Grow your own pharmaceuticals

It's very straightforward to grow powerful medicines which will lower your sterol, shield your heart, scale back your risk of upset, enhance system perform, and shield you from polygenic disease and lots of different chronic diseases. each plant could be a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant provided naturally. It's sort of a multi-million dollar pharmaceutical laboratory that takes raw materials and converts them into healing medicines. It will this freed from charge, while not asking something back from you aside from a bit little bit of care, some water, and a few daylight.
If you're thinking that regarding however plants operate, they are quite exceptional producing engines. They take nutrients out of the soil, greenhouse gas out of the air, water, and photons from daylight. Then, through a fancy system of metabolism and chemical change, plants manage to convert those components into healing phytonutrients, together with vitamins, enzymes, wholesome oils, fiber, proteins, and sophisticated carbohydrates. and they turn out all of those fantastic phytochemicals that we're currently learning additional regarding in terms of preventing, and even reversing, chronic diseases like cancer.

Plants offer you an additional factor, too: the energy of life. this can be another variety of nutrition, that I decision "vibrational nutrition." It's one thing that you simply cannot get from synthesized pills or factory-made foods. you'll be able to solely dig from plants, as a result of it's to try and do with the energy of living, respiration organisms.

For nearly each chronic unwellness, there's a plant which will treat it. area unit you battling cancer? Grow yourself some garlic, onions, and broccoli. area unit you battling high cholesterol? Grow and eat some blueberries. area unit you littered with macular degeneration? you'll be able to grow a good form of berries. If you are within the right climate, you'll be able to grow nut trees that offer wholesome oils right off the tree. In fact, despite what style of climate you are in, there area unit plants as healing drugs which will be grownup in your region, whether or not you are within the nice white north, or the jungles of Central America. whether or not you are in a very dry desert climate, the plains, forest, rainforest, swampland, the icy north, the mountain range, or the Smoky Mountains, there area unit plants you'll be able to grow which will facilitate heal you.

This is one in every of the most areas of analysis on that i am focusing without delay. i am performing on finding new ways in which for individuals to additional simply grow plants that have a healing potential. i might wish to share with you what I've learned to date, so invite you to remain up-to-date, as a result of there is a ton additional sensible info coming near this subject. One goal I actually have is to make or promote some type of device which will perform as a home pharmaceutical manufacturing plant, with which individuals will plant seeds and primarily get pleasure from a inactive operation that grows these plants while not requiring a lot of effort on their half.

It's quite silly to pay $100 per pill to a pharma once you will grow more practical and safer prescribed drugs right in your own residence, balcony, or curtilage. In fact, the word "pharmaceutical" suggests that "plant drugs." The word "pharma" has identical root utilized in the word "farming," after all. therefore medicines extremely do have their origins in plants. It's solely through the atrocious politics of pharmaceutical corporations these days that folks have forgotten the plant origins of drugs. What i am hoping to try and do is assist you come back to to the plants, as a result of the plants have the healing characteristics that we want.

For widespread adoption, we want one thing that works while not soil. Soil works nice for the outside, however if you actually desire a system that works for people that do not have yards, soil is clearly not the thanks to go. There area unit currently plant growing technologies accessible that grow plants much more with efficiency with much better yields than with soil. they are not essentially new, though there area unit some new technologies rising in these fields. i am talking regarding tank farming and aeroponics. tank farming has been around for quite an whereas. it's the growing of plants in nutrient solutions that haven't any soil. Basically, you are exposing the plant roots to liquids containing the nutrients required to grow. this can be achieved through Associate in Nursing ebb-and-flow agriculture system, or another agriculture configuration.

You may be shocked to be told that you simply will grow plants while not soil. the fact is that the soil is simply a medium that holds nutrients for the plants. therefore if you get obviate the soil, however still offer the nutrients to the plant roots, they are going to be simply fine. In fact, you'll be able to increase yields through this method versus growing them in soil. I've done this myself in several experiments, within which I've planted identical plants in soil vs. a agriculture system. I actually have found a lot of quicker growth and bigger yields in a very agriculture system. agriculture systems do need electricity, and that they take some effort to be told the way to operate properly. however they will be terribly profitable. they are additionally much more moveable than growing plants in soil, as a result of it's easier to maneuver a receptacle, a timer, and a pump than it's to maneuver four hundred lbs of soil.

If you would like to spice up yields on the far side those achieved by agriculture systems, a stronger system to use is Associate in Nursing aeroponic system. this can be what you see at the Epcot Center in American state, wherever agriculture scientists area unit victimisation this technology to grow vertical stands of plants. They basically spray the roots with a nutrient resolution on regular intervals.

Spraying the roots of a plant each quarter-hour with this nutrient resolution has benefits over the agriculture approach, as a result of you are able to make even additional expanse between the nutrients in your liquids and also the roots of the plant. In my expertise, Associate in Nursing aeroponic system produces considerably bigger yields than the agriculture system. If you're thinking that regarding what is chargeable for that increase, you understand that it is the bigger expanse of the smaller droplets of water being sprayed on the roots.

