You need to have some knowledge of what to do and what to expect from growing and maintaining an organic garden, especially in Texas where the weather can be extreme and pests can really “bug.” You need to know what resources are available to you and who can provide you answers as to what you need. The organic gardening tips below can help you get a start!
To maximize your enjoyment out of your garden, plant a variety of plants – plant herbs next to vegetables. By planting a variety of plants, your garden will be more exciting, and as a bonus it will be far prettier…plus it will help keep certain pests away.
When selecting bulbs, you should know that most bulbs are sold during their dormant period. Buy them as early as possible before they start to produce roots. Most spring flowering bulbs will begin to grow roots by early fall, and by planting them early, you will ensure that they have time to establish themselves. Bulbs will deteriorate if kept out of the ground too long. Don’t buy any bulb that is soft or mushy, or appears to be diseased.
When your summer blooms have bloomed and faded away, remember to dead-head the flowers. This means pinching off the flower heads. This will encourage new flowers to bloom longer next year, and it will also strengthen the plant. Since the flower heads have seeds, you can also save the flower heads that you have pinched off for planting at another time.
For areas with high alkaline, mix coffee grounds into the soil. This is an easy and inexpensive method to increase the acidity of your soil. With it, you will find that your greens and vegetables will be more vibrant and tasty!
Think about asking friends or family for cuttings from their existing plants. Many plants will grow from cuttings so that you do not have to purchase a whole plant yourself. It takes only minutes to learn online which part of the plant you should cut off to replant, and using cuttings can save you hundreds of dollars in landscaping and gardening costs.
A great way to keep insects and pests at bay in your garden is to spray your plants with a dish soap and water mixture. A mixture of one quart water and one half teaspoon dish detergent will kill off those pesky parasites. Be sure to respray every fourteen days.
As you have seen in the above tips, there is a lot of knowledge you can acquire before starting to grow your own garden and it is this knowledge that can help you. Do everything you must, in order to figure out what will work for you, in regards to your gardening needs.
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