Organic Gardening
POP BOTTLE PROPAGATION
- Sunday, July 26, 2015
Here's a link that shows how to recycle pop bottles into mini greenhouses to propagate plants or grow seedlings:
TOP 100 WATER WISE PLANTS FOR NORTH TEXAS
- Saturday, June 06, 2015
As recommended by the AgriLife Extension center - click the following link.
(It has zoom capability in case it opens up too small for you to read.)
Waterlogging
- Saturday, May 23, 2015
Waterlogging and flooding
From the Royal Horticultural Society website. This is not usually something we have to deal with in Texas!!!!
Few garden plants will survive waterlogging or flooding. Prolonged periods of sitting in ground saturated with water causes yellow leaves, root rot and death. However, conditions can be improved using various techniques to promote drainage and prevent damage.
Quick facts
Common name Waterlogged or badly drained soilPlants affected All except a few tolerant ones
Main causes Heavy rain combined with difficult soil conditions
Main symptoms Yellow leaves, rotting roots, stunted plant growth
Timing Winter and summer
What is it?
Soils become waterlogged when water builds up, unable to drain away. This leaves no air spaces in the saturated soil, and plant roots literally drown.
Short-lived flash floods after a downpour seldom harm most plants. It is prolonged, saturated soil that cause the most damage.
Symptoms
Symptoms of waterlogging are not easy to tell from other disorders but look for the following;
- The first symptoms appear on the leaves. This includes yellowing or decay between the veins, resulting in soft areas at the base or centre of the leaf. There may be dark areas along the midrib, and areas within the leaf go brown, especially on evergreen leaves
- The plant may also look like it is short of water, even wilting
- A root sample will show blue-black roots, a typical sign of waterlogging that may be accompanied by a sour, rotting smell. Roots may rot away completely, with few remaining. Damaged roots will be blackened and the bark may peel away
- Shoots may die back due to a lack of moisture (the roots cannot supply water to the leaves) and bark peels off the shoots easily
- Herbaceous plants may fail to sprout in spring, or leaves may open and then die
- Plants may be stunted, or even die
- Some plants suffer from a condition called oedema
Some of the symptoms are easily confused with water stress (too little water). But in fact, a waterlogged plant actually is water stressed. This is because the roots are drowning and can not absorb any water or nutrients to move around the plant.
Cause
Excess water causes problems for plants in a number of ways;
- Waterlogging limits oxygen supply to the roots and prevents carbon dioxide from diffusing away. Root function is reduced or stops and the roots start to die off, allowing the invasion of rots and decay organisms. This has a subsequent effect on the visible parts of the plant, as the leaves and stems are unable to obtain enough water and nutrients
- In cold, winter soils, roots respire little, so waterlogging is much less damaging than during warm seasons, when roots respire freely and demand more oxygen. Few plants can survive summer waterlogging, unless they have special roots adapted to such conditions. Willows and marginal aquatic plants such as flag irises are examples of these
- Waterlogged soils may be compacted or have a naturally dense texture lacking drainage channels. This means that the soil remains wet after rain
COMPANION PLANTING
- Sunday, March 29, 2015
Informative article on companion planting for the veggie gardener:
http://www.my-garden-school.com/10-flowers-to-grow-with-vegetables/
WHAT IS HUGELKULTUR?
- Wednesday, November 05, 2014
Good article on Hugelkultur.
http://www.urbanfarmonline.com/urban-gardening/backyard-gardening/what-is-hugelkultur.aspx
TEXAS FARMER SHARES LIST OF ESSENTIAL PRODUCTS FOR SUCCESSFUL ORGANIC GARDENING
- Tuesday, September 30, 2014
by Marshall Hinsley
Aritcle reprinted with permission from the author and CultureMap Dallas.
If not for my garden failure of 2011, when most of Texas was gripped by a record-breaking heat wave, this year's garden would have been my worst yet. Several setbacks left me overextended in my farming venture, and professional commitments seemed to occupy my time just when I needed to be planting, weeding or watering. Yet except for avocados, lemons and a few other fruits that can't be grown in areas that are prone to frost, I've bought nothing from the produce section. The fruit of my labor continues to make up half or more of my dinner plate each night. I've succeeded in harvesting all I need to eat, even while I fail at keeping most of my crops thriving. My raised bed garden and row crops have a momentum that just keeps going. My crops may look weedy and tattered, but they're hanging in there, yielding just what I need, when I need it, despite neglect. The tenacity of my crops is a result of using certain products effectively, versus the scams and old wives' tales that make their rounds in gardening forums. My father and I have amended the soil and repelled pests over the last seven years with products we buy by the pallet, which has given us insight into what's effective and what's a waste of money. Here's our list of go-to products: For the soil The health of a plant is almost wholly dependent on the soil, which should be loose, spongy and full of composted leaves, kitchen scraps, grass clippings and last year's garden plants. Conscientiously produced worm castings are a valuable asset to garden soil because they can restore microbial populations that convert compounds into forms more readily absorbed by plants. Beyond compost, I amend the soil with my dirty seven soil amendments that add nutrients and make the soil more hospitable to plants. To that list I've recently added a mineral supplement called Azomite. Plants need only about 16 elements, but humans need more. I add minerals to the soil to improve the potential nutritional content of my harvest. For some plants such as potatoes, I follow the old practice of adding sulfur to the soil where I plant the crop. Sulfur acidifies the soil, and most of Texas' blackland prairie has an abundance of calcium carbonate.
For Pest Control
Get the whole story on CultureMap Dallas here:
http://dallas.culturemap.com/news/restaurants-bars/09-28-14-texas-farmer-essential-products-organic-garden/
Subcategories
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Getting Started with Organic Gardening
Information about organic gardening.