You can purchase home-built aeroponic systems on the web. None of them area unit extremely elegant, however they work, and that they do turn out outstanding plant yields. Right now, i am growing tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, herbs, strawberries and even watermelons on aeroponic systems. Plant growth is extremely aggressive, though i'm having some challenges obtaining the tomato plants to fruit (it's in all probability simply a nutrient oversight on my half, thanks to my relative ignorance in plant chemistry).

When i am able to retire these plants for the season, i am going to snap some photos of the foundation mass to indicate you simply however effectively aeroponic growth systems are often. you will be completely astonied at however quickly and sharply these plant root networks will grow.

The bottom line here is that i feel home-grown plants area unit aiming to create an enormous comeback within the years ahead, and we're aiming to see nutrient-rich styles of plants (like red carrots with lycopene) that treat and forestall chronic unwellness, in addition to new technologies that permit hands-free cultivation of healing plants. After all, World Health Organization has to build a $100 million drug manufacturing plant once nature will manufacture all the medication you wish for the value of one or two of seeds? I say, let nature build the medicines.

Make Your Own Fertilizer

By Erin Huffstetler, About.com Guide

Learn how to make your own fertilizer, and keep your garden green without spending a lot of green. Here are several great homemade fertilizer recipes to try:

Epsom Salt Fertilizer

Use in Place of:

Houseplant food
Vegetable fertilizer
Rose plant food

What You Need:

• 1 Tablespoon Epsom Salt
• 1 gallon water
• A watering can

What You Do:

1. Combine the Epsom salt and water.
2. Use the solution to water your plants.
3. Repeat once a month.

Why This Works:

Epsom salt is made up of magnesium and sulfate – both vital plant nutrients. Some magnesium-loving plants to try it on: houseplants, roses, peppers, tomatoes and potatoes.

Coffee Ground Fertilizer

Use in Place of:

Rose plant food

What You Need:

• Used coffee grounds
• A cookie Sheet
• Newspaper

What You Do:

1. Line a cookie sheet with newspaper.
2. Then, spread your used coffee grounds out on the sheet, and allow them to dry completely.
3. Sprinkle the grounds around the base of your acid-loving plants. Azaleas, roses, rhododendrons and blueberries are just some of the plants that will benefit from this treatment.

Note: Be careful not to over do it with the grounds. Even acid-loving plants can get too much acid.

Why This Works:

Coffee grounds are rich in nitrogen, magnesium, and potassium – all important plant nutrients. They are also acidic, and help to maintain the acidity of the soil.

Egg Shell Fertilizer

Use in Place of:

Lime

What You Need:

• Egg Shells
• A blender

What You Do:

1. Save your eggs shells, and allow them to air dry.
2. Then, place the dried shells in the blender, and pulse until they are powdery-fine.
3. Sprinkle in your garden.

Why This Works:

Eggs shells are made up almost entirely of calcium carbonate – the main ingredient in agricultural lime.

Vinegar Fertilizer

Use in Place of:

Houseplant fertilizer
Rose plant food

What You Need:

• 1 Tablespoon white vinegar
• 1 gallon water
• A watering can

What You Do:

1. Combine the white vinegar and water.
2. Use the solution to water your plants.
3. Repeat every three months.

Why This Works:

The acetic acid in vinegar works to increase the acidity of the soil – just the thing for acid-loving plants.

Fireplace Ash Fertilizer

Use in Place of:

Garden fertilizer
Lime

What You Need:

• Fireplace ash

What You Do:

1. Sprinkle your fireplace ash over your garden beds, and work into the soil.

Note: Fireplace ash should not be used if your soil is alkaline, or be used around acid-loving plants.

Why This Works:

Fireplace ash is rich in potassium and calcium carbonate.

Source

How to attract wildlife to your Garden

Created by Spalding Bulb

Pesticides and Vegetable Disease Control

Fungicides can be a great help in preventing diseases when properly applied to the plant foliage. Since fungicides are preventive, they should be applied before the disease occurs, or as soon as the first symptoms of disease appear.

Some vegetable diseases require specific fungicides for their control. An outline of diseases of specific vegetables, disease description, suggested cultural and chemical control and comments follows this section.

Fungicides are available primarily as wet-table powders, dry flowables and dusts, but a few are sold as emulsifiable concentrates, flowables and liquids. Wettable powders (WP) and dry flowable (DF) are formulated in such a manner as to be readily suspendable in water. Dusts (D) should not be mixed in water, but applied directly to the plant. Emulsifiable concentrate (EC) fungicides contain an emulsifying agent that makes them readily suspendable in water. Flowable (F) fungicides are finely ground wettable powders that are suspended in a liquid.

Some soil fungicides are available as granules and are applied in the furrow at planting. Dust and spray fungicides may also be used as in furrow treatments for seedling disease control.

Never attempt to use dust formulations of fungicides in spray solutions. Dusts will not suspend in the spray solution. Wettable powder formulations may appear similar to dusts, but they are formulated to be suspended in spray solutions. Foliar sprays will aid in controlling leaf spots, rusts, mildews, anthracnose and fruit rots. Foliar sprays are not effective against vascular wilts or root rots. Foliar sprays are protectants, because they form a protective layer of fungicide over the surface of the fruit and foliage. Disease agents (bacteria and fungi) that land on these fungicide-coated surfaces are killed or prevented from infecting the plant.

