Beginners Guide to Organic Gardening & Composting

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Copyright © 2013

Written By: Doris Walker

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Composting

Worms

Lasagna Gardening

Companion Plants

Natural Control of Weeds

Conclusion

Resources

We all learned in high school biology that "organic" refers to carbon compounds, or any material that is or was alive. The term "organic gardening" is used to mean cultivating plants without toxins meant to kill insects, weeds, and fungus, and without synthetic fertilizers. The advantage of organic gardening in your vegetable patch is obvious.

No one needs organophosphates or any other toxins on his or her veggies. We also don't need toxins getting into the soil, the water table, and, eventually, our tap water or the ocean. How can you have a good harvest without using toxic chemicals?

Let me climb down off my soapbox for a moment and tell you.

Composting

Composting is nature's way of recycling. It was discovered by American scientist George Washington Carver after the U.S. Civil War. The South was devastated economically from the war and the soil was worn out from many generations of growing cotton. Commercial fertilizer preparations were too expensive, but without enriching the soil the farmers would stay poor. The story goes that the Tuskegee professor was out walking and pondering the problem when he noticed a plant flourishing on a heap of garbage. The rotting garbage must be providing sustenance for the plant, and making cheap fertilizer would be possible with free materials.

There are two basic types of ingredients that go into making compost. The browns are high in carbon and the greens are higher in nitrogen, often having the ideal ratio. The ideal ratio of carbon to nitrogen should be about 25-30 parts carbon to 1 part nitrogen. Things like vegetable waste from the kitchen are considered green and have the right ratio. Old flowers and dead cultivars from the garden have a good ratio, but beware of adding diseased plants to the mix. Compost has to get really hot to kill the germs that caused the disease. Manure, seaweed, and alfalfa are greens that are particularly high in nitrogen and should be mixed with brown components.

Brown components come from trees and tree-like materials. Think of tree leaves, fruit, pine needles, paper, peanut shells, and corn husks. Wood ashes, although among the browns, have a good ratio of carbon to nitrogen because so much of the carbon has been released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. Some people advise against sawdust because of its high carbon content, but in areas with clay-type soil it helps to amend, or break up, the soil, and high nitrogen components can easily be added.

If all this sounds complicated, remember that mother nature is not a chemist, and yet she manages to grow some wonderful things. Toss in the carrot gratings, coffee grounds, banana peels, dead annuals, and newspapers and you should be fine. And if you happen to see an ad for free horse manure, go for it.

Things that should not be added to compost in include dog and human waste (believe it or not it's been tried) because of the danger of causing disease, and other animal waste products such as fat, which can make a stink and attract animals. Egg shells are one exception, and good if you are going to grow tomatoes. Slick Sunday supplements and colored paper should not be added because the dyes are toxic. Naturally, synthetics such as plastics have no place in compost.

Compost does not strictly need a container, but some people prefer one for its esthetic value or ease of use. Commercially made composters are designed to be easily turned, somewhat like a hand-operated cement mixer. You can also build a container 3 feet by 3 feet by 3 feet, a good size for one unit of compost. A trash barrel will work too, or you can have your compost pile on the ground away from any wood fences because they would rot in the presence of rotting vegetable matter, which, of course, is what compost is.

Compost is made when microorganisms and creatures in the soil break down vegetable material. That is what happens in forests and jungles where dead vegetable material is allowed to rot. The main microorganisms are friendly bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes.

The most important microbes are the aerobic bacteria, which, as the name implies, need oxygen to live. Keeping aerobic bacteria alive makes for good compost, because when they die the anaerobes take over, changing your compost to make it less nutritious for your plants, and producing a foul odor. To aerate your compost, use a pitchfork or rake to fluff it up, or turn the pile if it is in a commercial composter. A ventilator stack can also be used. It can be made from a pipe or chicken wire cylinder stuck into the pile to admit air.

Compost should be kept moist but not soggy, because sogginess can make a stink, and you do not want nutrients leaking out of your compost. If you live in an area with lots of rain you will need a covering for your container. Your compost should be about as wet as a damp sponge.

