Eco Friendly House And Garden

I don’t mean badgers and sparrows – I mean plant diseases and pests!

We know that the quickest way to kill off diseases and pests in our gardens is to use chemicals – but that isn’t very eco friendly or organic.

There are alternative treatments, but they normally involve a lot of your time or money or result in dead or dying plants.

So, why not plan to never have the pests or diseases in the first place?

Planning Ahead.
Why not follow these simple guidelines to reducing the chances of anything untoward getting into your garden from the start!

The most likely way to infect your garden is to bring in plants from elsewhere. If you buy plants from garden fetes or charity shops etc, or find them in skips, you have got to expect the worst.

If they were loved and cared for in pristine conditions – people wouldn’t be selling them cheap or throwing them away, would they? So:

1) Use only local and reputable suppliers and nurseries
2) Only use the neighbours you know who care for their plants properly
3) Make sure the supplier or neighbour has been organic too!
4) Avoid semi-mature specimens from overseas – you just never know!

Plants on arrival:
Any plants, seeds or bulbs arriving in your yard should be carefully inspected to make sure they are healthy, especially if they are from a friend/fete/garden show/etc.

If you buy plants that are not looking healthy, you can’t expect them to be healthy – so only take on with care. If you are receiving a delivery of plants – check them too: don’t just look at a few – check them all – you are paying for them. There is no point paying for a plant that is diseased or infested.

Buying dodgy looking plants may be a cheaper way to get them – but won’t be so cheap if they need chemicals to recover, take an extra year to establish or flower, or worse: cause damage your existing plants!

Quarantine the new plants in a specific area away from any other plants or gardens for at least 2 but preferably 6 weeks. Many bugs and diseases can travel short distances so could easily infect neighboring plants if planted too soon.

And finally, make sure you don’t cross-contaminate the tools and equipment used for new plants. Disease can be carried on your tools and hands – so be fussy and make sure you clean everything.

I recently moved my plants to a new home and picked up a strange mite – which has all but killed a tropical plant of mine that took 6 months to germinate last year!

So Finally:
Find out what the common pests and diseases look like and what plants and conditions they prefer so you can spot the first signs of trouble – hopefully before you buy them!

Also, knowing the visual identification of garden pests and preferred conditions of certain diseases means that you can act fast at the first sign of trouble and save your plants – and all your hard work!

Thanks for coming back – and I hope the first few tips have been of help to you.

Now lets look at the final 2 tips which include; Choosing the right variety of fruit or vegetable for your needs, and thinking about growing food organically.

4) Variety Is The Spice Of Life:
There are now so many varieties of each fruit or vegetable to account for your tastes and for the locations they thrive in – so pick yours wisely.

Don’t just buy the one that has the cheapest seeds in the store – pick the one you are going to enjoy the taste of and that will grow in the place and in the time you want it to.

If you are busy at work during the summer or going away for a few week in spring, then make sure your variety don’t need too much attention at that point. If you have an alkali soil – then make sure you don’t buy a variety that loves acidic ground. I know it all sounds a bit technical – but just ask the experts where you live.

Take time to visit a local fruit grower near to where you live (same soil and same weather) and find out what they grow – then buy their seeds and take their advice.

Tell them your requirements too, for example there is no need to buy a product that gives off tonnes of fruit or veg at the same time if you are living alone as you will never be able to eat it all yourself (unless you want to learn about preserving it as well).

At the other end of the scale, you don’t want a rarer vegetable that only produces one or 2 edible parts if you have a family of 4 to feed! Plan your seasonal needs way ahead, and then link these up with the types and cycles of the plants that are available.

5) Growing Organic?
Don’t forget that the seeds you buy, or the plants you purchase might not have been grown organically – it’s a very complex chain. Decide how far back you want to be ‘organic’ for or how strict you are going to be.

And, unless you test it – how do you know that your yard isn’t full or chemical residues from previous land-use? You can’t, so you need to start from scratch and apply no more chemicals at all to it.

And, most importantly; how do you even know that the soil you wish to use is even full of nutrients? It is possible that the type of soil is not suitable for retaining nutrients or has been completely drained or natural resources over the years.

If you are on a purpose built housing estate (even if it is 100 years old), it is possible that just below your topsoil is a layer of industrial waste like broken bricks, wooden poles, or previous garden waste from past owners? I found and entire flat tarpaulin sheet and a concrete pillar buried in my back yard!

So, if you want to grow healthy and organic crops yourself, it may be wise to install raised beds for your plants so you can control the soil yourself.

Once the sides are up (obviously using chemical free and naturally strong materials) I would dig over the existing soil (not too deep) and remove any large stones or other objects. Then mix in a few cms of well rotted horse manure (or organic alternative) – then completely cover with alfalfa, clover or mustard.

These fast growing plants are great for pulling nutrients back into the soil ready to grow something worth eating! When they are fully grown and covering the inside of your raised bed, then dig them back in to the existing soil and add more organically sourced soil or horse manure to raise the beds to the top.

Then you can get started knowing that from now on you are growing your fruit and vegetables organically!