Most fungicides are not effective in inhibiting disease organisms once they have infected a plant. It is imperative that foliar fungicides be applied prior to infection of the plant. A spray schedule should be followed that maintains a protective fungicide layer on the foliage and fruit during favorable infection periods. By carefully monitoring their vegetables, some gardeners can usually delay the first fungicide application until the first sign of disease. Then a 7-14 day spray schedule should be followed. During rainy or humid weather, spray application intervals should be shortened.

Proper pesticide mixing and spraying plays a very important part in achieving disease control. Most home gardeners will find a 1-2 gallon compressed-air sprayer adequate for applying foliar sprays. A nozzle with a cone pattern will provide the most effective coverage of plant foliage. Keep the pressure up to insure small spray particle size and good coverage.

Sprayers should be cleaned and rinsed after each use. Hose-end sprayers are not very effective in applying fungicides to vegetables. Never use the same sprayer for fungicides and insecticides that has been used for herbicides. Residues of certain types of herbicides are very difficult to remove from sprayers. These residues may cause crop injury if a herbicide-contaminated sprayer is used in applying fungicides or insecticides.

What Does Organic Matter Do In Soil?

By Eddie Funderburg

Of all the components of soil, organic matter is probably the most important and most misunderstood. Organic matter serves as a reservoir of nutrients and water in the soil, aids in reducing compaction and surface crusting, and increases water infiltration into the soil. Yet it's often ignored and neglected. Let's examine the contributions of soil organic matter and talk about how to maintain or increase it.

What is Organic Matter?
Many times we think of organic matter as the plant and animal residues we incorporate into the soil. We see a pile of leaves, manure, or plant parts and think, "Wow! I'm adding a lot of organic matter to the soil." This stuff is actually organic material, not organic matter.

What's the difference between organic material and organic matter? Organic material is anything that was alive and is now in or on the soil. For it to become organic matter, it must be decomposed into humus. Humus is organic material that has been converted by microorganisms to a resistant state of decomposition. Organic material is unstable in the soil, changing form and mass readily as it decomposes. As much as 90 percent of it disappears quickly because of decomposition.

Organic matter is stable in the soil. It has been decomposed until it is resistant to further decomposition. Usually, only about 5 percent of it mineralizes yearly. That rate increases if temperature, oxygen, and moisture conditions become favorable for decomposition, which often occurs with excessive tillage. It is the stable organic matter that is analyzed in the soil test.

How Much Organic Matter Is in the Soil?
An acre of soil measured to a depth of 6 inches weighs approximately 2,000,000 pounds, which means that 1 percent organic matter in the soil would weigh about 20,000 pounds per acre. Remember that it takes at least 10 pounds of organic material to decompose to 1 pound of organic matter, so it takes at least 200,000 pounds (100 tons) of organic material applied or returned to the soil to add 1 percent stable organic matter under favorable conditions.

In soils that formed under prairie vegetation, organic-matter levels are generally comparatively high because organic material was supplied from both the top growth and the roots. We don't usually think of roots as supplying organic material, but a study in the Upper Great Plains showed that a mixed prairie had an above-ground (shoot) yield of 1.4 tons of organic material per acre, while the root yield was about 4 tons per acre. The plants were producing roots that were more than twice the weight of the shoots.

Soils that have developed under forest vegetation usually have comparably low organic-matter levels. There are at least two reasons for these levels:

1. trees produce a much smaller root mass per acre than grass plants, and
2. trees do not die back and decompose every year. Instead, much of the organic material in a forest is tied up in the tree instead of being returned to the soil.

Soils that formed under prairie vegetation usually have native organic matter levels at least twice as high as those formed under forest vegetation.

What Are the Benefits of Organic Matter?

• Nutrient Supply
  Organic matter is a reservoir of nutrients that can be released to the soil. Each percent of organic matter in the soil releases 20 to 30 pounds of nitrogen, 4.5 to 6.6 pounds of P₂O₅, and 2 to 3 pounds of sulfur per year. The nutrient release occurs predominantly in the spring and summer, so summer crops benefit more from organic-matter mineralization than winter crops.
• Water-Holding Capacity
  Organic matter behaves somewhat like a sponge, with the ability to absorb and hold up to 90 percent of its weight in water. A great advantage of the water-holding capacity of organic matter is that the matter will release most of the water that it absorbs to plants. In contrast, clay holds great quantities of water, but much of it is unavailable to plants.
• Soil Structure Aggregation
  Organic matter causes soil to clump and form soil aggregates, which improves soil structure. With better soil structure, permeability (infiltration of water through the soil) improves, in turn improving the soil's ability to take up and hold water.
• Erosion Prevention
  This property of organic matter is not widely known. Data used in the universal soil loss equation indicate that increasing soil organic matter from 1 to 3 percent can reduce erosion 20 to 33 percent because of increased water infiltration and stable soil aggregate formation caused by organic matter.

How Can I Maintain or Improve Soil Organic Matter Levels?
Building soil organic matter is a long-term process but can be beneficial. Here are a few ways to do it.

