Will all Organic Gardeners Please Stand Up.

I've been over to the OG posting board...not much action. I take it most here are not OG (?)

Olds

Actually, I think most are organic, or mostly organic. We just don't talk abut it much!

OG Here, not certified but practicing.

IPM here; almost completely organic, but some chemical fertilizer is spread on the lawn grass :(

Mostly the organic gardeners here are likely to discuss methods in all the threads in all the forums that we watch, giving our ideas and methods to others that otherwise would have little idea about how organic growing methods really work.

For those unfamiliar with IPM term: Integrated Pest Management is deciding how much insect/disease one is prepared to put up with. Then starting with the least dangerous method to control the outbreak. As a final, last resort, some harsh organic methods may be used (NEEM, or pyrethrum, for instance), but almost never employs any chemical alternatives. Disneyworld is one of the originators of the IPM movement. It is also used by a huge (and growing) number of nurseries and greenhouse growers.

not certified...but I use no chemicals.I decide just how much I'm willing to share with the critters and plant accordingly.

I have a wonderful population of birds and insects who gladly eliminate most of the bad guys and several different types of organic fertilizer available to me.

Olds,why don't you take charge of the Organic forum and post some topics that we can all discuss?

come on gang....most of us do it,so let's get that forum up and running. Put it on your preferences list and check there regularly. We could all benifit from it.

Good ideas! Yes, still hanging tough with organic methods. Not certified (no need to be), but 99% organic.

I'm organic in my small yard. I will start checking the Organic forum more often. Thanks for bringing it up.

Olds,
.....I am a Certified 'Plant Nut'..........Hah!
...........Organic here also,but like Jerry Baker said a long time ago,if it doesn't work you should give it up -or- try the mildest chemical to start with. Sometimes I have no recourse but to spray our fruit trees,usually in the fall.
......Besides that almost 100% OG.....
..........Later,shirley >^,,^< SB

Another high-percentage OG gardener here! I agree we mostly discuss individual things in other forums... like Soil, various topics like making new beds, and the Pest Forum.

Like darius said,
..........this would get out of control if we did not individualize our subjects concerning OG....
shirley

Well I very impressed with the number of responses here!

As far a Melody suggestion I not so sure of that! LOL! Hey I'm just a city gardener whose place is a mess at the moment. In the past 2.5 years many things have keep me out of the yard, and it shows! (a death, cancer, and my dog is now in a wheel chair; plus I went self-employed 3 years back and I have to make sure the paychecks are good on Monday!) However, things are returning to normal and hopefully by spring I can show you all some pictures.

They won't be the fancy pictures I've seen posted here; as I'm moving towards Xeroscaping.

Anyway I will post the first question on the OG board, and see where it goes from there!
Olds

Follow up: I posted a question on the OG board earlier today. It is as good a spot to start with as any.


The Question http://davesgarden.com/t/398434/

Olds

I am trying to be organic, but at times the bindweed gets too far out of control and I use roundup on it. If I didn't, it would take over again.

I also use plant food, especially on potted plants, until I can get to the point that I'm generating enough compost to go around.

JoanJ

The following is my basic fertilizer.

Organic Fertilizer:
2 parts blood meal
1 part fish meal
2 parts bonemeal
4 parts rock phosphate
6 parts greensand.
1/2 part kelp meal

Next, Foliage spray 1-ounce-Seaweed extract per gallon of water applied.

Also if you can handle the smell 1-ounce Fish extract per gallon of water--when you add water to your plants.

No need for chemical fertilizers. Next you will not have to change out your soil--no salts to build up. Plus with the compost one day you will be moving around the soil and Bla all of a sudden you will have health earthworms in your containers!

You may have to ckeck around but can find a garden store that will carry these items.

If you wish to go this route but cannot find one of the item in my basic fertilizer let me know and I will made an adjustment based on what you can get.
Olds

Thanks Olds, I printed this out and will see what items I can come up with around here. I may not find some of them until spring though, when some of the places that carry such things restock again. I'm kinda garden center challenged here. :)

Olds, at what rate do you use your organic fertilizer? garden,potted plantz???

scooterbug,
This is part of a reply I gave on another posting board concerning growing in containers and how much fertilizer I use.

.....Once I set up a container the hard part is over with. In my mixture I start out with enought organic fertilizers that I don't really have to worried for the season other than some light side dressing. In fact I add nothing more to my pineapples in the way of hard fertilizers. I do add Fish extract to my water.(one half ounce per gallon of water--all plants) Once per month I will add 2 tablespoons of old-fashioned blackstrap molasses into a gallon of water for my tomatoes. (One gallon per container.) I will foliage spray all plant once per week with Seaweed extract. Under any plant where black spot or fungus is prone to be a problem I scatter straight corn meal. (But not under tomatoes plants. Corn meal = more nitrogen.) For most fungi ( powery mildew etc) I give my plants a Bicarb---plain old baking soda! I mix it 2 to 3 teaspoons with 2 to 3 tablespoons of SunSpary Ultrafine Oil per gallon of water. I compost using a composter that sits on a foot that collects the compost tea during the process of composting. I also use this compost tea as a foliage spray and will add it to the water if I feel a plant is in trouble. I delute my tea to the color of light drinking tea. Never apply it non-deluted as it will damage your plant.

