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Located in the Middle East region, Jordan borders Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Palestine. The population of this country should be approximately 6.5 million people by 2010. Agriculture is one of this country’s main sources of income and is especially promoted in the Jordan Valley. Over the past few decades, the problems which confront this country have included unemployment, low income levels and littering of wastes from all sectors. These problems are particularly rife in Palestine refugee camps in Jordan such as Weidhard and Zarqa camps where many women do not have access to jobs.  These refugee camps are one of the ten refugee camps in Jordan which accommodate some 326,000 refugees, making about 18 per cent of the 1,840,000 refugees registered with the office of UN Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, located in Jordan.  If the refugees living in the three unofficial camps and in camps’ environs were to be added to that number, it can be said that about 65 per cent of the Palestine refugees in Jordan live under similar socio-economic conditions.

In the light of the socio-economic problems in all the Palestinian camps, , it would be greatly recommended international agencies such as UNRWA, relevant UN bodies, the Arab League, NGOs and government of Jordan implement a project in Weidhard Refugee Camp and other similar refugee camps in Jordan. The main problems of Weidhard Refugee Camps include: deterioration of buildings and constructed areas; littering and stockpiles of waste; inconsistencies in the removal of waste; high levels of unemployment, particularly among women; high costs of fertilizer to use in farming; and

lack of the impact of the workings of environmental clubs.

Such a project could empower women, the youth and leaders in Weidhard Refugee Camp to engage in income-generating activities by collecting, recycling and selling some forms of waste for further use. This project will also help resolve the environmental problem of waste management, which has devastating impacts of pollution and climate change through the emission of greenhouse gases and other hazardous gases (from waste), negatively affects the health and living conditions of some sectors of the populace, the physical environment and land use. Women in these camps come into contact with many forms of waste such as household wastes, which are a result of their household activities. By enabling women to collect waste and further reprocess it into compost which will be sold to farmers, women leaders will ensure environmental protection while supplying reasonably priced fertilizer in the agricultural sector. The advantages of composting include improving soil fertility and healthy root development in plants. Composting also improves the health, living conditions and physical environment of the surrounding populace, leads to job creation, income generation, social upliftment, as well as a recognition and publicity outside of the community. In effect, environmental mechanisms could be used to attain developmental goals in this camp.

Depending on the success of its implementation, such a project could be replicated in other parts of Jordan in latter phases. This project could therefore contribute to Jordan’s attainment of sustainable development goals, in conformity with the UN Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 7, which exhorts countries to implement environmentally sustainable policies and programmes; UN MDG 3 which requires that countries need to promote women equality in their programmes and UN  MDG 1 which requires countries to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. Such a problem could also enable the integration of women and refugee issues into environmental issues, an approach which could make the attainment of Jordan’s development objectives easier, rather than treat these issues in isolation.

Such a project would also involve the implementation of a series of measures by the respective stakeholders who collaborate to enforce it. These measures include the following: liaise with the municipalities to clearly define the respective roles of each stakeholder in the process of project enforcement; identify a level, well-drained area where composting will take place;  identify and hire workers and women leaders to implement the project and conduct follow-up; identify the different kinds of waste which are produced in the refugee communities, and put them in different categories; purchase plastic bags, gloves, dust bins, boots, boxes and other relevant equipment for women leaders and workers; design two training courses for women leaders, farmers and a number of officials in these towns, on the types of organic waste which should be used for composting. These include tea bags, banana peels and many forms of kitchen waste, manure from birds, corn cobs, hair, peanut shells and paper.

Further measures are to: enhance the skills of affected parties in the process of composting and the sort of wastes which should be avoided; train these workers on the environmental impacts of mismanagement of hazardous waste, as well as the economic and environmental benefits of sustainable waste management practices; conduct a series of environmental awareness campaigns on preventing the disposal of garbage on streets, littering and also, the incentives which could be granted to best practicing areas; draft and finalise a Guidance Manual and Waste Management Charter; and conduct a survey of the number of existing houses, shops, commercial and industrial areas as well as farms in these towns; Remove accumulated wastes from streets.

