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Organic Gardening
The term 'organic gardening' generally refers to the avoidance of chemicals, pollutants, and synthetics in the cultivation of plants. Specifically, it may describe either informal commitments by the individual or government certified and regulated practices by the grower. Contributors typically want to know about the different types of organic gardening, the many environments in which it is practiced, and the most likely costs and benefits.
821 Questions
What do factory farming and organic farming have in common?
[1] In theory and in practice, the two tend to be direct opposites of each other. [2] But the two actually do hold in common an attempt to control the endproduct. [3] But the similarity stops there. For factory farming seeks to make the most profit at the lowest cost, and in the fastest time. And it does so by confining its animals and subjecting them to antibiotics, growth regulators, and hormones. [4] In contrast, organic farming seeks to produce the healthiest product in the healthiest of environments. [5] So factory farming's choke collar is finances, and organic's is health.
Why is organic matter important for plant growth?
Inclusion of air- and water-rich nutrients is a reason why organic matter is important for plant growth. Plants need air, heat, light, moisture, and nutrients in order to grow. Organic matter, such as found in compost or fertilizers of Mother Nature's humus, provides the structure and texture which plant roots need for intaking soluble nutrients and wasting out exudates.
How do you create an odorless compost?
After every layer of food, waste, or what have you, add a nice, equal layer of fresh sawdust. Fine wood chips will also work, but sawdust is best. The decomposition of the waste mixed in with the cut wood neutralizes the smell quite well. this technique is also used in many permanent outhouses.
What are organic controls for hornworms on tomato plants?
Bacillus thuringiensis is the main organic control for hornworms [Manduca sexta and M. quinquemaculata] on tomato plants. It's effective. But it's important to make sure that it indeed controls the greatest numbers of hornworms.
Specifically, hornworms are feisty defoliators. They know when they're most vulnerable, during the day and on leaf tops. So it's important to check the plant for the defoliating caterpillars quite late in the day. During daylight hours, they often chew in less visible places. Towards darkness, they're more likely to be found where they can be seen more easily, such as on leaf tips.
How do you Make Organic Fertilizer at Home?
How to Compost Waste?
Organic waste composting is necessary and inevitable when households make your own fertilizer at home. Composting waste is also an efficient and economic way in livestock waste management. There are 2 kinds of composting methods available in homemade organic fertilizer process.
1. General Composting
Temperature of general compost is less than 50℃, having a longer composting time, usually 3-5 months. There are 3 piling types: flat type, semi-pit type, and pit type
Flat Type: suitable for areas with high temperature, much rainfall, high humidity, and high groudwater level. Choosing a dry, open land close to water source & convenient to transport. The width of stack is 2m, height being 1.5-2m, length managing by raw materials quantity. Ramming down the soil before stacking, and covering each layer of materials with a layer of grasses or turfs to absorb oozed juice. The thickness of each layer is 15-24cm. Adding right amount of water, lime, sludge, night soil etc. between each layer to decrease evaporation and ammonia volatilization. Driving self-propelled compost turner (one of the most important composting machine) to turn the stack after one month's stacking, and so forth, until eventually materials are decomposed. Adding suitable amount of water in accordance with the wetness or dryness of soil. The composting rate varies by season, usually 2 months in summer, 3-4 months in winter.
Semi-pit Type: usually used in early spring and winter. Choosing a sunny and lee site to dig a pit with 2-3 feet depth, 5-6 feet width, and 8-12 feet length. On the bottom and wall of the pit, there should be air passages built in the form of a cross. The top of the compost should be sealed properly with earth after adding 1000 catties dry straws. Temperature will rise after one week's composting. Using groove type compost turner to turn the fermentation heap evenly after temperature decrease for 5-7 days, then keep stacking until eventually raw materials are decomposed.
Pit Type: 2m depth. It is also called: Underground Type. Stack method is similar to semi-pit type. During the decomposing process, double helix compost turner is applied to turn the material for a better contact with the air.
