Organic Gardening Tips

How to garden organically


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A vegan conundrum?

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Since the vegan ideaology extends at least as far as insects (as evidenced by the disapproval of eating honey) how does a vegan rectify the killing of billions apon billions of other bugs and worms during the production of any type of grain or vegetable? Why is killing those bugs acceptable to produce grains and vegetables, but it is unacceptable to eat honey collected from a working (and unharmed) hive of bees?

Organic, you say? Think again. You aren't really naive enough to think the organic producer lets the bugs and worms run rampant across the farm and he only collects what is left, are you? Organic produce has insect control a plenty (and actually uses far more pesticides than conventional, but that's another discussion) but the materials used are simply organic-approved.

So how do you remedy this? Seems impossible to me.
SST: There is no element of chance here. Bugs and worms ARE killed ON PURPOSE in crop production. However, bees are not killed, nor even harmed by honey production, so the vegan reasoning that honey is unacceptale just does not follow logic.
SST: I think you're taking a shot at me, but I don't even follow you, so I'm not worried about it. Anyway, honey is the food source for the hive during winter (non pollination) months. A hive needs 20-30 lbs of honey to pass winter. However, a good hive given a good pollination source produces 2-3X that amount and the excess is what is harvested. With most beekeepers, honey isn't even the primary income source since prices are so low (thank cheap imports). The primary income is from hive rental to farmers using bees to pollinate crops. One hive rents for as much as $200 for a three week season of pollination during almond bloom. A minimum of 2 hives/acre is needed. You can see the bees are a valuable resource for everyone and no one wishes them harm, especially the beekeeper paying his mortgage with them.

Is that what you wanted?

I agree. Where does it stop?

I know people should eat healthy, but how far can one go.

Maybe it is leading up to the "food disk" that they ate on "Buck Rodger in the 25th century"







How do I repel snails in an organic garden?

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I need a cheap and easy way to get rid of them. Preferably something I could find at home or in a supermarket.

plain old black pepper repels a lot of things; stale beer in a shallow container will attract the snails and then they will drown (leave the dead snails and slugs in the container, the smell of the rotting critters will attract their brethern and you will catch even more of them; not-quite-pulverized eggshells strewn any place that you see the snail trails will pierce the snail's delicate skin.

How can I become and organic farmer?

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I was just wondering, as we are moving and thinking about in the next year purchasing farm property. I would like to grow organic vegetables and herbs.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to:

1) Find land to buy

2) How to get started in doing this?

The location of your "farm" (weather, temperatures, water, etc.) will GREATLY influence your success. (North Dakota and California are vastly different in the plants that are successful in a commercial garden!!).

Here are some sites that will give you some other info:

www.organicgardening.com

www.gardenersnet.com/organic

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_gardening

www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/organic_gardening

Good Luck!!

Is growing your veggies better than buying organic ones?

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Is there difference in what is healthier for you?
You grow your own, buy organic, or buy from farmers markets, is there a difference to the choice you chose or one that is better than the other or healthier?

Growing your own is the best way to go.
Nothing beats picking a basket of fresh veggies for a spinach salad
or for making some stir fry. Farmers markets are the next best thing. But organic in food stores are not truly organic, and all the stores that sell veggies have them shipped in, so they will never be near as fresh as from your own yard. Green thumb up! I do it and I love it!

What's an easy way to start growing my own herbs and veggies?

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I am about to move and would like to start organic gardening. Any tips on composting, making beds, watering, planting times and tips? I have a dog too and am not sure how she'll act. And i'm pretty cheap(read-broke)

I would suggest the first thing you do is read all you can on square foot gardening. You can get the book "The New Square Foot Garden" by Mel Bartholomew at your public library.

Also, look up information on the EarthBox growing system. They are self-watering containers that enable you to grow lots of produce (I've seen a picture of a very large tree growing in one) in a confined space. There are also knock-offs that you can build yourself with comparable results.

I would also suggest you read all you can on the internet about composting. The best time to start composting is yesterday ;o). I've always bought bags of compost from the store, but there's a great amount of satisfaction you get from doing it yourself.

I don't know how much space you're working with, but if you have a relatively large amount of space, I would suggest you grow your own seedlings. The biggest investment you'd have to make would be buying a florescent light fixture and a rack to put your plants on. You'll save big bucks over buying a lot of plants from the garden center. You will need to research planting times for your area. The biggest mistake people make (me included) is getting too excited and starting their plants too early.

One last comment. Check out the Gardenweb website. It's a wonderful community of knowledgeable folks who are glad to answer whatever questions you have.

Good luck.

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