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It is proven that organic pesticides deposit a ton of harmful chemicals into both the soil that you grow your food in, as well as the water systems that you get your drinking water from.  What farmers have found out though is that these pesticides aren’t always required, as the plants have natural defenses against them, as well has almost all of the insects being completely harmless to the crops.  The best part of this is that you don’t have to purchase expensive organic pesticides, while you still can if you prefer not to make your own, but you are able to produce your own organic pesticides based on recipes found on the internet.

When farmers use pesticides to get rid of the insects and bugs that they believe harm their crops, what they are really doing is depositing harmful chemicals and substances into the soil which is in turn absorbed into the plants and fruits that you are eating.  These chemicals also stunt the growth of the crops, which farmers often don’t realize.  These chemicals are even absorbed into the water system that the farmers are using to supply water to their animals, which is then absorbed into the meat that you are receiving.

What the farmers don’t usually realize is that the bugs and insects that they find in their fields and gardens are actually quite harmless, and often actually beneficial to the plants that they are growing.  These small insects help to eat the other harmful bugs and parasites that will damage the crops, and if farmers converted over to using organic pesticides they would not only increase the growth of their crops, protect the environment, but also allow nature to function in the manner that it is supposed to.  Little bugs and insects often help the environment rather than harm it.

There are some costs associated with organic pesticides, which is one of the main reasons that more farmers aren’t converting their systems, but as a home gardener there is an incredible way to produce your own pesticides that are still safe for your family to consume.  There are recipes available all across the internet on how to produce your own environment friendly organic pesticides.  If you are a home gardener, desire organic lawn care or are  a farm owner, you may want to really start considering the benefits of either converting to an organic pesticide system, or creating your own organic pesticides.

Organic gardening is a great way to teach yourself a new skill as well as being able to provide your family with whole foods that are incredibly healthy.  Organic foods are loaded with nutrients and don’t have all of the harmful chemicals used on them.  While studies haven’t proven that herbicides and pesticides harm you, the common logic says that if you are eating chemicals that will kill bugs and weeds, they probably aren’t going to do much for your internal organs.  By removing these chemicals and harmful substances from your daily diet, you are going to be able to rest assured that your body is getting only the best whole foods.  Keep these organic gardening tips in mind to save yourself a lot of time and energy.

Organic vegetable gardening is a bit more time involved than other types of gardening, especially those using herbicides and pesticides to control the weeds and insects.  For those types of gardens you simply have to prepare the soil – using  lawn aerators helps immensly in preparing the soil, insert some nutrients, and then plant your seeds.  After due time the vegetable plant will begin sprouting and you can then begin to use harmful chemicals on them to help protect them.  This is a double negative, and all that you are really going to accomplish is putting those harmful chemicals onto your families dinner plates.

An organic garden on the other hand requires a more involved touch, often requiring up to a few hours each week to maintain it.  You are going to have to pull weeds by hand, insert nutrients into the soil on a regular basis, as well as ensuring that you are watering the plants as needed.  While these types of gardens do require a bit more work to achieve the results that you are looking for, you are going to benefit from the garden for years to come.  Not only will you protect your family from the chemicals used you will also save yourself a lot of money and time from not having to go to the supermarket so often.  Another way to enjoy an organic garden is to make a mini greenhouse.  Then you have more control over the weeds.

The biggest factor in building an organic vegetable garden is selecting the right location for your new garden.  You can either bring in someone from a contracting or landscaping company to cultivate the garden for you, or you can till it up yourself.  Hiring someone to complete this work for you can get expensive, and there are often a lot of valuable lessons to be learned from getting out in the yard and doing the hard, manual labor yourself.  You will appreciate your organic garden supplies.  You can then call yourself an organic gardener and feel a sense of pride and accomplishment. 

