Tag: Organic Garden

Market Organic Gardening: Going Commercial

Market organic gardening is producing vegetables, fruits, flowers and other ornamental plants the organic way for commercial gain. It means taking care of a slightly bigger garden since you will now be targeting local markets unlike the ones you had before which caters to only the needs of your family. With a commercial goal in mind, you will have to consider the viability of your produce in your local market.

Its a good thing that nowadays, organically grown produce are preferred and are actually sought after by the ordinary shoppers. This is among the reasons why advertisers are always focusing on the organic nature of their products. They often advertise that their products are 100% organic. Some, however, are only saying these things to sell their products.

Organic gardening means absolutely not using any kind of chemical pesticides, fertilizers, plant antibiotics, or even artificial growth promoters from the time the plants were being cultivated up to the time they are being harvested. Theres no compromises in organic gardening, its either you use chemical stuff or you dont.

With this in mind, shoppers are focusing their organic needs towards community based organic garden growers. They usually will go to small scale producers instead of going to supermarkets where they rely only on what the packaging tells them. In community based organic growers, you can actually see the freshness of the produce, the garden themselves, and how the growers care for their gardens.

As a garden grower, your aim is to make some profit from your organic garden. Although, your initial focus is your immediate community, it is not bad to set a goal that you eventually ship your products to a wider market. But were getting a little bit ahead of ourselves.

In order to get a substantial profit to elicit motivation, you need to develop a focused marketing strategy. This means, having a marketing strategy in place even before you plant your crops. You already have a target market in mind and you already have a plan to reach that target. In this way, you can eliminate wastage of produce by not planting unnecessarily crops or plants that will not sell well in the market.

There are a number of ways to dispose of your produce. You can setup a small stall on your own yard every weekend, for example. Your neighbor can easily pass the word that there are fresh organic vegetables or fruits two or three blocks away.

You can also use the so called tail-gate marketing approach where you park your van along the roadside and sell your produce directly to passersby. This is a fast and cheap way to sell your produce but it is not the most effective. Youre putting too much hope that people will stop and buy your produce.

But if you really want to market your organic produce, you can go to a farmers market and supply your produce there. The good thing about a farmers market is that they are a little lenient when it comes to consistency of quality. They pay you what your produce is worth.

Another advantage of a farmers market is establishing a network of contacts of both customers and dealers or suppliers. It will serve as your gateway to commercial viability.

Market organic gardening focuses on the commercial aspects of gardening. It has added responsibilities since you now have to answer to your customers but it should always carry one thing, the love you have for gardening.

Getting Started on Organic Gardening

More and more people are getting into organic gardening because it is more environment-friendly, more healthy, a wonderful pastime and can help them save money by having all the crops they need in the backyard. If you are one of those people who are planning to have their own organic garden, here are some helpful tips for you:

1. Decide the crops that you want. Since you are into organic gardening, it is best to if you start with seeds first. Today, there are so many available seeds in most groceries and markets. But, you cannot just grab a pack of seeds without considering if it will grow in your environment. For starters, it is best to stick with vegetables and beans to try what is suited for your site condition. Once you have determined which are the plants suited for the condition of your site, then you can purchase other seeds that you want to grow.

2. Prepare the proper containers. In organic gardening, there is no need for expensive and special containers. As long as these are tapered, then it would do your plant good. When you decide to go into organic gardening, check out your kitchen first. If you can find old yogurt containers, empty juice and milk cartons, tubes of potato chips, cans of sauces and juices, and slightly damaged pails or dipper, you can clean then up and start filling them with clay and other organic matter to prepare for seed planting.

If you dont have any of the mentioned containers, you can always buy in the nearest supermarket nut make sure that these have tapered sides so the crop can easily slip out. Aside from containers that are at least 3 inches deep, other container options for you include flats or shallow trays but these are not advisable if you plan to plant two or more kinds of plants because the roots may be tangled and would lead to the death of the crop.

Make sure that the containers are very well cleaned using lukewarm water dashed with chlorine bleach to ensure that the germs are killed inside. After washing, leave it on the open air to let it dry. (TIP: If you can let it dry directly under the sun, it will be best because all the residues will be removed.)

