Advantage of Organic Lawn Care Products
In the United States, the total area covered by lawns comprises more than 30 million acres and there are around 200 different pesticides which are available for lawn care. The sad thing is that the majority of households resort to the commercial and chemical fertilizers and pesticides which contain harmful elements in them.
The best alternative to these chemical fertilizers and pesticides is to use organic lawn care products on your lawn. The two most important ways to get hold of organic lawn care products is either to manufacture it yourself or to buy it from the market. Organic lawn care products are a great option since there is no health hazards associated with it. So, it is great for you and your family. As far as the environment is concerned, the benefits of organic products are manifold.
To be more precise, there are many reasons why you should eschew chemical fertilizers and opt for organic products. The most important reasons are obviously the health of your family and the environmental factors.
Before you start with using organic lawn care products for your lawn or garden, you have to gauge the condition of your lawn. You need to determine the quantity and kind of weeds in your lawn and also find out whether your lawn is prone to unwanted creatures and pests.
If your lawn does face the problem of weeds and other pests, it is advisable to eliminate the problem before you change to organic lawn care products. The reason is that the grass and soil in your lawn have been used to the chemical fertilizers and abruptly changing to organic methods without treating these problems might have unpleasant results.
After you make the change, however, you will see a striking difference in your lawn in a matter of a few days. The grass will appear very healthy and green and watering can be significantly reduced without causing any harm to the grass. Using organic lawn care products has innumerable benefits and if you have not already switched to organic lawn care, now is the time to do it.
If the thought of manufacturing organic products intimidates you, then you can easily buy it from the market. Various companies produce these organic products and some of them are of very high quality. Usually, any organic or natural plant store should have a good stock but if you are not satisfied with the variety, then you can ask the store for information on where to find more of the organic lawn care products. Ensure that you have the right landscape tools and the relevant information with you.
Read full articles about backyard landscaping and landscaping equipment available at this web.
Andrew Caxton is a syndicated columnist on different resources like http://www.lawn-mowers-and-garden-tractors.com .Read additional info about landscaping equipment or backyard landscaping at http://www.lawn-mowers-and-garden-tractors.com/1906landscape-equipment.html
Composting For Beginners: Why And How In Your Organic Garden
Here is your introduction to composting for beginners. Having a compost pile of some sort is definitely a must in an organic garden and a definit benefit in any garden.
But why?
All the weeds and plants in the garden contain nutrients and organic matter, and when removing the former you also remove the latter from your garden. If you continue to throw it away you will by and by rob your soil of nutrients and organic matter. By composting the weeds and plants you will instead keep the nutrients and recycle them to your garden’s benefit.
What biodegradable waste can I put in the compost?
In a simple compost pile you can put any plant residues except leaves and other plant parts contaminated with troublesome plant diseases. Those are better to burn or actually throw in the garbage can. Branches and the likes need to go through a compost mill before you put them in the compost pile.
I don’t know if I should choose a container or just set up a pile?
The simplest way is to put everything in a pile in a hidden corner of your garden. Turn it over once in a while to add air and to mix decomposed matter with intact such. This kind of compost pile can look slightly untidy and tends to stretch out on the ground.
If you purchase a composting bin with separate compartments, you can fill one compartment at a time and leave the other to decompose. Then you will have compost ready to use separated from the newly added material.
Qiuck composting
Adding food scraps to your compost will enrich it with nitrogen. To be able to do that you need a closed compost bin, and preferably one that can be rotated each time you add new material. The purpose of rotating the bin is that the material will get well aired and mixed, making your compost degrade really fast and be ready to use in few weeks.
Perhaps the best way is to combine a closed compost bin with an open pile where you can put the most voluminous waste. Then you can really take advantage of all your biodegradable residues and waste.
Testing Old Seeds Before You Plant
Some kinds of seeds must be sown soon after ripening or they will not grow. Others retain their life (viability) from one year to another depending on the conditions under which they are stored. A test for germination can easily be made before planting time by cutting a circle of flannel or paper towel to fit the bottom of a plate.
By marking the material in four divisions, four different kinds of seeds may be tested at one time. The cloth is moistened and ten or 25 seeds placed on each division.
Cover with another plate or with a pane of glass to hold in the moisture. Label each kind of seed planted including the date planted. Inspect the seeds from time to time. Count the number that sprout. If none germinate and the seeds are choice ones, test a second time.
Hardcoated seeds are slow to germinate. Kicking the seeds slightly may enable them to grow. Some seeds may require a period of cool or freezing temperatures. If none grow after giving them ample time for germination, the seeds are probably no good and it would be useless to plant the remainder of the lot.
A farmer may have a bag of seed corn left over, or he may want to test some of his own new crop oats or wheat. The rag doll method is good for such tests. A piece of white cloth 12 by 15 inches is moistened well. A hundred grains are counted and placed on the material.
Lay a piece of waxed paper over the grains and roll up. Place the roll in a plastic bag closed with a rubber band. After five to seven days on a kitchen shelf or counter, inspect the grains to see how many have germinated.
The degree of germination will enable the farmer to determine if the grain is fit for planting. If only a small percentage of the seeds sprout, they should be discarded or larger amounts planted on a given area.
Tests of small lots of seeds are made in which the testing is not done to determine the percentage of germination but to find out whether the seeds will grow. The seeds in this case are not discarded after testing but are kept right on growing.
Lily seeds may be tested by putting them between folds of old nylon hose placed in a shallow container in which a layer of vermiculite moistened with liquid plant food solution has been spread. (Follow directions on the package for making the solution.) Spread a similar layer of vermiculite over the hose.
To inspect the seeds one simply lifts the top portion of the nylon hose. As soon as a good number have gerrninated all can then be easily transferred to flats or to an outside bed. Several lily growers have been soaking lily seeds before planting, both old and new seeds.
Cooled, boiled water is mixed with a bit of soluble fertilizer such as Hyponex. When growing from seeds for lilies, the seeds are placed in small glass jars, each labeled as to variety of seed, and enough solution poured over the seeds to moisten them well.
After a week or ten days, the seeds that germinate can easily be picked out and planted. Those that have not swelled are discarded. Lily seeds that are naturally slow to germinate are soaked for a longer period, 30 to 60 days.
The jars are kept in a light window, but not in the sun.
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