Organic gardening

Nimue

Padawan Learner
Hi,

At the moment I have the gardening fever...the sun comes out the birds twitter.. you know...

So I would like to share my experience and some ideas for organic gardening. ( Pest control, manuring).

Pest control... Lava stones:
I´ve always had problems with coccids and other vermin's on my oleander and other big
plants in jars, now I fill the jars with small lava stones mixed with soil, on the
top I fill the jars with a thick blocking layer of lava stones, so you have a good water reservoir and a bad nutrient solution for vermin's.

Impregnated lava stones (with lavender or citrus oil) , are also a big help against snails, they don´t like the smell.

Manuring + pest fighting.... Fieldhorstail extract

I use this for manuring (especially for my plants in jars) Fieldhorstail extract is boosting the
defensive forces of the plants against vermin's and fungus.

Components of the extract are: Fieldhorstail, tensy haulm, wormwood, onions and Humusextract.

Manuring for fruit trees and plants.... castor oil plant shred.

The shred is a good alternative to animal nitrogen ( horn shavings), for signs of fatigue of
the trees/plants, you can mix the shred under the soil regularly.

More will follow

Happy gardening !
 
Continuation

Here my Tips for soil- improvement.

Lupins…. The last were about 8 months on my free bed , and then I merged them with the soil. They are very good for the nitrogen conten in the soil. (green manure).

Seaweed chalk, for nutrient –poor grounds. Algae form: Lithothamium calcareum.

Wood ash for humus cultivation, contains potassium.

Rock meal made out of basalt (from volcanic origin)

And for plant homeopaths … Quartz flour

More will follow

Other tips and ideas are very welcome !
 
Hi.

Here some further ideas for plant protection on natural basis:

Oak bark slurry….. mixture 150 gr bark/10 l rainwater/1:5, put it in the sun for some days. Use only bork from young trees without algae and lichen. The slurry is against scoring and sucking vermints, also ants.

Basil tea, against plant louses and spidermites….mixture 8 teaspoons basil haulm mixed with
1 l rainwater (cook it like tea) use undiluted.

Birch leaves slurry…. Preventive against scab on leaves and fruits. Mixture 1000 gr greenery/10 l rainwater/1:5, and put it in the sun for some days (use only fresh greenery)

A Further idea for manuring I´ve mentioned in an other threat (from garden to gaia) before

I use a stock of stingling nettles, this is manuring and pest fighting in a natural way. I my location we find stingling nettles everywhere (don´t collect them near
roads with a lot of traffic).

How to make the stock: Put the nettles + water(1:1) in a basin (Terra Cotta or other natural material no plastic !), close the basin and place it directly in the sun and let
the stock ferment approx. 5 - 7 days, then you will have a stingling slurry (Better you don´t breath to deep, when you open the basin after fermentation)
Now you can manure your plants with the slurry an hold the pest off, furthermore a very low price variant.
 
natural enzyme cleanser mixed with water and applied with pump sprayer has been my mainstay for both bugs and fungal disease. Where we live the soil is alkaline, and adding gypsum balances it for nutrient uptake. I love the idea of infusing essential oils into lava rock, I'm going to try it for the slugs that live by my fountain. And a word of caution: our city gives away compost that it makes from tree clippings and grass that folks take to the dump. A little known fact is that they add solids from the city sewage treatment plant to the mix- including all the nasty chemicals that end up in runoff and down the drain- so don't ever use compost unless you know what is in it.
 
I use a stock of stingling nettles, this is manuring and pest fighting in a natural way. I my location we find stingling nettles everywhere (don´t collect them near roads with a lot of traffic).



You can use most of your "weeds" dandelions, plantain etc, this way. ( though you can eat most of these as well )

But if your not going to eat them, just fill up 5 gallon buckets with your green weeds, add a couple of gallons or whatever fits in the bucket, of hot water and stir with a stick a few times, and let sit an hour or so to extract a nice green weed tea.

After this cools, use it to water your plants.

This already contains most of the nutrients plants need to thrive and your not just throwing away unwanted plants, but putting them to a better use. It`s an old trick most people have forgotten since modern fertilizer was invented.

You can also put a teaspoon of this tea in a glass of water to root plants cuttings and even to keep cut flowers fresh for a much longer time.
 
I don't know for you but it seems that I've lost my gardening fever since I've read the "Life without Bread" thread :( although we have a 2500 square meters garden to feed our 6 members family and we were really passionated at it...
So it became very hard to find enough motivation to work in the garden now and for the first time within twenty years I'm late for all... :-[
 
@ don diego are you rural enough to be allowed to keep a pig or two? or some meat rabbits? then you could turn your garden into a fodder farm and turn veggies into meat non-grain fed meat
 
rrraven said:
@ don diego are you rural enough to be allowed to keep a pig or two? or some meat rabbits? then you could turn your garden into a fodder farm and turn veggies into meat non-grain fed meat
Indeed I could but the problem with pigs is that you have to get them young and as they are so "clever" and sweet charming so you get too tied to them that it would be very cruel to invite them for dinner!Well for the rabbits,I've understood that they are too much poor fat and in the long run you can't survive eating only rabbit meat.
We have 3 sheeps and some hens and chickens and it's already difficult to eat them(only after months in the freezer)
Maybe today we are too much sentimental yet but when life on earth will become more and more hazardous there will be no problem anymore. ;)
 
Hi
monksgirl said:
natural enzyme cleanser mixed with water and applied with pump sprayer has been my mainstay for both bugs and fungal disease. Where we live the soil is alkaline, and adding gypsum balances it for nutrient uptake. I love the idea of infusing essential oils into lava rock, I'm going to try it for the slugs that live by my fountain. And a word of caution: our city gives away compost that it makes from tree clippings and grass that folks take to the dump. A little known fact is that they add solids from the city sewage treatment plant to the mix- including all the nasty chemicals that end up in runoff and down the drain- so don't ever use compost unless you know what is in it.

