Organic Gardening

Sweet13_Princess

I'm going to try planting my own garden this year, starting from seeds. I'm completely new to gardening and, on top of it, I'd like to try to keep everything organic. I'm looking for buddies to help me through the process and to give me, much appreciated, advice.

Also, I have a pear and peach fruit tree. The pears get gritty, tough, almost bug-bite like areas on them. My peach tree produces a few peaches, but the bugs eat them before they ripen. What do you do to protect them, so that you get a decent harvest, without using harsh chemicals?

Shannon

fiberartist219

Gardening from seed is something I have yet to master.... I might never get it down.

However, I don't generally use fertilizer or pesticides on my veggie garden. I find that compost and water is all I need to make it grow.

I haven't had too many problems with pests until the veggies are ripe. Then, I have to pick them right away or else they will get eaten or spoil on the vine.

I don't know much about fruit trees, but if you google organic gardening, you can find different devices or household items that can assist you with your pest problem. I think certain types of soaps can help or waxes or different bugs to eat the bugs you have... I don't know. It just depends on the problem you are having and the plant you are trying to protect.

ishallnotwant

I started with seedlings, and we are working our way to gardening with non GMO seeds eventually. I think it's important to start slowly if you don't know much about it...we started out with just some herbs and tomatoes and bell peppers the first year, along with some strawberries.

Last year we grew thyme, cilantro, green onions, red onions, rosemary, bell peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, jalapeno peppers, strawberries, broccoli, garlic, radishes, green beans (and a few decorative flowers so our manager wouldn't get upset lol) and we had dwarf lime and lemon trees. Unfortunately our trees were infested by the Asian psyllid moth and we were unable to save them. The USDA showed up at my house asking to spray them for me and I said no-our whole family has asthma and I want to grow our food without pesticides-a month or two later our trees had leaf curl and we had to take them back to the store. It's an epidemic around here. So far we haven't had to use anything that wasn't organic on our garden.

We live in a townhouse in Southern California and have made our garden work in two small patches of dirt. In the back patio it's about 3x3 feet, and in the front yard it's about 6x3 feet. We also put some of our herbs and the strawberries in pots. The peppers and zucchini, along with the cilantro and green onions we planted last year are still producing.

I haven't started my garden for spring yet, but hope to by the end of this month. I'm super excited to do it after all the stuff we managed to grow last year!

Sweet13_Princess

fiberartist21 - I've never started plants from seed before, either. When I was a kid, I always tended to overwater them. I'm hoping at least half of the pack germinates for me. I'm hoping to start composting soon, too. It's something I've always been interested in, but wasn't sure how to go about doing it.

ishallnotwant - I usually start with seedlings, too, but my husband got a good deal on seeds; so I want to use them. Is "non GMO" seeds basically non-genetically modified? I just watched a documentary on genetically modified foods and it's scary! No wonder we're all getting cancer! I have no clue about my seeds though....

I saw that Miracle-Grow is now coming out with organic mixes for gardens. Wal-mart and Lowes both carry their Seedling Starter Mix, which includes very basic ingredients.

Shannon

BellydanceBliss

i soak my seeds for 1-2 days in a baggie. This takes them a lot less time to germinate. It is so hard to grow anything in texas. I want to try again this year see what happens. Coffee grounds really do help with nitrogen and eggshells ground put down under the plants keep the ltitle snail friends away. Make a spray of coffee and molasses water to spray your plants wont keep bees away but will help keep bad ones away. Make sure coffee grounds are organic.

BellydanceBliss

you could try sq. ft gardening as well.

annabellj

bump hard to grow in az also! havent started ours yet either

kristina509

I would say don't be discouraged when things don't grow the way you want or expect them too. Last year was a bad year for planting for us in Ohio, and some of our stuff just didn't grow from seeds. This year we plan to move to the community garden to try out luck (we were planting mostly in pots/buckets). It is definitely worth all the hard work! I love eating all the fresh grown veggies and herbs.

Good luck to you!

