My organic challenge vol.2

I don't want to use chemical pesticide but how can I ward off bugs organically especially aphids, which damage my vegetables every year?
I studied aphids don't like reflected sunlight so I've tried aluminum tape to repel them. I found more effective thing on the Internet than the tape, I believe. I bought a roll of silver-colored mulch sheet, which is 1 meter-wide and 100-meter-long.
The sheet is effective not only for repel bugs but for cooling down soil by reflecting sunlight. Today I covered my gardening ridges with the sheet.
I'll plant tomatoes, eggplants and cucumbers there next week. Aphids love those summer vegetables so I strongly hope the sheet will work effectively.

-- iPhone

My Organic Challenge

 I sometimes think how organically I can grow my vegetables when I plant new seed and sprouts.
I believe I still have many things to be organic since I sometimes use chemical things like fertilizer and pesticide. What will happen if I switch those chemical things into organic ways? I decided I install some organic methods to grow my vegetables more Organically!

1. Installing companion plants

I believe companion plant method is so familiar among many gardeners and I tried to install the method to ward off beetles, aphids and namatodes. I studied that marigolds are effective to ward off them so I and my kids bought 2 potted marigolds and planted then my gardening beds.

My daughter is choosing good ones.

My kids are planting a marigold

The companion plant method is not only for warding off bugs but for help vegetable's healthy growth. Planting sweet basil beside tomato trees is effective to make the tomatoes more delicious so I bought a pack of basil seeds and planted them at the edge of my gardening bed for tomato trees. I can enjoy the great combination for cooking Italian dishes when they will have grown!                                             


2. Using leftover as fertilizer

My family loves miso-soup with clams and the shells were thrown away into a garbage can.
I studied the shells contain a lot calcium, which is effective to neutralize soil. I hammered them to powder after I washed them to remove salt and dried them.

My kids spend the last day of their spring vacation in my garden.

 I'm very happy that I and my kids could spend the last day of their spring vacation working in my garden. I'm happy not only for their help but for their positive attitude toward working in my garden.

 I did't asked them or invited them to come to my garden but they said "Take us to your garden, Dad!" when I left my house with my hoe. You can see their great jobs in my garden in the photos shown below.

Mission 1 : Weeding

Mission 2 : Cultivating soil

Mission 3 : Covering ridges with black mulch-sheets

 When I see their positive attitude, I strongly believe my education through my gardening will make for establishing their views in a good way. I always tell my kids that we live on food like meat, vegetables, fish, what we can get by growing and killing them. They seem to feel or acknowledge how important it is to know how we live and how interesting and valuable it is to take part in gardening, where they can grow their food.