During the first phase of composting, your compost will settle for about a week. This is when the actinomycetes perform the basic breakdown, giving the compost its rich, earthy scent. Then the temperature should rise. Aerobic bacteria break down organic matter by slow oxydation. Fire is fast oxydation, and, like fire, decomposition produces heat. If your compost does not heat up, composting is going slowly, and adding a nitrogen-rich substance such as manure can speed it up. Different kinds of aerobic bacteria do their work at different times, depending upon the temperature of the compost. Compost temperatures should range between 55 and 160 degrees Fahrenheit. At 160 many disease-producing microbes and weed seeds are killed, although keeping them out in the first place is a good idea. Aeration can increase temperature by allowing the aerobic bacteria more oxygen to do their job. After several weeks or months your compost will leave the thermophilic stage and begin a cooler phase when decomposition slows and fungi start to grow. During the final and curing stage the fungi will further break down what the bacteria have left behind.

Worms

Worms are another of nature's ways of recycling. Unlike microorganisms, worms break down material at the macro level, tearing it to bits and digesting it, then excreting worm casts and worm tea, wonderful natural fertilizers. You can buy worms from shops that sell them for bait and save their lives. Use a plastic bin for their home, or if you use wood be sure that it has not been treated with cyanide. Your bin should be opaque to light because worms need to live in the dark. First add about a half inch to an inch of shredded newspaper, black and white only, to the bottom of your bin. Computer paper will do also. Sometimes companies have large bags of shredded paper that they are happy to give away rather than having to pay to have it hauled away. Worms can eat newspaper, but garbage is more nutritious. As in the case of composting, use only vegetable waste. Don't use grass cuttings or manure because they are apt to become too hot for your worms. Some people say that worms do not eat onions, while some worm raisers have found just the opposite. Don't overdo it with citrus fruit, although a few orange peels are okay. Start by feeding every few days, and watch to see how long it takes your worms to turn their food into castings. Lift a corner of the bedding and place garbage under it. Each time you feed your worms, place garbage into a different corner, to avoid running into old garbage. Putting all the garbage into one place will enable your worms to find it easily. Bedding should be kept moist, but water it gently to avoid drowning your worms. Bins can be kept outdoors in milder climates, but if the temperature goes below 50 degrees Fahrenheit or above 90, consider moving your worms to the basement or garage.

When all your bedding has turned to dark brown castings, it is time to gather it for your garden. Spread a plastic tarp onto the ground in a sunny location and pour the contents of your bin onto it. Divide the big pile into smaller piles and leave them for about half an hour. Your worms will do what worms always do, crawling away from the sunlight to the bottoms of the piles. Skim off the tops of the piles and put them into a container, ready for your garden. Leave the piles for another half hour, return, and harvest more castings. Place more shredded paper into your bin and put your worms back into their home. If you have too many worms for your bin, put them into your garden, where they will continue making castings and will aerate your soil.

To make worm tea, place castings into a container and fill with water. Wait until the castings settle to the bottom and what is left will be worm tea. You can use a strainer or just pour it off carefully. The worm tea can be poured over your garden for a nice even distribution. Some commercial worm homes are available with spigots for collecting worm tea, but it's not really that much trouble to make.

Lasagna Gardening

Lasagna Gardening has nothing to do with growing pasta, but it is a great way to build up the soil instead of wearing it out. The method was developed in Australia, where farming a desert makes it important to conserve water. An American who worked on an Australian farm brought the method back to his native California, where it has proven equally effective. Start by collecting newspapers, which are good for holding in water. Save only the black and white newsprint, as above. You will also need baled, sliced alfalfa hay to add nitrogen to the soil and sliced, baled straw to hold moisture around your plant roots. You can your hay and straw at a feed store. And, of course, you will need your compost.

Some people like to construct four short vertical wooden retaining walls around their gardens to hold in the new soil, although that is optional. Spread a thick layer about 2 to 4 inches thick over your soil. Next separate your alfalfa slices and place them over the newspaper until the newspaper is entirely covered. Do the same with the hay slices, covering the alfalfa completely. Now spread your compost over the hay, again covering completely. Add some worm castings and worm tea, and you are ready to plant. Plant your seeds or seedlings in the compost layer and keep the soil slightly moist.

Companion Plants

Companion Plants have been grown for centuries, and we are learning more about this important tool all the time. American Indians had a saying that squash, corn, and beans were like three sisters who needed each other to live. Corn stalks would provide a structure for bean vines to cling to, and when the bean vines matured they would help to hold up the corn stalks. The bean roots would support nitrogen-fixing bacteria, making the soil rich, and squash's large leaves would shade the earth, keeping away weeds and holding in moisture. Hundreds of years later many companion plants have been found to enhance one another's growth and production.

