Organic Gardening Hacks
Create your own Garden of Eden!
There are many facets to cultivating your own organic plant food and medicine, but you can make the process as simple or complex as you would like. We'll try and make it simple for everyone. The goal is to improve your prosperity in the garden, whether you're new or experienced at gardening organically. Here you will find specific information on how to cultivate particular vegetables and fruits, decomposition of organic matter, and techniques to improve your quality and quantity of soil and healthy produce. All information found here is based on my own research and vast experience cultivating a wide variety of both plants and mushrooms. Thus, this particular cultivation information directly applies to Ontario residents anywhere South of North Bay and may not reflect the optimal growth parameters for your area. I would refer anyone interested in learning more about plant cultivation, to Youtube. There is some great botanists/farmers out there who will elaborate further on what we will discuss here.
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Composting Techniques
Composting is essentially the utilization of microorganisms to decompose organic materials into its simplest and easiest to absorb state. The more diverse the materials used, the more diverse the available nutrients will be. There is the Cold Compost technique, which is often referred to as "Lazy Composting". This is when organic waste is continuously piled to create an anaerobic environment, which slowly breaks down over the course of 18-24 months. The Hot Compost technique involves more work, but the results and benefits are astounding. With hot composting, organic materials are piled at roughly a 32:1(carbon to nitrogen) ratio and watered down. Brown materials consist of high carbon content(wood chips, straw, leaves) and green materials consist of high nitrogen content(grass, green plant matter, manures). The golden ratio for optimal decomposition is 32:1, the closer you can get to that the more effective your bacteria will be. Every 2 days the pile is "turned" with a fork, creating an aerobic environment. Due to the rapid growth of aerobic bacterium, the pile will heat up to 150 degrees, both slow cooking the materials and pasteurizing any potential pathogens or parasites. Hot Compost piles also have no smell, as the anaerobic bacteria in cold compost is what causes the rancid smell. Hot Composting will turn simple woodchips and grass clippings into black compost in less than 2 months. Piles should be minimal 1m across and 1m high, but the bigger the better.
Vermiculture
Vermiculture is the utilization of red worms to break down organic kitchen waste and produce a nutrient rich fertilizer called worm castings. Worm castings are loaded with nutrients and beneficial bacteria, which will help feed the soil and roots of your plant. Worm castings can be soaked in water to make worm tea, which can then be used to water your plants. Unlike other fertilizers, work castings will not burn your plant, which means you can use as much as you like.
NPK
NPK represents the 3 most important plant nutrients. Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium, the 3 macro nutrients. There is a whole slew of other micronutrients and minerals that play important roles in plant growth and reproduction, but for now we'll focus on the big 3. When you think nitrogen, think rapid foliage and green growth. Nitrogen will help your plants build more biomass and photosynthesis effectively.
Fixing Clay & Sandy Soils
All soils will be comprised of 3 soil types, Sand, Silt, and Clay at differing ratios. Sandy soil and Clay soil types both have their advantages and disadvantages.
No-Til Gardening
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Hugelkulture
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Indeterminate Tomatoes
These specs apply to all Indeterminate tomato varieties
There are two main types of tomato plants. Determinate and Indeterminate tomatoes. Determinate plants grow to a certain size, produce a couple fruits, then die. Indeterminate varieties continue to grow and produce fruit until the first good frost kills the plants off. With continued care, Indeterminate varieties will produce much more fruit and there are more unique varieties to choose from. For these reasons, we don't grow Determinate varieties and focus on Indeterminate strains. With the shorter growing season in our area, I tend to start my tomato seeds at the end of March or early April, so that they are large plants when its time to transplant in May.
Indeterminate tomatoes prefer loose, rich, slightly acidic soil with consistent moisture. Heavy rains or overwatering/inconsistent watering can cause the roots to absorb more water and push it into the tomatoes, causing them to split and rot. Tomatoes are best grown vertically, but will naturally want to fall over as they get taller, especially with fruits setting. It is best to tie the plant as it grows to a tall stake or trellis. As the main vine grows, you will see new stem growth(suckers), which will grow large and produce flowers and fruits. Fruit production takes a lot of energy and nutrients, so the plant can't support the growth of too many suckers and all your fruits will die before they mature. For this reason we grow two main vines on each plant, giving us double the yield, but fully mature fruits.
Nutrient requirements: Tomatoes require different levels of the macronutrients NPK(Nitrogen, Phosphorus, & Potassium), as well as several micronutrients throughout their life cycle. My recommendations are under the assumption that you have loose, organic rich soil to work with. If you have sandy soil vs clay soil, refer to my information on Improving Your Soil. Before planting, I would recommend spreading organic chicken manure(5-3-2) and a light dusting of potash(for extra potassium and micronutrients), ensure the soil is loose and airy. Water at least 1-3 times per week, depending on how much rainfall you get. Every 3rd watering, add liquid organic fertilizer high in nitrogen to your watering regiment, watering around the roots, but not on the leaves. The plant will grow fast and large. When flowers begin to form, I tend to pluck the first few to allow the plant to focus on growing instead of fruit development. This results in waiting longer to harvest, but a larger plant will produce much more fruit.
Melons, Squash, Cucumbers, Pumpkins, Gourds etc
All of these vine crops tend to have almost the same growth specs
All the crops in this group will grow long vines that spread across the ground, or vertically, if there is something to climb. Once the vines produce enough foliage and biomass, they will produce flowers. These flowers will be male or female. If a female flower is pollinated successfully, it will produce a fruit. You want to limit the amount of fruits per vine to 1-2, as the vine will end up producing several fruits that never mature. It is also wise to cut the first few flowers that develop, so the plant will continue to invest energy in the plants growth. A larger healthier vine, will produce large healthy fruits.
Nutrient Requirements
