Organic Flowers

How Green Are Your Mother's Day Flowers? Organic Flowers SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, -- OrganicBouquet.com, America's first online organic florist, offers Mother's Day bouquets grown free of harsh pesticides and chemicals helping to protect all the women in your life including Mother Nature herself. "The organic story is now broadening far beyond the health benefits of pesticide-free foods," said Gerald Prolman, CEO of OrganicBouquet.com. "Organic farming, whether asparagus, strawberries, cotton or our own beautiful flowers, helps protect Mother Nature – it's that simple." Grown without the use of synthetic chemicals, organic flowers thrive in living ecosystems: beneficial insects including wasps eat the aphids, while natural fertilizers transform the warm, humid soil of the greenhouses into a hotbed of radiant colors and floral hues. Consumers can sweeten the gift with organic and fair trade chocolates accompanied by a recycled, hand-blown, green glass vase. Featured Mother's Day bouquets include: o Fragrant Garden Bouquet – 20-stem arrangement includes Fragrant Lilies, Pink Spray Roses, White Asters, Pink Hypericum, Gypsophillia and Godetia. o Purple Mountain Bouquet - 20 of Organic Bouquet's favorite purple blooms, Purple Statice, Mardi Gras Asters, Agapanthus, Trachelium and a touch of pink roses for a truly regal presentation. o Bountiful Tulips – 20-stem bouquets are grown in California using certified organic farming methods and include a glass vase with each order. Organic production methods demonstrate viable alternatives for a floral industry increasingly responsive to consumer demands for more environmental options. Organic flowers are a budding sector of the $13 billion organic market. U.S. sales of organic flowers grew to $8 million in 2003, an estimated 52 percent growth spurt from the previous year. Sales are expected to continue to grow 13 percent annually through 2008, according to the Organic Trade Association. Driven by a passion for the environment and a commitment to the health of farm laborers, Organic Bouquet works with small farmers, corporate growers, and retailers to establish a thriving domestic and international market for organic flowers. About Organic Bouquet: Established in 2001, Organic Bouquet (www.organicbouquet.com) has pioneered the organic flower market. As a leading voice in the organic movement, it is raising public awareness of critical environmental issues, using sustainably grown flowers as a catalyst for change. /SOURCE: Straus Communications/Organic Bouquet

Discover composting for growing organic flowers-ebook resource guide

Discover composting for growing organic flowers-ebook resource guide

Using Organic Fertilizers Part 3

Using Organic Fertilizers Part 3 Liquid Organic Fertilizers

Use liquid fertilizers to give your plants a light nutrient boost or snack every month or every two weeks during the growing season. Plants can absorb liquid fertilizers through both their roots and through leaf pores. Foliar feeding can supply nutrients when they are lacking or unavailable in the soil, or when roots are stressed. Compost tea and seaweed extract are two common examples of organic foliar fertilizers. You can make your own liquid fertilizer by brewing up compost or manure in water. Use a mild soap 1/4 teaspoon per gallon of spray, to ensure better coverage of leaves. The best time to spray is in the early morning and early evening, when the liquids will be absorbed most quickly and won't burn foliage. Spray until liquid fertilizers run off the leaves. Compost tea:Soak a cloth bag full of compost in a watering can or barrel for a couple of days. Dilute the resulting solution to a weak-tea color.

Using Organic Fertilizers Part 2

Dry Organic Fertilizers

Dry organic fertilizers can be made from just a single material, such as rock phosphate,lime, or kelp, or can be a blend of many ingredients. Blends are specially formulated to provide balanced amounts of potassium, nitrogen, and phosphorus, as well as micronutrients. You can buy commericial blends, but you can make your own. Nitrogen- 2 parts blood meal Phosphorus-3 parts bonemeal Potasium-1 part kelp meal The most common way to apply is to spread it on the soil and rake it into the top 4"-6" of soil. The advanage of using organic fertilizers is that they are nonburning and will not harm your flowers or plants. Part 3 will be on Liquid Organic Fertilizers

Using Organic Fertilizers Part 1

Organic Fertilizers Part 1

If you are planning to to make the switch from chemcal to organic fertilizers, you may be afraid that using organic materials will be more complicated and less convenient than using premixed chemical fertilizers. This is not so! Commercially formulated organic fertilizer blends can be just as convenient and effective as blended synthetic fertilizers. If you want to try a plant-specific approach to fertilizing, you can use a variety of specialty organic fertilizers that are available from mail order supply companies or at many well-stocked garden centers. For example, you can use blood meal, chicken-feather meal, or fish meal as nitrogen sources. Bonemeal is a good souce of phosphorus, and kelp or greensand are organic sources of potassium. Part 2 will be on Dry organic fertilizers and Liquid organic fertilizers. Organic Fertilizers Part 1

It starts with the soil

Soil testing The Rutgers Cooperative Research & Extension Soil Testing Laboratory serves New Jersey farmers, nursery and landscape businesses, and home gardeners. Soil testing kits can be purchased from local county Extension offices. Why test soil?

• Healthy plant growth requires optimum soil pH and nutrient levels.
• It's economical. Don't spend money on fertilizers you may not need.
• It's environmentally responsible. Excessive application of fertilizers can cause water pollution.

For more information and list of research and extension offices in your area, visit www.rcre.rutgers.edu/soiltestinglab

Simple organic solutions for pest problems

Organic solutions for pest problems

We certainly understand that many gardeners become anxious when they see pests on their plants and want to react decisively when they see their plants damaged. But we must remind you of the central principle of organic gardening: growing flowers and plants in harmony with Mother Nature. And insects, even those that eat your plants, are a crucial part of that system. When you see insects in your garden, take some time to really watch what they're doing. Are they actually destroying the plant or just nibbling it a bit? Many plants can outgrown minor damage. Healthy Soil, Healthy Plants-in many cases, insects attach stressed out plants. Beneficial Insects-Most importantly, encourage the natural predators of pest insects to hunt in your garden. For instance, keep a water source nearby for them and by not wiping out the entire population with a pesticide, sending the beneficials elsewhere in search of food. Grow plats with small blossoms like sweet alyssum and dill, which attract predatory insects who feed on flowers' nectar between attacks on pests. Use Barriers & Traps-Barriers such as row covers, netting and plant collars very effectively protect crops from pests.