Organic Gardening is the Healthiest and Most Ethical Way to Feed Yourself and Your Family!
In The Easy Guide to Organic Gardening I expose the secrets and strange history of agricultural practices including ...
- Why bladderwrack and kelp (two types of seaweed) make great fertilizers
- How to make indoor seedlings hardier so they can successfully be transplanted outdoors
- How to build a vermicomposting grill which allows worm droppings to enrich your soil
- The advantage that smaller seeds have when it comes to germination
- The perfect way to break down wood so that natural material can rot
- What the best sources of natural non-toxic nitrogen are for your garden
- How to test the temperature of the soil using a thermometer
- How to safely use weeds to fertilize your soil without having them seed the area you are fertilizing
- How to identify compost that may actually be BAD for your garden produce
- The things to watch out for if you collect seaweed from the beach or you could accidentally contaminate your organic garden
- How to identify how far apart certain plants should be planted so that they can thrive
- An explanation of how and when nitrogen fertilizers first began to permeate our soils and exhaust it of much needed nutrients and minerals
- How to use rocks to help your plant absorb the proper amounts of water and nutrients from the soil
- How to make sure that your garden has an abundant supply of water
- How to determine whether or not you have positioned a plant in the ground so that it is level
- How to tap the soil flat so that you keep the plant secure yet not smothered too tightly by dirt
- Which "cool weather" crops you can plant early in the spring
- A breakdown of what plants decompose the fastest should you need "humus in a hurry!"
- A sub chapter on what things can be added to a compost heap to help it break down as quickly as possible
- How to make use of the plan hardiness chart for the USA or the UK to know what you can plant in your area
- Why a larger seed is more likely to grow a plant that can thrive outdoors than a small one
- A discussion of how much you need to water the plants so cuttings or seedlings can be well established
- How to mix mature compost with sand and this secret medium to make sure indoor seeds germinate properly
- Why spring onions, leeks and onions should be an indispensible addition to your garden
- How to successfully build a trench for planting your seeds
- How to add rich natural sources of carbon to your compost to make it as nutritious as possible for your garden
- How to make compost tea out animal manure to fertilize your plants with
- How to plant very small seeds without losing them in your gloves, clothing and hair
- Why some of the substances that that commercial agriculture pours on our earth is so toxic that it should not be allowed to come within miles of our dinner tables
- How to make sure that you can grow pest-proof tomatoes
- How to get a "head start" with seeds in the Spring by germinating them inside first
- How to use a glass of water to correctly identify your soil types
- The practices of botanist Sir Alfred Howard who is often described as the "father of organic gardening."
- Why radishes are almost idiot-proof to grow and a good organic "beginner vegetable"
- How to read the back of a seed packet and really decipher what the charts have to say about what you are about to plant.
- Why having too many seeds is better than not having enough
- How to use recycled water to nourish your organic garden
- Access to a chart called the seed packet jargon buster that can help demystify what you can plant and what you can't plant
- How to make sure that seedlings that you are going to plant are tough enough to make it from indoors to outdoors
- How to loosen up soil beds without disturbing the natural structure of the plant bed itself
- How in the sixties activist Rachel Carson managed to get DDT out of our lives after she demonstrated that it kills birds!
- How to understand how to work with the inevitable inconsistencies that come with working with Mother Nature once you make the decision that you cannot control her (part of being a true organic gardener)
- How to test your soil for pH balance and what the perfect acidic/alkaline balance of the earth must be to go organic
- Why keeping some weeds in your garden is an ethical way of supporting wild life in your garden as well
- How to plant saplings in the garden so that they can thrive instead of become unattractive weaklings
- How to mix soils to make a nutritious supportive loam for your garden
- How to practice vermicomposting which is the fine ancient art of adding worms and worm droppings to your garden
- How farmers were able to grow healthy fruits and vegetables before the advent of nitrogen and chemical fertilizers
- How to make sure that you are using uncontaminated water to grow your organic vegetables and fruits (or else it is not really organic)
- How to make your own humus to enrich your soil
- Why nitrogen based fertilizers are expensive to us in more ways than one
- What crops need "hot" soil to do well organically
- How to deploy bird droppings into your humus to encourage nitrogen production
- A discussion of the absolutely ideal type of weather for transplanting seedlings
- How to use weeds as a way of helping you pull nutrients to the surface from deep down in the soil
- How to work your garden so that you don't have to do any garden maintenance and how you can even grow highly nutritious edible weeds
- All about the movement attached to Organic Gardening Magazine that helped many enthusiasts switch from pesticides back to healthier ways of growing gardens
- How to create raised garden beds so you can double your productivity
- A discussion of the important role that mulch can play in your seeded area
- The name of a special plant that has leaves that can specifically be used to help fertilize tomatoes
- The secret of using iron supplements to enrich the soil and when it is possible to use too much
- How to prevent the roots of plants from drying out when you transplant them
- How to use a standard bit of graph paper to plot out what your garden should look like
- How to introduce conditioning materials like gypsum to the soil
- Why reducing our dependence on nitrogen and chemical based fertilizers is absolutely crucial to mankind's long term survival on this planet
- A chapter on how to use organic materials that can rot to form humus that you then can use as an natural organic fertilizer for your garden
- How to profile your soil and its needs by determining whether or not it is dense, tightly packed, dry, cracked, sandy, moist or binding
- How to handle a plant's "root ball" so that you do not damage it
- Why you should take care to move your compost heap from place to place every year
- How to make sure that your compost has a nice supply of air so that it does not become muddy
- A complete list of all of the things you might THINK belong in compost but should never, ever be part of it such as cat litter or cigarette butts!
- How to make row covers out of things like plastic milk containers if the weather gets too cold and threatens your seedlings
- How to make your own mineralized fertilizer out of broken down fish bits
- How to quicken changes in soil composition that normally could not happen overnight without resorting to dangerous chemicals
- The definite disadvantage of using decomposing hay for fertilizer
- How to prevent moist soil from becoming clay or mud
- Where to find organic seaweed fertilizer
- Why you should plant this vegetable which just keeps giving and giving
- How to assess whether or not a seedlings bought from a garden center or shop are healthy enough to make it
- How to assess your nutritional needs, weather and soil to figure out what you are going to grow
- All about how to be a proper "double digger" to make sure your soil has great structure
- How organic produce actually ended up being more of specialty item that costs more to produce when it should be the other way around ...
- How to recognize weather and soil conditions so that you can identify those that are good for growing a particular fruit or vegetable
