Growing food organically promotes life – you get delicious and rewarding veggies by keeping it simple and working with nature, including the beneficial organisms in the soil. Join Wyatt Page this Saturday, March 5^th at 10am at Gill’s for his talk on organic veggie gardening tips. Here’s a preview from Wyatt! 

1. Amend the soil.  Great gardens start with great soil. Our Corpus Christi Clay (and Padre Island Sand) need a little help. The key is to incorporate beneficial microbes, enzymes, and fungi that create a perfect environment for plant roots to grow.

• Nature’s Blend Compost. Till in 1 bag per 12 sf of garden. Helps break up clay soil and adds a bunch of beneficial organic material. Excellent for veggie gardens and all other plantings. 
• BioTone Starter fertilizer. Add a small handful of BioTone when you plant each plant. A key ingredient in BioTone are mycorrhizal fungi which attach to plant roots and help them grow. 
• Worm castings and Dried Molasses help encourage soil life too.

2. No chemicals! Chemical pesticides, fungicides, and weed killers damage beneficial life in your garden. Here are some organic solutions that work: 

• Bad Bugs and common pests:  Treat bad bugs like aphids, mealy bugs, or leaf miner with organic Spinosad Soap or Neem Oil as needed. Even better than that – let nature do the work and let lady bugs, spiders, and lizards eat them!
• Fungal issues:  Fungal problems like powdery mildew and rust can be treated with Neem Oil or Bee Safe Garden Spray. You can use horticultural cornmeal when planting to prevent fungal problems like blight.
• Weeds:  Proper mulching (2-3” thick) is the best way to prevent weeds! Make sure you stay on top of hand pulling as weeds pop up. Spray horticultural vinegar to kill new weeds on contact. 

3. Get help from pollinators:  Attracting pollinators like bees and butterflies will  help increase vegetable production. In my garden I like to plant Salvias, Turk’s cap, and wildflowers mixed in with all the veggies to attract more pollinators. 

4. Start small:  Veggie gardening is lots of fun, but it does take time! If you are new to veggie gardening, I would encourage you to start small and build your garden little by little each season. A simple 4×8’ area, raised bed, or a few large pots/containers can produce quite a bit of food! 

See you this Saturday!

-Wyatt