Other measures include the following: identify particular areas in these towns from where women leaders will collect garbage from shops and houses and where waste disposal bins will be established; distribute a questionnaire to find out some salient features of waste management in the four towns such as the constraints in waste management; organise group discussions to obtain more views from the community about waste management, with practical suggestions on how this can be improved; distribute plastic bags to houses and shops;  establish an organized and regular system of garbage collection from these sites and disposal to a particular dumping area in the four towns through discussions with local authorities; and arrange with local authorities to provide vehicles for transporting garbage; separate organic waste from inorganic waste, and put together the organic waste for composting in a box, with garden soil at the base, with the relevant temperature and amount of heat supplied; monitor the process of the composting; put the fertilizer in separate paper bags for sale to farmers; clean up the inorganic waste (example, plastic bottles) and recycle for re-sale and re-use; co-operate with local authorities and treat the remaining waste in a landfill, with due regard to sound ecological principles.

The outcomes and expected advantages of such a project are many. These include a rise

in certain positive trends such as trained leaders to raise the level of environmental awareness amongst individuals throughout the communities; derivation of more income and greater levels of job opportunities for women through promoting the recycling of waste for sale as compost; improved partnerships between the community, private sector and municipal authorities for the improvement of environmental concerns; formulation and implementation of Guidelines and a Charter on Waste Management which consists of environmentally rational principles in waste management; strengthened partnerships between the community and the Ministry of Environment, for enforcing laws and policies on waste management, while paying attention to the principles of the Waste Management Charter and Jordan’s Waste Management Policy; availability of reasonably priced fertilizer for purchase and use by farmers in the refugee towns and the Jordan Valley, as well as an established system of recycling waste for re-use.

In view of these, such a project could enable the global community and Jordan could to to resolve pressing problems such as poverty and lack of employment.  

Yvonne Nana Afua Idun
http://www.articlesbase.com/environment-articles/promoting-women-and-youth-leadership-in-solid-waste-management-recommendations-for-a-project-in-jordans-weidhard-refugee-camp-687900.html

Whether you suffer through harsh, cold winters or enjoy relatively mild ones, we are coming up on the time when you need to get ready to plant your seeds for your vegetable garden.

If you need another compost bin this time of year is great to add them, if only because there’s not much actual gardening work to do. Build one or buy one, just make sure you can easily add, remove and turn the material.

Clean up your tools. Sharpen blades if they need it. Clean off old dirt and wipe with an oiled cloth to help prevent rusting.

At this time you can also start planning your next garden. You can figure out what you want to grow and how you’re going to lay that garden out. Planning ahead can help you make the most of your garden. Getting things started at the right time for each type of plant will help your garden succeed.

If you want an early start, get some planters and sun lamps and start your seeds indoors. If you get sufficient sunlight, placing the boxes in windows can help you get that early start too.

This is a great time for looking back at how your garden did last year and your goals for this year. For example, my garden last year failed miserably due to a combination of poor soil, a neighboring shade tree that had been shading my garden being cut to pieces and an unusually hot summer.

Over the winter we’ve been preparing quick compost for the soil. This is just throwing fresh kitchen scraps into the blender with some water, then pouring it into the garden. It’s our first step in improving the soil naturally. More will be done as planting time approaches.

Obviously, factors that are out of your control you can’t do anything about. Heat waves cannot be avoided and neighbors can be unpredictable (you should have seen that poor tree when they were done “pruning” it!). Some years insects are more problematic than others.

In those cases you need to have plans for how to handle it. Keep an eye on what the sun is doing to your plants during a heat wave and ensure they have enough water. Know what pest control steps you are willing to take.

Planning and preparing to plant your garden before you can actually start planting gives you a lot of advantages when it’s time to really work your garden. It gets some of the chores out of the way and leaves you prepared for a great start to your vegetable garden.

anonymous
http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/getting-your-vegetable-garden-ready-for-spring-94974.html

Organic gardening is the way of growing vegetables and fruits with the use of things only found in nature.

Why would one want to indulge in organic gardening?

1. One can easily make compost from garden and kitchen waste. Though this is a bit more time-consuming than buying prepared chemical pesticides and fertilizers, it certainly helps to put garbage to good use and so saves the environment.

