto infected plants. Reapply as often as needed.
Organic Insecticides
Probably the best organic way to get rid of rust flies,
carrot weevils, wireworms, and other carrot pests is to soak the bed once a
week with a thin mixture of wood ashes and water using a watering can.
Protect your garden plants from cabbageworms, caterpillars, hornworms, aphids, flea beetles and other chewing/sucking insects by routinely using a natural spray that you can make at home. The spray must be applied regularly, especially after a rainfall. Brew up a batch as follows: 6 cloves of garlic Strain & use as spray. Ground cayenne or red hot pepper can also be sprinkled on the leaves of plants (apply when leaves are slightly damp) to repel chewing insects or added to the planting hole with bone meal or fertilizer to keep squirrels, chipmunks, dogs and other mammals away from your gardens. Be sure to reapply after rain.
Organic Fire Ant Insecticide
6 oz. orange oil Add to a gallon jug and fill with water. Use durring middle of day when most ants are in the mound. (hottest part of day) Pour directly onto mound, the orange oil dissolves the ants exoskeleton.
Pour directly onto mound, the molasses and compost let bacteria grow. This bacteria attacks the ants. Organic Deer Deterring Tips Mix one egg per gallon of water and spray on plants. Reapply once a week or after rain.
Tie unused fabric softener sheets onto trees and shrubs or on stakes around plants being bothered by deer. They seem to hate the smell, so buy the brand with the strongest scent and only replace if the scent has faded. Rain does not seem to hinder their effectiveness.
Best Way to Reduce Weeds
You can't stop wind from blowing weed seeds into your garden or birds from dropping them from overhead. Nevertheless, you can employ a number of tools to keep them to a minimum.
Prepare your soil for planting, water it well and cover it with dark plastic. After four weeks, the sun's heat (as hot as 160ºF) will have killed any weed seeds and harmful microorganisms residing in the top few inches of the soil. Let the soil dry before planting and avoid disturbing it to prevent deeper lying seeds from reaching the top.
Weeds can be imported to your garden from the soil of plants received as gifts, a rotten veggie tossed off to the side or as part of compost or fertilizer (especially horse manure). Before adding compost, mulch or new soil to your garden, pot some to test it for weed sprouts.
This is great for smaller gardens. Prepare soil for planting, water it thoroughly and cover it with dark plastic. Make small slits in the plastic to plant your seeds. The plastic will keep weeds from sprouting, though it may be more difficult to add compost or soil amendments later if necessary.
Spacing plants correctly allows crops to naturally shade the soil and prevents weeds from sprouting. The leaf tips of mature plants will just touch each other if spaced appropriately.
Once your plants are a few inches tall, weed thoroughly then mulch. Weed control is just one of the many benefits of mulching; it holds in moisture, adds nutrients to the soil, improves soil structure, prevents soil-borne diseases, encourages worms, prevents run-off and keeps flowers and veggies clean!
Pulling weeds by hand is still one of the most effective methods of weed control. Try to remove weeds before they set seed. Moist soil makes them easier to remove. If the tops are seedy or you're unsure of the weeds lifecycle (annual, perennial, etc.) don't compost them, bury them away from your garden.
Underground and drip irrigation systems deliver water only to the plants you're trying to cultivate. This minimizes the amount of moisture water-competing weeds have access to.
Planting cover crops (grains, clovers or legumes) over the winter will protect your soil from erosion, enrich it with nutrients and inhibit weed growth all at the same time. Cover crops planted during the growing season act as mulch around fruit trees, shrubs and perennial vegetables. Consult with your local extension agent or garden supply store to find out what types of cover crops work best for your climate and soil. |
Organic Techniques |
Do you know more or think some of these are wrong? Feel free to add new ideas here.