momoese

This quote from Deb (CookieCows) made me think about sharing some info on Organic gardening.

Armed with a little knowledge there should be no excuse for using Pesticides, Herbicides, Synthetic/Chemical plant foods or GMO products in your backyard gardens, unless you just really want to use them. I can tell you that I would much rather have the occasional caterpillar, snail or aphid eating my plants then putting pesticides on my dinner plate. As a matter of fact I'd let the bugs completely eat the garden and go buy food from the farmers market before I'd apply any toxic chemicals on my food, but that's not going happen because I know how to get rid of them naturally! In my years of growing organically I've used killer snails, praying mantis', lady bugs, parasitic wasps, preditor mites, and various forms of organic insect control like submerged half aluminum cans filled with beer for slugs, BT for catapillars, black light hunts at night for horm worms, and some homemade insect killing soap sprays.

Insect control: If your soil and plants are healthy and you're growing seeds that are proven to do well in your area you shouldn't have much trouble with insects, but if you do here are some ways to battle the little critters in an environmentally responsible way.
http://www.extremelygreen.com/pestcontrolguide.cfm

Here is a picture of one of my greatest success stories!
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showp...hp?photo=7384]

Seeds bulbs Etc: Here are couple very good sources for Heirloom and organic seeds.
http://rareseeds.com/

http://www.seedsavers.org/Aboutus.asp


Soil: Composting
http://www.compostguide.com/

Nutrition and food safety: There have been many studies over the last 10 years or so that have shown Organic fruits and vegetables to contain more vitamins, minerals and antioxidants then conventionally grown or GMO products. They also have far less toxic chemicals and heavy metals. The FDA has not conclusively said Organic is better but I think we all know why. Many people also say that Organic just taste better, but I don't eat enough conventionally grown stuff to give an opinion. I do know that food grown at home and ripened on the plant taste far superior then anything bought from the store! Here is some info about that.
http://www.soilassociation.org/web/s..._research.html

Lastly, growing organically is hard work. It takes knowledge, a strong back, some patience and some faith, but the return is very rewarding!

the flying dutchman

I have grown vegetables and herbs for many years, it not a hard work nor
do you need much knowledge. I have never used chemicals and hardly
any fertilizer. Just use your common sense.
Also I never kept track of what I put where.
Just walk through your garden and if you see an empty spot, put some
onions there and on another empty spot beans or whatever you like.
Don't expect it to grow as big as the vegetables in the store but as
Mitchel mentioned the taste is superior.
A good method is growing all kind of different vegetables next to each other.

I have thrown onions random on the ground without putting them into the
soil and even then they grow.
So don't worry about schedules, fertilizing and so on, you will always have
a crop. Onions can stay in the ground for years, you can eat the leaves.
I am convinced that even on a poor ground many veggies and herbs will
grow.

Ron

momoese

This is something I forgot to mention. There are several companion plants that benefit each other like the three sisters method. Another example is marigolds planted next to tomatoes to keep the nematodes away. Here is a nice list of companion plants.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_companion_plants

mskitty38583

i love the mantis!!! go to hgtv.com and look for paul james the gardner guy. he gives all types of how tos on the natural gardening and organic gardening. HE IS MY HERO! wow dutchman i think thats the most youve ever said in a post! LOL! you need to post more. ha ha. momoese thank you for the postings on the natural ways to garden. i love it. and dutchman i never thought just to spot plant veggies. might have to try that if i ever get my garden area picked out.

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Last edited by mskitty38583 : 12-29-2007 at 12:13 AM. Reason: add

magicgreen

Ron thanks, i have done just what you said. Any empty spot---I put a plant! I have thrown the seeds of canna in the garden to clean up the plant, and voila! Next year i have shoots of canna!
I have left a hosta out of the soil; next spring---VOILA!!! It greens up and starts growing with the lil' bit of soil it has clinging on to it!
Onions are the same.
Ive grown so many plants, veggies, and flowers over the years!
So I am pretty confident about the bananas and other exotics!
But as a newby to the exotics, and my 1st year and winter to growing them.
I have more to learn. THis winter is teaching me alot! And as a newby--It is exciting!
5 more months to go before replanting outside. I can hardly wait!
I wonder how that basjoo is doing all wrapped up for the winter?
Along with its wrappings it has, horse manure all around it, to help the soil.
Next year I'll do like JohninNY and get a remote thermostat so i can see the temp inside the "basjoo'. That should prove interesting and FUN.
"Just my shout-out" Magicgreen

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(Started growing bananas July 2007)
(Zone 6)

mskitty38583

so now you have your camera...hahaha...TAKE SOME PICTURES! . we wanna see.we wanna see. lets see your babies in the gh you made in the basement.( look for new growth. it could happen) take pictures of what you have growing in that hot as blazes bathroom of yours. we want to see plants, and nana trees. quit reading the book and SHOOT! enquiring minds want to know...i want to know.