Crank-operated drum. The crank-operated drum compost tumbler is a horizontally mounted drum that rests on a raised frame.  The crank allows you to turn the drum easily, thus aerating and mixing the materials.  Also, it’s easy to empty.  All you do is put a wheel barrow underneath the drum and open the hatch.  This type is the most expensive.  You are paying for the ease of operation.  Well worth it to many.
Center-axle drum. Another type it the center-axle drum compost tumbler.  It is a vertically mounted drum that rotates around a central, horizontal axle supported by a frame. The materials are broken up and mixed by the center axle.   Many models have doors on both ends for easability.  The downside is emptying them can be a chore because they are mounted so low to the ground.
Base-rolling drum. A third type is the base-rolling drum compost tumbler.  This is a horizontally configured compost sphere drum that rolls on a ground-level base.  Some have rollers and some have drums that are suspended for easier rotation.  Emptying these drums can be more difficult because they sit on the ground so you must shovel the compost out instead of letting it pour out.
Roll-around sphere. The forth kind of tumbler is the roll-around sphere compost tumbler.  These are shaped like a geodesic dome that you fill with organic materials and roll around your yard for mixing and aerating.  Although they sound kind of fun, they are the most difficult to empty.

How to compost.

Compost Bins.

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Composting is a great way to recycle your yard and kitchen waste.  It is also the best mulch you can add to your garden and house plants.  There are many ways to compost. You can do it without a bin, you can use a wormery, you can build your own or you can buy a commercial compost bin.  Ultimately it depends on your space and how much waste you will have.

It’s pretty easy to make organic compost.  To understand how to compost, you only need to remember 4 essential ingredients:  brown stuff, green stuff , water and air.  The green stuff includes all grass clippings, fruit and vegetable waste, weeds and such.  The brown stuff is comprised of dead leaves, hay or straw, wood clippings, old mulch and sticks, etc…     The pile must be damp like a wrung out sponge, so you will add water if necessary.  Turn it every couple days to aerate it with oxygen.  The more air it gets, the faster it will decompose.  This is why a tumbler compost bin comes in handy with home composting.  Otherwise you will need a shovel, pitchfork or a compost turning tool to mix it up.  That is it in a nutshell….in 3 to 4 weeks you will have nice rich brown garden compost  or use as mulch.

There are a  couple key things to watch out for.  To keep the animals away you don’t want to add any dead animal bits. bones or dairy products.  Also, The ratio of brown to green materials should be about 6:1.  If within 24 hours the pile doesn’t heat up ( you will see steam), then you will want to add more green.  A compost thermometer is good to have.  Aim for an internal temperature between 150-160 *F.  If you smell an ammonia type smell, you will want to add more brown clippings. 

When you think your compost is finished, you can run it through a riddle.  This is a screen that will separate the bigger pieces that you will throw back into the bin for further decomposition.  Then add it to your garden, mulch or plants.  Be sure to save some of the finished compost to begin your new batch.  This ensure your next batch will breakdown even faster.

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The decision to start composting is one that will dramatically help your garden and the environment.  Learning how to compost is easy.  It’s a great way to get your children involved and it’s fun too!  So where  do you start?  Basically, there are two types of composting bins to choose from.    Stationary composters (static) that stay put, and compost tumblers that spin, which do the work for you -keeping the materials aerated and mixed.

Stationary compost binsare advantageous in that they are very easy to use,  and they hold a lot more material.  They can hold up to 800 gallons worth of material as compared to most tumbler models that hold around 50 to 80 gallons. If you have a lot  of leaves and grass clippings the stationary bin would be the way to go.  Stationary bins come in many different sizes, shapes and designs.  Round compost bins are advantageous because they are cylindrical and have no corners for bits of material to get stuck and not mixed in.  Rectangular compost bins are good to because of their flat side which makes it easy to place along a fence or wall.  Most compost bins come from recycled plastic, but some are also made from wood or metal. 

Compost tumblers seem to be more popular than the stationary bins because they are so easy to keep aerated.  With a compost tumbler,  all you have to do is push the bin to turn it.  Although they don’t hold as much as the stationary bins, they compost faster since it’s easier to keep the materials mixed and aerated.  Since the organic materials break down pretty fast it’s easy to keep up with the waste.

Ultimately, it comes down to how much waste you have and your personal preference.  There are accessories for stationary  bins that make it easier to mix  like the compost turning tool.  All you do is shove the tool down into the pile and pull it back with the T shaped handle.  There are wings at the end of the tool that mix everything up as you pull doining all the work for you.  Whatever your choice, the important thing is to compost.