The Organic Home Garden

FEED TIME!

The last condition of a plants environment that you must deal with is nutrition. The first and most obvious is the need for sunlight. Your leafy veges clearly need lots of sun and will not do well if you restrict them to less than 6 hours a day! Too little sunlight and the plants grow slowly and are more likely to contract diseases and don’t taste quite as nice! Remember sunlight means sugars -

sunlight
Carbon Dioxide + Water ======= Sugar + Oxygen

to produce enough sugar to convert to starch or proteins your plants need a minimum amount each day to do more than just survive! This process is known as photosynthesis. (Here-in ends the biology lesson!)

Pale and Yellowing leaves

Vege leaves that are pale or yellowing may need more sunlight as might plants that grow tall and spindly – they are taller than usual since they are chasing more light and that is their solution – grow up higher!
A similar problem can be seen in fruits that seem to fail to ripen. Many fruits need sunlight to convert starches into sugars and trigger the ripening process so be aware of where you place your fruit bearing plants. I have moved my apple trees around the yard chasing the sun as the season has moved into autumn and they are still growing well as a result.

The second requirement are the minerals that normally are evident in the soil of your garden. This is where the quality of your potting mix comes into question. Good quality mixes will start off with a good balance and will need only a little supplementing as your plants start to take off. Cheap mixes, well you will see the difference in your plants in a very short time after planting them.

Give em a little boost

Powdered or pelleted organic fertilisers are the best place to start and some are made specifically for pots. These can be added at planting time and then a little later on as the plants start to grow. It really depends on the size of your pots and the types of plants as to the frequency.

The next most useful is the liquid fish fertilisers or seaweed mixes. These are gentle and carry more than just fertiliser effects – many trace minerals and growth promoters are found in these products and they are convenient to use as well. These are so gentle that they can be used every two weeks as a boost to the plants and also to improve disease resistance.

HARVESTING

The last consideration is the issue of harvesting your veges. With plants like tomatoes it is obvious when these are ready to go and by all means pick them at the peak of their ripeness and get the taste! With leafy veges, like lettuce, spinach and herbs it may profit you to have several pots for each variety so that you can give them a chance to rest and regrow after picking a few leaves for your meals. Also remember to add a little fertiliser after a heavy harvest of any plants to speed up their regrowth and get them out in the sun.

POTTING MIX

The next issue is one of what to put in your pots. You cannot just go out and grab some dirt from a neighbours yard. Also you should not buy the cheapest potting mix you can find as well – like all things what you pay for you get!

Buy the best organic potting mix you can afford and add some blood and bone or compost to boost the nutrient levels in the mix. However. Don’t get carried away since it is a small space and too much can upset acid/alkaline levels in the mix.

WATERING

Being a small space it is obvious that there is a limit to how much water is stored in your pots. This means that frequent watering is essential if you plants are to thrive. Now there are many solutions to this and I will run thru a few for you.

WATER CRYSTALS
These are readily available from garden centres and are not to be confused with wetting agents. Wetting agents are used to deal with unwettable soils – something we here in Western Australia have to deal with all the time. I treat my lawns twice a year at least – althought the frequency is greatly reduced as the soil structure improves. Organic practices greatly reduce the need for treatment.
Water crystals have the ability to store water. So when you initially water you plants in the crystals will soak up a massive amount of water and then release that water to the plants later when the soil levels drop. This is not a complete solution to pots but gives you more time and flexibility when you have to leave the pots unattended for a few days or have to cope with summer days!

WATER METERS
As for determining the level of water in the pot a number of useful tips there. If you poke your finger (carefully) into the top of the mix if nothing sticks to your finger then you definitely need to water the pot, if the mix sticks to your finger then all is well! It won’t take you long to get a feel for the time the pot can last with it’s water supply but I personally prefer to use an electronic water sensor.
You may have seen some of these – the simplest is just a little piece of plastic that changes colour as the water levels change. I purchased a little meter that measures light intensity, acidity and water.

They last a very long time if you look after them and take away the guess work. We also have the bonus of a pH meter included and that is in another page of the blog!

I even use it in the garden to determine the need for supplemental watering on my non-rostered watering days. Yes, Perth is still under water restrictions and probably will be for the rest of my life.

SAUCERS

Many pots come with a saucer to sit them in. What you must be careful of is allowing too much water sitting in these unless you are growing aquatic plants. Many plants will start to rot or you will be breeding disease which will eventually kill them.
If living in a rental staining the floors or your balcony is a distinct possibility and the saucer will keep fertilisers and organic salts off them.
Some pots have a self-watering feature and these are the equivalent to a pot saucer. I use them for plants that are likely to get carried away if let loose in the garden!