• Reduce or Eliminate Tillage
  Tillage improves the aeration of the soil and causes a flush of microbial action that speeds up the decomposition of organic matter. Tillage also often increases erosion. No-till practices can help build organic matter.
• Reduce Erosion
  Most soil organic matter is in the topsoil. When soil erodes, organic matter goes with it. Saving soil and soil organic matter go hand in hand.
• Soil-Test and Fertilize Properly
  You may not have considered this one. Proper fertilization encourages growth of plants, which increases root growth. Increased root growth can help build or maintain soil organic matter, even if you are removing much of the top growth.
• Cover Crops
  Growing cover crops can help build or maintain soil organic matter. However, best results are achieved if growing cover crops is combined with tillage reduction and erosion control measures.

A good supply of soil organic matter is beneficial in crop or forage production. Consider the benefits of this valuable resource and how you can manage your operation to build, or at least maintain, the organic matter in your soil.

References
Barber, S. A. Soil Nutrient Bioavailability: A Mechanistic Approach. New York: Wiley, 1984.
Brady, N. C. The Nature and Properties of Soils. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1974.
Plaster, E. J. Soil Science and Management. 3rd ed. Albany: Delmar Publishers, 1996.
Tisdale, S. L. and W. L. Nelson. Soil Fertility and Fertilizers. 3rd ed. New York: Macmillan, 1975.
Source: Noble Foundation

Promoting Floriculture

By Dr S M Alam

FLORICULTURE is fast emerging as a profitable venture and the country is also earning a sizable foreign exchange by exporting roses to Middle East and European countries.
The local production of cut flowers is estimated at about 10,000-12,000 tons per annum. Roses are popular crop for both domestic and commercial cut flowers. They are harvested and cut when in bud and held in refrigerated conditions until ready for display at their point of sale.
Both local and grafted roses are grown in all the four provinces of the country, but Punjab has lion’s share in production of grafted roses and supply to all the cities of the country.
Roses may be grown in any well-drained soil with optimum sunlight. Most rose varieties are grown by budding on lower portion of a plant and propagated from seeds or cuttings. Clay soils, warm temperatures are always preferred, and the rose plants grow best when not set among other plants. Cow manure is the preferred fertilizer for rose cultivation, but other organic fertilisers, especially composts, are also used.
Rose plants usually require severe pruning, which must be adapted to the intended use of the flowers. Pattoki, a small town about 80-km south of Lahore, has emerged as a leading home for cut flower floriculture technology. More than one million pieces of cut flowers are sent daily from this town to all the major cities of the country. The availability of flowers and ornamental plants has recently increased with change in crop production priorities and rise in living standards. The availability of pick flowers of red rose in use since ages for garlands has increased manifold. Additionally, cut flowers for flowers arrangements have sprung up in market due to demand pull by the local consumers.
The demand for long stem roses, tube roses, gladioli has tremendously increased. In order to explain the cultivation of these plants, import of quality hybrid flower seeds and planting material may be allowed free of duty to promote production of quality leading to export. The small items of machinery and shading nets to be used by the flowers and ornamental plant nurseries should be exempted from the levy of duty.

Roses are best known as ornamental plants grown for their flowers in the garden and sometimes indoors. They have been also used for commercial perfumery and commercial cut flower crops. Some are used as landscape plants, for hedging and for other utilitarian purposes such as game cover. They also have minor medicinal uses. The majority of ornamental roses are selected hybrids. A few, mostly species roses are grown for scented foliage, ornamental thorns or for their ornamental fruit.
Rose perfumes are made from attar of roses or rose oil, which is a mixture of volatile essential oils obtained by steam distilling the crushed petals of roses. An associated product is rose water which is used for cooking, cosmetics, medicine and in religious practices. Rose water made as a byproduct of rose oil production, is widely used in Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine. The French are known for their rose syrup, most commonly made from an extract of rose petals.
By observing the rapid growth in cut flower export, this business can become Pakistan’s second largest export sector after textile if the government encourages the cut flower growers by facilitating them to provide better technology in the year round production, refrigerated transportation and exploring more foreign markets.
The world trade of cut flowers runs in billion of dollars and Holland serves as the centre of cut flower business.
The cut flowers trade is tremendously increasing due to its demand worldwide. The cut flowers importing countries are: Australia, Denmark, Dubai, France, Italy, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Syria, Turkey, U.S.A. and United Kingdom and the major suppliers are Colombia, Ecuador, India, Israel, Kenya and Zimbabwe.^{Courtesy: The DAWN}

VERMICOMPOSTING: A Way to Recycle Food Waste

Asad Manzoor*

Department of Agriculture & Agribusiness Management, University of Karachi.

Millions of tons of food waste are buried or burned every year at significant and considerable financial and environmental cost. Instead of dumping and wasting of your food scraps, you can recycle them with the help of worms. Vermicomposting (worm composting) turns many types of kitchen waste into a nutritious soil for plants. When worm compost is added to soil, it boosts the nutrients available to plants and enhances soil structure and drainage.

Vermiculture or Vermicomposting is derived from the Latin term vermis, meaning worms. Vermicompsting is essentially the consumption of organic material by earthworms. This speeds up the procedure of decomposition and provides a nutrient-rich end product, called vermicompost, in the form of ‘worm castings’.

Vermicomposting, or composting with earthworms, is an excellent technique for recycling food waste in the apartment as well as composting yard wastes in the backyard. Worm bins located near a hot water heater in the garage during the winter will save many a trip through the snow to the backyard compost bin. Letting worms recycle your food waste also saves your back, because you don’t have to turn over the compost to keep it aerated.

