ORGANIC GARDENING INTRODUCTION - DUKE FARMS SPRING 2012 EVE SPRINGWOOD MINSON Community Garden Coordinator and Instructor

ORGANIC GARDENING
INTRODUCTION

DUKE FARMS
SPRING 2012

 EVE SPRINGWOOD MINSON

 Community Garden
 Coordinator and Instructor

ORGANIC GARDENING PRACTICES INCLUDE:

•PLANNING: Practical seasonal planning for the greatest enjoyment
from your landscape, as well as 3-4 seasons of food production.

•DESIGNING: Well thought-out, ecologically-based design of your home
property, community garden plot or growing area.

•BEING CREATIVE: Being creative and green in your growing
practices: reusing, rethinking, recycling, re-imagining how to do things.

•LEARNING: Taking advantage of learning opportunities of all kinds -
classes, people, experiences, watching Nature and connecting with
what nature does on it’s own.

•HANDS-ON MAKING and DOING: Sustainable cultural practices in your
garden make all the difference.

THAT WAS
THEN…

THIS IS NOW…

WHAT IS ORGANIC GARDENING?

 Organic gardening is a process that promotes and enhances
biodiversity, natural biological cycles and soil biological activity
    that restore, maintain and enhance ecological harmony.
                                 .
      It is also the conscious design and maintenance of
agriculturally productive ecosystems which have the diversity,
         stability and resilience of natural ecosystems.

HOWEVER, STRICTLY SPEAKING,
       organic gardening practices are
  feeding the soil though decaying organic
 matter and utilizing natural cycles and safe
   products for disease and pest control to
sustainably grow food and other useful plants.

ELEMENTS WE ARE MOST CONCERNED ABOUT IN
            AN ORGANIC APPROACH TO GARDENING:

•SOILS: Building and maintaining healthy living soils – SOIL FOOD WEB

•PLANTS: Growing healthy, strong resilient plants

•TOXIN FREE: Growing plants using natural substances

•GO NATURAL: Using natural fertilizers like manures, fish emulsion,
composts and compost teas

•WEEDS: natural weed management

•PESTS: Non-toxic pest management

•DISEASES: Non-toxic disease management

•YOUR THINKING…Also includes a
sustainable philosophical approach

IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER
                    TO MAKE A HAPPY GARDEN

Sun and wind exposure – site the gardens or space well

Critters: keep out with fencing and monitor for damage

Water: conserve ,collect,/save, mulch, water properly

Season Extenders: get more out of your gardening year

Create Diversity so that lots can thrive here! You are not alone…

Put the garden to bed in the Fall and prepare for Spring properly

BELOW THE GROUND…
            LIVING SOILS

The SOIL FOOD WEB is the community
  of organisms living all or part of their lives in the soil.
It describes a complex living system in the soil and how it
   interacts with the environment, plants, and animals.

As organisms decompose complex materials, or consume
other organisms, nutrients are converted from one form to
another, and are made available to plants and to other soil
 organisms. All plants – grass, trees, shrubs, agricultural
           crops – depend on this sort of food.

    We can enhance this process through the careful
cultivation of soils and feeding them properly and wisely.

GROWING SOILS WHICH ARE ALIVE
                  ENCOURAGES THE FOLLOWING:

• SUPPORT for the soil food web (microbiological activity)

• CONTRIBUTES MAJOR AND MINOR NUTRIENTS required for healthy
plants – re-mineralize your soils! It’s more than just N-P-K

• IMPROVED TILTH AND SOIL STRUCTURE – crumbly and nice to work

• IMPROVED WATER RETENTION. More water soaks into the soil and
can be used by crops over time…doesn’t just percolate out or sit on
top of the soil.

• SLOW RELEASE OF NUTRIENTS over a period of time feeding plants
longer

•ASSISTING THE MINERALIZATION PROCESSES (converting
insoluble minerals into plant usable forms) through fungal
and bacterial associations through amendments

• INCREASE PEST AND DISEASE RESISTANCE in PLANTS
AND IN THE SOILS AS WELL

• WATER QUALITY IS PROTECTED – filtered, cleaned and
goes back into the water table under your feet.

• STRONG HEALTHY PLANTS are the result.

• GOOD TASTE OR TERROIR – Flavorful, nutrient dense
sweet vegetables and beautiful flowers.

TO MAKE HEALTHY SOIL ADD:

•Well aged manure or well broken down compost

•Composted ground leaves (leaf mold)

•MINERALS: greensand, rock phosphate, etc.