3. Be sure to have ready packets of planting mix. Planting mixes help seeds to sprout very well that is why you should always have extra packets for your organic gardening. It is best if you use planting mixes that are sterile because they are safe for your plants and for you as well.

4. Label each container properly. Since seeds look alike when they sprout, it is best if all the containers are labeled properly. Aside from making it easy for you to identify which is which, labeling is also crucial to avoid planting the same seed over again.

5. Let there always be light. If you are into organic gardening, make sure that there is plenty of air and light available. If natural sunlight is not available in your area, try to create a makeshift light source such as a fluorescent light bulb or tube that can be brought in most grocery and hardware stores. Make sure that you place them properly so the sprouts can get all the light they need to grow healthy.

Fundamental Organic Gardening Tips

And the race is on. On the right corner is an anything and everything goes garden which uses the best chemical fertilizers and pesticides the market today has to offer. While on the left corner is an organic garden that uses only the cycles of nature to cultivate the soil and grow the plants. If youre on the left corners side what will you do? Like a boxers second you should have a set of instructions for your fighter, but in this case a set of organic gardening tips will definitely come in handy.

Organic gardening involves growing healthy plants and having high quality produce without the use of chemicals whatsoever. There are a number of ways or techniques that you could use when going organic. The following are some general tips or guidelines that would help you begin and maintain an organic garden. Remember that you dont need a big area of land to go organic.

The first tip for you is to develop a great organic soil. And the first way to do that is to give your soil some compost material. Compost one of the major components of an organic soil. Without it, your soil will not contain enough minerals for your plants to grow healthy.

Aside from composts, you can add other organic materials into the soil to make it more suitable for your plants. If composts are not readily available, organic growers usually add different kinds of animal manures into the soil. This will act as your organic fertilizers to add to the useful soil nutrients that your plants will need.

The second tip would be to plant the right kinds of plants for the right kinds of soil. Also, take into consideration how much sunshine your garden receives and even the temperature in your area when choosing the plants you will have in your organic garden. It would be to your advantage to choose well-adapted plants in your organic garden.

Also, by choosing your plants wisely you would be able to plan how big, the layout, and the number the different kinds of plants you will have in your garden. We know for a fact that each vegetable, for example, requires different growing space than others.

Another useful tip would be positioning your garden so that it will fall under a shade. Or you can create a makeshift canopy to shade your garden. Shaded gardens are low maintenance, thats the main advantage. Under the shade, your garden will grow fewer weeds and definitely will not require more water than when it is constantly under the sun. Were not saying that a good garden is only a shaded one. Were merely citing the advantages and the benefits of growing your organic garden under shades.

For pest control, the best tip we could give you is to go down and get dirty. The organic way of pest management involves identifying which ones are pests and picking them off by hand. Yes, you read it right. You need to find the insects and pick them off your plants. However, if you dont feel like it, you can apply a number of organic solutions that you can easily make from common household ingredients. You can also introduce their natural predators to your garden to help maintain the pests into a minimum.

The key for both pest management and weed control is to act quickly. Once you have noticed that there are weeds growing or your plants are being damaged by insects, you should start pulling off the weeds or picking off the insects.

There you go. A few general organic gardening tips to get you started. With the right attitude, the right approach, and armed with the right techniques, you will be able to grow a healthy organic garden and you will be able to harvest all its benefits in the end.

The Benefits of Organic Gardening

More and more people are getting into natural means of growing crops because of the benefits that organic gardening brings. Experts agree that the most basic premise that peoplewho are planning to do organic gardeningneed to understand about the process of how it replenishes the use of natural resources. Meaning, when one does organic gardening, he or she should understand how important it is to use natural components such as composting plants and other fruits peels to feed the soil where the crop will be planted.

How can organic gardening improve lives

People cannot always be outdoors to feel and see the beauty of nature. Being inside the comforts of home doesnt mean that people can no longer enjoy the feel of nature for they can always indulge and reap the benefits of organic gardening. Contrary to common perception that crops from organic gardens are not good, there are so many benefits of organic gardening. Although it can be a tedious task to start with, all you need to do is to set your mind into something enjoyable and healthy, then, you can start reaping the benefits of organic gardening.

