Community Gardens: Fertilizing and Pest Control Part 4

If you have been following this series on Community Gardens, you have thus far read about what community garden is, how to organize one in your community garden, what types of rules and concepts need to be decided upon before putting your organization together and how to choose your gardening site. You also have read about the amount of chores required to prepare a garden site and maintain it.

This article will focus on how to keep your garden site fertilized correctly as well as protect it from pests.

To start, one must understand some basics of gardening. If you are creating a community garden, it is most likely you already understand this. For those who are reading this article and are interested in participating in a community garden, who have never gardened before –this information is for you.

When it comes to growing healthy plants and food, you must have healthy soil. Soil requires a certain blend of nutrients to feed your plants. One way to maintain healthy nutrients in the soil is to not plant the same plants over and over in the same place. Why? Certain plants require a lot of one type of nutrient from the soil and can deplete the soil before long, if not rotated out.  For example, corn requires a lot of nitrogen. Planting corn over and over again, without feeding the soil, could deplete it of the nitrogen it could need the next growing season.

Your garden soil must maintain the three major nutrients, which are nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), and potassium (K). Adding fertilizer can help sustain these nutrients and replenish them year after year. There are four basic types of fertilizers used for this, they include composts, animal manures, natural or organic fertilizers, and chemical fertilizers.

How do you know what your garden soil needs? You can take a soil test and the results will show you what you may be lacking. These tests can be very effective when conducted in the Fall.  If you add your fertilizer or needed nutrients before winter, they will have plenty of time to be absorbed before the spring planting. Manure, in particular, which has not been composted, should never be applied when vegetable or fruit plants are mature, because it can infect plants with bacteria that could make you sick if you consume them.

Chemical or artificial fertilizers should be avoided if at all possible, because the regular use of them can actually impede the soil’s ability to hold nutrients. Overuse of chemical fertilizers in conventional agricultural practices and turf grass management has also been proven to have negative effects on soil and water resources. For healthy plants and people, ditch the chemicals!

Now for pest control.  While there are many beneficial insects that your plants rely on to keep them healthy and productive, there are also some insects and animals that will harm your garden by attacking the leaves, fruits, or roots of your plants. Each state and region is different in regards to the pest problems they might face, so check with your local gardening associations, or agricultural agencies to find out what garden pests are most common.

Once you discover what you are facing, there are only a few methods you will use to protect your plants. These include physical control, cultural control, biological control and chemical control.

Physical control means that you have to physically keep pests out of your garden with barriers and traps. You can also remove pests by hand on a one-by-one basis.

For large pests such as deer and rabbits, you can install fencing or mesh and wire barriers. The mesh and wire will also help protect your seedlings from birds.

Companion planting is another natural way to practice pest control. This is one of the oldest and most well known types of control. For example, you can plant marigolds to ward off flying pests and nematodes, but many other plants can do the job as well. Chives, coriander, and nasturtium can help ward off aphids; rosemary and sage keep carrot flies at bay; hyssop, mint, oregano, rosemary, sage, and thyme keep cabbage moths out of your garden.

Last is chemical. Chemical controls should only be relied on as a last resort, because they can harm the soil and the beneficial insects that you need in your garden. Chemicals are also expensive, and will be washed off of your garden when it rains where they can pollute groundwater and waterways like streams and rivers. Use chemicals only if you can find no other way to cope with the pests in your garden, and then do so sparingly. Insect-specific chemical treatments, like slug pellets or Japanese beetle traps, will have little or no impact on the beneficial insects in your garden, but these can still have negative environmental consequences. Always make sure to read instructions carefully, and use only the minimum amounts recommended.

Gardening takes time and care, but it can be done easily with a little information and some practice. Keeping a journal of your gardening experiments, noting what works and doesn’t work can also be beneficial as you progress with your community garden.

Community Gardens: Fertilizing and Pest Control

If you have been following this series on Community Gardens, you have thus far read about what community garden is, how to organize one in your community garden, what types of rules and concepts need to be decided upon before putting your organization together and how to choose your gardening site. You also have read about the amount of chores required to prepare a garden site and maintain it.

This article will focus on how to keep your garden site fertilized correctly as well as protect it from pests.

To start, one must understand some basics of gardening. If you are creating a community garden, it is most likely you already understand this. For those who are reading this article and are interested in participating in a community garden, who have never gardened before –this information is for you.

When it comes to growing healthy plants and food, you must have healthy soil. Soil requires a certain blend of nutrients to feed your plants. One way to maintain healthy nutrients in the soil is to not plant the same plants over and over in the same place. Why? Certain plants require a lot of one type of nutrient from the soil and can deplete the soil before long, if not rotated out.  For example, corn requires a lot of nitrogen. Planting corn over and over again, without feeding the soil, could deplete it of the nitrogen it could need the next growing season.