•Organic fertilizers: sources and mixes can vary

•Humus

•Seaweed-kelp-fish blends (liquid or granular)

•Mulch: straw, hay, chopped leaves, bark mulch,
etc. but NOT red-dyed chipped up palettes!!

COMPOST TEA and LIQUID FERTILIZERS LIKE FISH EMULSION

Compost tea is easily made by soaking or steeping compost in water.
The resulting compost tea is used for either a foliar application
(sprayed on the leaves) or applied to the soil.

• Increases plant growth

• Provides nutrients to plants and soil

• Provides beneficial organisms

• Helps to suppress diseases

• Replaces toxic garden chemicals

•Use common materials to boost soil nutrients and plant growth

SOIL PH:

Average: 6.0 – 7.0 (Neutral)

ACIDIC: Below 6.0

ALKALINE: Above 7.0

                        PLANTS THAT CAN TOLERATE ACID CONDITIONS:
                        Blueberries, strawberries, tomatoes

                        PLANTS THAT CAN TOLERATE ALKALINE
                        CONDITIONS: yams, okra, mushrooms, and peppers

                        SOIL TEST, EVALUATE, CONDITION AND ADJUST

ABOVE THE GROUND

OTHER GOOD ORGANIC GARDENING PRACTICES INCLUDE:

•PROPER PLANTING AND MAINTENANCE

•WEEDING: Don’t wait until it’s a jungle!

•CROP ROTATION FROM YEAR TO YEAR (moving plant families to
other areas of the garden). A garden journal can help you keep
track from year to year.

•SCOUTING PLANTS REGULARLY FOR INSECTS AND DISEASE

•PLANT FOR POLLINATORS and natural enemies aka beneficial
insects which will help keep down pest populations

•GOOD NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT: Feed your plants

PROPER PLANTING:

•The right time: not too cold, not too warm / plants have their
range just like us. Know when to plant. Check the catalog

•The right depth: not too high or too deep

•Distance from one another: make sure you know what your
plants need and how big they will get. Give them space

•Sun exposure: all day for almost everything

•Enough nutrients: feed regularly

•Long term maintenance: pruning, disbudding, harvesting,
hilling, watering = tender loving care

COVER CROPS ARE TILLED
                     INTO THE SOIL TO BOOST FERTILITY
• nitrogen-fixing bacteria living around there roots which convert
nitrogen from the air to a form that plants can absorb

•add organic material to your soil that rots down

•make the soil easier to work.

•help the soil hold water and nutrients for easy absorption

•have deep root structure that improves soil aeration and when the deep
roots decay improve the soil structure.

•make better soils

NON-
LEGUMES
               LEGUMES
Clovers        Rye
Hairy Vetch    Oats
Field Peas     Wheat
               Forage
Annual Medic
               Turnips
               Oilseed
Alfalfa
               Radish
Soybean        Sudangrass
               Buckwheat

WEEDING and
MAINTENANCE

•HOEING WITH GOOD SHARP HOES! Makes all the difference.

•FOLLOW UP WITH LAYING DOWN ORGANIC MULCHES (shredded
and composted leaves, straw, mulch hay, shredded bark)

•USING BLACK PLASTIC and/or BIODEGRADABLE PLASTIC MULCH
on beds to hold back weed growth: good or not so good?

•ROTOTILLING – sometimes but not too much!

MANAGING
PESTS AND DISEASES

ORGANIC PEST MANAGEMENT

•Enhance natural enemies (predatory insects)

•Use Basic IPM Techniques to start

•Scout your plants and learn your insects

•Use Rutgers Co-op Extension for positive identification

•Don’t put off management – usually they won’t just go away

•Use Row Covers to protect plants

•Companion Plants Help (some)

•Use Chemicals with Low Toxicity that Target Specific Insects: Safer’s
Soap, BT, Neem Oil, Monterey Garden Spray

•Choose resistant cultivars when possible

INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT - an ecological approach
with a main goal of significantly reducing or eliminating the
use of pesticides while at the same time managing pest
populations at an acceptable level

These methods are performed in three stages:

prevention,
observation,
and intervention.
PRINCIPLES:

-Acceptable pest levels
-Cultural Practices
-Identify Pests and Monitoring
-Mechanical Controls like hand picking
-Biological Controls
-Responsible organically approved pesticide use

PLANT FOR POLLINATORS AND BENEFICIAL INSECTS

•Plant plenty of nectar- and pollen-rich flowers.
    Use as many plants native to your region as possible. Native plants    have
evolved closely with native insects

-Try to put in flowers with a range of shapes and sizes.
    Most annuals and flowering herbs are very attractive to pollinators

 -Include a variety of flowers that bloom throughout the season.
     By doing so, you will accommodate different pollinators' preferences  and
provide a sequence of pollen and nectar sources throughout different life cycle
stages.

