Paul expounded:

Hello all,

First of all, i'm a newbie. i just moved into a house from an
apartment, and the idea of having an organic kitchen garden has always
excited me, so i built one, and i've got a few crops going now that
are coming out well so far.

Roundup is not organic.

The okra, pumpkin vines, spearmint, pepper, and basil plants are
thriving in the soil, and doing very well. I live in central Florida.

My problem: my Heatwave tomato plants have wilted over the past 2
days, even with the same amount of water and plant food and
temperature that they're used to. the only thing different i can
imagine is that a few days ago i bought some Round Up that said it was
safe for use in flower and vegetable gardens to kill some grass and
weeds that had popped up around the tomato plants. However i didn't
use much of it, just enough to get the grass and weed seedlings, and i
thought it should be safe around the plants. but as of now the tomato
plants have their leaves drooped down, very weak and soft, and they
look pretty pathetic.

You need to pull weeds, not use chemicals, especially around food. The
tomatoes are toast, pull them and learn.

The other plants that i did not spray the roundup near are doing well
still.

Then don't spray near them and they'll be fine.

Go to the library and get a book on organic gardening, there are many.
One universal theme is no use of chemicals to control weeds, and no
chemical fertilizer to feed the plants, instead, you feed the soil
with compost and mulches. There is much more, read and ask questions.
--
Ann
e-mail address is not checked

Thanks for the input. As i said, i'm a newbie, i didn't even think
about the fact that the stuff to kill weeds would be just as bad as
insecticides. I've been using an organic "insecticide" which contains
canola oil and sesame oil that i spray on the leaves to prevent
caterpillars and such.

So, let's forget the organic thing, even in a non-organic garden Round
Up doesn't actually work without killing the plant?

Paul expounded:

So, let's forget the organic thing, even in a non-organic garden Round
Up doesn't actually work without killing the plant?

It'll kill most any green thing it touches.
--
Ann
e-mail address is not checked

Also, how do you feed with compost after they've been planted? I've
mixed compost in the soil when i plant them, but can i just sprinkle
compost near the base and they'll absorb it?

Also, how do you feed with compost after they've been planted? I've
mixed compost in the soil when i plant them, but can i just sprinkle
compost near the base and they'll absorb it?

For annuals like tomatoes, mixing a suitable amount of compost into
the soil at the start of each season should be enough. It is
naturally slow-release, especially if you avoid washing out nutrients
by excessive watering.

For perennials like turf grass, flowers, etc, or if you prefer not to
till, yes you can spread compost on the soil and let the rain and
earthworms distribute nutrients. One common version of this is to
mulch with an organic mulch like wood chips, leaves, coffee grounds,
etc, and let it eventually decompose. You can also fertilize with
liquid organic fertilizers like compost tea, compost leachate, or fish
emulsion.

On Aug 29, 12:39 pm, Jim Kingdon wrote:

For annuals like tomatoes, mixing a suitable amount of compost into
the soil at the start of each season should be enough. It is
naturally slow-release, especially if you avoid washing out nutrients
by excessive watering.

For perennials like turf grass, flowers, etc, or if you prefer not to
till, yes you can spread compost on the soil and let the rain and
earthworms distribute nutrients. One common version of this is to
mulch with an organic mulch like wood chips, leaves, coffee grounds,
etc, and let it eventually decompose. You can also fertilize with
liquid organic fertilizers like compost tea, compost leachate, or fish
emulsion.

Thanks, Jim! Good to know. I appreciate the helpful info!

In article ,
Jim Kingdon wrote:

Also, how do you feed with compost after they've been planted? I've
mixed compost in the soil when i plant them, but can i just sprinkle
compost near the base and they'll absorb it?

For annuals like tomatoes, mixing a suitable amount of compost into
the soil at the start of each season should be enough. It is
naturally slow-release, especially if you avoid washing out nutrients
by excessive watering.

For perennials like turf grass, flowers, etc, or if you prefer not to
till, yes you can spread compost on the soil and let the rain and
earthworms distribute nutrients. One common version of this is to
mulch with an organic mulch like wood chips, leaves, coffee grounds,
etc, and let it eventually decompose. You can also fertilize with
liquid organic fertilizers like compost tea, compost leachate, or fish
emulsion.

Fish emulsion is good for nitrogen but the others don't supply it. You
need to add manure or rotate crop with legumes (beans, peas, clover,
ect) that are nitrogen fixers.
--
FB - FFF

Billy

Get up, stand up, stand up for yor rights.
Get up, stand up, Don't give up the fight.
- Bob Marley