2. Thermophilic Composting
Thermophilic composting is a principal method to innocuously treat organic materials, especially human wastes. Harmful substances, such as germ, eggs, grass seeds etc. in straws and excretion, will be destroyed after high temperature treatment. There are 2 kinds of composting methods, flat type and semi-pit type. The technologies are same with general composting. However, to speed up the decomposition of straws, thermophilic composting should inoculate high temperature cellulose decomposition bacteria, and establish aeration equipment. The cold-proof measures should be done in cold areas. High temperature compost passes through several stages: Fever-High Temperature-Temperature Dropping-Decomposing. In high temperature stage, harmful substances will be destroyed.
Raw Materials of Homemade Organic Fertilizer
We suggest our customers choose the following types to be your raw materials of homemade organic fertilizer.
1. Plant Raw Materials
(1) Fallen Leaves
In America, in many large cities, governments paid the money for the labour to collect the fallen leaves. After the compost is mature, it will give away or sale to the resident at a low price. It would be best to earth up more than 40 centimeter, unless it is in the tropical. And in each layer, the fallen leaves had better less than 5-10 centimeter. The interval coverage between the fallen leaves and the soil need at least 6 to 12 months to rotten. Keep the moist of the soil, but do not over-watered to prevent the loss of soil nutrient.
It would be best if you had the special cement or tile compost pool.
Main components: nitrogen
Secondary components: phosphorus, potassium, iron
It is mainly used for nitrogen fertilizer, lower concentration and it is not easily harmful to the root. It should not use much in the flowering fruit bearing stage. Because the flowers and fruits need quantities of phosphorus potassium sulfur.
(2) Fruit
If use the rotten fruit, seeds, seed coat, flowers and etc, the rotten time may be need a little longer. But the content of the phosphorus, potassium and sulfur are much higher.
(3) Bean cake, bean dregs and etc.
According to the situation of degreasing, the matured compost need at least 3 to 6 months. And the best way to accelerate the maturity is inoculated the bacteria. The standard of compost is completely without peculiar smell.
The content of phosphorus potassium sulfur is higher than litter compost, but it is inferior to the fruit compost. Utilize the soybean or bean products to make compost directly. Because the soil content of soybean is high, thus, the retting time is quiet long. For the usual enthusiast, if there is no appropriate flora, it still has the bad smell after one year or several years later. Therefore, we are recommend that, cooked the soybeans thoroughly, burnt, and then retting again. Thus, it can greatly reduce the retting time.
2.Animal Excreta
Wastes of herbivorous animals, such as sheep and cattle, are suitable to be fermented to produce bio fertilizers. Besides, due to high phosphorus content, hen manure and pigeon dung are also good choice.
Notice: If being managed and recycled in standard factory, human excreta also can be used as raw materials of organic fertilizer. Households, however, lack of advanced processing equipment, so we don't advocate to choose human excreta as raw materials during making your own fertilizer.
3. Natural Organic Fertilizer/Nutritional Soil
☆ Pond sludge
Character: Fertile, but high in viscosity. It should be used as base fertilizer, inappropriate to be used singly.
☆ Pine needle mulch
Soil under the fallen pine needles could be used as organic materials once the thickness of the fallen leaves higher than 10-20cm. Pine needles should not be used directly!
Trees, like Taxodium distichum, with low resin content, will be better.
☆ Peat
More efficiently. It shouldn't be used directly, and can be mixed with other organic materials.
The Reason that Organic Matters Should be Fully Decomposed
Decomposition of organic fertilizers lead to two main aspects of changes in the organic fertilizer through microbial activity: decomposition of organic substances (increase available nutrient of fertilizer). On the other hand, the organic matter of fertilizer changes from hard to soft, texture changes from uneven to uniform. In the process of compost, it will kill the weed seeds, germs and most of the worm eggs. Thus, it is more aligned with the requirement of the agricultural production.
