Should You Only Use Organic Garden Plants

If you are an organic gardener you may be wondering if you should be using organic garden plants. That is a really good question and I can only say it depends.

We will take a look at the difference between the conventional vegetable plants grown for the local nursery and purely organic plants and where to find them.

The every day plants you will find at the nursery have been grown with lots of chemicals. They are spoon fed chemical fertilizer to keep them looking good for the customer. If you are gardening organically you must decide if that is an option for you.

Most people in our culture have not considered the fact that tons of chemicals are dumped on our food every day. The nursery that grows garden plants only for profit want to make as much as fast as possible and using chemicals are how they think is the best way to do that.

Using chemicals cut a lot of labor and that is a big cost for them. So, to the large company that is worth the use of chemicals and do not even consider any options. Plus, the average consumer does not ask for organic plants, because they are going home and pouring chemicals on the plants to get them to grow in their own garden. You can't really blame the companies giving the customer what they want.

As an organic gardener you may feel like you do not want to use plants started with chemicals. You do have other ways of getting good quality organic plants, here are a couple of ways to do that.

I garden organically, and do buy some plants from the nursery when I lose some plants or see something new I want to try that they have. I don't want to make that a full-time practice and if necessary I could do without the chemical grown plants.

You have the option to start your own plants before spring in a south facing window, under grow lights, or as I often do, start them in a cold frame. I really like sowing my own seeds so that I can get the varieties that I want, and I can stagger the plantings out over the growing seasons. The nursery usually only has plants available during the spring rush.

Another option is to look in the better garden catalogs for organic vegetable plants. They usually do not have much of a variety and they are pricey, but that is another way you can go.

To get serious about going organic and you want organic plants, you will have to do it yourself, just like most things in life. This article should help decide where you are with your organic gardening and what to do about your organic garden plants.

To get regular garden tips in a free newsletter just click here now! For a web site with more information go to http://solutionsfororganicgardening.com/.

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Why You Should Grow Disease Resistant Potatoes

The great Irish famine of the mid-19th century shows us how vulnerable potatoes can be when it comes to disease. Potato blight, caused by a rampant fungus caused a massive crop failure throughout Ireland, leading to famine and starvation.

Many of those who survived the famine decided to emigrate to far-off lands like North America and Australia, leading to a drop in the Irish population of some 50%.

Hybrid Potatoes can Resist Disease

Of course it was the common so-called Irish potato that was affected by the terrible blight. So it is not surprising that horticulturists decided to do what they could to try and "improve" the common potato.

Luther Burbank, an American horticulturist, is credited with having developed the first disease resistant hybrid potato. He called it the Russet Burbank potato and then, after selling the rights to it, went off to Santa Rosa with the proceeds. It was there that he established what is now a world-famous experimental farm.

Since then many different varieties of disease resistant potato have been bred (and I'll talk about these in another post). Furthermore, most countries have standards that certify potatoes that are disease-free. If possible these are the seed tubers that you should plant.

Diseases Potatoes are Prone to

Unfortunately potatoes are prone to many diseases, including various leaf diseases. Insects often transmit viral diseases, but bacteria and fungi are also problems. These are just some examples:

· Potato scab, which affects the appearance of the underground tubers, is a very common fungal disease that affects potatoes. You can avoid it by ensuring the pH of your soil is between 5.2 and 5.5 and by keeping the soil relatively dry and always well-drained.

· Black dot is a fungal disease that causes wilt and rotting. It is encouraged by poor soil and bad drainage.

· Black scurf is another fungal disease, attacking underground. Good management should help you avoid this; unfortunately there are no varieties that are specifically resistant to it. Silver scurf is another type, but this usually occurs during storage.

· Early blight is also caused by a fungus. You can identify it by little dark spots that form on the leaves, which then turn yellow and dry, and then fall off. It is a major problem which is exacerbated by overhead irrigation.

· Late blight is another fungal disease, and is spread by wind and rain - and is worsened by overhead irrigation.

· Mould can be quite a bad problem, again because of moist condition and overhead watering.

· While wilts may be caused by a fungal disease, sometimes it is caused by bacteria. Either way it's bad news. Healthy plants shouldn't be attacked by wilts (of which there are several types), but using disease-free stock is your best protection.

· Blackleg disease is a rather horrid bacterial disease and one that may attack early on in the growing season. Again planting disease-free seed will usually avoid the problem.

How to Avoid Diseases from Infecting Your Potato Crop

Happily there are steps that you can take to avoid these problems in your potato patch. For instance weeds can be a source of disease, so these should be diligently removed. Aphids also carry diseases, so keep an eye out for these and use an organic spray if you spot them (spray in the evening when the good bugs aren't usually around).

Crop rotation is an excellent way to prevent infections and diseases from one season being passed on to the next. Just remember that you should plant something that belongs to another family, because plants in the same family - brinjals, tomatoes, peppers, and so on - suffer from the same problems.

Feeding the soil with organic compost or manure is another safeguard, because good quality soil encourages good bugs.

Planting cover crops like wheat or barley is another safeguard, although this is only really an option if you are able to plant a field of potatoes. Alternatively you could plant one of the brassica species that grows through winter; mustard, cabbages, and canola are all brassicas that will help to minimise disease and control pests in your potato patch.

While mulching is always good, when it comes to potatoes, make sure you don't mulch right against the plant as this may cause the stem to rot or even affect the leaves of the potato.

Too much nitrogen in the soil is also a disease risk.

Overhead sprinklers tend to exacerbate problems, so if you are able to, rather install a drip system or soaker hoses. If you're watering with sprinklers, do so early in the day because wet leaves seem to invite disease at night; water splashing on the leaves also helps to transmit diseases.

If your potato plants look as if they are wilting, but the weather is cool, check for disease.

Annette Welsford is editor and co-author of international best selling book How to Grow Great Potatoes. She has also edited and published several other gardening related titles.

The 110 page book can be purchased online and is considered to be the authoritative "bible" on Growing Potatoes. It also comes with a complimentary cookbook and second book on Growing Jerusalem Artichokes

Visit http://www.growgreatpotatoes.com/ for a wealth of expert tips and advice on growing potatoes at your place.

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