The most common types of earthworms used for vermicomposting are brandling worms (Eisenia foetida) and redworms or red wigglers (Lumbricus rubellus). Often found in aged manure piles, they generally have alternating red and buff-colored stripes.

They are not to be confused with the common garden or field earthworm (Allolobophora caliginosa and other species). Although the garden earthworm occasionally feeds on the bottom of a compost pile, they prefer ordinary soil. An acre of land can have as many as 500,000 earthworms, which can recycle as much as 5 tons of soil or more per year. Red worms and brandling worms, however, prefer the compost or manure environment. Passing through the gut of the earthworm, recycled organic wastes are excreted as castings, or worm manure, an organic material rich in nutrients that looks like fine-textured soil.

Vermicomposting food waste offers several advantages:

1. It reduces household garbage disposal costs;

2. It produces fewer odors and attracts fewer pests than putting food wastes into a garbage container.

3. It saves the water and electricity that kitchen sink garbage disposal units consume;

4. It produces a free, high-quality soil amendment (compost);

5. It requires little space, labor, or maintenance;

6. It spawns free worms for fishing.
*asad@gardener.com 

A Beginner's Guide to Organic Gardening

Gardening is not too complex. Almost all of us—probably in grade school—planted a seed in a cup of dirt, watered it, and watched it grow. But creating a garden that produces fresh food and flowers all season is not so elementary, especially to those who did not grow up gardening. 

So we've compiled this guide to the basics of organic gardening and the keys to success we've learned over the years. When you're done reading, look at your thumb—you may see a tint of green that wasn't there before.

Planting Seeds

1. Make your bed. About three weeks before you are ready to plant, after the soil has dried so that it doesn't clump when you pick up a fistful, sink a fork into the earth. Loosen it down to about 12 inches, add a half-inch layer of compost, and rake the surface of your garden until it has no weeds, dirt clumps, or big stones. Over the next three weeks, pull any weeds that come up. Raking and then letting the soil sit for a few weeks brings out weed seeds that were lurking in the soil.

2. Dig a furrow—or not. If you like symmetry and order, carve out a shallow trench with a hoe or hand trowel. But you don't have to plant in rows. You can organize your garden as a grid, with plants at the four corners of each square, or you can choose not to organize it at all. Whichever style you go with, dig shallow furrows or holes for the seeds.

3. Water lightly. Moisten but don't soak the soil. Watering before rather than after planting the seeds protects them from being swamped, or washed up and out of the soil.

4. Sow the seeds. Spread the seeds through the trench or place two or three in each planting hole. The seed packet tells you how far apart to plant them. If you plant too closely, you can thin them after they come up and, in many cases, eat the thinnings.

5. Cover with soil. As a rule of thumb, bury seeds only about as deep as their diameter. Sprinkle soil on top of the seeds, pressing gently to ensure they have contact with the soil. A few seeds, such as lettuce and dill, need light to sprout, so cover them sparingly. (Seed packets tell you if they need light to germinate.)

6. Keep moist. Sprinkle water on the seedbed whenever the surface is dry until all the seeds have sprouted.

Key to success: Add compost to planting holes to improve the soil's structure, provide slow-release nutrients, and activate the beneficial microbes in the soil.

Six Essential Tools

• Trowel
• Hand-weeding tool
• Hoe
• Pruners
• Fork
• Spade

Transplanting:

These steps apply to vegetables you get in packs at the garden center, as well as annual and perennial flowers. 

1. Dig a hole. Make the planting hole as deep as the plant's container and about double the diameter. 

2. Water the plant. Give it a drink before planting, because until the roots start growing, they can't draw water from the soil. 

3. Remove the plant from the pot. Place your hand on top of the pot, with your fingers around the plant's stem. Turn the pot upside down and gently squeeze it or push the plant out from the bottom with your other hand. If you must tug it out, pull it by its leaves rather than the stem (if a leaf comes off, no harm done; damage the stem, and the plant will not survive). 

4. Check the roots. If the roots have wrapped around and around the plant, gently pull a few loose with your fingers. 

5. Place it in the hole. Set the plant in the hole at the same depth it was in its pot, generally where the stem meets the roots. Tomatoes are an exception to this rule—plant them deeper. 

 6. Replace soil and then water. Backfill the hole with the soil you removed and press gently to ensure that the roots have solid contact with the soil. Be sure the soil stays consistently moist until you see the plant start to grow. 

Key to success: Transplant on an overcast day to give the plants a chance to adjust to their new home without being withered by direct sun.

Managing Weeds:

Weeds siphon water and nutrients away from your garden w, they can harbor pests, and they sure can make your garden look a mess. But you don't need to spray toxic herbicides, which are harmful to people, pets, and wildlife, to keep plant invaders out of your organic garden. Use these strategies instead.

Mulch. Keep your soil covered at all times to prevent light from reaching weed seeds. Spread a thick layer (2 or more inches deep) of organic mulch—straw, dried grass clippings, shredded leaves—on your garden each spring and replenish it throughout the growing season. Bonus: The mulch nourishes your soil as it decomposes. For even better weed protection, use several sheets of newspaper, kraft paper (such as grocery bags), or cardboard under these mulches. They are nearly impenetrable by weeds.