2. Organic farming does not use chemicals that may have an adverse affect on your health. This is especially important when growing vegetables. Chemical companies tell us that the chemicals we use are safe if used according to direction, but research shows that even tiny amounts of poisons absorbed through the skin can cause such things as cancer, especially in children.

On the average, a child ingests four to five times more cancer-causing pesticides from foods than an adult. This can lead to various diseases later on in the child’s life. With organic gardening, these incidents are lessened.

Remember, pesticides contain toxins that have only one purpose – to kill living things.

3. Less harm to the environment. Poisons are often washed into our waterways, causing death to the native fish and polluting their habitat.

4. Organic farming practices help prevent the loss of topsoil through erosion.

The Soil Conservation Service says that an estimated 30 – 32 billion tons of soil erodes from United States farmlands every year.

5. Cost savings. One does not need to buy costly chemical fertilizers and pesticides with organic gardening. Many organic recipes for the control of pest and disease come straight from the kitchen cupboard. Sometimes other plants can be grown as companions to the main crop. An example of this is the marigold, which helps to repel aphids from vegetables.

Mixing 1 tablespoon of liquid dishwashing soap and 1 cup of cooking oil can make a cheap garden pest spray. Put 3 tablespoons of this mixture in 1 quart of water and spray on plants.

6. A simple mulch of pine needles will help to suppress the growth of weeds as well as keeping the moisture in.

7. Organic gardening practices help to keep the environment safe for future generations.

Nicky Pilkington
http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/seven-ticks-for-organic-gardening-10022.html

Gardening Guide-Tips on Growing Backyard Green Beans

One of my greatest joys in life is walking into the garden and picking a bucketful of beautiful, fresh green beans. Then taking them directly to a pot of boiling water in the kitchen. Nothing like it. Three days later, I can do it again. And, so can you with these tips.

First, you need to decide what to plant. The two main choices are bush beans or pole beans. I prefer pole beans because they are easier to pick, have better flavor and have less problems from pests and disease.

Pole beans, of course, require something to climb on and, therefore, tend to take up space.

But, if you think limited space prevents you from having pole beans, guess again. You can have enough beans for a family of four in a six square foot area.

A method I use is to take three six foot long wooden poles (don’t use metal) and place them in a tripod arrangement, tying them together at the top. It only takes about a three foot area, so you can have two of them in a six foot plot.

Plant the beans indoors 4-6 weeks before the last frost, in peat pots. Do not use pots that require you to remove the plant from the pot to transplant (plastic). The peat pots can be planted directly in the garden without disturbing the roots.

Prepare the soil by adding compost (I prefer well-aged manure) as soon as you can work the soil in the spring. Most important! Plant your beans in a spot that gets at least 6-8 hours of direct sun each day. Beans love the sun.

As the beans send out long shoots, train them to climb the poles, if they do not do it own their own (generally, they will). Keep them watered but not soaked. Fertilize once when the plants start climbing the poles.

There are many varieties that thrive in practically any summer climate, as long as you have about six weeks of over 70 degree days. I like the “bluelake” for it’s ease of growth, good flavor and high yield.

Here’s a recipe I like for cooking green beans. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Snap the beans (do not cook whole) and add them to the pot. Add one slice of bacon, salt and pepper to taste and one whole, medium size onion.

Now here’s the secret. Cook the beans until the water is almost gone; down to about 2 inches. Be VERY careful that the beans do NOT get completely dry. They will burn very fast and be ruined. When ready, the beans should be tender and have a dark green color. They should NOT be bright green like canned beans (ugggh!). This should take from one to one and a half hours, depending on the number of beans and size of the pot.

So, give it a try this year. Then when you smell those fresh beans that you grew, cooking in the kitchen, you, too, will experience one of the great joys of life.

You may find more gardening information at www.gudvalue.com

K. Miller
http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/gardening-guidetips-on-growing-backyard-green-beans-122400.html

Canadians love their gardens – whether that means a patch of grass and a few sturdy shrubs by the deck, or a full-scale, blowsy English garden of roses, perennials and vegetables. Our little patches of green tend to be our personal sanctuaries and play spaces – away from the stresses of the world.