Organic fertilizer which is rich in organic matter, a majority of nutrient forms are slow acting fertilize, crops cannot absorption and utilization directly. If we put the no-rotten organic fertilizer into the soil, due to the slow decomposition, the fertilizer efficiency of current season is bad. Meanwhile, it may produce the weeds and spread infection, eggs etc., which leads homemade organic fertilizer bad to plants and vegetable. Therefore, in agricultural production, before using the compost, usually make the compost become thoroughly decomposed by adopting the method of piled up. The matured compost can also make the farm manure release nutrient, improve the fertilizer efficiency and avoid some factors which is bad for crops. Such as struggling for the water and nutrient with the seedling. Or in some local area, it produces high temperature and the ammonia concentration is too high. Thus, it will cause burn seedling. So, only the mature organic fertilizer has the significantly function of improving the soil property.
Serious Consequence of Insufficient Composted Waste
Taking livestock waste as example, pig manure, chicken droppings and cow dung can be utilized as raw materials of organic fertilizer. But before being granulated into fertilizer granules (see more at: chicken manure fertilizer manufacturing process), they need to be well fermented and sterilized. If inadequate manage livestock manure, there will be many drawbacks.
Pig manure, for example, contains coliform bacteria, nematode, germs and pest. If being used directly, it will lead to the spread of insect pests, and crop diseases. Physical health of humans will be affected after eating agricultural products fertilized by such organic fertilizers.
Besides that, insufficient composted waste contains quantities of undigested organic matter that cannot be used directly by the crops, as it would result in 'Secondary fermentation'. The fermentation heat will definitely cause the weak and death of plants.
Such homemade organic fertilizer has macro-molecular organic compounds. It cannot absorption and utilization directly by the crops, bringing about slow fertilizer efficiency.
What is organic soil made out of?
Soil -- any soil -- is made up of tiny granules of rock plus minerals, gases and liquids. The constitution of any soil depends on where the soil exists, because that soil has been effected by that locale's weather, erosion, and natural environment.
The notion of organic soil means soil that has not been mixed with commercial herbicides, pesticides or other man-made chemicals.
Depending on the chemicals added, it may take a few years or a few decades or more for the soil to naturally break down the chemicals and be usable as 'organic soil' with no traces of chemical additives.
Is food produced by organic farming superior in quality?
The US Department of Agriculture requires an organic farmer wannabe to go through certain steps. An organic certifier must be chosen. National organic standards must be met. Records of production materials and practices must be kept. There must be the initial inspection, for certification. And then each and every year thereafter, there will be inspections. It could take at least three years. It would take at least that amount of time if there were no records to prove that no prohibited substances had been used in or near the production area in the previous three years. If there were such records, then the three year wait would be waived. This is not counting whatever time it would take for the review process culminating in approval, or rejection, of certification.
Does modern farming take less time than organic farming?
While there are certainly exceptions, modern agribusiness-type industrial farming generally takes less of the farmer's time per unit harvested. It does not speed up the rate of maturation of the crop, it simply means s/he can culture more acres than with organic farming. On average, a single person can produce several hundred or even a couple thousand acres using industrial farming techniques, while it might be necessary to have several people working even a hundred acres of an organic farm.
What are the advantages of organic farming?
Local resources, non-toxic methods, and on-site procedures are what is good about organic farming. Organic farming emphasizes what can be done naturally, non-chemically, non-genetically altered, and non-synthetically and what is available within the confines of the farm. It therefore tends to be very friendly to providing fresh, healthy, in-season, local, tasty products through equipment and procedures which do not harm or stress the environment and its faunal, floral, and human inhabitants.
What organic crops are grown in the United Kingdom?
Beans, beetroot, broccoli, cabbages, carrots, cauliflower, leeks, parsnips, peas, potatoes and swedes are organic vegetables that are grown in the United Kingdom, according to the 1999 Soil Association Organic Food and Farming Report. Cherries, cider/processing and dessert apples, pears, plums, raspberries, rhubarb and strawberries are home-grown organic fruits. Asparagus, bananas, blackberries, blueberries, clementines, cassava, courgettes, guavas, legumes, lemons, limes, mandarins, mangoes, onions, oranges, papayas, pineapples, satsumas, sweet potatoes and tangerines number among the United Kingdom's imported organic fresh fruits and vegetables.
What is the definition of non organic?
