Organic Green Spot Gardening

.
The largest of the North American swallows, the Purple Martin is a popular tenant of backyard birdhouses. In fact, in eastern North America it has nested almost exclusively in nest boxes for more than 100 years.
Purple Martins’ diet consists primarily of insects. Purple Martins are renowned for their appetite for mosquitos. Many homeowners and bird lovers erect Purple Martin hoses to attract this natural “mosquito control” bird. After all, studies suggest an adult Purple Martin can consume over 2,000 mosquitos a day. On a given day, however, martins will consume a wide variety of insects, and only a fraction of that is mosquitos. Other insects on their diet include: dragonflies, flies, beetles, moths, ants, grasshoppers, and even bees and wasps.
Don’t plan on seeing a martin at your bird feeder. They do not eat seeds. In rare situations of bad weather or when food is scarce, you may find them on the ground searching for worms, grubs, and other bugs.   Check my site at www.organicgreenspot.com for Purple Martin Housing.

Red Wiggler Worms



Worm systems are typically managed for one of three reasons:
1.  waste management
2. production of worm biomass
3.  production of castings
While worms are being grown, organic materials are being processed, and castings are being generated in all worm beds.  Regular composting is good but when we use worms to convert organic waste, the end product (compost) is enriched by the presence of large amounts of “worm casts” or “castings.”

Visit my e-commerce store for worm products and organic growing materials at www.organicgreenspot.com

Earthworms are nature‘s clean-up crew, aiding in the production of lush, humus-rich topsoil from spent plant and animal materials. These elegantly efficient organisms have been on earth for hundreds of thousands of years longer than humankind, largely untouched by evolution due to their nearly perfect adaptation to their role in nature.
Humankind has studied and learned to appreciate the talents of the earthworm, developing systems that capitalize on the natural role it plays in recycling organic matter back into humus. We now use earthworms for the remediation of organic “waste” materials, reducing the pressure on landfills and aiding in the regeneration of our valuable topsoils.

https://www.organicgreenspot.com Click for  Organic Worm supplies on this website.

Bees have been few and far between in my Kitchen Garden this year.  I did plant some Borage, a herb known to attract butterflies with its pretty blue flowers in our Church Garden plot this year.

Borage, a natural butterfly herb

The ecological and financial importance of natural pollination by insects to agricultural crops, improving their quality and quantity, becomes more and more appreciated and has given rise to new financial opportunities. The vicinity of a forest or wild grasslands with native pollinators near agricultural crops, such as apples, almonds or coffee can improve their yield by about 20%. The benefits of native pollinators may result in forest owners demanding payment for their contribution in the improved crop results – a simple example of the economic value of ecological services.
The American Institute of Biological Sciences reports that native insect pollination saves the United States agricultural economy nearly an estimated $3.1 billion annually through natural crop production;[4] pollination produces some $40 billion worth of products annually in the United States alone.[2]
Pollination of food crops has become an environmental issue, due to two trends. The trend to monoculture means that greater concentrations of pollinators are needed at bloom time than ever before, yet the area is forage poor or even deadly to bees for the rest of the season. The other trend is the decline of pollinator populations, due to pesticide misuse and overuse, new diseases and parasites of bees, clearcut logging, decline of beekeeping, suburban development, removal of hedges and other habitat from farms, and public paranoia about bees. Widespread aerial spraying for mosquitoes due to West Nile fears is causing an acceleration of the loss of pollinators.
The US solution to the pollinator shortage, so far, has been for commercial beekeepers to become pollination contractors and to migrate. Just as the combine harvesters follow the wheat harvest from Texas to Manitoba, beekeepers follow the bloom from south to north, to provide pollination for many different crops.
Pollinators — Lawrence, KS by Dave Loewenstein.   Follow the link to view a wall mural showing pollinators in action painted by Dave Loewenstein in Lawrence, Kansas.



Related articles by Zemanta

• Honeybee research funding must increase, MPs warn (guardian.co.uk)

This summer I went on a search for pollinators to help assess  the health of my garden.  I consider pollination as important as the addition of organic fertilizers and worm castings to the soil.  I finally caught a bee visiting a giant sunflower in our Church Garden.   http://www.organicgreenspot.com Visit soon!

Bee Pollinator The ecological and financial importance of natural pollination by insects to agricultural crops, improving their quality and quantity, becomes more and more appreciated and has given rise to new financial opportunities. The vicinity of a forest or wild grasslands with native pollinators near agricultural crops, such as apples, almonds or coffee can improve their yield by about 20%. The benefits of native pollinators may result in forest owners demanding payment for their contribution in the improved crop results - a simple example of the economic value of ecological services.

Raised Bed Gardening

High-yield container gardening can help reduce the use of chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides for healthier and more naturally grown vegetables, herbs, and flowers. A raised bed can help extend the growing season, make outstanding starter beds for larger scale gardeners, and can also be used in greenhouses.

