GENTRY — Janie Parks gave tips on organic gardening and answered questions on Monday as part of the Booked for Lunch at Gentry Public Library program.

The library holds a Booked for Lunch event in the McKee Community Room on the second Monday of each month from noon until 1 p.m. Community members are invited to bring a sack lunch and listen to a seminar on topics ranging from finance to fire safety.

Parks, who has been operating Janie’s Greenhouse in Gentry for 17 years and is an experienced organic gardener, shared some of her knowledge over cookies from the Wooden Spoon and iced tea. There are many different levels oforganic gardening but the basic definition is gardening without the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, she said. Organic gardening can be accomplished but it can take years to build the soil to a level it can grow pest-free plants without any use of chemicals. If people start correctly in the beginning, they can work into an organic garden over the course of a year or two, she said.

In organic gardening there are two main issues to address; building soil and managing weeds and pests. Adding compost to a garden is a great way to improve soil, Parks said. Vegetables, flowers, shrubs and even lawns can benefit from compost and it’s fairly inexpensive in bulk. Parks suggested working up to four to six inches of compost into the ground every spring.

“That’s the key to having a good garden,” she said.

Parks said that compost can be made at home using a commercially bought compost bin, a home made bin or even just a pile in a corner of the garden.

Start with a layer of green material such as grass clippings and a layer of brown material such as dead leaves and continue to add layers of organic matter, including kitchen scraps such as egg shells, coffee grounds, and vegetable peelings, “anything that would normally go down the garbage disposal,“ she said.

Do not add dairy, meat or grease to a compost pile. Use a pitch fork to turn the pile regularly and keep the compost moist. It takes about a year to produce a batch of compost, although some methods are faster, she said.

If one doesn’t have the time and space to produce their own compost, some municipalities like the City of Bentonville offer compost for free, and Janie’s Greenhouse sells compost in bulk and bags, Parks said.

She also suggested planting nitrogen fixing plants such as beans, peas and alfalfa and moving them throughout the garden from year to year. At the end of the season, one can till the roots or even the whole plant back into the soil to add nutrients, she said.

Planting “green manure” crops such as buckwheat or alfalfa in the garden in late fall and tilling them back under in early spring is another great way to improve soil and control weeds, Parks said. Kale is an edible green manure crop, and will even continue to thrive under the snow, she said.

Some organic fertilizers are available, but they are very expensive and hard to find, Parks said.

“If you do all these things, it won’t be necessary,” she said.

Once the soil is right, plants will be stronger and healthier and will be able to handle a few pests from time to time without sustaining too much damage.

Managing pests can be done organically, but chemical solutions can still be used to save plants in case of a really bad plague, Parks said.

“Pests and weeds are the hardest thing to deal with and stay organic,” she said.

Encouraging the good bugs like ladybugs, lacewings, bees, praying mantises and even wasps is essential. The downside to chemical bug killers is they kill both the good bugs and bad bugs, Parks said.

Honey bees have suffered a drop in population over the past several years and it’s essential to help them have a comeback. Without pollination from bees, there would be no fruit, flowers or vegetables, Parks said.

Planting beneficial plants like fennel or dill will encourage good bugs to visit the garden. Crop rotation can be used to trick bad bugs, and planting certain herbs and flowers near vegetables can help repel bugs, Parks said.

Parks said two of her favorite books are “Insect, Disease, & Weed I.D. Guide: Find-It-Fast Organic Solutions For Your Garden,” by Anna Carr, and “Carrots Love Tomatoes & Roses Love Garlic: Secrets of Successful Companion Planting,” by Louise Riotte.

Librarian Darla Threet said both books are nowavailable at the Gentry Library.

“This book is invaluable…. (Combination planting) might not be like Bug be Gone, but you can manage pests. The trick to it is looking at your garden every day and getting an early start on any problems,” Parks said.

Japanese Beetles are a big problem in northwest Arkansas, Parks said. She warned against setting traps too close to a garden, because they just attract more beetles. Traps should be at least a one-half acre away from the garden, she said.

Parks also recommended mixing a honey and water in a saucer to catch and drown slugs. Chemical slug poisons are extremely toxic and can kill a pet and seriously harm a child, she said.

Neem Oil and Pyrethrins are two natural pesticides, but they can still be toxic, Parks said. Diatomaceous Earth is a non-toxic way of killing worms and soft insects.

“For hundreds of years people planted gardens and they didn’t have Triple 13 fertilizer and SevenDust. So how did they do it? Well they did this stuff,” Parks said.

Parks said she is always glad to answer gardening questions. In addition to visiting her store, gardeners can post their questions online on her Facebook page “Janie’s Garden.”

The 2010 schedule for Booked for Lunch at Gentry Public Library is:

◊May 10 - “Flower Power” - Marsha and Frank Sherer with Travel Masters will show a photo tour of beautiful flower gardens within North America.

◊June 14 - SWEPCO

◊July 12 - Arvest Bank

◊Aug. 16 - Bever’s Ace Hardware, Randy Bever

◊Sept. 13 - “How About the United Way of Gentry … A 20 Year Success Story,” by executive director Jim Twiggs

◊Oct. 11 - “The role of government in our daily lives,” by Mayor Wes Hogue.

◊Nov. 8 - “Fire Safety in the Home,” by Gentry Fire Chief Vester Cripps

◊Dec. 13 - “Personal Safety as You Shop For the Holidays,” by Gentry Police Chief Keith Smith.

Community, Pages 3 on 04/14/2010