JeninBelgium

HI I am by no means a gardening expert but I have been trying for a few years now- essentially I started because I grew up in the US eating super fresh sweet corn and while in Belgium they do grow a lot of corn it is mostly feed corn and I have never once found a fresh sweet corn stand (they have some corn in the supermarket but that is no longer fresh cause corn should be eaten the day it is harvested, if you ask me) anyhoo:

www.bbc.co.uk/gardening has a lot of great resources

also Burpee (as in the seeds) is great (lots of organic materials)

umm - not sure how much space you have but I highly recommend using raised vegetable beds- much easier to work in mulch, good drainage, easier on the back, and you don't overly compact the soil down - I have built 4 and thing that the best height is probably 50cm/ 20 inches- I have two which are 24 inches tall and that seems just a little too tall- for the reaching- it may in fact be perfect as those beds are also a little too big- 5 feet wide- by 8 feet- I think 4 feet by 8 feet or 4 by 6 is better- that way you can always reach the center of the row/bed without too much reaching

burpee, lowes, etc all sell either entire kits for raised beds or just the necessary parts- if they would have shipped to belgium i would have bought the corners kit - as it is I made my own and since I have no carpentry skills it wasn't super easy but it wasn't horribly complicated either

patience and trial and error will get you through

sabrina32576

I'm hoping to have a larger garden this year. I was thinking about starting from seed as well so I am also looking forward to reading everyone's advice.

_LilPowerHouse

I've had successful gardens, but when I moved I had problems with deer and rabbits eating my plants so I gave up on it, It was
costing more to keep them away than just buying my veggies at the store.. 7 yrs later we finally bought a house and moved in last
June, so this summer I will attempt my garden to see if I have the same problem in this neighborhood.. I didn't notice any deer or rabbits during last summer so hopefully I can have my garden back..

BellydanceBliss

http://frugalliving.about.com/od/doityourself/tp/Homemade_Fertilizer.htm

mangozulu

Seedling are definitely easiest to start with. A lot depends on your location as what will be the most successful. For me, as a professional, certified organic, landscaper with 20 years of experience... My own personal veggie garden is always a bit neglected, but rewarding. The simplest plants to start from seed are summer squash, zucchini, winter squash, pumpkins, radishes, swiss chard (loooove swiss chard because it doesn't bolt like spinach!), carrots, beets. I always grow potatoes from organic seed potatoes, garlic from sets planted the previous fall (I'm in CT). I have great success with shallots and onions from seed if I start them in flats. I have a patch of Purple Passion asparagus that I started from seed 5 years ago that produces really well. Everything else (tomatoes, eggplants peppers, cabbages etc ) I get as plants because I don't have the space to start them early. The most challenging part of the process is keeping the furry critters out! The garden needs to be fenced.

As for the fruit trees... It's hard to say. Do you remember the cultivars of the plants? How old are they? Pears often need a second tree to be pollinated correctly. I would definitely spray them both with dormant oil (you can buy some that is not petroleum based) during the winter, this will cut down on some of the pests and fungi. Make sure they are consistently well watered and fertilized. I top dress with well composted compost, bone meal and green sand. Kelp or fish fertilizer is always a good addition. Some people have issues with the sustainability aspect of fish fertilizer and green sand. For me, it's all about moderation. Baking soda and horticultural oil sprays can help keep the fungi down.

The first gardening book I ever read was The Garden Primer, by Barbara Damrosch. I still use it as a reference, the new addition is entirely and organic approach. I highly recommend it.

mangozulu

I meant "new EDITION"

amyllu

I used to have a very thriving organic allotment and my back garden as well.
I won't attempt to give you advice as you are no doubt in a totally different climate where you live from that of mine.

Well done on the decision as I am quite positive that you will notice the difference with all your fresh produce.
Only one thing to add to that ...you may find that you have more things that are failures at first but hang in there as you will soon get to know lots of ideas how to combat those.

catfish9

I'm SO excited to see a gardening topic!

I have a 6"x16" rectangle in my parent's back yard. It isn't organic, but I don't use preventative sprays or chemicals-- I only use them if there is a problem. The past couple of years, it has been Mexican Bean Beetles. They look like little orange lady bugs, but they are destructive as hell. Anyway...