Well, for our gardens to be our sanctuaries, it would be best if they were health-inducing – and that means eco-friendly.

Here’s some tips for “green” landscaping to improve your outdoor living this summer:

Begin With The Trees

Your trees are your best landscaping asset. Deciduous trees let winter sun into your house when you need it most, and shield you from the sweltering rays of summer. If your house is blessed with shade, you’re already a leafy 10 degrees cooler than properties exposed to full sun. Mature trees provide the best air conditioning possible — clean, free, and majestic! Evergreens planted on the north side of your home will help stave off the winter chill. There are other important health benefits to trees, too: all types of trees will clean the air around you. It’s no surprise that many homeowners are paying big bucks for big trees. But if you start planting now, before you know it (with patience and minimal care). you too can enjoy the many benefits that trees freely offer.

Birds And Bees

Butterflies and ladybugs too. You want to attract all sorts of good creatures to your garden for pest control. Birds love thick shrubbery, shallow birdbaths, native plantings, and fruit, nut and seed-bearing plants. They also love to have a little trickle of water. A small pump will help create the best effect: the slightest stream of water flowing into a shallow plate or rock depression.

Provide butterflies with sheltered sunny spots filled with brightly coloured blooms, and a flat warm rock for butterfly sunbathing. Bees love nectar-producing flowers, ladybugs love Queen Anne’s Lace, and all of these treasures thrive in a chemical free environment.

These are the creatures that will help establish a healthy, happy garden – and protect your plants from the nasty pests.

Go Native

Nurseries offering indigenous plants are springing up everywhere now, making it easier for you to find native plants. There are all kinds of reasons for showcasing hardy native plantings in your garden; they are generally pest and disease free, resistant to drought, and attractive to beneficial wildlife.

Queen Anne’s Lace, tansy, all sorts of daisies and lilies – the roll call of our native plants is impressively long and beautiful.

Roll Out The Barrel

We’re talking rain barrels here — ideally several for maximum water collection. The volume of water captured after an even seemingly brief rainfall will surprise you. Your plants will be happier with warm untreated water instead of the freezing cold chlorinated water that comes out of your garden hoses — and you’ll save on your water bill too.

Black gold

Start composting now and by next year you will have the most amazingly rich black stuff to sprinkle onto your lawn and flowerbeds. Many communities offer plastic compost barrels, but it is more efficient (and aesthetically pleasing) to build a wooden three-solid-sided unit with a slatted moveable front piece.

Just remember not to put in any animal by-products — most kitchen and garden waste (not weeds) is acceptable. Keep your compost pile slightly moist (positioning it in a shaded spot helps) and poke a stick in it once in a while. That’s it.

Acceptable pest and weed control

Synthetic garden chemicals do your garden no favours – upsetting the balance of healthy soil, earthworms, good insects, birds and other creatures. Declare a no-chemical season in your garden. Kill weeds with vinegar, or a dose of boiling water. Use soapy sprays to control aphids, and diatomaceous earth to stop slugs.

Put up a bat box; a bat will eat thousands of mosquitoes, and don’t deserve their Halloween-y reputation. Garden-friendly insects such as ladybugs and praying mantis will patrol for a range of problem insects. Physical trapping is also good (i.e. dishes of beer for slugs etc.) Don’t hesitate to use the good old methods of hosing off, and squashing too!

Mr. Toad

A clay toad-house or other cool spot may attract a

toad: one of your garden’s best friends.

Push mower renaissance

Remember the delightful “clackety” sound of your grandfather’s old push mower? Cancel your gym membership for the summer: low-tech and clean, push mowers cut your grass efficiently, quietly, and give you a bit of a workout too.

The House Team Of Mortgage Intellingence
http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/how-green-is-your-garden-75093.html

There are gardening methods to fit the style and needs of every gardener. And every gardener has preferred and unique ways of growing a beautiful garden. Beginning gardeners can join a local garden club and benefit from the advice of experienced gardeners.

Garden clubs are a valuable resource for a beginner, since members always exchange tips that they have collected in their years of gardening.

