Grow Organic Vegetables

Written by Vince Apps


Continued from page 1
It is not in price or health alone that home gardening pays. There is another point. Agribusiness has to growrepparttar things that giverepparttar 141510 biggest yield. They have to sacrifice quality and taste for quantity and long shelf life. You do not. The strawberries onrepparttar 141511 supermarket shelves may look bright and red and uniform but you will soon find they taste more likerepparttar 141512 cardboard of their containers when compared to a home grown variety picked straight fromrepparttar 141513 vine.

And this brings us to what may berepparttar 141514 most important reason you should garden. It isrepparttar 141515 cheapest, healthiest pleasure there is. Give me a sunny garden patch inrepparttar 141516 springtime, give me seeds to watch as they findrepparttar 141517 light, plants to tend as they take hold inrepparttar 141518 fine, loose, rich soil, give me succulent and tasty springtime salads. And when you have grown tired ofrepparttar 141519 springtime, come back in summer to evenrepparttar 141520 smallest garden, and you will find in it, every day, a new vista, new pleasures and, yes, new challenges.

Better food, better health, better living -- all theserepparttar 141521 home vegetable garden offers you in abundance. So, turn off that computer, pull out some old clothes and find a spot to dig.

Vince Apps http://manualofgardening.com


Control Flea Beetles Organically

Written by Marilyn Pokorney


Continued from page 1

Use rotation planting. Don't plantrepparttar same crop inrepparttar 141469 same bedrepparttar 141470 next year.

Dusting plants with Diatomaceous earth, ashes, ground limestone, or even flour has been used successfully.

Homemade sticky traps work well. Flea beetles are attracted torepparttar 141471 colors of white and yellow. For white traps cut milk jugs sides, other white plastic containers, or styrofoam meat trays into pieces about four to six inches square. Coatrepparttar 141472 pieces with something sticky. Petroleum jelly, lard, grease and non-setting glue have all been found useful. Wash offrepparttar 141473 captured beetles and reuse.

For a yellow trap take flypaper and attach it to something solid like a lightweight board that can be set upright or heavy cardboard attached to a wooden stake.

Some people have found beer traps successful.

For plants that don't need insect pollination, cover beds of seedlings with row covers or gauze-like material to prevent beetle entry.

Flea beetles like hot, dry soil. Misting or fine watering to keeprepparttar 141474 top soil moist helps as do mulches.

Plant beets, carrots, chard, radishes, spinach and other cool-loving crops a couple of weeks later. These also make effective trap crops to protect other plants.

Natural repellents consist of nicotinia, catnip, and wormwood. Make a tea and sprayrepparttar 141475 affected crop. Another natural repellent is a garlic and hot pepper spray. Flea beetles hate this combination and will quickly leave. Reapply after watering or rain.

If all else fails, insecticides make from plants like Rotenone can be applied.

For more information on organic flea beetle and insect control:

http://www.apluswriting.net/garden/fleabeetle.htm

Marilyn Pokorney Freelance writer of science, nature, animals and the environment. Also loves crafts, gardening, and reading. Website: http://www.apluswriting.net


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