In chemistry organic is concerned with the carbon compounds of living beings and also most other carbon compounds. So non organic would be what is left.
In food organic is referring to that which was produced without the use of hormones, antibiotics (for non-medicinal purposes), synthetic fertilizers or pesticides in accordance with the USDA National Organic Program (NOP). The use of the term is regulated by the NOP and only those products that meet the standards may use the term. Therefore all other products would be non organic.
What are people called who only eat organic foods?
Someone who grows organic food is called an organic farmer or organic gardener.
There is no name for someone who grows natural food. That term is not defined by the food industry and can mean just about anything.
That they are an organic mulch that affects soil pH and soil structure is the reason that dried papaya leaves are an effective choice in terms of tomato plants.
Specifically, foods and soils may have a pH that is acidic, alkaline or neutral. Papaya is an alkalinizing food. Its dried leaf mulch somewhat raises a soil pH. The result is a soil pH that is heading more towards the neutral range around 6.0 - 6.5 or 7.0. It actually is in that neutral range that many plants prefer the soil pH to be
Additionally, organic mulch contributes to soil structure. That means that the soil becomes better drained, healthier and more fertile through the breakdown of natural materials. Good drainage, fertility and health make for happier, healthier plants in general and tomatoes in particular in this instance.
How can coffee grounds be used as fertilizer?
Coffee grounds contain substantial nitrogen and potassium, both important for plant growth. They also includes many other trace minerals and carbohydrates. This also makes it a good fertilizer.
But since coffee grounds lack phosphorus (used in plant food for flowering plants) it is better for use on non-flowering shrubs, foliage plants and grass than flowers.
For "casual" use, let them dry first (otherwise they can develop mold and that's not helpful for plants) and then work them lightly into the soil.
If you compost, just dump them into your regular compost bin; they have a carbon-to-nitrogen ratio of 20:1, about the same as grass clippings. After used to make coffee, grounds contain up to 2% nitrogen. They are acidic with a pH of between 3.0 and 5.0, making them perfect for mulching rhododendrons, azalea and other acid loving plants.
What is the content of ginger in an organic insecticide?
Just as with citronella, the oil from ginger can be an ingredient in an organic insecticide. But it would be less expensive, and more effective, to use the more widely available horticultural and neem oils.
Why is organic farming encouraged?
Conventional food production focuses on appearance, high yields, and lush growth. Organic food production focuses on flavor, health, and quality growth. organic farming focuses on exactly the same aspects as conventional farming, the only difference is the means used to achieve it. for a pesticide to be certifide for use in organic farming it doesnt have to prove that it is better for the farmer or the consumers health not to the envirument. all it has to prove is that it was not subject to human synthesis. for example copper or nicotine based pesticides are allowed for and are heavily used in organic farming for pest control. both are highly poisoness to the user as well as the consumer. copper is very residual in the product and the field, both have detrimal effects on the envirument. in short just because it said "organic" or "natural" doesnt mean its good for you.
What is the relationship between biotechnology and organic farming?
From Wikipedia:
Biodynamic agriculture is a method of organic farming that treats farms as unified and individual organisms, emphasizing balancing the holistic development and interrelationship of the soil, plants, animals as a self-nourishing system without external inputs insofar as this is possible given the loss of nutrients due to the export of food.
Regarded by some as the first modern ecological farming system and one of the most sustainable, biodynamic farming has much in common with other organic approaches, such as emphasizing the use of manures and composts and excluding of the use of artificial chemicals on soil and plants. Methods unique to the biodynamic approach include the use of fermented herbal and mineral preparations as compost additives and field sprays and the use of an astronomical sowing and planting calendar. Biodynamics originated out of the work of Rudolf Steiner, the founder of the spiritual philosophy anthroposophy.
Are organic foods good for the environment?
Yes, organic foods are good for the environment because of cultivation and nutritiousness. Organic foods are grown in environmentally friendly ways that prioritize flavor and health over appearance and yield. Their production minimizes the occurrence of environmental stresses such as erosion and pollution and health problems such as cancer and obesity.
What is the way in which humus and organic matter are related?
