Talk:Organic gardening

Merge w/ organic farming discussion - Nov 2005

Keep separate. Organic farming and organic gardening are distinct topics. The organic gardening article in its current state does not cover its topic, and what it contains now already appears in the organic farming article -- so, the content as it stands could be merged. As for the topic, there are obvious areas of overlap on the "organic" side, but there's a clear difference between farming and gardening. Some significant dinstinctions:

• gardening includes decorative stuff, like lawns, flowers (and excludes agricultural crops, like grain)
• different scale: while very small-scale organic farming (market gardening under 2 acres) can be quite similar to large-scale home vegetable gardening in terms of equipment and methods, in general, gardening and farming have very different gear and day-to-day activities
• different types of land: farming in many countries is on agriculturally zoned land, with its own regulations, gardening is usually on residential land (for example, in some areas, use of synthetic herbicides on lawns has been banned, which in turns stimulates interest in organic approaches; this is a residential gardening issue, not an ag one)
• commercial vs recreational

There could perhaps be a separate article "principles of organic growing" or something, but that at present doesn't seem warranted, as the basics are (or should be) covered in organic farming. When a proper organic gardening article is in place, and the content overlap can be examined, it'll be easier to see if that makes sense.

There is also organic landscaping to consider...

So, IMO, the gardening article needs work, more or less from scratch. --Tsavage 02:51, 20 November 2005 (UTC) (updated --Tsavage 19:45, 20 November 2005 (UTC))

Keep as separate articles. Organic gardening needs development (I'd like to spend more time on it myself one day...), but the differences between the two subjects are distinct enough to warrant seperate entries. In the UK, the Soil Association is an organisation that caters for the needs of organic farmers, wheras thre Henry Doubleday Research Association meets the needs of thos ewho work more at a garden scale. quercus robur 11:00, 20 November 2005 (UTC)

Proposal to remove template

Can the 'propose to merge' template be removed now? Seems there is a consensus of 2 of us that the articles should remain seperate, it seems nobody else could care a monkeys either way... If theres no further comments by the next time I look in I'll remove the template... quercus robur 23:45, 5 December 2005 (UTC)

I agree it should be removed. Strong arguments have been presented for keeping the articles separate and there is a consensus to that effect on both articles. Sunray 00:26, 7 December 2005 (UTC)

Tag removed. Sunray 00:31, 7 December 2005 (UTC)

Standards section confusing?

I think the standards section may be somewhat confusing, at least the USDA NOP part, which is as far as I know really aimed at commercial enterprises. The UK charter sounds interesting, more detail on that would be cool... --Tsavage 23:57, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

I've just realised that the link I added to the HDRA's organic charter takes one to a members only' section of the HDRA website, which is irritating, you'd think the HDRA would want their standards and guidelines publicised and accessable as widely as possible. I am a member and know the password, but it would I guess be unethical to share this... quercus robur 22:45, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

The guidelines and the charter are available to non-members. I have modified the link so that they can be accessed. Sunray 00:57, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

I agree with Tsavage that the section was confusing with respect to the paragraph about USDA standards. The USDA's National Organic Program standards apply to organic farming and not organic gardening. In fact, that is one of the main differences between the two. As Tsavage notes, the standards are aimed at commercial enterprises. I've removed the paragraph and changed the section heading to "Guidelines." Sunray 01:44, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Merge and redirect "organic horticulture"?

Consolidated with Talk:Organic horticulture. Alan.ca 10:12, 6 March 2007 (UTC)

Copy-pasted text

There's a part before the main article that seems copy-pasted from another website, but I'm not sure if it's ALL irrelivant, so I'm just flagging that part as reading like a magazine article for now. Might fall under "vandalism"... Kennard2 10:38, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

'Dirt Doctor'

Pasted in section that I cut from the start of the main article. If it can be NPOV'd, formated and generally made to conform to encylopedic standards, as well as confirmed it's not a copyvio (which it looks like) there is some useful 'how to' stuff in here which could perhaps be re-integrated into the article or put into wikibooks. quercus robur 08:05, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

== Basic Organic Program ==

The Dirt Doctor’s Basic Organic Program [http//www.DirtDoctor.com]

1. Stop using all synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and other chemicals that harm living organisms. 2. Build soil health with natural organic products and techniques. 3. Use native plants and well-adapted introductions to conserve water and make wise decisions.

SOIL AMENDING Apply compost, rock materials such as lava sand, granite, basalt and other paramagnetic materials and molasses to all planting areas.

MAINTENANCE

MULCHING Mulch bare soil around all shrubs, trees, ground covers and food crops with shredded native tree trimmings to protect the soil from sunlight, wind and rain, inhibit weed germination, decrease watering needs and mediate soil temperature. Native cedar is the best choice. Other natural mulches can be used, but avoid Bermudagrass hay because of herbicide residue. Do not pile mulch on the stems of plants. FERTILIZING Broadcast organic fertilizer to the entire site 2-3 times per year at 20 lbs. /1,000 sq. ft. Foliar feed all plants during the growing season, at least monthly with aerated compost tea or Garrett Juice.

WATERING Water only as needed. The organic program will reduce the frequency and volume of water needed. Add a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar per gallon when watering pots. Use 1 ounce of liquid humate in acid soils.

MOWING Mow turf as needed and mulch clippings into the lawn to return nutrients and organic matter to the soil. Put occasional excess clippings in compost pile. Don’t ever let clippings leave the site. Do not use line trimmers around shrubs and trees. Buffalograss lawns need less care than any grass.

