Excellent questions, Girl1!
Yes, we do compost our vegetable scraps in a home-built wooden compost bin. We do not use any of the compost for our potted seedlings yet for several reasons: our compost is not yet mature; we want to minimize any risk of pathogens getting into our baby seedlings; and since we cannot always afford to buy organic and we bill ourselves as chemical-free, some of our composted vegetable scraps may have pesticide residues. We hope to upgrade to a freestanding bin that is all above-ground and also employ the help of some nice worms in the near future. I hear worms are great for speeding the decomp of compost, and worm castings are one of nature's best fertilizers. A properly maintained compost pile, with or without worms, should not offend the nostrils.
The source of the vast majority of our seeds is located just outside Columbus in Gahanna, Ohio: Ohio Heirloom Seeds. http://www.ohioheirloomseeds.com/. We are very happy with the quality of their seeds and highly recommend them to any home gardener. We also purchase seeds from J. W. Jung Seed Company of Randolph, Wisconsin (http://www.jungseed.com/) and from Johnny's Selected Seeds of Winslow, Maine (http://www.johnnyseeds.com/).
Aphid Control: attracting hoverflies by companion planting is one of the best ways to control aphids naturally. I consulted Geoff Hamilton's book Organic Gardening: The essential guide to growing flowers, fruit, and vegetables the natural way. According to Hamilton, whom I will quote from pg 46: "There is absolutely no doubt that marigolds (Tagetes and Calendula), planted near tomatoes or roses, for example, greatly reduce the frequency of attack by aphids - the most persistent of all garden pests. This is simply because they attract hover-flies whose larva devour aphids by the thousand. Hover-flies are the most valuable pest predators in the garden.... by planting marigolds (Tagetes and Calendula), poppies (Papaver sp.), nasturtiums (Tropaeolum) or dwarf morning glory (Convolvulus tricolor) between plants, you minimize aphid attack." Ladybugs also devour aphids.
Aphids can be removed by rubbing the insects off with your fingers or hosing them off with a powerful spray of water. I have read that neem oil application can be effective, or the following mixture: 1 tbsp Murphy's Oil Soap and 1 Tbsp baking soda to 1 gallon of water. Diatomaceous earth apparently takes too long to work, although it is said to prevent the survival of newly hatched aphids. Hamilton recommends spraying badly infested plants with insecticidal soap: "This is a potassium-salt soap and is more effective than soft soap in the control of aphids, whitefly, red spider mites, scale insects and mealy bugs. Control can only be achieved by hitting the insect, and the soap persists for only one day." I would go for the Murphy's Oil Soap & baking soda and water mixture - that gardener says it works overnight. So plant your marigolds, nasturtiums, and poppies and if you find something that works, please keep me posted! Happy gardening :)
Yes, we do compost our vegetable scraps in a home-built wooden compost bin. We do not use any of the compost for our potted seedlings yet for several reasons: our compost is not yet mature; we want to minimize any risk of pathogens getting into our baby seedlings; and since we cannot always afford to buy organic and we bill ourselves as chemical-free, some of our composted vegetable scraps may have pesticide residues. We hope to upgrade to a freestanding bin that is all above-ground and also employ the help of some nice worms in the near future. I hear worms are great for speeding the decomp of compost, and worm castings are one of nature's best fertilizers. A properly maintained compost pile, with or without worms, should not offend the nostrils.
The source of the vast majority of our seeds is located just outside Columbus in Gahanna, Ohio: Ohio Heirloom Seeds. http://www.ohioheirloomseeds.com/. We are very happy with the quality of their seeds and highly recommend them to any home gardener. We also purchase seeds from J. W. Jung Seed Company of Randolph, Wisconsin (http://www.jungseed.com/) and from Johnny's Selected Seeds of Winslow, Maine (http://www.johnnyseeds.com/).
Aphid Control: attracting hoverflies by companion planting is one of the best ways to control aphids naturally. I consulted Geoff Hamilton's book Organic Gardening: The essential guide to growing flowers, fruit, and vegetables the natural way. According to Hamilton, whom I will quote from pg 46: "There is absolutely no doubt that marigolds (Tagetes and Calendula), planted near tomatoes or roses, for example, greatly reduce the frequency of attack by aphids - the most persistent of all garden pests. This is simply because they attract hover-flies whose larva devour aphids by the thousand. Hover-flies are the most valuable pest predators in the garden.... by planting marigolds (Tagetes and Calendula), poppies (Papaver sp.), nasturtiums (Tropaeolum) or dwarf morning glory (Convolvulus tricolor) between plants, you minimize aphid attack." Ladybugs also devour aphids.
Aphids can be removed by rubbing the insects off with your fingers or hosing them off with a powerful spray of water. I have read that neem oil application can be effective, or the following mixture: 1 tbsp Murphy's Oil Soap and 1 Tbsp baking soda to 1 gallon of water. Diatomaceous earth apparently takes too long to work, although it is said to prevent the survival of newly hatched aphids. Hamilton recommends spraying badly infested plants with insecticidal soap: "This is a potassium-salt soap and is more effective than soft soap in the control of aphids, whitefly, red spider mites, scale insects and mealy bugs. Control can only be achieved by hitting the insect, and the soap persists for only one day." I would go for the Murphy's Oil Soap & baking soda and water mixture - that gardener says it works overnight. So plant your marigolds, nasturtiums, and poppies and if you find something that works, please keep me posted! Happy gardening :)
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