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D_&_T

we would agree about pics

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magicgreen

The pictures are coming....I just recieved it today!
I gotta figure out if i need a CF card or just take pics w/o it and download. I have to fiqure this doo-hickey out! I dont have help! And too proud to ask, half the time!
Wanna do a good job you know!
Iam a perfectionist by nature------sort of. Magicgreen

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(Started growing bananas July 2007)
(Zone 6)

D_&_T

most cameras have built in memory and can take few pics, then plug camera into computer thru usb cord and copy..........fun part will be resizing them

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CookieCows

Alot of great information! Thank you! I'm willing to try some of the natural bug repellants this year and see how it goes. I think our main problem is keeping the weeds down. The pest problem (except for japanese beetles) would be managable if the weeds were gone. It's a huge garden as our goal is always to put up enough to last through the winter. Last year we were able to get enough newspaper layed down with bark over top around all the peppers and tomatoes and that really worked out great. If we could do that with everything else it would be awesome. Especially the large areas between the squash and melon mounds. The only companion plants we've tried is a row of marigolds one year. I like the website with all the different plants that go together and will try more of that this year.

Compost we don't have a problem with. We have mounds of steer/horse manure mixed with hay in various stages of decomposition and we use that and lime on the pastures and garden.

Well it's taken me over an hour to get this much of a response done as I have grown children coming in and out of the house and I'm recovering from major dental work.

Note on Japanese Beetles: We've tried the traps and they didn't work. The only thing that has worked for us is to put grub killer on the lawn to prevent them from turning into beetles but now that we have moved out of a residential area and onto a farm it's not possible to do that anymore. So the only thing that we have found that kills the beetles when they come out is 7-dust and I know ya'll are gasping and gaging over that and the grub killer also ... but that's the way it is until we can find something else that works. I'll look more in depth at the natural bug repellent website a little later.
Thanks,
Deb

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Tony O

Now living in the country you can have guineas. They will help with Japanese Beetle control, as well as ticks & other insects. I wouldn't be without them.

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CookieCows

you know we've talked about getting those! Won't they tear up my garden though? I know people talk about putting chickens in the garden but they'll not only wreck havoc, but eat the vegetables.

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mskitty38583

guinease are pretty. ilove the polkadots on their feathers. their playful to. ive never seen them tear up a garden. ive seen chickens dig in a garden to get to bugs , but they never tore one up. you might lose a few plants here and there but it shouldnt be a total loss.

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momoese

And as they eat the bad guys they poop which is good for the garden! Or you could get the beneficial nematodes.
http://www.extremelygreen.com/Produc...des%20%2D%20Hb

Lagniappe

You could use weeder geese too http://www.metzerfarms.com/weeder.htm
But the Guinea fowl are better tempered and ,IMO, more attractive.

A friends grandfather has Guinea and lost quite a few to owls. This all changed when he got a peacock ! The peacock will roost with the guinea and the owl(which picked them off the roost) has never attempted to come near .

CookieCows

That is such a COOL article on weeding with geese!! We used to have 4 of the asian geese that have long necks and looked like swans when in the pond. They weren't anywhere near the garden. We gave them away as they were getting picked off by coyotes. I didn't know they left broad leaf alone when chowing down on the grass! I emailed this to my husband. I think this could be a solution for us to put into place down the road. I'm really excited about this! He can only acomplish about one project per year as he has a fatigue issue from having Multiple Sclerosis but our garden and orchard (very young trees) are butted up against the pasture fence so the fencing in wouldn't be a big issue. Mostly a money issue in buying the turkey wire to wrap around the barbed wire and the building of a house for them. I can't wait for him to get in the house to talk about this!!!

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CookieCows

I didn't see the nematodes post until after I posted my response about the geese...I'm going to order some of those!!!! Wow they look like ugly, wonderful things! I'm getting really excited ... I'm done with winter now!

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Tropicallvr

There a house up here in Montana that has this enourmous goose that isn't caged in, thinks he is a dog, lives in a dog house, and is a night watch goose. Makes me want to get one instead of a dog lol.

CookieCows

our geese were cute like that ... would get all puffed up and protective. They'd march around squawking. We called them our Goose Squad

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microfarmer

I had 3 chickens on my backyard microfarm that would eat an amazing amount of bugs! They even fought over, tore apart, and ate a baby rat that got into their roost pen! They were funny as they flapped while running across the yard when we came outside, jump/flying over obstacles. The fresh eggs were an excellent bonus too! My SO won't let me get any more though. I'm not sure how they would affect the bananas, but see them as a highly efficient pest eater with a daily gift or two.

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