One of the first things to master when growing plants is watering correctly. All plants, whether decorative or being grown for food need to have sufficient water to grow.
Both over watering and under watering can be detrimental to you plants so it is important to strike the right balance.
If you over water your plants the root system will develop near the soil surface and therefore the plants will suffer and produce poor quality results. You should encourage your plants to develop deep roots and ensure they have plenty of moisture to feed on.
The watering has to be judged by the weather situation, in hot dry weather water daily, early or early evening. If it has rained heavily or constantly for a few days you won`t need to water so often.
Check the soil at a depth of a couple of inches (50mm) to see if it is moist or not. Deep watering should be carried out at least once per week, more in hot, dry weather.
One of the best ways of keeping your plants moist is to mulch. Mulching is very beneficial to the soil and to the plants. It greatly reduces water evaporation, it adds nutrients to the soil and it also helps to counter soil erosion. Well developed mulch contains a lot of organic material and you can make it easily in your garden.
When putting mulch onto your beds ensure you do not put the mulch touching the plant stems. Doing this can develop problems with plant rot and disease. So leave a space of about two niches (50mm) between your mulch and plant stem. The layer of mulch should be about 3 inches (75mm), but check the depth from time to time as it can thin out due to various factors.
As an Organic Gardener you will not want to use Inorganic Feeds, so we won`t go into the disadvantages of these against organic fertilisers. Sufficient to say organic fertilisers are far superior and do not kill worms and other microcosms in the soil.
It is a far better to use organic fertilisers and compost to feed your plants and to improve the quality of your soil. This will provide the nutrients and trace elements your plants can use for an extended period. By feeding your soil (with compost and organic matter such as mulch) these provide the major nutrients as well as trace elements in a form that your plants can use over an extended period. By feeding your soil with compost and organic matter you will provide your plants with food and create a much better growing medium.
Overuse of fertilisers does not benefit the plants, it can lead to scraggily and poor growth. Just make sure you have a well balanced soil created by digging in about one inch (25mm) of compost mixed well with the soils. It will be enough to feed your vegetables and flowers and produce excellent crops.
If you use compost as a mulch, the mulch will provide further feed if necessary, the unused nutrients will improve the condition of your soil. That is a win/win situation. It is advisable to add new compost each time you clear a bed as this will also improve the soil, ready for your next crop.
Further information and tips about starting a new organic gardening can be obtained from our website http://www.eco-organic-gardening.co.uk/
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Reg