Hand-pull. Sounds like a lot of work, we know. But pulling out a few weeds every day or at least every week keeps them from getting out of control and brings you up close to your garden so you can inspect your plants for problems. Keep a bale of straw or a pile of grass clippings on hand so you'll have mulch on demand to help prevent weeds from returning after you've pulled them.

Hoe. Use a hoe's sharp edge to sever weed stems from their roots just below the soil surface. Forget about the square-headed traditional garden hoe for this job—get a stirrup-shaped oscillating or a swan-neck hoe instead. To hoe your garden without cultivating a backache, hold the hoe as you would a broom.

Spread corn. You can suppress the growth of weed seeds early in the season by spreading corn-gluten meal. This works best in established lawns. Corn-gluten meal, a by-product of corn processing that is safe for people, pets, and wildlife, inhibits the germination of seeds and fertilizes at the same time. Bear in mind, once the weeds have grown beyond the sprout stage, corn gluten does not affect them. Also, corn gluten doesn't discriminate between seeds you want to sprout and those you don't want, so avoid using corn-gluten meal where and when you've sown seeds.

Solarize. Where you have a persistent weed problem or you need to clear a thick mat of weeds from a brand-new bed, enlist the sun's help. In late spring or early summer, pull, hoe, or rake out as many weeds as you can from the bed. Then moisten the soil and cover it with a tight layer of clear plastic, weighting or burying the edges. Leave the plastic in place for six weeks so the sun cooks any remaining weed seeds.

Be persistent. This is your most important long-range weapon against weeds. Mulch, and pull or hoe the weeds for a few minutes whenever you visit your garden. Do these things consistently for a few seasons, and you will slowly but surely expel problem invaders for good.

Key to success: Weeds come out easily when the soil is moist, so think of a summer rainstorm as an opportunity to free your garden from a weed infestation.

Use This.....................Not That
Fish and seaweed fertilizer..Miracle-Gro
Insecticidal soap............Sevin
Clove oil herbicide..........Roundup
Compost......................Bagged synthetic fertilizer

Controlling Pests:

Whenever you see insects in your garden, remember this: Most are no threat to plants, many are even beneficial, and all of them, even the pests that eat your plants, are an integral part of the ecosystem you are cultivating. But what do you do when the pests seem to have the upper hand? You don't want to enforce a "no-fly zone" with pesticides. They're dangerous for you to have and to use, and they harm wildlife and contaminate water. Instead, use safe, organic techniques and products to keep the pests in balance.

Grow healthy plants. The best defenses against insect attack are preventive measures. Pests target weak or unhealthy plants, so choose plants that are suited to the conditions you are putting them in and they'll be less stressed. Don't let plants be too wet, too dry, or too shaded. Use lots of compost, but be sparing with high-nitrogen fertilizers, if you must use them at all.

Integrate, don't segregate. Mix different vegetables, herbs, and flowers together in your beds. This keeps pests from zeroing in on a whole crop of their target plant.

Encourage Pests' Predators. The most effective and natural way to control pests is to rely on the food chain. Plant herbs and flowers among your vegetables to lure predatory insects such as ladybugs and green lacewings, which feed on flowers' nectar while their larvae consume pests. Put out a birdbath to enlist the appetites of songbirds to your cause. Treat toads, lizards, and garter snakes as welcome allies, too.

Build Barriers. Row cover is a woven fabric that lets light, air, and water reach plants, but keeps pests (including deer) away from them. You'll find it in local garden centers, in catalogs, and online. The best-known brand is Reemay.

Target The Treatment. When prevention is no match for infestation, take the time to choose the right organic tool to solve your problem. Start by making sure you have correctly identified the pest and confirmed it is the cause of the symptoms you've found. Consult your local Cooperative Extension office (csrees.usda.gov) if you need help. 

Then, depending on the pest, you can arm yourself with soap or hot-pepper sprays, horticultural oil, or Bacillus thuringiensis, a naturally occurring bacterium that disrupts the digestion of caterpillars and other leaf-eaters.

Surrender. As we said, insects attack plants under stress. Do you have enough healthy plants to spare the sickly ones? Can you restore sickly plants to robust health so they can resist insect attack? If not, let the pests do their worst, then watch as their predators flock to your garden and protect your healthy plants.

Key To Success: Check the undersides of leaves when applying organic pest control—insects often hide out of sight.

Source of Article: http://www.organicgardening.com/

Fresh Lettuce

Among the easiest vegetables to grow, lettuces are ideal for pots,  where they can be more easily protected from marauding slugs  and snails. The widest selection is available in seed form, and the  cut-and-come-again types are ready to pick just a few weeks after  sowing. Try a mix of lettuces for different textures and tastes.

Lettuces are not only delicious when picked fresh from the  garden, but they also make decorative features in pots. Fill  a container, large or small, with some multi-purpose compost  and sow your seed thinly on the surface. In small containers,  try to sow about three or four seeds of butter, Romaine, and  iceberg, which form a heart, or just sprinkle cut-and-come-again  varieties more densely; you will not need to thin these out.  Sow a few pots each week for a continuous supply of leaves  throughout the summer, but remember that seeds will not germinate if the temperature is above 77°F (25°C). When  heart-forming varieties reach an inch or so in height, thin them  out to appropriate spacings, which will be given on the packet of seeds, or leave them a little closer.