A truly organic garden is pretty labor intensive, especially if you come across a pest problem. I used to work on a plant and vegetable farm, and they used something on the fields (only if absolutely needed) that was actually approved for organic gardening. Unfortunately, I don't know too much about it.

I like to start my seeds indoors (Southern Connecticut... no outdoor planting for me until nearly May!), but space is a huge concern. There aren't many sunny places in the house where I can leave seedlings where the cats won't chomp on them. One important thing that I have learned with starting indoors is to make sure that the plants don't wrap around each other when they're growing, because I always manage to break a couple of them during the untangling process.

It's also really important to make sure that your soil is in good condition. If you browse around, you can usually find places that will do soil analysis locally. Many universities that have an agricultural department will do them for free. The more organic matter (chemical-free composts, mulches, and manures) that you can provide your plants with, the happier they will be.

_LilPowerHouse

I want to start my garden from seeds also.. Im in North east Ohio, I know that I should start them Indoors but when should I start them. I was thinking April? any suggestions?

anyonebutmehaha

A truly organic garden is pretty labor intensive

gee, not for me. i have a large herb/spice garden and the only labor i put into it is digging up the "delicates" (basil, mint, thyme, etc) in the fall to spend the winter in pots on a southern facing window inside. then after danger of last frost has past i re-plant them outside. my basil 'bushes' actually have wood stems they are so old. and the ones that winter well outside like chives and rosemary, oregano, italian parsley, etc are still he same plants that i planted some 16 years ago when i bought this house. no weeding needed cause everything is so established, no fertilizer or anything (and my 'soil' is more sand than dirt). lol, i basically don't do much except enjoy them in my cooking.
organic veggies i don't bother growing any more since there is an organic farm stand at the end of my street w/ in walking distance.
since i don't believe in manicured green lawns, i let my property go wild making is a refuge for wildlife. due to that i have a bounty of wild raspberry and blackberry and blueberry bushes everywhere and very much enjoy their bounty. i planted a few types of grapes last fall so i'll see how they do this year....should be successful since eastern long island is known for it's local wines.

Sweet13_Princess

mammalammaz – What do you mean, you start them in a baggie? Is it just your general sandwich bag, with a little water and soil in it? Do you seal the bag or let the end open to ventilate? Starting the seeds this way, may actually be of help to me because I usually overwater them during the germination process.

kristina509 – Glad to see a planting neighbor. I live in central PA, so I’m Zone 5/Zone 6 depending on the maps you look at. We probably have similar gardening situations.

JeninBelgium – I also love fresh, homegrown corn. I’m envious of how Europe has such fresh ingredients on hand, without all of those pesticides. The supermarket stuff just doesn’t compare. We used to have a farm when I was a child that one could stop at and buy corn picked right off of the stalk. I really miss it, so corn is definitely going to be something I try my hand at!!

Shannon

sarvissa

I have had an organic garden for 3 years now, each year it grows bigger! I'm in Oregon, so our outdoor planting can start in late March/early April, but I've already started some of my seeds indoors.

There are a lot of organic fertilizers and pest control things on the market now. Obviously the BEST organic fertilizer is manure, but I really have a difficult time in my head about using that lol!

As far as your trees go, I have heard diatamacious (sp?) earth works great. It's this white powdery substance that is actually ground up glass from the sea floor. The best way to spread it is by dipping a sock into it, then shaking the sock at the tree/plant. Any pests that try to eat the leaves/fruit will die off.

Feel free to add me!

AmyRhubarb

Square foot gardening is awesome! I have three raised beds - one 4x4 for herbs and rhubarb, and two 8x4s for veggies. I live in central California so we have a year round growing season, and I always have something growing out there! A favorite source of info and seeds is from Mike The Gardener Enterprises: https://www.averagepersongardening.com/seed_subscriptions.php I belong to his Seeds of the Month Club and I love it - very inexpensive and the seeds I get from him always do better than the ones I get at the store. Plus with the club, I get seeds and varieties that I might not usually buy, so encourages me to try new things. He has a facebook page too - just called Vegetable Gardening, but lots of good info there and easy to ask questions from other gardeners.