Stevie Sustainable - Organic Gardening 101: How To Essentials and Tips for Starting an Outdoor or Indoor Organic Vegetable Garden

Organic Gardening 101

"How To"Essentials and Tips for Starting an Outdoor or Indoor Organic Vegetable Garden

By Sustainable Stevie

Table of Contents

Copyright Notice

Organic Gardening 101 -

"How To"Essentials and Tips for Starting an Outdoor or Indoor Organic Vegetable Garden

Digital Edition 1.0

Copyright 2013 bySustainable Stevie

All rights reserved. Nopart of this book may be reproduced by any means whatsoever without the writtenpermission from the author.

ISBNs: Print9781630223830 | eBook 9781630223847

Manufactured in theUnited States of America

Disclaimer

This publication isintended to provide helpful and informative material. It is not intended todiagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any health problem or condition, nor isintended to replace the advice of a physician. No action should be taken solelyon the contents of this book. Always consult your physician or qualifiedhealth-care professional on any matters regarding your health and beforeadopting any suggestions in this book or drawing inferences from it.

The author and publisherspecifically disclaim all responsibility for any liability, loss or risk,personal or otherwise, which is incurred as a consequence, directly orindirectly, from the use or application of any contents of this book.

Any and all product namesreferenced within this book are the trademarks of their respective owners. Noneof these owners have sponsored, authorized, endorsed, or approved this book.

Always read allinformation provided by the manufacturers product labels before using their products.The author and publisher are not responsible for claims made by manufacturers.

Many different sourcesand personal experiences has gone into this book as well as fact checking andgiving credit where it is due; including resourceful website links for thereader's further research into a subject matter on his/her own. We do notendorse nor assume any responsibility for the content on remote websites asthey frequently move or disappear. While all links to remote sites are checkedon a regular basis to confirm their continued existence, the author andpublisher have no control over, and cannot be responsible for, the availabilityor content of remote websites. In the event that any material is incorrect orhas been used without proper permission, please contact the author atsustainablestevie@gmail.com so that the oversight can be rectified.

Thisbook is dedicated to all those who have an appreciation for organic sustenance.

Courtesyof Lamiot

I t is not a passing trend that the demand fororganic produce remains on the rise. Although you are being charged at least athird more for it than the cost of non-organic produce, it continues to be indemand for health reasons and avoidance of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers.

With the economy affecting spending money thesedays, it's not uncommon to see someone give up buying something else just tomake sure they have enough money for their organic vegetables and fruits. Ifyou are a vegetarian or are health-conscious, buying fresh organic vegetablesand fruits can take a bite out of your wallet.

That's one of the reasons why more people areturning to organic gardening whether that's at their local nursery, in theirapartment if they don't have access to land, or usually in their backyard ifthey live in a house. But despite what has gotten you interested in organicgardening, it's certainly doable and we're going to cover some of the essentialsto get you started.

O rganic gardening means to raise vegetables,fruits, herbs (whatever you enjoy) without using growth regulators such aspesticides, chemical fertilizers and fungicides. Instead, minerals and germsthat are non-synthetic like earth worms, algae, fungi, bacteria, natural biologicalcycles, compost, manures and composting techniques are used. These are vital ingrowing natural plants with nothing artificial to making a "sustainable"garden.

If you don't know much about gardening at all orif you're new to organic gardening, there's terminology that you should befamiliar with because these are things you're going to be using. Some of theterms might sound shocking initially, but you'll get over it. Here they are:

1) Compost is natural or organic waste (manure) usedas plant fertilizer. It's composed of fruit and vegetable peels, rejected orrotten produce, dried grass clippings, crushed eggshells, leaves, crop residue,shredded paper, old sod, tea bags, poultry manure, etc. That was just a partiallist. You can easily make up this concoction yourself all year long and put itin your "compost" container so that you'll have enough to use becauseas these materials decay or decompose, it'll compact and turn into humus (dark,rich matter that boosts fertility and enriches soil) and won't be as"big" as when you began collecting it.

You can tell when compost is ready to be usedbecause it will no longer give off decomposing steam and the color will be bothdark and crumbly, which on the average takes about +/- 8 months. So if you wantto take this natural route for your organic garden, you'd better get started!

You'll most likely need a compost bin andthere are many different types. For example, if you live in an apartment, makeup a compost of food scraps which would be kept in a countertop composter.There are also larger ones that can be kept in backyards. If you would like tosee the different styles of compost bins, you can see them here: livesmartinfo.com/compostbins.Using compost for your soil is so much healthier and better for the soilbecause it's so natural which supports the growth of your plants. If you wouldlike further details about different types of composting, see Resource 1 at theend of this chapter.

If making your own compost doesn't soundexciting, you can buy it from any certified organic source that's reputablelike a local nursery or garden center that promotes organic materials.

2) Mulch is a top layer that's placed over garden soilto keep it enriched and moist so that you don't have to water it as much. It'salso a weed deterrent to prevent sprouting. If it's windy or rains, it helps tokeep the soil from eroding because of its thickness as well as keeping the soiltemperature moderate for better growth.

There are different things you can use to makeup mulch which includes chopped tree bark, hay, wood shavings, pine needles,sawdust, twigs, crushed peanut shells, etc. It's used as more of a soilprotector rather than compost and it can look relatively decorative too.

3) Blood Meal is powdered or dried animal blood fromcows or other animals from slaughterhouses. It speeds up decomposition incompost piles because of its concentrated nitrogen level which is a good sourceof food for garden soil. However, it is important to closely follow theinstructions on the package for applying it to avoid burning your plants todeath from the nitrogen.

Something else that adds nitrogen to the soil isto plant legumes or use a certified organic liquid fish emulsion.

4) Bone Meal is animal bones that have been cooked,grounded up and packaged from the meat processing industry. It is a natural,organic slow-release fertilizer that's a good source of phosphorus whichassists with seed, cell formation and division, and plant root growth in yoursoil.

Additional "meals" that promote soilnutrition are cotton seed meal, alfalfa meal and greensand. Also, forphosphorus and essential minerals, ground rock powders can be mixed with soil.