A key element for a successful garden involves watering. Plants must be watered in an appropriate manner or they will not thrive. Providing a deep watering every week is better than spraying the garden every day with the hose because most plants prefer thorough and deep watering to frequent, shallow watering. One of the best methods for watering the garden is a soaker hose. This type of hose ensures that the plant’s roots are adequately watered.

Experienced gardeners always say there is nothing more important that creating their own compost from recycled household waste. Composting waste materials like leaves, kitchen scraps, and other organic materials results in a rich organic soil amendment that provides excellent nutrients to the garden. Having a compost bin in the home is also a good way to reduce the amount of waste being trucked into already overflowing landfills. Compost added to the garden soil is a good way to balance the pH levels to ensure the soil is not too alkaline or acidic. Composting provides a high-quality humus that has important elements, including iron, phosphorous, and manganese. These are often lacking in commercial fertilizers.

Once plants have been put into the ground, deep cultivation should be avoided because digging deeply near the plants can damage their root systems, dry out the soil, disturb the valuable microorganisms that contribute to plant growth, and cause weeds to rise to the surface. Deep cultivation should be confined to the preparation of a plant bed.

Flowers contribute beauty to the landscape with their bright colors. When selecting garden and landscape flowers, colors that highlight and emphasize those already existing in the landscape are best. When bright colors like reds and oranges are mixed with soothing pastels, an excellent contrast of colors can be achieved in the garden. Many gardeners like to combine a home garden with landscape elements like waterfalls or ponds. Water elements offer a relaxing retreat from everyday stress.

Using flowers in a landscape can increase the value of a home as well. Research has indicated that flowers and plants enhance the resale value of a house, while providing a wonderful experience for the senses at the same time.

Ken Snow
http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/gardening-can-be-suitable-for-anyone-59489.html

What an amazing plant! Garlic (Allium sativum) has been around for more than 3,000 years. It’s not that surprising really when you look at the culinary and medicinal purposes it boasts. Garlic is not only a staple in the kitchen, but its health benefits are outstanding as it is a natural antibiotic and has antiseptic properties. In the organic garden it is often used as the base for various insect deterrents and it also has antifungal properties. Garlic is also a very useful companion plant.

Growing Garlic – Step by Step

1. Choosing the Position. Grow garlic in an open, sunny position. As a companion plant it can get a little lost amongst larger, leafy plants – especially if the stems suddenly die back. Grow garlic as a companion plant, but also have a plot of its own so that you can be sure you’ll have enough to last you the season. A plot about 1m square is big enough to grow about 60 bulbs.

2. Soil Type. Because garlic is a bulb it needs a well drained soil or it will just rot under the ground as the bulb is forming. Soil that is friable with plenty of organic matter is the best. Don’t add fresh manures as they are usually high in nitrogen, which will encourage foliage rather than the development of bulbs. Dig in blood and bone prior to planting or top dress with compost. If your soil is a heavy clay, use raised beds or you can even grow them in pots.

3. Planting Time. Garlic needs to be planted in autumn (fall) and harvested in summer. Planting time depends a little on your particular climate. The hotter the autumn temperatures, the later the planting. If you live in a sub-tropical climate, it may be best to leave it til winter.

Garlic grows in two stages. The roots and foliage grow through autumn and winter. Then in the warmer weather the bulbs begin to develop. By summer the bulbs have grown to a good size and the foliage will start to wither.

4. Choosing your Corms. Each garlic bulb is made up of corms. You pull the corms away from the bulb to plant. These will become your new garlic bulbs. You may have to buy commercial garlic bulbs to start out with unless you know someone who grows organically who is willing to give (sell or swap) you your starting bulbs.

Garlic from the supermarket or fruit and veg shops may have been sprayed with

chemicals to stop them shooting. Some garlic is imported and may have a different

growing season, so will fail. After a few years you will have enough stock to have

supplies for the kitchen and for next seasons crop.

5. How to Plant. Pull away all of the corms from the parent bulb. Each bulb will have between 15 and 20 corms. Gently push each corm into the soil, just below the soil, with the flat base at the bottom and the pointed tip facing upwards. Allow about 10cm / 4inches between corms and 30cm / 12inches between rows.