Thank´s for your tip, also the issue with the compost is very interesting. Thank you !

Meager1 said:
You can use most of your "weeds" dandelions, plantain etc, this way. ( though you can eat most of these as well )

But if your not going to eat them, just fill up 5 gallon buckets with your green weeds, add a couple of gallons or whatever fits in the bucket, of hot water and stir with a stick a few times, and let sit an hour or so to extract a nice green weed tea.

After this cools, use it to water your plants.

This already contains most of the nutrients plants need to thrive and your not just throwing away unwanted plants, but putting them to a better use. It`s an old trick most people have forgotten since modern fertilizer was invented.

You can also put a teaspoon of this tea in a glass of water to root plants cuttings and even to keep cut flowers fresh for a much longer time.

Great idea, I will test this!

Don Diego said:
I don't know for you but it seems that I've lost my gardening fever since I've read the "Life without Bread" thread :( although we have a 2500 square meters garden to feed our 6 members family and we were really passionated at it...
So it became very hard to find enough motivation to work in the garden now and for the first time within twenty years I'm late for all... :-[

That sounds not so good… my ( veggie )garden is not so big as yours ( only for my hubby and me), but for clarity I have a question… why did you lost your .. fever.. in reference to the Live Without Bread thread ? I am not shure what you mean, maybe I have missed something in the LWB thread ?
 
@Nimue
Well we've been veggies for almost ten years long time ago but ate LOT of veggies yet,because we loved them so much especially all kind of cabbages and too much potatoes,sweet corn.I've been too a tomatoe collector(up to 50 each year,almost 20 varieties)and now we've little by little reformed our diet regarding all what we've learned here mostly banning solanaceaes which were the biggest space eater in the garden :-[
Then several months ago we began to eat more and more meat and we do love it now!The need for vegetables decreased drastically,just 4/5 buckwheat pancakes a day with some leaves and we've largely reached the 72gr carbs intake recommended...And it works!Everybody feels satisfied!We never would have dared to imagine such changes...
So I've got buckwheat seeds to occupy all the empty space although it's not too easy to harvest handly but it's a beautiful plant(looks like goosefoot weed which is also good to eat)
I hope by your post to get enough courage to manage to go on growing if not for stomach but at least for eyes and heart! :)
 
Indeed I could but the problem with pigs is that you have to get them young and as they are so "clever" and sweet charming so you get too tied to them that it would be very cruel to invite them for dinner!Well for the rabbits,I've understood that they are too much poor fat and in the long run you can't survive eating only rabbit meat.
I m not saying live on rabbit just have some for veggy conversion...and for the pigs,well get 2,so they keep each other company ,you want them young not only so they get tamer but also so you know what they have been eating,and don't hang out with them,just feed them twice a day(with garden produce)and don't bond,they are quite happy in the company of other pigs and don't need humans , you can give them toys like big balls or empty containers and a mud pit to play in but do not give them names!!you only keep them for 6 to 7 month
the aim is to have humanely and ethically raised non grain fed animals...if you eat pork now...do you know its from happy pigs?of factoryfarm raised?
as we have to consume 2D beings on this level at least we can make sure they had the best life we can give them
 
Don Diego said:
I hope by your post to get enough courage to manage to go on growing if not for stomach but at least for eyes and heart! :)

Hi Don Diego, thank you for your answer, now I understand what you mean. We grow our veggie´s as side dish for meat, for my hubby and me
it is important to know what is on our plates, so our garden is relatively clearly arranged, only with the veggie´s we tolerate. We both are not so great
veggie eater, unfortunately we have also a look to our carb intake, but a little bit colour on our plate´s I think is ok.

I hope you find back to growing, I think
it is great to work with/in nature.

rrraven said:
I m not saying live on rabbit just have some for veggy conversion...and for the pigs,well get 2,so they keep each other company ,you want them young not only so they get tamer but also so you know what they have been eating,and don't hang out with them,just feed them twice a day(with garden produce)and don't bond,they are quite happy in the company of other pigs and don't need humans , you can give them toys like big balls or empty containers and a mud pit to play in but do not give them names!!you only keep them for 6 to 7 month
the aim is to have humanely and ethically raised non grain fed animals...if you eat pork now...do you know its from happy pigs?of factoryfarm raised?
as we have to consume 2D beings on this level at least we can make sure they had the best life we can give them

I´ve also thought about to get some pigs, we have space enough, but Germany has a very strict epizootic diseases act, so it is not easy to let them grow up in a natural way... you must vaccinate them , it is also forbidden to make home slaughtering etc, but I must go more into detail, maybe I will find possiblitie´s to get our own pics and let them grow up in a natural way.

Edit: spell
 
Back
Top Bottom