Are you an organic grower?

[Martin H]

I try to be organic but have become dependent on little blue pellets.

[Jonthefish]

I too clicked 'mostly'.....

Had to get shed loads of multipurpose compost in from the garden centre.
I got slug pellets in, which i really didnt want to, due to the dog, the kids and what might get absorbed by the plants. I'm trying my best to use away from the soil and out of reach from both hairy and smooth paws.
2 bottles of plant feed.

What i am doing:-

Got a wormery
Bringing home 50 litres of hopefully Phosphate and Nitrate rich water from work.
Compost bin.
Nettles, (Hopefully Comfrey soon) liquid feeds.
Might pee in a bucket again soon.

[Vince G]

I imagine I'm fairly typical of most allotment holders in that I do my level best to be as organic as possible. Thankfully we don't have a slug/snail problem so no little blue pellets are needed, and the soil is quite light and sandy, so more problematic weeds can mostly be dug out....but there is always the dreaded horsetail which I just have to control by chemical means or I'd be pulling it out by the bushel.

[Two_Sheds]

I'm one of the few growers on my allotment site who tries to be organic ( aka awkward/difficult !)

There are organic solutions/techniques to almost every problem the grower encounters, eg:

- Potato blight hits us every August, so I grow earlies not maincrop, and I cut off all my potato haulms when we get a Smith period in late summer. No foliage, so the spuds don't get the blight.

- raspberry beetle is a real problem, so I grow autumn varieties which avoid the pest

- carrot root fly is prevalent, so I grow under enviromesh, ditto with brassicas & onions to avoid their pests.

I make full use of mulches, comfrey, seaweed & green manures (I've never used horsemuck) and I gather about 30 sacks of leaves every autumn to make my own potting compost (so avoiding peat).

I'm not holier than thou, it's just that I've found a massive increase in bees & other beneficial insects on my plot compared to traditional chemical plots around me.

My methods do provoke strong reactions: I've been told my plot is "messy" and my flower border is regularly attacked by a plot holder who sprays weedkiller on it very early in the morning when nobody is around.

[pdblake]

I'm as organic as I can be, but I'm also a realist and want to eat the fruit of my labours myself, so I use slug pellets. Having tried beer traps and whatknots I find they're the only thing that really works well in my price range, though I do keep meaning to have a go at homebrewed nematodes.

The one thing I can really recommend as an all round preventative is enviromesh (or cheaper equivalent). Net as much as you can, especially brassicas.

[StephenH]

I try to be organic but have become dependent on little blue pellets.

You can get little blue organically-approved pellets.

[pdblake]

You can get little blue organically-approved pellets.

But they cost more than twice as much.

[The Masons]

This is pretty much our first season growing and so far have managed to keep it organic. We're not keen on using chemicals in the house so it makes sense not to use any on the foods we are going to eat.

[Two_Sheds]

I do keep meaning to have a go at homebrewed nematodes.

I do it, and the results seem remarkably good (my slugs & snails are down from 1,000 in a night, to eleven.

But they cost more than twice as much.

So use half as many

Most people seem to use far more than the recommended dose: blue carpets are to be seen on our lotty site

[pdblake]

So use half as many

I don't use that many anyway to be honest. I buy a cheap, two quid, tub from Wilko and it sees me through the season for garden and plot.

As for the nematodes, well I have a couple of spare buckets. Just need to find some slugs that I haven't already killed. I'm sure there'll be plenty

[VirginVegGrower]

I do it, and the results seem remarkably good (my slugs & snails are down from 1,000 in a night, to eleven.

So use half as many

Most people seem to use far more than the recommended dose: blue carpets are to be seen on our lotty site

Same with my neighbor and she has cats visiting her garden, whilst using metaldehyde ones. Sprinkled like hundreds and thousands.

[BUFFS]

I try to be organic but have become dependent on little blue pellets.

whats this? viagra in the garden?.....

[Mikey]

I guess it depends on your definition of Organic, I use fish, blood and bone, lime, comfrey and nettle tea, tomorite and slug pellets sparingly, even less these days as I have lots of egg shells going spare.

I wouldn't class my actions as anywhere near organic, but I'm always learning and trying to find ways in which I can enrich my soil and plants without having to add purchased nutrient feeds. If I can spare the space and time and grow a soil enhancer I'd rather do that, but these things take time, experience and practise to get right.

I'm still barely a novice.

[KevinM67]

I guess it depends on your definition of Organic, I use fish, blood and bone, lime, comfrey and nettle tea, tomorite and slug pellets sparingly, even less these days as I have lots of egg shells going spare.

I wouldn't class my actions as anywhere near organic, but I'm always learning and trying to find ways in which I can enrich my soil and plants without having to add purchased nutrient feeds. If I can spare the space and time and grow a soil enhancer I'd rather do that, but these things take time, experience and practise to get right.

I'm still barely a novice.

I think your right Mikey - a clear definition of ORGANIC would help.

I try my best - I dig rather than poison - I do my own composting, but still had to buy compost at the beginning - my fencing, shed, beds, etc. have all been made using reclaimable materials - I've just started to make liquid fertilisers (although they are untested at the moment) - and I don't bother with slug pellets (or slugs in general).

However, I do use bamboo canes which I suppose would be a No-No ?? And plastic netting.

[salome2001]

I answered "mostly". Partly because I'm not sure if everything I use is organic- the nemaslug, cabbage collars and ferric phosphate pellets are all "orangic", but then I wonder about the sulphate of iron I gave the raspberries last week that have lime-induced chlorosis.
And partly because I have a bindweed problem that I am only chipping away at with the application of roundup.
I like to think I grow organic but weed with napalm.