-Provide water. Pollinators such as butterflies will gather and sip at shallow
    pools, mud puddles, and bird baths

-Avoid using toxic pesticides. Many are harmful to pollinators as well as pests.

COMMON VEGETABLE INSECTS

•CABBAGE WHITES OR CABBAGE BUTTERFLIES LAY
EGGS WHICH TURN INTO LOOPERS (caterpillars which eat
the plants).

•FLEA BEETLES: shotholes

•JAPANESE BEETLES: chomp chomp chomp!

•CUKE BEETLES: rip tear and transmit disease

•SQUASH BUGS:

•SLUGS: big holes

•TOMATO HORNWORMS: goodbye tomato leaves, stems, etc

•LEAF MINERS: light white galleries in leaves

•POTATO AND BEAN BEETLES

SOME STEPS FOR BASIC INSECT IDENTIFICATION AND CONTROL

•INSPECT ALL YOUR PLANTS before bringing them into the garden.

• If you see aphids or tiny spider mites, rinse the leaves thoroughly
before bringing them to the garden.

• Be sure to check the undersides of leaves for insect eggs.

•Take responsibility to avoid introducing new insect problems to
•the garden at large

• Bring your plant or leaves to Rutgers Cooperative Extension for
an exact identification or ask the Garden Coordinator for help.

BECOME A SLEUTH…

•MOST HEALTHY MATURE PLANTS CAN TAKE SOME INSECT DAMAGE;

•WHEN YOU SPOT A PEST, INVESTIGATE FURTHER.

•HOW SERIOUS IS THE DAMAGE?

•DO YOU REALLY NEED TO DO ANYTHING AT ALL?

•ASK YOUR NEIGHBORS; CHECK OUT SOME OF THE RESOURCES IN THE
GARDENERS HANDBOOK ONLINE

•HAND PICK AND DESTROY BAD INSECTS WITHOUT SPRAYING FIRST.

•KNOCK LARGE INSECTS SUCH AS POTATO BEETLE, TOMATO
HORNWORMS, CUCUMBER BEETLES, SQUASH BUGS INTO A CONTAINER
OF SOAPY WATER.

•ENCOURAGE BENEFICIAL INSECTS.

•COMPANION PLANTING MAY HELP. Certain plants may
deter certain insects. Some gardeners have found that when
they plant marigolds the whiteflies vanish. Some plants
attract pests away from crops, while others seem to
discourage them entirely.

•TRAP PLANTS. This involves planting sacrificial plants
before you plant your main crop, to deliberately lure pests
away from your vegetables. Once they have been infested,
you remove the plant and destroy it and the bugs.

•PHYSICAL TRAPS. Beer attracts and drowns slugs.
Potatoes impaled on sticks and buried 3 inches down collect
wireworms. Pheromone traps are tricky and should be
avoided, as they tend to attract more of the insect than they
catch. Yellow sticky traps can be effective for insects like
flea beetles, but be sure to place them deep amongst the
foliage of the plant you are trying to protect.

•PHYSICAL BARRIERS. Floating row covers made of
spunbound polyester can help reduce insect damage
on young plants in the cucumber/squash/melon family,
though they must be removed when the plants flower
to allow for pollination. Place row covers over bamboo
or wire hoops and secure with wire tacks or stones.
Paper collars will deter cutworms; pantyhose wrapped
around squash vines can keep the squash vine borers
away.

•DIATOMACEOUS EARTH can be effective against a
number of pests, but it only works when dry and must
be reapplied after rainfall. Don’t use it on a windy day,
and be sure to protect your eyes and lungs when
applying

ORGANIC PESTICIDES

Read the label and use the most appropriate organic control!
None of these preparations are good for humans to ingest.

Wear gloves, long sleeves, and spray when it’s not windy.

It is important to match the pesticide to the pest (and to its
particular life stage) and to follow the application directions exactly.

 Remember, the goal is to kill the bad insects and preserve the good
insects; even the mildest pesticide may have an effect on good
insects, so use as sparingly as possible.

If you do not know anything about using organic pest controls
please speak to the Garden Coordinator before you do anything, or
go to Rutgers Cooperative Extension for advice. It is important to
make sure you use a product that is effective on the problem pest,
otherwise you are wasting time and money.

•INSECTICIDAL SOAPS exhibit low toxicity and must come into contact with
pests in order to be effective. Use against slow-moving soft-bodied insects, such
as aphids, whiteflies, spider mites, etc.