WEEDING Hand pull large weeds and work on soil health for overall control. Mulch all bare soil. Avoid all synthetic herbicides, such as pre-emergents, broad-leaf treatments, soil sterilants and especially the SU (sulfonylurea) herbicides such as Manage and Oust. Spray weeds as needed with vinegar based herbicides.

PRUNING Remove dead, diseased and conflicting limbs. Do not over prune. Do not make flush cuts. Leave the branch collars intact. Do not paint cuts. For more details see www.DirtDoctor.com.

INSECT PESTS In general, control insect pests by encouraging beneficial insects and spraying with compost tea mixtures such as Garrett Juice. Avoid all pyrethrum products, especially those containing pipernyl butoxide (PBO), petroleum distillates and other contaminants

DISEASES Most diseases such as black spot, brown patch, powdery mildew and other fungal problems are controlled by prevention through soil improve-ment, avoidance of high-nitrogen fertilizers and proper watering. Outbreaks can be stopped with sprays of potassium bicarbonate, cornmeal juice, diluted vinegar or garlic tea.

PLANTING

BEDS Scrape away existing grass and weeds; add compost, lava sand, organic fertilizer, wheat bran, expanded shale, cornmeal and dry molasses and till into the native soil. Excavation of natural soil and additional ingredients such as concrete sand, peat moss, foreign soil and pine bark should not be used. More compost is needed for shrubs and flowers than for groundcover. Add Texas greensand to black and white soils and high-calcium lime to acid soils. Decomposed granite and zeolite are effective for most all soils.

PRODUCTS COMPOST Compost, Nature’s own living fertilizer, can be made at home or purchased ready-to-use. It can be started any time of the year in sun or shade. Anything once living can go in the compost: grass clippings, tree trimmings, food scraps, bark, sawdust, rice hulls, weeds, nut hulls and animal manure. Mix the ingredients together and simply pile the material on the ground. The best mixture is 80% vegetative matter and 20% animal waste, although any mix will compost. Oxygen is a critical component. Ingredients should be a mix of coarse and fine-textured material to promote air circulation through the pile. Turn the pile as time allows to speed up the process. Another critical component is water. A compost pile should be roughly the moisture of a squeezed-out sponge to help the living organisms thrive and work their magic. Compost is ready to use as a soil amendment when the ingredients are no longer identifiable. The color will be dark brown; the texture soft and crumbly and it will smell like the forest floor. Rough, unfinished compost can be used as topdressing mulch around all plantings. Add dry molasses to piles that aren’t heating up enough.

COMPOST TEA' Compost tea is made by soaking compost in water. Fill any container half full of compost and finish filling with water. Let the mix sit 24 hours, then dilute and spray on the foliage of any and all plants. Be sure to strain the solids out with old pantyhose, cheesecloth or floating row cover material. Full strength tea makes an excellent fire ant mound drench when mixed with 2 oz. molasses and 2 oz. orange oil per gallon. Add vinegar, molasses and seaweed to make Garrett Juice. Use an aquarium pump to aerate the compost tea mixture prior to using for better results.

FORMULAS

GARLIC PEPPER TEA INSECT REPELLENT In a blender with water, liquefy two bulbs of garlic and two cayenne or habanero peppers. Strain away the solids. Pour the garlic-pepper juice into a one gallon container. Fill the remaining volume with water to make one gallon of concentrate. Shake well before using and add 1/4 cup of the concentrate to each gallon of water in the sprayer. To make garlic tea, simply omit the pepper and add another bulb of garlic. For additional power, add one tablespoon of seaweed and molasses to each gallon. Always use plastic containers with loose fitting lids for storage.

GARRETT JUICE Mix the following per gallon of water: one cup of compost tea or liquid humate, one ounce liquid seaweed, one ounce blackstrap molasses and one ounce apple cider vinegar. To make a mild insect control product, add one oz. of citrus oil per gallon of spray. To make the fire ant killer, add two oz. of citrus oil per gallon. When spraying the foliage of plants, don’t use over two oz. of citrus oil per gallon of spray. This mixture also works as a soil detox product if you are just starting your organic program. It is also an excellent soil drench and root stimulator.

DIRT DOCTOR’S POTTING SOIL One part coconut fiber, one part expanded shale, one part quality compost or earthworm castings and one part wheat bran.

TREE TRUNK GOOP Mix 1/3 of each in water and paint on trunks: diatomaceous earth, soft rock phosphate and manure compost. Paint onto cuts, borer holes or other injuries on trunks or limbs. Reapply if washed off by rain or irrigation.

ADDITIONAL ORGANIC INFORMATION:

WEBSITE: [www.DirtDoctor.com]

DIRT: A monthly magazine full of wonderful articles, information, the monthly gardening calendar, plant of the month, kid’s projects and more.

GROUND CREW MEMBERSHIP: Includes great videos, seminars, the DIRT magazine, value coupons and much more.

COMMUNITY CENTER: Thousands of people visit the Dirt Doctor’s Community Center daily to read, ask questions, get helpful advice and search over 30,000 articles.

DIRT DOCTOR LIBRARY: Thousands of topics on natural organic gardening products, techniques and other information.

BUSINESS DIRECTORY: Up to date listing of top organic retailers and manufactures.

TEXAS ORGANIC RESEARCH CENTER: TORC's mission is to improve our health and thus our quality of life by making natural organic management programs the new mainstream.

COLUMNS: “The Natural Way” is in Friday’s House & Garden Section of the Dallas Morning News.

E-MAIL: info@DirtDoctor.com