growing 100% organically

This is a guide on how to grow organically

I have heard many people say they would like to grow organically but it cost too much...... WHAT? Thats right, big business has made organic farming into a market and now there is all kinds of organic fertilizers and insect repellents that cost big bucks. A bag of organic fertilizer cost more then Miracle Grow now days. The thing is 100 years ago Miracle grow didn't exist, neither did all the organic stuff we see today. You don't need any of the these things to grow organically and have large harvests. In fact it's just another way for big biz to make you kick out more money. 

 The truth is growing organically is easy, fun, & cheap. Everyone I know has leaves in there yard come fall, instead of giving them to the city or burning them add them to your compost pile. If you don't have a compost pile start one today. It's the only fertilizer/insect repellent you'll need and best of all it's free. So why could compost be classified as a insect repellent? Well, it's simple healthy plants don't get affected by bugs as much as unhealthy plants do. The best way to keep plants happy & healthy is with compost. If bugs are still a problem, compost is still the answer but in the form of tea. Thats right tea made of compost. Compost tea can be sprayed on plants and it really keeps the bugs away and the plant absorbs the nutrients through there leaves it's called foliar feeding. Plants like it, bugs hate it and it's easy to make, but first lets talk about what goes into a compost pile.

Many things can be put into a compost pile, and it's always better to add as many different things as possible instead of only 1 or 2 things. The two basic elements that make up compost are green's a great example os grass clippings, and brown's a great example of these are dry leaves. Green ingredients are high in nitrogen and brown materials are high in carbon.The reason we add a variety of things is because we want the end product to have a bunch of different nutrients and minerals in it so our plants grow large and healthy. 

Things that can go into a compost pile:

Grass clippings

leaves

Paper napkins 

Freezer-burned vegetables 

Burlap coffee bags

Pet hair 

Human hair

Potash rock 

Post-it notes 

Freezer-burned fruit 

Wood chips

Bee droppings 

Lint from behind refrigerator 

Hay 

Popcorn (unpopped, 'Old Maids,' too) 

Freezer-burned fish 

Old spices 

Pine needles 

Leaves 

Matches (paper or wood) 

Seaweed and kelp 

Hops 

Chicken manure 

Leather dust 

Old, dried up and faded herbs 

Bird cage cleanings 

Paper towels 

Brewery wastes 

Grass clippings 

Hoof and horn meal 

Molasses residue 

Potato peelings 

Unpaid bills 

Gin trash (wastes from cotton plants) 

Weeds 

Rabbit manure 

Hair clippings from the barber 

Stale bread 

Coffee grounds 

Wood ashes 

Sawdust 

Tea bags and grounds 

Shredded newspapers 

Egg shells 

Cow manure 

Alfalfa 

Winter rye 

Grapefruit rinds 

Pea vines 

Houseplant trimmings 

Old pasta 

Grape wastes 

Garden soil 

Powdered/ground phosphate rock 

Corncobs (takes a long time to decompose) 

Jell-o 

Blood meal 

Winery wastes 

Spanish moss 

Limestone 

Fish meal

Aquarium plants 

Beet wastes 

Sunday comics 

Harbor mud 

Felt waste 

Wheat straw 

Peat moss 

Kleenex tissues 

Milk (in small amounts)

Soy milk 

Tree bark 

Starfish (dead ones!) 

Melted ice cream 

Flower petals 

Pumpkin seeds 

Q-tips (cotton swabs: cardboard, not plastic sticks) 

Expired flower arrangements 

Elmer's glue 

BBQ'd fish skin 

Bone meal 

Citrus wastes 

Stale potato chips 

Rhubarb stems

Old leather gardening gloves 

mashed potatos 

Bird guano 

Hog manure 

Dried jellyfish 

Wheat bran 

Guinea pig cage cleanings 

Nut shells 

Cattail reeds 

Clover 

Granite dust 

Moldy cheese 

Greensand 

Straw 

Shredded cardboard 

Dolomite lime

Cover crops

egg shells

Rapeseed meal 

Bat guano 

Fish scraps 

Tea bags 

Apple cores 

razor trimmings 

Kitchen wastes 

Outdated yogurt 

Toenail clippings 

Shrimp shells 

Crab shells 

Lobster shells 

Pie crust 

Leather wallets 

Onion skins 

Bagasse (sugar cane residue) 

Watermelon rinds 

Date pits 

Goat manure 

Olive pits 

Peanut shells 

Burned oatmeal 

Lint from clothes dryer

Bread crusts 

Cooked rice 

River mud

Tofu 

Wine gone bad 

Banana peels 

Fingernail and toenail clippings 

Chocolate cookies 

Wooden toothpicks 

Moss from last year's hanging baskets 

Stale breakfast cereal 

Pickles 

Dust bunnies 

Pencil shavings 

Wool socks 

Artichoke leaves 

Leather watch bands 

Fruit salad 

Tossed salad

Brown paper bags 

Soggy Cheerios 

Theater tickets 

Burned toast 

Feathers 

moldy animal feed

Horse manure 

Vacuum cleaner bag contents 

Coconut hull fiber 

Old or outdated seeds 

Macaroni and cheese 

Liquid from canned vegetables 

Liquid from canned fruit 

Old beer 

Wedding bouquets 

Greeting card envelopes  

Dead bees and flies 

Horse hair 

Peanut butter sandwiches 

Dirt from soles of shoes, boots 

Fish bones 

Ivory soap scraps 

Spoiled canned fruits and vegetables 

Produce trimmings from grocery store 

Cardboard cereal boxes (shredded) 

Grocery receipts

Urine

vacume cleaner dirt

cotton shirts, sheets, sect

feathers

finger & toe nail clippings

corn flakes

hemp rope

nut shells

rotten lumber "non treated"

old jack-a-laterns

and the list goes on and on

There are some things you need to stay away from Such as fatty meats, salts, and human poop.

How to build compost pile

I's super easy to make a compost pile just remember this recipe 1/3 green 2/3 brown. You don't even need a bin like many people say you do. it will make compost in a plain pile, hints the name compost pile. the pile should be at least 3ft wide and 3ft tall bu the bigger the better 5x5 works great. you want you compost to heat up and more substance is the fastest way to do that. thats why fall is the perfect time to start you'll have tons of leaves and can add grass clippings from the last few mowings before winter. This is give you a good start. for faster results get in there with a shovel and turn your pile over bringing the bottom to the top.  Keep adding and by spring you'll have great compost.

How to make compost tea:

Any large container will do, from a 5 gallon bucket to a 55 gallon drum. Fill the container loosely with a variety of compost material and/or manures. Fill the container with water. Stir the mixture every day. Aeration is important to the process of making compost tea. After a week, your tea is ready to use.

Drain off the liquid tea. Use a strainer if possible to keep solid particles out of the tea. If you are going to use the tea in a sprayer you need to strain the tea through a cheesecloth to remove small particles that can clog the sprayer.

Pure compost tea is often too strong for your plants. The nitrogen content can be so high, that it burns the plants. Before applying the tea to your plants, mix 10 parts water with one part compost tea. This 10:1 ratio dilutes the nutrient levels, so the tea can be safely applied.

Left over solid material can be spread on your garden, put back into the compost pile for later use.

Important Note: The liquid nutrients in compost tea is used immediately by your plants. But, because it is in liquid form, it can wash out of your soil quickly. Frequent applications are recommended.