CARING FOR LETTUCES

Keep your lettuces well watered at all times, especially in hot  weather when you will have to water daily, and move pots to  a slightly shaded spot in the height of the summer. Lack of water  or too much heat will cause the plants to “bolt” and produce long  flowering stems—the leaves then become bitter. However, do not  allow the compost to become waterlogged or the lettuces will  rot. Most multi-purpose composts contain enough nutrients  to sustain lettuces for a few weeks, but after that, give them  a boost with a nitrogen-rich fertilizer formulated for leafy crops.  The main pests to look out for are slugs and snails. Inspect plants every few days and pick off any culprits.

5 Secrets To Watering Your Garden

1. Try a Toothpick Watering Test

Just as you test a baking cake for doneness by sticking it with a wooden toothpick, you can do the same to see whether a garden bed needs watering. Stick the toothpick into the soil as far as it will go, then examine it. If it comes out clean, it's time to water. If any soil clings to the pick, you can forgo watering and test the soil again the next day

2. Bury Milk Jug Tricklers

Tomatoes aren't the only garden plants that like lots of water. Others with a big thirst include squashes, melons, and rosebushes. How to keep them quenched? Bury plastic milk-jug reservoirs alongside. Start by perforating a jug in several places. Dig a planting hole large enough to accommodate both plant and jug, and bury the jug so its spout is at soil level. After refilling the hole and tamping down the soil, fill the jug with water. Then top it to overflowing at least once a week, and your plant's roots will stay nice and moist.

3. Offer a Cup of Tea To Your Ferns

Also, when planting a fern, put a used tea bag in the bottom of the planting hole to act as a reservoir while the fern adapts to its new spot; the roots will draw up a bit more nitrogen. Another drink ferns like: a very weak solution of household ammonia and water (1 tablespoon ammonia to 1 litre water), which also feeds them a little nitrogen.

4. Add Borax to Sun-Sensitive Plants

To keep direct sunlight from burning the leaves of ferns, azaleas, yews, hollies, hostas, and herbs such as thyme and chives, add borax to your watering can — 1 tablespoon dissolved in 4 litres of water. Wet the leaves of the plants and soak the soil with the solution a couple of times in the spring (more than two treatments is overdoing it), and your plants will be better able to stand up to the sun's hot rays in summer.

5. Recycle Unsalted Cooking Water

Boiled foods release nutrients of one kind or another, so why pour their cooking water down the drain? Let the water cool, and then use it to give a garden plant or two a healthful drink. But take note: When you cook any of the following, do not add salt to the water because salt is harmful to plants.

• Eggs: Hardboiled eggs leave calcium in the cooking water, so use the liquid to water calcium-loving solanaceous garden plants: tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, peppers, chayote squash, tomatillos.

• Spinach: Plants need iron, too — and spinach water gives them not only iron but also a decent dose of potassium.

• Pasta: Starchy water will spur the release of plant nutrients in the soil, meaning starch may be better for plants than for you.

• Potatoes: Ditto.

Source of Article:  

A M Awan A M AWAN A M AWAN Visit My Site

A M Awan is Student of M Phil, He like gardening and like to read about Gardening, Agriculture, Entomology etc. Awan’s founder Chairman and CEO of Agriculture Information Bank, mission of Agriculture Information Bank is “To provide all information related to agriculture at one spot”

7 Insects You Actually Want In Your Garden

 

1. Lady Beetles

Benefits Of Having Them In Your Garden: They eat aphids and other softbodied pest eggs, scales and whitefly nymphs.
Bait Them With: Asters, marigolds, cosmos, cilantro, yarrow, dill, cabbages, sweet alyssum, flowering kale.

2. Ground Beetles

Benefits Of Having Them In Your Garden: They will destroy slugs, snails, cutworms, flys and rootmaggot eggs and larvae.
Bait Them With: Sweet or white clover and other ground covers; also use mulch to provide habitat.

3. Hoverfly

Benefits Of Having Them In Your Garden: Maggots eat softbodied pests such as aphids.
Bait Them With: Feverfew, lavender, sweet alyssum, candytuft, dill, fennel, asters

4. Lacewings

Benefits Of Having Them In Your Garden: Their larvae prey on pest eggs, aphids, scales and small caterpillars.
Bait Them With: Most pollen and nectar flowers, dill, daisies, fennel, angelica.

5. Aphid Midges

Benefits Of Having Them In Your Garden: Immature insects feed on many species of aphids.
Bait Them With: Nectar-rich flowers and herbs, including Queen Anne’s lace, dill, mustard

6. Parasitic Wasps

Benefits Of Having Them In Your Garden: They act as parasites by laying eggs in caterpillar and aphid larvae.
Bait Them With: Dill, mint, sage, thyme, lavender, coriander, Queen Anne’s lace, sunflowers.

7. Bumblebees, Honeybees, Mason Bees

Benefits Of Having Them In Your Garden: They pollinate food crops.
Bait Them With: Orchard fruits, mustards, cress, wildflowers, clover, blueberries, hollyhock.