•NEEM OIL is relatively safe for mammals and effective on many different sorts
of leaf-eaters. It biodegrades in a week or less and persists in the soil for up to
about two weeks.. Don’t use on beans.

•BT Bacillus Thuringiensis – A bacteria based insecticide which kills only the
target pest…used for caterpillars.

•PYRETHRIN. Derived from pyrethrum daisies, this is a very effective, though
indiscriminate, killer of insects, which works on all life stages. It kills good
insects as well as bad, and is also not so great for fish. However, it degrades
rapidly in the sun (4 hours). Do not apply just before a rainstorm. A product of
last resort, please apply only very specifically, and according to the directions

•ROTENONE. Although an organic pesticide, this is just too toxic, particularly to
fish, to recommend. Please don’t use. It may also be implicated in Parkinson’s
Disease.

PREVENTING DISEASE IN YOUR GARDEN

•Choose disease resistant varieties when possible - this
information is usually available in seed catalogs and on
various websites.

•Don’t overcrowd plants - air circulation is necessary to
prevent disease.

•The soil shouldn’t be too wet or too dry if you can control
it. When possible keep foliage dry and water at the base of
the plant.

•Prune leaves or stems that look suspect and destroy
cuttings. Don’t put them in the compost. Take them home
and dispose of them in the trash to prevent spread of
disease.

•Wash hands before working with plants.

•Clean tools - disinfect from time to time with 1 part bleach or
vinegar (safer) or alcohol to 9 parts water

•Clean pots, seedling trays and flats before reusing them - 1
part bleach to 9 parts water.

•Nutritional problems, pH deficiencies or excesses of certain
micro- or macro-nutrients in the soil can look like disease.

•Temperature extremes can make a plant appear diseased
when it isn’t. Also mechanical damage such as disturbing or
killing roots makes plant appear diseased.

http://www.organicgardening.com/video-center

DESIGN

COMPONENTS:

  •BERRIES
   BERRIES (Raspberries, Blueberries, Strawberries, Currants, Gooseberries…)
  •VEGETABLES:
   VEGETABLES: all kinds
  •HERBS:
   HERBS: Culinary and Medicinal
  •FLOWERS:
   FLOWERS: Edibles, Beautifuls ,Compatibles and Beneficials
  •INSECTARY
   INSECTARY garden: for Pollinators and Beneficial Species

•SEASONAL
 SEASONAL PROTECTION such as cold frames, or tunnels
•WATER
 WATER
•SMALL
 SMALL NICHES AND CREVICES FOR BENEFICIAL AMPHIBIANS AND
REPTILES: Use cracked pots, rocks, holes, etc.
•Personalized
 Personalized Items: ART, BIRD BATHS, SCULPTURE, WATER
FEATURES, FOCAL POINTS, QUIRKY CRAFTS, etc.

ANNUAL PLANTS:

Culinary herbs: Parsley, Basils, Dill, Summer Savory, Lemon Grass,
Fennel, Marjoram, Cilantro, Marjoram, Rosemary, Thyme,

Veggies: Peas, Beans, Tomatoes, Peppers, Cauliflower, Cabbage,
Potatoes, Squash, Corn, Beans, Brussels, Eggplant, Greens, Melons,
Celery, Asian Greens and more

Flowers: Zinnias, Calendula, Pansy and Violas, Sunflowers,
Snapdragons, Morning Glory, Marigolds, Sweet Pea, Nasturtium, etc.

SOME BASIC STRUCTURES

MORE INFORMATION

SOURCES FOR ORGANIC SEED: catalogs are
chockfull of growing information

•The Cooks Garden, PO Box 535, Londonderry, VT
05148 (800) 457-9703 www.cooksgarden.com

•Garden City Seeds, 778 Highway 93N, #3 Hamilton
MT 59840 (406) 961-4837 www.gardencityseeds.com

•Johnny Selected Seeds, RR1 Box 2580, Foss Hill Rd,
Albion, ME 04910 www.johnnyseeds.com

•Seeds of Change, PO Box 15700, Santa Fe, NM
87507, (no phone calls) www.seedsofchange.com

•Territorial Seed Co. PO Box 158, Cottage Grove, OR
97424 (541) 942-9547 www.territorial-seed.com

•FEDCO SEED, HIGH MOWING SEED, SEED SAVERS,

GREAT MAGAZINES and their Websites:

•MOTHER EARTH NEWS

•ORGANIC GARDENING

•URBAN FARM

•PERMACULTURE

•HOBBY FARM

•BIBLIOGRAPHY IN THE DF GARDEN HANDBOOK
online at www.dukefarms.org

THANKS FOR
 COMING!!

 BE THE BEE!!