By Wayne McLaurin
Georgia Extension Service
Volume XXVII
|
If you prefer to use few or no pesticides in your garden, you
can still grow
bountiful crops. The secret to organic gardening is to follow
good gardening
practices as closely as possible.
Here are a few ideas:
Crop rotation.
Avoid planting the same crop in the same place year after
year. Rotating crops
helps keep vital soil nutrients from being depleted.
For example, legumes add nitrogen to the soil, and tomatoes take
nitrogen away.
Crop rotation also tends to prevent the buildup of diseases and
insect pests.
Heat up your soil.
Loosen the soil with a rototiller or a turning fork. After
tilling, cover the
area with black plastic. Seal the edges with stones or soil to
keep in heat
and moisture.
The heat that builds up beneath the plastic will kill weeds,
most garden pests
and their eggs and other nasty organisms. Leave the plastic in
place for several
weeks — the longer the better.
If you can’t spare the entire garden, split it and treat half at
a time. This
is called soil solarization.
Keep gardens weed-free.
Weeds compete with your plants for water, nutrients and
light. They’re a favorite
hiding place, too, for insects and disease.
Weeding regularly rather than all at a time makes the job more
manageable. Don’t
throw weeds on the compost pile, though, as you might replant
the seeds when you
use the compost.
Space plants properly.
Plants need good air circulation to breathe and stay healthy.
Proper spacing
allows better air circulation and more rapid drying after
rains. Remove anything
that restricts airflow. Prune and remove dead or diseased
shoots, too.
Don’t rush the garden.
Never work it when the soil is too wet. If you pick up a
handful of soil, form
a ball and drop it to the ground, and it doesn’t break apart,
the soil is too
wet.
Choose the right varieties.
Go for the ones that are adapted to growing conditions in
your area. Contact
your University of Georgia Extension Service county office for
information about
plants suited for your area.
Get the right seeds and plants.
Buy the ones that are disease- and pest-resistant. In seed
catalogs, on seed
packets and on seedling plant tags, look for the letters V
(verticillium), F
(fusarium), N (nematodes) and T (tobacco mosaic virus). These
letters tell what
the cultivars are resistant to.
Water from the bottom.
If possible, soak the roots rather than apply water
overhead. Damp leaves
are the perfect locale for fungi. If overhead watering is your
only option,
do it in the early morning so the sun’s warmth will dry plant
leaves faster.