Advantages of Raised Bed Gardening

1. More production per square foot – The traditional home garden yields about .6 pounds per square foot of vegetables while research at Dawes Arboretum near Newark, OH found an average yield of 1.24 pounds of vegetables per square foot.

2. Improved soil conditions – Tractors, tillers, or human feet compress the soil and make it more difficult for water, air, and roots to move in a flat garden space.. In a raised bed. saturated soils get a dose of lime every spring via percolation. Acidity can be maintained in the 5.8 to 6.8 range that vegetables prefer because percolation is reduced by gravity in a raised bed..

3. Use less fertilizer – Fertilize the growing area and not garden paths.

4. Use less water – The gardener waters plants where water is needed avoiding waste on paths or to the side of the beds.

5. Pest control – The bottom of the bed can be lined with poultry wire or hardware cloth to stop burrowing rodents.

6. Less weeds – Lining the bottom of the bed with plastic, mulch or cloth stops the weeds. It is easy to remove weeds from the loose soil in a raised bed.

7. Extend the growing season – The soil warms faster and cools slower so beds can be planted earlier in the spring and will produce later in the fall.

Visit me at Organic Green Spot for your Organic Gardening needs!

http://www.organicgreenspot.com

Go Green–Herbs and Container Gardening

There are many advantages to gardening in container gardens as they fit just about anywhere. The gardener can make many plant combinations and color as well as change plants with the season in the container.  You can easily move your container garden to let them follow the sun or fill in an empty space in your garden. Perennial plants may be moved to an indoor window for winter months.  Urban gardeners with little or no yard space can grown fresh produce on a patio or in a sunny window.

These perennial herbs can be grown in pots or in a secluded spot in your garden to be used year after year.

Sage — a perennial plant, loves lots of sun in soil that drains well.
Rosemary –craves attention, the sun and lime-rich soil.
Chives –Moist, rich soil and plenty of sun and trimmings will result in healthy chives.
Basil — Many types of this thirsty, tender, tropical annual exist, but most varieties grow quickly and easily in warm soil. This herb is a must for Italian cooking! Be careful as this tasty herb can easily take over the whole garden.
Thyme — a perennial herb adds great flavor to meat dishes and soups, doesn’t mind being neglected a little bit, since it thrives in light, warm and fairly dry soil.
Chamomile (Roman Chamomile) — choose the perennial to enhance the growth of any nearby plants. This herb also loves full or partial shade or sun and moist, well drained earth.
Mint — perennial with lots of varieties that prefer moist soil and shade with little sun.
Oregano — count on this perennial to enhance the flavor of your beans in your gardenand repel insects that bother your broccoli.
Lemon Balm — a hardy perennial that likes just about anything: full sun or lots of shade and can be grown from seeds, cuttings or divisions.
Lavender — There are several varieties of this semi-hardy perennial but all dislike frost. Lavender makes a nice edging or hedge, prefers plenty of sun and loose, fast-draining soil.
Catnip — This perennial plant has almost become a weed in many parts of the USA and prefers sun or partial shade, but if you grow your catnip in full sun, the plants will be sturdier and shorter.
French Tarragon–enhances the growth of surrounding vegetables and prefers sandy loam and full or partial shade.
Fennel (Sweet Florence) — this perennial herb resembles dill but does not grow as tall as common fennel This variety likes plenty of sunlight and well-drained, fertilized soil.
Sweet Marjoram — this perennial can be propagated easily from seed or cuttings indoors or outdoors.

Take your pick and find your recipes.  Once planted these tasty herbs will be around for your perennial use.

http://www.organicgreenspot.comVisit me at Organic Green Spot!

This year I tried a new approach to growing our kitchen garden which is located next to our urban house.  Space has been limited and our share of sunlight is cut down to three hours a day because of the large office building which shades the garden in the morning and the house itself which shades the garden in the afternoon.

Six hay bales were brought into the space which receives most of the sun.  They were saturated with water and organic plant food for three weeks and then they were covered with a layer of organic topsoil.

Plants were selected to occupy the garden space.  Tomato plants, pepper plants, cucumber plants, and a number of herbs now occupy the space.  I did not count on the volunteer bean plants that had occupied the original soil last year but they have also sprung up.

Composting of the bales has been fast and next year I will plant on the same spot taking advantage of the new rich soil being made by the hay bales.

My lush kitchen garden resembles more of tropical jungle as rainfall has been plentiful this year. Even the giant sunflowers that were planted between the bales will soon be in bloom providing seeds for neighborhood birds.

Please visit         http://www.organicgreenspot.com

Related articles by Zemanta

• Good Gardening Ideas (hbb2obm.com)
• The Garden in the Rain (vermontvibes.blogspot.com)
• Veg patch from scratch: part 2 (telegraph.co.uk)