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A Biodynamic Gardening Avenue

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A Biodynamic Gardening Avenue

Man has been proven throughout the years of history to have unmatched character. He is able to withstand all sorts of trials and trying times in order to continue survival and propagation. This can be attributed to the ability of inculcating innovative changes into his surroundings so as to maximize the functionality of every resource available. Let?s take a look at how the agricultural people enhance the usefulness of the soil in biodynamic gardening and farming via the presence of compost materials.

Basically compost is the combination created from food materials and other organic components. This mixing process is made possible by aerobic mechanisms that occur within the confines of black soil. The composting process has been evident in many places across the globe. Its simplicity has attracted a lot of individuals to utilize it within their household. Common farmers and industrial folks have also taken a liking to the benefits of composting.

Composted soil is considered as enriched soil and has been used as a medium in various fields and vicinities. It has been a common character that has been embraced by landscapes and gardens as well as horticulture and agriculture. It has been noted to have beneficial contributions such as fertilizer, natural pesticide, and soil conditioner. It is also found useful for land and stream reclamation, landfill cover, erosion control, and wetland construction.

There has been thorough recommendation of compost being a significant soil additive. This is because it has the capacity to bring humus and nutrients in the soil into an active state. Moreover, it facilitates the provision of an avenue for the growth of porous and absorbent materials that can support moisture and soluble mineral resulting into adequate plant nutrition. It can be mixed with the likes of sand, vermiculite, grit, soil, clay granules, perlite, or bark chips to come with loam.

Composting has gone passed the basic lines of agriculture into magnitudes that can prove to be helpful for global conditions. In recent times, there have been issues regarding the increase of the space being occupied by landfills thereby bringing recycling alternatives on the table. Composting has been tapped on as a way to boost recycling campaigns since it involves conversion of decomposable organic matter into useful and more stable entities.

New heights of composting have been mandate by law particularly in Western countries. It has reached an industrial level and exists in forms such as aerated static pile composting, anaerobic digestion, in-vessel composting. Actually there have been formulated guidelines that date as early as the 80s in Germany, Holland, and Switzerland. The United States and the United Kingdom are continually strengthening their policies in order to support composting.

In order to cope with new trends in the field there have construction of modern concepts of composting in order to enhance the method itself and correct the perceived problems associated with the old one. Rapid composting is now being advocated wherein the process can take place within two to three weeks. Other changes outlined focused on the monitoring of the moisture level and details in the compost content specifically bringing the carbon to nitrogen ratio of thirty to one.

Biodynamic gardening and farming offers a wide array of methods and principles that is why a certain practitioner must be keen in knowing the smallest of details such as proper and effective composting schemes.
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Monthly Gardening Reminders

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Monthly Gardening Reminders

As you work on perfecting your homemade wine, it is important to spend a little time each month tending to your garden. Here I have broken down by month some of the things that you will want to do to ensure a bountiful harvest that you can use when making your own wine at home.

January

Little can be done this month, and much will depend on how much has been done in previous months. If the weather is mild the planting of fruit trees and bushes may be undertaken, but do this only if the weather appears likely to stay mild for a few days at least.

Look to blackcurrant bushes and remove any swollen buds and burn them.

Get in supplies of insecticides and fertilizers.

February

Make sure all trained fruits are tied to their supports securely, and give each a mulch of manure if there is plenty available. If only limited amounts of manure or compost are available keep these till later on. Loganberries and raspberries not already cut down should be attended to and the new canes tied in.

If the weather is mild a light forking of the top soil round fruit bushes and along rows of canes, followed by a dusting of lime, will do a lot of good. This will also unearth a few pests for the attention of birds.

All fruit trees and bushes should have been planted by now; if they have not, get them in before the end of the month.

March

Gooseberries and currants should be sprayed this month with paraffin emulsion to safeguard them against brown scale and red spider.

Watch blackcurrants for “big bud” and pinch off any suspects and burn them. Care must be taken now because the buds may be at the point of opening.

Fork round bushes and canes as for February if this was not done last month.

April

Spray blackcurrants with a lime and sulphur wash where “big bud” is suspected. Repeat if necessary.

The main activity in the garden now will be spreading compost or manure and keeping down weeds before they get a hold.

Any weak growths on fruit bushes may be cut out so as to leave the stronger growths to bear the fruit. This will also help the growth of new wood on which next year’s fruit will be borne.

May

To keep strawberries clean put clean straw round the plants. Before doing this dress the bed with two ounces of super phosphate per square yard and hoe this in lightly.

Give all fruit a mulch of manure or compost, or dead leaves. Begin weekly feeding with liquid manure.

Watch all fruit for signs of pests and diseases and spray with proprietary brands of insecticide.

June

Gooseberries often need thinning at this time of the year. Do this so that the smaller fruits are left to develop fully.

Make wine with the thinning.

If the weather is very dry, mulch fruit bushes with manure, compost, leaves, straw, lawn mowing or whatever is available. Mulching conserves moisture in the soil and helps the fruit to swell. This can increase the annual yield by as much as a third.

If green-fly appears spray with a proprietary brand of insecticide.

July

Fruit bushes and trees make rapid growth at this time of the year. If there is any suggestion of overcrowding, cut out some of this new growth, leaving the strongest to grow on.

Look to the vines; if there is an abundance of long straggling growths, cut some of them out, leaving those you will want for cutting back in the autumn.

Runners from strawberry plants may be pegged down to make new plants. Peg down the strongest young crown on the runners that come from the plants bearing the heaviest crop. Pinch off the runner an inch beyond the crown to be pegged down. If this is not done the runner will continue to run and develop new crowns; this will weaken the parent plant and will also produce an abundance of new weakling plants.

If tree-fruit crops are heavy, thin to two or three fruits to each cluster. Far better to have three good fruits to each bunch than five or six under-sized ones.

August

Keep down weeds with the hoe. Gather apples and pears if ready and look to later varieties: thin these as necessary.

September

Loganberries and raspberries that have borne fruit may be cut down now and the new canes tied in.

Clean up round trees and bushes and burn all leaves if pests and diseases have been prevalent. The ash, if there is enough of it, should be stored for hoeing in round fruit bushes in the spring. Hoeing now will help to prevent weeds growing from seeds dropped earlier.

Pegged-down strawberry runners may be lifted now, severed from the parent plant and planted out. Strawberry beds need replacing every three years; it is a good plan then to replace a third of the bed each year with these new plants.

October

Clean up and burn all rubbish round fruit bushes and canes. If loganberries and raspberries have not yet been cut down and the new canes tied in, do this now.
Prune currants and gooseberry bushes.

Plant fruit bushes and early varieties of tree fruits.

November

All those jobs that you should have done during August, September and October must be done now.

December

Look to blackcurrants for “big bud”; pinch off infected buds and burn them.

Plant and prune vines, fruit trees, bushes and canes.

Make sure that you are getting a good supply of compost ready for next year.

author:Brian Cook