Organic Gardening & Fertilizers

Elements of Organic Gardening & Fertilizing. The links will take you to my full blog entries and video. Or you can read the summary and watch the video from here.

Using Garden sprayers and How to Spray Tomato Leaves: Get the Undersides!
Depending on the size of your garden you can get 1 or 2 gallon tanks. You also want to purchase 2 tanks. One tank will be used for nontoxic sprays. The other tank would be used for more toxic sprays. Even organic products can be toxic, like copper based fungicides. And remember to never spray in full sun. It is best to spray in the morning so the spray has time to dry before the sun's intensity increases.

How to Use Peat Moss/Organic Matter in Your Raised Bed: Retains Water!
Peat moss is a great source of organic matter. I does not add nutrients to your soil but it does add organic matter for creating better soil. There is no nitrogen, phosphorous or potassium in it. I use peat moss to soften/loosen my clay soil. Peat moss really retains water and that will help maintain the structure of your soil and help your plants out. When growing root crops like radishes or carrots, you want a loose soil so the roots form uniformly.

An Introduction Organic Fertilizer: is it Plant, Animal or Mineral?
Organic fertilizers can come from plants, animals or minerals. Organic generally means that the fertilizer or pesticide is not a synthetic or chemical creation. It does not mean it is non-toxic or 100% green in its creation. What it does mean is it is processed in some minimal way from a natural source. Your 100% pure organic fertilizer may come from plants, animals, minerals or a combination of two or more these categories.

Some Plant Based Organic Fertilizers

(Animal and mineral  OF's will be discussed in future blog entries)

You have plant based fertilizers that, as a class, generally have lower amounts of the macro-nutrients (N)itrogen, (P)hosphorus and (K) potassium or NPK. Plant based fertilizers are often 'fast acting' as in the nutrients are quickly made available to your garden vegetable plants. Plant based fertilizer can have micro-nutrients and added benefits for soil microbes and bacteria. They not only feed your vegetable plants but they feed your soils. They help your garden in two ways. There are many different kinds of plant based organic fertilizers. But you do have to ask the question....Were synthetic chemicals used to grow the plants that are harvested to be sold as organic? Or how where the plants raised? Here are some plant based products.


Organic Blood Meal - What is It & How to Use it on Garden Vegetable: Go Organic!
Organic products have really come down in price and are now much more easily found. A good benefit of blood meal is that it does not leave behind elements like salt that can be a by product of certain synthetic fertilizers when creating the nitrogen component. Blood meal adds significant nitrogen to your garden which will help your plants with green growth.