If some corms pop out of the soil after a week or so it means that the roots are growing.

Just gently push them back below the soil surface and mulch with straw.

Look for my next article, Part 2, on maintenance, harvesting and uses for garlic.

Julie Williams
http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/how-to-grow-garlic-in-your-organic-garden-step-by-step-part-1-118680.html

Not everybody is blessed with a house and garden plot or lives in the country with access to farming land, so the option for a garden leave alone a kitchen garden, is a fairly remote one. But, if you put on your thinking cap, you can have a fresh and economical option of growing your own veggies in the privacy of your home – by using cost-effective gardening containers for growing vegetables from seeds and seedlings bought from the local nursery or even ordered from a mail-order or online catalogue.

For those that live in flats and hostels, the need to grow their own vegetables may be limited due to space constraints, but the readily available gardening containers in many different sizes and materials make having a kitchen garden less of a dream and more of a possibility for people with the smallest budget. There are also a variety of indoor gardening plants and vegetables you can bring for your home cooking needs, which only require a few hours of sunlight that they can have access to while hung in the balcony or even in your window-sill planter box. These include herbs, peppers, bush beans, salad greens, bush and cherry tomatoes and baby carrots.

Of course, depending on the vegetable variety you do purchase and the size they grow to, you will need to purchase a planter pot that is ready for holding the full-sized plant, so choose with care. For example, tomatoes are grown one per pot while a big size pot can hold 3-4 pepper plants besides basil herb around it in small quantity. This is typical of 5 gallon pots.

Other containers you can use for your gardening needs include tubs, buckets and barrels cut in half (distillery ones) ranging from 5 to 15 liters. However, you need to keep in mind that if you are also intending to plant herbs in addition to the vegetables in the pots, you need to ascertain that the ones you buy are at least 10 inches in diameter so spring onions, for example, planted in the pot, also hold space for rosemary or thyme.

You need to also invest in a drainage tray (even plastic ones will do) that will allow for proper leaching from time to time so the pots get enough water, sunlight and there is a measure for extra water to leak out too. Do remember to line the bottom of the pot with some pieces of rocks or broken crockery besides a few layers of newspaper before putting in potting soil to prevent the fine soil from seeping out from the drainage holes.

Use well-rotted compost, adequate potting soil till an inch or two below the rim, water plants regularly and also give plant food twice as often as outdoor plants would need as dehydration occurs more rapidly for indoor plants.

Abhishek Agarwal
http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/gardening-containers-grow-vegetables-at-home-economically-753688.html

Weeds can be an organic gardener’s curse. Actually, for all gardeners, weeds are the bane of their existence in some cases. This author absolutely detests weeding her garden, but it must be done to promote healthy growth of plants and insure a good crop.

Even if you’re not an organic gardener, weed control is a problem. There really is no easy answer to this problem. It just takes time and effort to control the unwanted overgrowth in your garden. This is where mulching and composting come into play. First of all, twice a week, run the edge of a sharp hoe just under the surface of the soil to behead tiny weeds before they grow large enough to compete with your seedlings.

Once the seedlings are larger, the soil is warm and drenching rains have ended, put down a layer of mulch to hold in moisture and smother weeds. Mulch is material that can be laid down around the plants to control weeds.

Choose ingredients that allow the soil to breathe, let water in and keep light out. These can include dried–not fresh–grass clippings, chopped straw, lawn-mower-chopped leaves mixed with dried grass clippings or well-rotted sawdust (avoid fresh sawdust, as it leaches nitrogen from the soil), and pine needles are all good choices. Apply the mulch several inches thick.

Be warned that if you use grass clippings or weeds, you run the risk of bringing insects or diseases into the garden if these are not composted. Either of these types of mulching can become incubators for insects, so it’s best to compost them before using as mulch. A thick layer of mulch keeps light from reaching weeds. Without adequate light, the plants don’t produce enough chlorophyll to enable further growth. Most of these plants sicken and die before you even notice them. The few plants that do manage to stick their leaves into the light will be shallowly rooted and very easy to pull.

