Articles written by Phillip Richards
Showing 27 Articles
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Organic Liquid Fertilizers
Effective and cheap liquid organic fertilizers and foliar sprays can be made at home. Use easily found materials.
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Organics Reducing Climate Change
Organic farming lessens the effects of climate change. Urs Niggli of the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) calls for increased support.
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Growing Chinese Water Chestnuts
Growing edible and nutritious Chinese water chestnuts is a simple process which produces masses of this delicious aquatic vegetable.
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Edible Chinese Water Chestnuts
Edible Chinese Water Chestnuts (Eleocharis dulcis), sometimes known as Matai, can be an excellent backyard or medium-scale crop.
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Responsible Organic Gardening
Organics is becoming more than just growing a few vegetables in the back yard or choosing spotty and grotty fruit from the local market: .
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Who Says It's Organic
Who oversees organic producers? How do we know our food is grown organically? There are national bodies but internationally IFOAM lays down the basic rules.
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Site Design
Making a garden is fun, but even more satisfying is deciding on a whole site master plan using permaculture principles of organic garden design for an environmentally sus
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Organic Merino Wool
Interest is growing in the use of sustainably grown fibres for clothing. Organic wool production is in its infancy but is set to increase to fulfil growing demand.
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Stay safe garden organically
Do you use pesticides on your pot plants? Beware you may be increasing your risk of cancer.
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Easy Compost Making
Making good compost is an art and a science but by following some straight-forward suggestions, it becomes a simple process to make organic garden fertilizer at home.
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Composting Hints
Composting need not be difficult nor make the organic gardener a neighbourhood pariah. Most problems can be overcome quite simply.
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Organic Garden Compost
Great changes take place within a compost pile so that it becomes greater than the sum of its parts - there are more usable nitrates than in the original material. "Good
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Improve the Environment - Compost
Composting recycles your family's wastes reducing landfill, improving the environment and producing without great inputs of time, effort and money the homemade fertiliser
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Permaculture Zone Design
Garden design for organic and permaculture gardens can use the concept of zoning to create an efficient and ecologically sustainable system that minimisers the gardener's
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Green Manure Crop Styles
Organic gardeners develop their gardens without the use of synthetic chemicals. Often green manures are used as an ecologically sustainable alternative.
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Cheap Organic Pest Control
We do not have to reach for a shop bought spray to fight insect pests. Organic homemade remedies can be effective in overcoming fungal problems, root rot, mites, aphids,
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Insect and Disease Control
What can we use that is ecologically responsible and that will not persist or damage the environment when suddenly faced with a horde of hungry caterpillars?
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Making Liquid Manure
Spring is an excellent time to make up a batch of liquid manure from the new lush growth. Use liquid manure to as an organic fertilizer to add nutrients and trace element
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Mulch Laying practicalities
Recognition of The Carbon: Nitrogen ratio (C:N), the PH of the mulch and soil, the effect of nitrogen drawdown help solve problems that may occur with mulch laying.
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Easter Bunny and the Bilby
The common symbol of Easter the Easter bunny is being replaced by the Easter Bilby in Australia. The rabbit introduced by the first settlers became a plague pest whereas
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Choosing mulch
Mulch is important in the organic garden to preserve and develop soil structure, to create fertility and avoid problems of compaction and erosion. There are many choices
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Birds for natural insect control
In an Integrated Pest Management system insectivorous birds are used in an ecologically sustainable way to manage pests in a green and natural biodiverse environment.
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Weeds & Beneficial Predators
Weeds can be a valid aspect of organic garden design by providing a refuge for insect predators. These beneficial insects can help rid the garden of pests.
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Integrated Pest Management
Through the use of organically acceptable garden practises, pests and diseases can be minimised, by adopting an holistic approach through Integrated Pest management.
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Organic Gardens with Permaculture
It might look messy or even complicated, but using Permaculture principals encourages us to look beyond our gardens to create a locally sustainable and productive system.
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Building a No-dig Garden
A no-dig, raised bed garden is easy to build following these straight-forward instructions. Such a garden will give years of maintenance free production.
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The No-Dig Raised Garden
You may have hard stony soil or a clay pan but with a no-dig, raised-bed garden you can build a productive garden using organic principles- without great effort.
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