Organic Garden Feeding Usage Dosage Directions Flower Beds Vegetables Pots Annuals Roses Shrubs & Trees Lawn GIY Organic Fertilizer: 1 cup per 2m 2 GIY Organic Fertilizer: 1 cup per plant GIY Organic Fertilizer: 1-2 cups per plant GIY Worm Tea: Dilute 1:4 with water GIY Organic Fertilizer: 1 cup per 4m 2 GIY Top-Dressing: 1.4m 3 per half acre (2,000m 2 ) (Only use the Worm Tea on areas needing intensive repair or a special green boost) New Beds: Dig to 50cm, mix GIY Organic Fertilizer and GIY Eco-Compost into soil New Pots: Use GIY Potting Mix and mix GIY Organic Fertilizer into soil months, all year round Boost Growth/ Flowers/ Fruit: Feed with GIY Worm Tea every 2 weeks New Beds: Dig to 50cm. Plant each bush in a 5cm x 50cm x 50cm square hole and build a cone of compost. Mix GIY Organic Fertilizer and GIY Eco-Compost into soil months, from August April Boost Growth/ Flowers: Feed with GIY Worm Tea every 2 weeks Stop Feeding from May July while roses are dormant Resume Feeding after pruning Planting Holes: Dig 1m x 1m x 1m square hole and build a cone of compost. Mix GIY Organic Fertilizer and GIY Nutri-Mulch into soil months, all year round (if dormant stop feeding) Boost Growth/ Flowers/ Fruit: Feed with GIY Worm Tea every 2 weeks Planting: Dig to 50cm, mix GIY Organic Fertilizer and GIY Nutri-Mulch into soil Fertilizing: Scatter GIY Organic Fertilizer every two months (or as needed). Top-dress with GIY Compost Top-dressing in August and then again later in the season if needed. The more compost you add, the stronger your lawn will be. Green Boost or Intensive Repair: Feed with GIY Worm Tea every 2 weeks 1
Organic Pest Control Pest Profile Organic Control s Aphids Scale Insects Mealie Bugs Black Spot Powdery Mildew Sucking insects Transported by ants Target new plant tissue & growing tips Sucking insects, transported by ants Sucking insects, transported by ants Often a sign of nutritional deficiency or that a plant needs pruning Fungal Disease on roses, tomatoes, aubergines and other plants Fungal disease on roses, peas, sweet peas, buzzylizzies, marrows, squashes and other plants Beware: over supply of Nitrogen can lead to weak new growth and aphid infestations Plant Wormwood, Lavender, Penny-Royal and Catnip between roses and vegetables Attract ladybirds by planting borage, nasturtium, wild rocket and coriander Feed with GIY Multipurpose Fertilizer and GIY Worm Tea (for an extra boost) Kobe (mix with Silwet): spray once every 2 weeks Pick up all diseased plant material from the garden. Do not add to the compost heap Water roses, tomatoes and aubergines at the base of the plant, no overhead spray Finish watering before 1500 in winter Paint pruned roses from tips to the base with lime sulphur after pruning Plant French lavender around/ between roses Kobe (mix with Silwet): spray once every 2 weeks Spray with Bicarb Spray twice per week when you see signs of mildew Don t put infected plant material in the compost Water earlier in the day to ensure plants dry off before dark Fungal Rusts Fungal disease on leaves of plants Kobe (mix with Silwet): spray once every 2 weeks Feed with GIY Multipurpose Fertilizer and GIY Worm Tea (for an extra boost) 2
Pest Profile Organic Control s Slugs Snails Gastropod pests without shells that eat leaves and stems of many plants Gastropod pests with shells that eat leaves and stems of many plants Collect them from under leaves and rocks early in the morning and squash them Submerge a shallow dish so the rim is level with the ground and fill with water, 1 tablespoon yeast and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Attracted slugs and snails will drown Surround individual plants with crushed eggshells or a line of maize meal Grasshoppers Insects that eat leaves and stems of plants Caterpillars Rose Beetles Red Spider Mite Termites Black Ants Cut Worms Insect larvae that eat leaves and stems of plants Note: if you eliminate all caterpillars with chemicals you will eliminate the butterflies Beetles that eat the shoots and flower buds of roses Mite that attacks the leaves of plants like roses, tomatoes, spinach and marigolds Termites are attracted by dead wood and straw that they feed to the fungi that they farm in their nests for food. They can ring-bark trees, shrubs and roses Black ants carry aphids, scale and mealie bugs to plants and can also damage plant roots Cutworms are the larvae (caterpillar) of moths that eat the stems and roots of plants Collect and kill manually Collect and kill manually (search the roses first thing in the morning) They are attracted by marigolds don t plant marigolds near vegetables or roses Remove all dead wood and straw from your garden Remove moribund (dead leaves) from the lawn and other grasses by combing Levo (no Silwet): Drench once every 2-4 weeks or as needed Levo (no Silwet): Drench once every 2-4 weeks or as needed Mix icing sugar and Bicarb (1:1 mixture) and place in a thin line or small pile near the affected area. The ants will eat the mixture and carry it back to the nest for their young and all that eat it will die from the gas produced when the Bicarb reacts with the formic acid in their stomach Levo: Drench once every 2-4 weeks or as needed Keep chickens in the garden that will eat them When a plant is damaged by cutworm, dig the soil around it to find the culprit Nematodes Parasitic nematodes that damage plant roots Sesamin-EC: Drench the soil every 4-6 weeks or as needed. Citrus Phsylla Sucking insects that damage the underside of new leaves on citrus trees 3