Organic mulches-straw, grass clippings, leaves, shredded bark-nourish the soil as they decompose. They are fairly effective weed barriers. You can also apply a layer of compost to control weeds. Be warned that if you use kitchen waste to make your compost, you could have some “volunteer” plants that crop up. One of my neighbors was pleasantly surprised to find cherry tomatoes growing where she had composted. She included discarded tomato seeds in her compost pile and these seeds germinated on their own making a really nice little surprise crop for her! If you live in a wet climate, you may wish to avoid mulching and keep cultivating, because mulch can lead to waterlogged soil and fungal diseases. In a climate subject to dry spells, mulch can dramatically reduce plant stress by helping the soil retain moisture. If you irrigate, feel under the mulch to be sure the water is getting through.

Mulch is great, but there are two ways to misuse it. One is to mulch heat-loving plants too early in the season, before the soil warms up. Mulch smothers weeds, but it’s also a good insulator. Cantaloupes, tomatoes, potatoes, watermelons, peppers and egg plants will produce better if mulched. Another mistake is to put down too little mulch. It looks good for a few weeks, but then weeds poke through, and they must be hand pulled, for there’s just enough mulch covering the ground to make hoeing impossible. Insufficient mulch gives your plants much less drought protection. How much is enough? Well, maybe this will give you an idea: Sawdust; 2 to 3-inches / Shredded leaves; 8 to 10-inches / Straw; 5 to 7-inches / Newspaper; 4 to 7-inches / and Grass Clippings; 5-inches when you first spread them. 

Another way to control weeds is through various ground covers. This is often called “soil solarization”. Soil solarization involves placing thick plastic sheeting on top of the weeds and allowing the natural sun to “bake” the weeds until they die. This can take some time, so you must be patient!

Many people prefer to use newspaper for their ground cover. Because the paper will naturally decompose, it is environmentally friendly as well.  Simply place 4-5 layers of newspaper in between your plants and cover with a light layer of dirt so they don’t blow away! By covering up the weeds, you will be better able to control them!      Also consider Kraft paper – like grocery bags – or cardboard. By using Kraft paper and cardboard, even less light can reach the weeds and makes the cover even more impenetrable.

You can suppress the growth of weed seeds early in the season by spreading corn gluten meal over the area where they’re growing. Corn gluten meal, a by-product of corn processing that’s often used to feed livestock, inhibits the germination of seeds- bear in mind, once the weeds have gone beyond the sprout stage, corn gluten will not affect them. Be wary, however. Corn gluten doesn’t discriminate between seeds you want to sprout and those you don’t want, so avoid using corn gluten meal where and when you’ve sown seeds. It works best with established plants.

Unfortunately, you will have to employ some old-fashioned methods to weed control in your garden. It can’t be avoided. Hoeing is a huge part of a successful garden. Annual weeds die when you sever the stems from the roots just below the soil surface. With a sharp hoe, you cut the weeds easily. You may want to eschew the traditional square headed hoe for this job and try an oscillating one. To hoe your garden without cultivating a backache, hold the hoe as you would a broom-that is, with your thumbs pointing up. Skim the sharp sides of the hoe blade through the top inch of the soil.

You will also have to do some hand-pulling of those weeds. It doesn’t have to be back-breaking work, though. It just takes persistence. Here’s the trick to comfortable, quick weed-pulling Put your hands in front of you, thumbs up and palms facing your body, one hand in front of the other. Now roll your hands, like kids do when singing “This old man goes rolling home.”

Pinch your forefinger and thumb together as you reach the outermost edge of the imaginary circle your hands are tracing and move your arms to the side as you roll your hands. With practice, you will be surprised by how quickly you clean up a row in the garden with this movement. Finally, organic weed control can be done easily by placing common household vinegar in a spray bottle and apply to those weeds. Vinegar is the organic equivalent of the commercial Round-Up, so be careful when applying around thriving plants. Beside those incessant weeds, you’ll also need to worry about pest control.

Jaden Santon
http://www.articlesbase.com/food-and-beverage-articles/how-to-control-those-organic-weeds-736527.html