Now how much of this base fertilizer you are going to use is based on the size of your container. I mix in a lot. For example in a container that is 42" X 30" X 22" I add 6 quarts. I mix this fertilizer though out the whole container. Top to bottom--side to side. Remember unlike synthetic fertilizers most organic fertilizers are nonburning. This mixture will not burn your plants. One time I turn around wrong (LOL) and added a second 6 quarts. The plants did just fine in that double mixture.

*Now note: I have never had a plant burn. There many be some out there that will burn.*

You may find this interesting also. From the same reply as quoted above:

The real trick is to compost. I make sure my containers always have at least one inch of mature compost at all times. By doing so your soilless mixture one day will be come a health Micro-Society. When that happens just add a few regular earth worms. Do you know that worms are what I call reverse eaters? Unlike us, when they eat they put back more into the Society than they took out! You just give them mature compost and you will have the best living fertilizer factory in town! (When you get to adding a few worms make sure to add a few more ounces of builder sand. They need it to digest.)

A full Micro-Society will give your plants such a boost that folks with say to you...Wow you must have one hecka a green thumb. When someone says that to me I just reply...naw it's my the Micro-Society at work! You see I'm really a very lazy gardener. I even use a battery powered sprayer....I'm too lazy to use a pump up one!

scooterbug. I hope this information will be of some help to ya.
Olds

Olds,what is the base of the Sun Spray Oil? I meant to ask the other day and it slipped my mind.

I don't use GMO products or eat Frankenfood, and most oil based sprays use canola oil.All of the American canola oil crop is now GMO and I'm having a hard time finding alternatives.

Melody

First for a laugh or two... I'm not sure which acronym GMO you are referring to!

Choices are:
General Medical Officer---nope no doctor needed here.
Generalized Molecular Orbital--Huckel theory does not apply.

Global Marine Observation(s)--Marine Observation Satellites/Sensors..nope that can't be it!
Glyceryl Monooleate--GRAS Emulsifiers...naw does not sound right!
Grants Management Officer--sure wish I had one of this to call a friend!
Genetically Modified Organism---ummm maybe this one? Yepper! LOL--me bad!

Ok laughing time is over!

On to the definion of this oil:

This highly refined mineral oil is used on most vegetable, fruit and nut crops as well as flowers and ornamentals as a suffocant and repellent. It is registered for control of adult and egg stages of many insects, including mites, scales, aphids, lace bugs, corn earworms, mealybugs, whiteflies, leafminers, leafrollers, beetles, etc. It can be applied during summer as well as in dormant seasons, with no re-entry delays and minimal effect on beneficials. It is often mixed with Safer Insecticidal Soap to extend and enhance soaps' effectiveness. Use 1-3 gal of Sunspray in 100 gal of water or 5 Tbs-8 oz/gal of water. Contains 98.8% refined petroleum distillate (may not be acceptable to some organic certifying agencies) and 1.2% emulsifier.

Note: Labels on newer containers of Sunspray™ oil indicate that it now contains an emulsifier. In that case, the dishwashing soap can be omitted from any formula where you have been using it in the past.

Next, I understand that not all organic agencies certify this product. However, I believe it to be the less of the evils.

1.) It degrade rapidly by evaporation. It has very low toxicity and have almost no toxicity to humans or wildlife at the rates recommended for use to control garden pests.
2.) Pests have developed little or no resistance to horticultural oils, unlike numerous other pesticides on the market.
3.) Yes you can use vegtable oil instead. I don't as it seems not to evaporate, but rather become sticky. However here is a mixture if you wish to go that route.

** 1 cup cooking oil. 1 tablespoon liquid dish washing soap. Apply this mixture at a rate of 2-1/2 teaspoons per cup of water***

Here is a link in PDF format for the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS)for SunSpray UltraFine Spray Oil.

MSDS http://www.groworganic.com/a/pdf/msds/pop806-m.pdf (It seems to be a slow loading page.)

Hope this helps!
Olds



This message was edited Sep 14, 2003 12:40 PM

(((Olds))) Ty,finally found someone longer-winded than I...lol
.....also ; believe I read somewhere that they no longer make Safer Soap ????
.......
......News Flash !!!
.....A local K-Mart Garden Center had all bagged goods for 75% 'OFF'
..I think I'm set for the next 2 years ;~))
...Thanks again Olds for shareing your knowledge,
.......shirley >^,,^< SB

scooterbug

Just for you! http://www.dow-mgc.org/Rayeimages/scoot.gif

Olds

When I learned to garden it was with organic methods, I wouldn't know what to do with chemicals. There's always a big compost pile or two, leaves collected for mulch or compost, straw bales for mulch or fencing in compost piles, stuff like that. We eat far too many chemicals so growing vegies organically is a way to have some control. The flowers love it too, so why change?

We have an organic chemist or biological engineer in our midst! Olds, your fertilizer formula resembles mine for the roses...except for the Alfalfa pellets(not the sugar variety). with the Alfalfa, having the ability to uptake the nutrients faster than, without,...... the basal growth on the roses is great! Glad to see more are going organic!!! Elaine