Organic Pesticides If you d like to make your own pest-control sprays, there are a variety of recipes that can be used at home using herbal ingredients. These are the commercially available organic sprays as well as the three basic sprays that we use in The Garden Club garden. When making your own sprays, two basic guidelines to follow are: Make a fresh batch of spray for each application of Penny-Royal Tea and General Pest Spray. Make sure your sprays are cool before applying. Hot liquid will burn and possibly kill your plants. Top Tip: Feed your plants regularly with high quality organic fertilizers to boost health and productivity and reduce disease Organic Pest Sprays from Cropserve and leading nurseries All of these products are certified organic and are not harmful to bees, butterflies, earthworms, beneficial soil fungi and other beneficial components of the garden ecosystem) Levo ($13 for 200ml, makes 1,000 litres: mix 2ml in ten litres) (Insecticide: Aphids, scale insects, mealie bugs, cutworms, ants and termites) Kobe ($13 for 200ml, makes 1,000 litres: mix 2ml in ten litres) (Fungicide: Black spot, powdery mildew, rusts, etc.) Silwet ($13 for 200ml, makes 1,000 litres: mix 2ml in ten litres) (Insecticide and wetting agent: mix with Levo and/ or Kobe to increase effectivity) Sesamin-EC ($13 for 200ml, makes 1,000 litres: mix 2ml in ten litres) (Nematicide: nematodes) General Pest Spray Ingredients Leaves and stems of Wormwood, Lavender, Catnip, Penny-royal, Rosemary and Sage. Fill a bucket/ jug to at least half way with the picked herb mixture. Pour boiling water over the herbs to fill the bucket. Allow to steep for a few hours to extract all the volatile oils and pest-deterring components out of the herbs. Cover the bucket to stop the volatile oils evaporating. Strain to remove the solids. Retain the liquid and decant into a garden spray bottle. Spray on the leaves, flower buds and stems of your plants once or twice a week. Ingredients Leaves and stems of Penny-royal. Penny-Royal Tea Bicarbonate of Soda Spray Add two heaped table spoons of bicarbonate of soda to a litre of water. Fill a bucket/jug to at least half way with fresh leaves and stems of Penny-royal and fill with boiling water. Allow to steep for a few hours to extract all the volatile oils and pest-deterring components out of the herbs. Cover the bucket to stop the volatile oils evaporating. Strain to remove the solids. Retain the liquid and decant into a garden spray bottle. Spray on the leaves, flower buds and stems of your plants that are infected with powdery mildew. Apply every three days until all signs of mildew have disappeared. Spray on the leaves, flower buds and stems of your plants once or twice a week. 4
Planting Guide The most effective way of ensuring that your garden will flourish quickly and for years to come is to adjust the soil to suit the type of planting you are planning. Good soil preparation is the most important part of creating a successful garden as it is the base on which everything depends. When you are planning to plant a new area you must ensure that your preparation is thorough. Spend more time and resources on your preparation to ensure that the garden grows faster and that your plants will look healthier and flower more prolifically. Also make sure that plants are watered enough, especially while becoming established, and that you mulch and weed thoroughly and often. Type of Planting Digging Preparation Before Planting Fertilizing Watering after Planting General Vegetable Beds General Flower Beds Sweet-Pea Trench Roses and Small Shrubs Large Shrubs/ Small Trees Large Trees Dig soil down to at least 50cm, create a level, even surface Dig soil down to at least 50cm, create a level, even surface Dig soil down 75cm, create a level, even surface 30cm x 30cm x 30cm 1m x 1m x 1m 1.5m x 1.5m x 1.5m Organic Fertilizer (1 cup/ 2m 2 ) and as Organic Fertilizer (1 cup/ plant) and as Organic Fertilizer (2 cups/ plant) and as Gentle sprinkler from above, except tomatoes which must only be watered at the base to prevent disease Gentle sprinkler from above or gentle watering at the base of each plant Gentle watering at the base of the plants General Guidelines Only start planting once the whole area has been prepared Try to mass plant, i.e. group large numbers of the same plant together, to create larger impact. Do not plant in straight lines. Try to create a more natural look with scattered/ zig-zag planting. Try to plant in odd numbers (i.e. 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 not 2, 4, 6 ). After planting, firm down the soil around the stem of the plant to ensure that the plant is stable and that large air pockets have been removed from around the roots to prevent root rot. 5