The following are just some of the benefits of organic gardening:

1. It leads you back to basics. Nature always provides the feeling of health and calmness. The trees, the plants, the flowers, and other elements of nature exude the air of serenity and relaxation. But, due to the dawning of modern age, most people neglect how can nature give ultimate satisfaction and tranquility. But, if you want to back to basics, you can always create your own organic garden in the comforts of your own space.

2. Healthier supply of food. Creating an organic garden might mean that you would have to go down and dirty just to grow fruits and vegetables. Putting aside the energy spent on these tasks, you can realize that at the end of the season, you can harvest fresh produce that most people cannot find in leading stores. Not pondering much on the effort you will exert in planting seedlings would also make you realize you are investing on something that could provide you enough supply of fresh, healthy and sumptuous supply of food.

3. An amazing alternative to save money. One of the great benefits of organic gardening is that it can be a great alternative for you to save money. Aside from being an amazing alternative for a feel of great outdoors, organic gardening can also help you save by getting the best crops for free and having a healthy environment.

4. It serves as a great hobby or past time. For older people, one of the amazing benefits of organic gardening is that it can buy some time off to people who want lesser stress in life. Since it has something to do with nature, organic gardening can indeed be a leisure activity not just for the elder but for the younger ones as well.

But, before going into the hobby of organic gardening, it is a must for you to know where to begin and how to begin. Organic gardening should start from a detailed planning. The first thing to consider is to determine the appropriate location for the type of garden you would want to have. If you plan to have a garden with ornamental plants, then it should be located in an area where the plants can be safe from harmful elements. Likewise, if you plan to have a vegetable garden, make sure that the location you have chosen would provide the crops enough exposure to the sun and sufficient water supply.

The Organic Vegetable Gardening Way

Planning ahead, making the right choices, dedication, and constant care are basic traits needed for organic vegetable gardening. There are other elements involve, of course, such as garden locations, plant types, the amount of sunlight, and the richness of the soil to achieve a bountiful harvest from your organic vegetable garden.

Just like what they say in the movies, its all about location, location and location. The same goes with vegetable gardening. When choosing a place to plant your vegetables it would be advantageous to your crops to be planted in well-drained soil and if possible near a good water source. You may also want to invest on a perimeter fence for your garden. You never know, some animals might be prowling about or some mischievous kids. Both can easily decimate a garden that youve been laboring for months.

After choosing a location, you should also by now have a general idea on how to plant your crops. How many rows of vegetables on which plot and the series of crops to be planted are often involve when we talk about designs of your vegetable garden.

Composting is an important aspect of any organic garden. This is a good reason as any to create your own compost pile. Ideally a compost pile should occupy an area of about 10 square feet. Dont allow the compost to pile up that high. It would be to your convenience to maintain the pile between 3 to 5 feet high. Make sure that you leave the top flat with a small catch basin on the middle for adding water or rain into the compost pile.

To add the compost into the soil, you can either work it into the soil or use it as a mulch and spread it on the surface. The first method would provide sustenance to your vegetables plus a good, mature compost will lessen weed problems. As a mulch, the nutrients will eventually be integrated into the soil providing nutrients along the way.

In any gardens, especially in organic ones, disease control and pest management are always issues. At times, the problems might be too much that you see yourself inching towards the chemical insecticide or weed killer in your shed. You better throw that can of chemical stuff away, youre not supposed to have that in the first place if youre going organic. There are natural and safe ways for you to solve weed and pest problems so relax.

To avoid diseases it would be great to check the seeds from the start. Get vegetables from resistant variety strains or seeds from disease-free plants. While other organic farmers resort to sprays or solutions which are 100% of natural and friendly to the environment other would fight fire with fire or in this case, insects with insects. Organic growers usually practice introducing natural predators into their gardens to help control pests.

If you still find these ineffective, try using the low tech but very effective method: use your hands. You can pick off the pests in your vegetable garden. You only have a problem if you have a big garden.

Organic vegetable gardening brings a lot of satisfaction. The fresh air, the sunshine, and the experience alone are really worthwhile. And this does not include the fresh vegetables you can get from your harvest.