Organic Green Spot Gardening

Bacteria at work in the Compost Pile

First, mesophilic bacteria start to work while the compost pile is cool. These beneficial bacteria begin by consuming and digesting organic matter and reproduce in the process. Heat is released and conditions change to attract a different type of bacteria attracted to a warm environment.
Thermophilic bacteria begin to work as the compost pile heats up. Temperatures may be as high as 160 degrees Fahrenheit and weed seeds, insects, and many diseases are killed by this heat. Finally, a complex form of bacteria called Actinomycetes takes over as the decomposition of organic material is completed.

Actinomycetes give the new soil a pleasant , earthy smell turning it into a finished product.

Other workers in this decomposition process are much larger than microscopic bacteria and include snails, slugs, millipedes, centipedes, nematodes, earthworms, and some insects like spiders and mites.

The final product is called humus and is gold for the organic garden. Humus helps soil particles stick together which in turn allows the soil to be aerated and allows better drainage by adding pore spaces in the soil. The soil can better hold water in periods of drought and reduces erosion. The soil is better able to store nutrients that plants can use in their growth cycle as the nutrients are slowly released into the root system.

The use of this rich humus gives the organic gardener the opportunity to provide a friendly environment to beneficial microorganisms, earthworms, and other subterranean life forms by avoiding the use of chemical fertilizers.

This is the natural process we see in our forests and prairies where growing plants drop their leaves, flowers, and fruits into the soil. This composting process is the organic gardener’s ability to copy the workings of a natural ecosystem by returning vegetation to the soil to be used again by our garden’s vegetables and plants.

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Compost is the Organic Gardener

I spent the summer looking for some friendly pollinators in  my garden.

My Sunflower Bee

The following is a good source for gardeners wanting  information on what to plant to attract
Pollinators to their garden.  Go to the site and  watch the film, “Pollinators at Risk” found on the right hand side of the home page   explaining the importance of  our bees and butterflies.

www.pollinator.org

This quote from their home page explains the importance of Pollinators:

“Pollination is vital to our survival and the existence of nearly all ecosystems on earth. 80% of the world’s crop plants depend on pollination. Pollinators, almost all of which are insects, are indispensable partners for an estimated 1 out of every 3 mouthfuls of food, spices and condiments we eat, and the beverages we drink. They are essential to the fibers we use, the medicines that keep us healthy, and more than half of the world’s diet of fats and oils. Insect pollinators, including honey bees, pollinate products amounting to $20 billion annually in the U.S. alone.
What is pollination and who are pollinators?
Pollination occurs when pollen is moved within flowers or carried from one flower to another of the same species by birds, bees, bats, butterflies, moths, beetles or other animals, or by the wind. This transfer of leads to fertilization and successful seed and fruit production. Pollination ensures that a plant will produce full-bodied fruit and a complete set of fertile seeds, capable of germinating.”

You are invited to visit me at www.organicgreenspot.com for products for the Organic Garden.

To visit “In the Garden, Come Hither, Bumblebee, and Pollinate” you will need to sign up for a free subscription to the New York Times before being taken to the article site.

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My Herbal Container Garden

There are many advantages to gardening in pots. Container gardens fit just about anywhere. The gardener can make many plant combinations and color as well as change plants with the season in the container. Container gardens may be portable. You can 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. Even an urban gardener with little or no yard space can grown fresh produce on a patio or in a sunny window.

The following list of perennial herbs can be grown in pots or find 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!
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.

Many of the herbs mentioned above can be used in the Organic Garden to help control harmful insects.   Visit  www.organicgreenspot.com for organic gardening supplies.  Natural insect control, organic fertilizer, worms and worm farm products, as well as composting supplies are offered.

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.



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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.

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