ORGANIC GARDENING. Sheriden Hansen, BS, Plant Science, USU. MS Student, Fruit Production, USU

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1 ORGANIC GARDENING Sheriden Hansen, BS, Plant Science, USU MS Student, Fruit Production, USU

2 Getting to Know You BS Plant Science USU, MS Fruit Production, USU Assistant at USU Research Farm in Kaysville Advanced Master Gardener Farmer BS in Nursing U of U Plants are my midlife crisis and I love it!

3 WHY ORGANIC? Get nutrition, enjoy tastier food, avoid GMO s Save money Protect future generations Protect soil and prevent soil erosion problems Protect our water quality Save energy Keep chemicals, hormones, and antibiotics off your plate Support small farmers Preserve ecosystems Beautify your community And MANY more reasons

4 What is ORGANIC anyway? "integrate cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity. APPROVED organic chemical, pesticide, and herbicide usage. NO industrial solvents, irradiation, or genetic engineering.

5 SOIL AND SOIL AMMENDMENT

6 SOIL Soil texture is a qualitative classification tool used in both the field and laboratory to determine classes for agricultural soils based on their physical texture. What is the texture of your soil? Sand, Silt, Clay Determines how nutrients and water will adhere to the soil. How do you determine the soil texture? Hand texture test Mason jar test Organic matter/humus content in your soil

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9 Further Soil Testing Nutrient availablity Salt content ph normal Organic matter content Residual pesticides Testing kit at USU Extension office Testing should be done annually or every other year prior to addition compost or fertilizers.

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11 How do we amend without chemicals?

12 Compost = Air + Water + Nitrogen + Carbon Carbon Sources Usually brown or yellow in color BROWNS Leaves Straw Corn Stalks Nitrogen Sources Can be any color, generally referred to as GREENS Kitchen scraps Moist plant matter (grass clippings) Animal by-products C:N should be 30:1

13 What not to add to your compost: Meat scraps Dairy scraps Large branches By-products from carnivorous animals (dogs and cats) Plastics Anything that smells horrible or that you wouldn t want in your soil

14 Composting has a magic number! 140ºF

15 Composting Cont. Turn the pile often Add water for the microbes Microbial activity is what increases the temperature 140ºF is critical to control harmful microorganisms MORE INFORMATION: 01.pdf

16 Organic Fertilizers: Plant fertilizer sea kelp, alfalfa meal, etc. Green manure vetch, red clover, winter wheat, etc. Natural fertilizer from animals blood meal, bone meal, feather meal, fish meal, and composted chicken manure Mined natural fertilizer gypsum and soft rock phosphate Dry vs. wet application Can burn plants, some of these fertilizers are high in salts. Apply at appropriate rates and water in. ADDITIONAL RESOURCE:

17 QUESTIONS SO FAR?

18 WEEDS

19 Ever feel like this?

20 What is a weed? A plant out of place An unwanted plant A plant growing where it is not desired A plant that a lot of time and money is spent on for elimination purposes A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered ~Emmerson A weed is but an unloved flower (greeting card)

21 How do we get rid of it? Prevention Cultural Weed Control Mulches and cover crops Mechanical weed control Herbicides???

22 Prevention Focuses on keeping new weeds out and prevention of weed seed or perennial plant part spread. You MUST understand weed biology. Life cycle of the plant? Annual, Biennial, Perennial How does the weed spread? Seed, runners, rhizomes, all of the above? When does it go to seed? Winter and Summer Annuals. How long are seeds viable? Sanitation: removing or destroying weeds in a neighboring field before they release seed. Weeds can be introduced through manure, compost, hay, straw, animal feed, contaminated crop seed, or other materials

23 Cultural Weed Control This is any tactic that makes the crop more competitive against weeds. Includes crop rotation, altering plant dates, etc. Planting dates influence the number and type of weeds present. For example: Delaying planting of spring seeded crops. Higher soil temperatures can help the crop grow more quickly and weeds that often emerge earlier and compete with the crop can be killed before planting to reduce the potential seedbank. Stale seedbed: Garden area is tilled, weeds are allowed to emerge and then are killed while still small. Can have several flushes of weeds. Once killed, then plant your crops.

24 Cover crops and mulches Using competition to crowd out weeds. Mulch provides a physical barrier and blocks out most light, reducing weed germination. Plastic mulches, weed fabric, straw, newspaper, grass clippings. Cover crops compete for resources like light, water, nutrition, and space. They can act as a mulch or a physical barrier by smothering weeds. Allelopathic compounds Buckwheat, winter wheat, vetch, clovers

25 Mechanical weed control The key to managing weeds in an organic system! Includes tilling, physically pulling weeds, cultivation, mowing, and FLAMING. It is critical that mechanical weed control is done when weeds are SMALL and MANAGEABLE.

26 Chemical weed control (herbicides) Not a lot of options. Corn gluten meal used as a preemergent. Not easy to get. Citric Acid Garlic Clove oil Acetic Acid (may not be approved for use as an herbicide) List of organic herbicides at: d-pest-control/organic-weedcontrol/organic-herbicide.html

27 Pest Control

28 Insects are important POLLINATORS: bees, beetles, flies, wasps, butterflies, and moths all pollinate. DECOMPOSERS: break down organic matter. BIOLOGICAL CONTROL: some insects control pest insects (beneficial wasps, mantids). PART OF THE FOOD CHAIN: for larger insects, animals, and even humans. NOT ALL ARE BAD, so we need to be careful!

29 How do we control the unwanted insects? IPM Integrated Pest Management Codling moth trap Use as many different tactics as we can to control pests. Promote plant health. Healthy plants can withstand some insect damage. Determine what your threshold for damage is. Regular scouting to detect insects early. Proper identification of insect. Limit chemical applications.

30 Mechanical/Physical Control Barriers and screens Traps and bands Mulch Tillage Sanitation Hand removal of insects

31 Cultural Control Rotate crops, planting locations Seek resistant and tolerant plants (grafted tomatoes) Avoid susceptible plants (even favorites) Make sure you are starting out with pest free plants Diversify your plant selection Keep plants healthy

32 Biological Control Insects controlling pests (mantids, spiders, ladybugs, wasps, etc.) Predators, parasitoids, and pathogens Most pests have enemies Will respond at low/moderate density Encourage natural enemies Avoid monocultures

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34 Chemical Control Selective, short residual, earth-friendly Microbial (bacterial, nematode, fungi) Specific to target species or life stage Slow acting, can take many days to work (nematodes on grubs) Soaps, oil, dust, mineral (zinc, copper, sulfur) Smother to prevent breathing or disrupt the waxy outer layer of softbodied insects, causing them to dry out and die Concern, Safer, Surround, Sucrocide, Dri-Die, Bonide, Entrust, Success Botanical (pyrethrum, nicotine, spinosad) Pyganic, Evergreen Spinosad (bacterial fermentation) Conserve, Success, Entrust

35 MORE INFORMATION AT UTAHPESTS.USU.EDU

36 ANY QUESTIONS?