Insects find your veggies by their sense of smell, so planting various plants together can serve to confuse them. Companion plants can both repel harmful insects and attract good ones, as well as helping your other cultivars to flourish. Marigolds are deservedly popular because they are easy and fast to grow and add a touch of bright color to your garden. They give off a scent from a substance called pyrethrum that drives away several kinds of insects, including Mexican bean beetles, squash bugs, thrips, tomato hornworms, and whiteflies. Many nurseries sell marigolds that have been descented, so check and make sure you get the kind with the peculiar odor. Mexican marigolds are best for the purpose, and many varieties, especially French marigolds, secrete from their roots a substance that gets rid of root-damaging nematodes. Many gardeners plant marigolds as borders around their vegetable gardens and among their tomato plants. (Some have even found that planting the larger varieties, such as African marigolds, near doors can help keep mosquitos away). They are not recommended near beans, since the beans can absorb the bitter flavor.

Two types of daisies, the Dalmation chrysanthemum and the Persian chrysanthemum,  are also good for keeping insects away, containing a substance called pyrethrum, which is used to make insecticides. Like marigolds, chrysantheums are easy to grow and provide bright colors for your garden. They are also good in arrangements as cut flowers. They are good for repelling beetles and, like, marigolds, can help keep the gardener from being eaten by mosquitoes. A related plant, Chrysanthemum balsamita, an herb used for flavoring and as a salad green, is also good for its pyrethrum, as is Chrysanthemum marshalli. Dried chrysanthemum can be sprinkled between plants for added bug control (or used on dog or cat beds as a flea and tick deterrent).

Ladybugs and lacewings are good for your garden because they eat aphids. Fennel and dill weed attract lady bugs and lacewings, as well as serving as herbs in human food. Cilantro is another plant that attracts ladybugs and is god in salads and soup. A combination of basil and asparagus is also used for attracting ladybugs.

Speaking of basil, plant it near your tomato plants to improve their flavor. Planting tomato plants near rose bushes to prevent the fungus that produces black spot. Next to asparagus, tomato repels asparagus beetles.

Natural Control of Weeds

Natural Control of Weeds is possible when you keep seeds out of your compost. If you use grass cuttings or weeds, be sure that they have no seeds on them. In general weeds and grasses tend to bloom in the fall, so beware.

Another way to prevent weeds from sprouting is to spread mulch all around your vegetable plants. Mulch prevents weeds from sprouting by blocking out sunlight. Spread a layer about 2 to 3 inches thick to be sure to block out all the light. Give your plants some space arournd your mulch layer.

Any organic mulch will eventually turn into compost and need to be replenished, but some decompose faster than others. If you use compost or tree leaves as mulch, you will be faced with having to replace it probably every season, but it is good for attracting earthworms. Sawdust, grass clippings, and straw are also good for attracting earthworms.  Tree bark, wood chips and pine needles break down more slowly, but pine needles can add acid to the soil, so do not use them around plants that thrive in a high pH. (Pine needles can also harbor fleas, so pet owners beware). Cocoa nut hull mulch can be purchased at nurseries and many gardeners like its look of dark brown soil.

Conclusion

In Conclusion, we have barely scratched the surface of organic gardening, and much more information is available on the internet and in bookstores and libraries. If organic gardening sounds like a lot of work, start with a small patch and plant something easy like cantaloupe, watermelon, or pumpkin. Organic gardening should be fun rather than a chore, so set aside some time when you are well-rested and there are no stressors around to begin. Enlisting the whole family can provide companionship and exercise for everyone as well as tasty, wholesome veggies. Have a good time.

Resources

- Sign up for free Kindle books delivered to your email @ JustKindleBooks.com

- Visit OrganicGardeningSecrets.org to learn about Doris’s other gardening and “Eco” friendly solutions.

- Learn all about Aquaponics by watching this video

Table of Contents

Copyright

OTHER BOOKS FROM THIS AUTHOR

Composting

Worms

Lasagna Gardening

Companion Plants

Natural Control of Weeds

Conclusion

Resources