Source of Article:

8 Medicinal Plants You Can Grow at Home

Grow a Healing Garden

Physic (or physick) was the name given to gardens of healing plants grown by physicians and monks in ancient times and by home gardeners well into the nineteenth century. Why not plant your own with some of these herbs? By investing a little sweat and the cost of seeds, you'll have the makings of infusions, teas, and balms. Just choose a sunny spot with rich soil for your garden. Perennial plants will grow from season to season, while annuals must be reseeded or transplanted.

1. Basil

Annual: Harvest the young leaves of what's called "the king of herbs" as needed.
Uses: Flatulence, lack of appetite, cuts, and scrapes

2. Chamomile

Annual: Use the flower heads for infusions and salves.
Uses: Indigestion, anxiety, skin inflammations.

3. Feverfew

Perennial: Use leaves and flowers for teas; chew leaves to ease headache pain.
Uses: Headaches (including migraines), arthritis, skin conditions.

4. Lemon Balm

Perennial: A relative of mint, lemon balm is a versatile medicinal herb.
Uses: Anxiety, insomnia, wounds, herpes, insect bites, flatulence, upset stomach.

5. Parsley

Biennial: Like its curly cousin P. crispum, this herb is loaded with nutrients.
Uses: Flatulence, bad breath.

6. Sage

Perennial: Sage's genus name, Salvia, means "to heal," reflecting its early use as a medicinal, not culinary, herb.
Uses: Mouth and throat inflammations.

7. St. John's Wort

Perennial: The glossy leaves and yellow flowers are this herb's active parts.
Uses: Mild to moderate depression. (Talk to your doctor first.)

8. Thyme

Perennial: The active principle in thyme, thymol, is a strong antiseptic.
Uses: Coughs, congestion, indigestion, gas.

Source of Article:
 

Pruning

Will Sibley | 09:30 UK time, Friday, 16 December 2011

No other part of fruit growing creates more uncertainty and confusion than pruning.

Terminology such as renewal pruning, replacement pruning, tip bearers, spur bearers, fruit buds and growth buds abound and cause confusion and trepidation. And that's before the question of winter or summer pruning has been raised. So, as it's freezing out there, let's deal with winter pruning hints.

Pruning an apple tree

Get yourself a good sharp pair of secateurs and a modern pruning saw with a very sharp blade. Both will last you all your life with care.

Stand back from the tree and take a good look around it first. Then, decide how you would like it to look when you have finished and what you are trying to achieve. Pruning in the garden is often as much about the shape of the tree and how it fits with the available space, as it is about getting maximum fruit crop.

Pyramid shape

Always ensure that you try to maximise the amount of sunlight that can enter the tree. Remember that in the summer there will be a full crop of leaves, which will block out much of the available light. The more sunlight that can reach developing buds, the stronger will be the fruit buds for the next year, and that means lots more big juicy fruits.

Unless you have trained trees, the best shape to aim for is an 'A' shaped tree, ensuring the maximum light penetration.

The best fruits occur nearest to the main stem or main branches, so it's important to prune out long straggling branches with little fruit bud on them and retain the shorter more productive wood.

Generally you can tell fruit buds from growth buds by the fact that the fruit buds are plump and white with a downy covering, whilst growth buds are brownish, longer and thinner.

Most trees will have some dead wood in them, especially if they have not been pruned for a few years. Cut out that dead wood, and very often, you will find that new shoots grow from around the pruning cut, and a replacement can be selected the following year if need be.

Never let a branch stay in a tree that is more than half the diameter of the main stem. Ideally, branches should be no more than one third the thickness of the main stem.

Do not be afraid to make more pruning cuts than you imagined that you would. In the middle of summer, you will wonder why you did not cut more branches out. If you are not very experienced at pruning, then try this: Prune the tree to how you think it should look. Go and make a cup of tea and then come back out and prune it again. After the second pruning it should be about right.

Prune trees every year. It will retain the shape, prevent the wrong thickness of wood in the tree and ensure that diseased or broken branches are removed.

Remember, pruning a tree will never kill it, and will almost always improve it greatly both in the quality of the fruit and the longevity of the tree. Always remove the pruning from the ground around the tree as they will often start to grow fungus upon them which can easily transfer to the tree or fruit.

Imagination is your strongest weapon in pruning. Imagine what the tree will look like after you finish; what it will look like in the spring covered in blossom; and importantly how great the apples will taste next Autumn.

Will Sibley is the Chairman of the horticulturally research focused East Malling Trust.

6 Tips for Starting a Windowsill Garden

1. Let the Sunshine In

Locate your brightest window and add a set of grow lights, if needed.

2. Make a Flat Plan

Whether you use flowerpots, a seed-starting box or repurposed grocery-store containers, make sure there are holes in the bottom for drainage and a liner underneath to catch excess water.

3. Get Dirty

Fill your chosen receptacle three quarters of the way with organic potting soil. Sprinkle a handful of seeds on top and cover with a light patting of earth.

4. Dampen, Don't Drown

Use a spray bottle instead of a watering can to hydrate the soil until germination.

5. Trim Regularly

To ensure a long yield and maximum bushiness, give greens a regular haircut even when you're not cooking with them. You can dry and store excess herbs for later use.

6. Care for the Air

To prevent plants from drying out, keep air flowing with an oscillating fan and use a humidifier to counteract winter's drying effect.

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