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Table of Contents

• Organic Soils
• Organic Plant Food
• Reusing Rainwater

Organic Soils

Organic soils are soils that are made from decomposed plant or animal material. Sphagnum moss, manure, composted bark fines, and decayed leaves or grass can create organic soil. Because they are made of decayed material, organic soils can contain good nutrients for your plants. You can make your garden soil more organic by buying organic soil or soil amendments and working them in.

There are many types of amendments that can be mixed into your native soil to add organic matter.

This is the soil amendment you can make yourself, for free. You can use decayed organic materials such as grass clippings, leaves, fruit and vegetable food wastes, and coffee grounds. Put it in a compost pile and let it decay. The result is a rich organic amendment. If you don't want to make your own, you can buy it in bags or bulk.

Commercially available manure is rich in organic nutrients. But remember, not all manure is alike. Look for farm manure from steers, cows, or chickens that has been mixed with bedding material and allowed to compost for at least 2 months.

This material comes from decomposed peat moss mined from bogs. It has lots of nutrients and excellent water-holding capacity. Use it on your acid-loving plants such as azaleas and rhododendrons.

Leaf mold is a great source of nitrogen and potassium for your soil. Better yet, it costs you nothing since you make it by composting your own leaves.

Sawdust made from trees, trimmings and bark helps to improve the drainage and texture of organic garden soils. Mix it into your organic soil for a light, airy texture. Be careful not to use sawdust from treated lumber, because of the chemicals used to treat it.

Of course, you can save yourself the trouble of making, buying, and mixing separate amendments altogether. Instead, go for a blended garden soil, such as Miracle-Gro® Organic Choice™ Garden Soil.

Organic Plant Food

When you're at the grocery store, you see organic produce, organic cereal, organic bread, organic dairy products. Is organic plant food the same? Not really. When plant food is described as organic, that means it is derived from plant or animal sources. While almost any organic material may be used as plant food, your results can vary.

Some of the most common organic plant foods are bone meal, cottonseed meal, blood meal, fish emulsion, activated sewage and manures. Parts of your yard are better suited for certain kinds of organic plant food than others. Here's a brief description of organic plant foods and how they are typically used.

Bone meal: a mixture of crushed and coarsely ground bones that decomposes slowly. Use it when you're planting bulbs.
Cottonseed meal: a by-product of cotton manufacturing. It is somewhat acidic, so it's ideal for your acid-loving plants, such as azaleas, camellias, and rhododendrons.

Blood meal: dried powdered blood from cattle slaughterhouses. It is a very rich source of nitrogen, so use it carefully. It's also effective for keeping deer out of your garden.
Fish emulsion: a decomposed blend of finely pulverized fish. It is high in nitrogen, so you want to be careful. The fishy smell goes away after a day or two.

Sewage sludge: a recycled product of municipal sewage treatment plants. Activated sludge is usually sold in a dry, granular form for use as a general purpose, long-lasting, non-burning fertilizer. It's popular for use on lawns and golf courses.

Manures: commonly available manures include horse, cow, pig, chicken, and sheep products. Not all manure is alike, or equally effective. For Miracle-Gro Organic Choice Plant Food, recycled poultry litter is used from a poultry company. The litter is pasteurized in a unique process that kills harmful bacteria and weed seeds, and converts it into a high-quality, low-odor plant fertilizer.

Sometimes, you just want to take a walk on the wild side of organic plant food. In case you do, try alfalfa pellets. Sold as animal feed, they are rich in nitrogen and make excellent plant food. You can dig the pellets into the soil or add them to a compost pile. Also, if you live near an animal- or plant-processing factory, the by-products produced there may be usable. Contact them for more information.

Reusing Rainwater

Saving rainwater is like putting money in the bank. It's free, and the more of it you use, the less often you have to turn on your hose. Depending on where you live, that can be a big savings. Best of all, capturing rainwater is easy to do.

While some people put in complicated underground storage systems, the easiest method to capture rainwater is to divert your downspout into a barrel. You can use a plastic barrel, an old-fashioned oak barrel, or a designer cistern. It just depends on how you want it to look in your yard. You can find different kinds of barrels at your local garden center.

Now that you've captured it, how do you get at it? The easiest method to get at your new liquid treasure trove is to dip a watering can into your barrel and sprinkle your garden with it. Another method is to put a tap in the bottom of your barrel, and attach a drip line that runs to your garden. The water pressure in the barrel is strong enough to push water through the hose, saving you work. Either way, you'll be using a precious resource that would otherwise go down the drain.

These article courtesy of Scotts

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