That they represent the breaking down of animal and plant remains is the way in which humus and organic matter are related.
Specifically, the term humus designates the final breakdown of animal and plant remains and of soil food web cells, products and tissues. It is used in terms of the end result of proper composting and of the process in topsoil. In contrat, the term organic matter refers to the content (compounds from once-living organisms and their excretions) at any point in the decomposition stage, from beginning to end.
How do you compost food leftovers?
Separate out dairy, greasey and oily, and meat products. These aren't proper, compostable materials. Specifically, they attract hungry, foraging wildlife. The remaining kitchen scraps and meal leftovers may be placed inside the compost bin, or on the compost pile.
Cultivation that employs only natural inputs and resources, is environmentally friendly, and supports ecosystems is a definition of eco-organic farming. The type of organic farming in question looks beyond the immediate animals or crops under consideration to the wider above-ground, atmospheric and below-ground contexts for all activities being carried out on the farm. It stresses consequences, activity by activity and activities overall, for air, animals, ground, people, plants and water so, for instance, crop rotations and soil analyses are important.
What leftovers from the kitchen can be put in the compost heap?
Those that are un-diseased and un-treated by additives are vegetables that can be composted.
Specifically, the food group in question attracts foraging wildlife. It can be less likely that wildlife will raid compostable materials when inputs do not include dairy products, greases, and oils. Heavily salted vegetables may contribute to drying conditions which alter moisture levels necessary for the breakdown of compostable materials. Vegetables that are recycled or unused because of bacterial, fungal or viral diseases must not be included.
Vegetables can be composted with all other compostable materials, deposited underground, or isolated in tightly sealed food waste containers.
It should be exactly the same as organic foods. The terms organic and non-organic only refer to the practices of growing the crops. To a plant - it does not recognize the difference between a non-organic or organic form of fertilizer. The form of fertilizer nutrient that a plant uses is the same regarless of the source. The source may be from manure, sewage sludge or commercial fertilizer. In short, there is no difference in the nutritional value of organic vs. non-organic foods. The term "organic" is more targetted at which pesticides and fertilzers are used. While there's a ton of controversy on this topic, so far the debate rages on, and the value of organic vs. non-organic foods is not scientifically clear. "Organic" means "containing carbon". All foods that humans consume contain carbon, and they are therefore all organic. Now, if you're using the definition of "organic" that was made up by a bunch of nature-loving growers to distinguish their "naturally-grown" foods from conventionally grown foods, so that they could sell a nutritionally-deprived, unhealthy, disease-ridden, pest-eaten, growth-stunted product for ten times the price of the conventional alternative, then I would have to say that the nutritional value of non-organic foods is quite a bit higher than that of organic foods. The conventional foods receive plenty of commercial fertilizers that help ensure adequate growth and development of vitamins and minerals in the food. They get plenty of herbicides to ensure that weeds don't compete with the crop for nutrients from the soil. They get plenty of insecticides to ensure that insects don't suck all the nutrients out of the food. And after the crops are harvested, they get preservatives added to them to help keep the foods fresh and chock-full of vitamins and minerals. None of those things are permitted in "organic foods". But, most importantly, conventional crops are not routinely exposed to manure, which contains E coli, a disease that can kill people.
What impact has organic farming had on the agricultural industry?
With diligence, knowledge and careful planning, organic gardening can be very effective. Organic farmers can consistently provide a healthful product which is frequently more attractive and tastes better than their industrially-produced counterparts. It takes more labor and must be very carefully handled, but those farmers are getting really good at it. It typically costs somewhat more, but that is a trade-off each consumer must judge for him- or herself.
What are the necessary characteristics of a good organic farmer?
Attention to detail, comfortability with numbers, patience with paper work and understanding of economics, nature and weather are necessary characteristics of a good organic farmer. Much of the existing support system is geared towards commercial, large-scale farming. Organic farmers therefore need to pay attention to the fine print that differentiates failure and success: balancing budgets, calculating controls, completing start-up and yearly paper works, identifying resource drains and selecting environmentally friendliest, most effective biological, cultural and mechanical treatment options.