Your garden soil must maintain the three major nutrients, which are nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), and potassium (K). Adding fertilizer can help sustain these nutrients and replenish them year after year. There are four basic types of fertilizers used for this, they include composts, animal manures, natural or organic fertilizers, and chemical fertilizers.

How do you know what your garden soil needs? You can take a soil test and the results will show you what you may be lacking. These tests can be very effective when conducted in the Fall.  If you add your fertilizer or needed nutrients before winter, they will have plenty of time to be absorbed before the spring planting. Manure, in particular, which has not been composted, should never be applied when vegetable or fruit plants are mature, because it can infect plants with bacteria that could make you sick if you consume them.

Chemical or artificial fertilizers should be avoided if at all possible, because the regular use of them can actually impede the soil’s ability to hold nutrients. Overuse of chemical fertilizers in conventional agricultural practices and turf grass management has also been proven to have negative effects on soil and water resources. For healthy plants and people, ditch the chemicals!

Now for pest control.  While there are many beneficial insects that your plants rely on to keep them healthy and productive, there are also some insects and animals that will harm your garden by attacking the leaves, fruits, or roots of your plants. Each state and region is different in regards to the pest problems they might face, so check with your local gardening associations, or agricultural agencies to find out what garden pests are most common.

Once you discover what you are facing, there are only a few methods you will use to protect your plants. These include physical control, cultural control, biological control and chemical control.

Physical control means that you have to physically keep pests out of your garden with barriers and traps. You can also remove pests by hand on a one-by-one basis.

For large pests such as deer and rabbits, you can install fencing or mesh and wire barriers. The mesh and wire will also help protect your seedlings from birds.

Companion planting is another natural way to practice pest control. This is one of the oldest and most well known types of control. For example, you can plant marigolds to ward off flying pests and nematodes, but many other plants can do the job as well. Chives, coriander, and nasturtium can help ward off aphids; rosemary and sage keep carrot flies at bay; hyssop, mint, oregano, rosemary, sage, and thyme keep cabbage moths out of your garden.

Last is chemical. Chemical controls should only be relied on as a last resort, because they can harm the soil and the beneficial insects that you need in your garden. Chemicals are also expensive, and will be washed off of your garden when it rains where they can pollute groundwater and waterways like streams and rivers. Use chemicals only if you can find no other way to cope with the pests in your garden, and then do so sparingly. Insect-specific chemical treatments, like slug pellets or Japanese beetle traps, will have little or no impact on the beneficial insects in your garden, but these can still have negative environmental consequences. Always make sure to read instructions carefully, and use only the minimum amounts recommended.

Gardening takes time and care, but it can be done easily with a little information and some practice. Keeping a journal of your gardening experiments, noting what works and doesn’t work can also be beneficial as you progress with your community garden.

More Pest Control Articles

So, with a fertilizing lawn care system for your grass, what are we talking about then? Well, it’s about artificially providing nourishing chemicals that will make the best of your lawn.

In some cases this can be combined with weed and mosskillers that will remove those pests, all in one application.

Fertilizing lawn care chemicals are well able to do the job they are expected to do and nowadays, in most countries, they will have to have passed stringent tests to enable them to be sold.

That’s not to say they are completely safe and can be used without care. So it’s always vital to read instructions carefully at all times.

Things To Consider About a Fertilizing Lawn Care Choice

1) Are you happy with using fertilising lawn treatments at all?

2) Is your garden suited to having potentially toxic chemicals spread around?

3) Are there any issues with children, wildlife and pest you need to think about?

Why This is Important?

You might not think the decision between a fertilizing lawn care system and one that does not use these foreign materials is not important, but it most certainly is.

If you are using such chemicals – for that is what they undoubtedly are – on your grass, you are going to be clear of weeds and maybe even moss too. A great solution.

With a fertilizing lawn care system you will be able to grow the greenest of grass very easily. Yet you van also harm other plants potentially as well as any runoff upsetting the balance of a pond you might have (together with its inhabitants). Not to mention other water courses too.

On the other hand, if you stay away from common lawn fertilizers, you will find that it is often hard to come up with natural ingredients that do the job. This may restrict your capacity to have a lawn you can look at with pride and enjoy to its full.

Ultimately, it’s down to you and your choice. There are middle grounds where you can choose some ingredients you are happy with and yet not go the whole way and have everything. That might well work, especially when coupled with manually clearing weeds and moss yourself.

Whatever you decide, by being responsible when you use a fertilizing lawn care process on your lawn, you can have the best of both worlds and rest easy at night, dreaming about your green, green grass.

As well as knowing you have at least done a bit to protect your environment with a carefully thought out choice.

There are fertilizing lawn care systems out there that will suit you, your needs and your lawn too. By seeking out advice from a good garden center, with strong reputation (as well as your own research too), you can be happy with what you finally decide to do – and enjoy a lovely lawn too!