Organic Gardening Tips

Instead of chemicals in your soil and on your food, why not try organic gardening?Start small with just a few plants in pots or a small garden patch, or think really big and dig up your whole yard! 

Actually, if it’s your first garden, it’s better to start small.Everything looks so wonderful in catalogs that gardeners have a tendency to plant more than they can reasonably care for!Even though gardening is a rewarding and fun pastime, it helps to keep in mind it's also a lot of work.Once you got into the hoeing and weeding and harvesting, you'd likely wish you hadn't planted such a big garden.It works a lot better to start small, then work your way up to a large garden!

On Location…

Like the real estate agents are fond of saying, “It’s all about location, location, location.There are plants that will grow in the shade, but these are mostly flowers. Vegetables generally need sunshine.  An ample amount of sunshine is one thing you can’t provide artificially, unless you’re planning on a huge bank of portable lights out in your garden, and with the price of electricity these days, that’s a definite no-no.

Any garden, organic or otherwise, need sunshine.To get the best results, 6 hours of sun are necessary for your garden plot or where you place your pots of plants.It's helpful to locate the organic garden close to the house to make it easy to get to, but sometimes shade from trees or the house make it impracticle.While easy access is great, sunshine has top priority.

There must be plenty of sunshine for your garden area, but it also needs to drain well so plants don't sit in water.Good soil is a big help, but if needed, you can always add soil amendments.

Down and Dirty

Adding compost will help your soil no matter what type it is.To improve the soil, you can use natural fertilizers and organic materials.Most roots of vegetables are found in the top 6 inches of soil, so double digging or tilling the materials into the soil will put them where the plants can easily reach them.

Time to Plant

Seed catalogs and nurseries are brimming with all types of vegetables.Take into account what kind of vegetables you and your family like to eat, then choose varieties that will do well in your area.For instance, a long season crop like peanuts wouldn't fare so well in the far north, while a cool climate crop like peas might not do well in the deep south.

Organic material mulched around your vegetables will discourage weeds from growing, help conserve water, plus add humus and nutrients to the soil.  It’s a great way to improve your garden soil and plants!

Don’t Let Them Bug You

Where there’s lovely young plants, there’s bugs looking for a meal.One option is to hand pick caterpillars and other bugs off plants. Spraying the plant with plain or soapy water will also help dislodge bugs..  

 Not all bugs are bad, and some are even beneficial such as ladybugs, green lacewings, praying mantis, spiders and wasps since they eat insects that try to eat your vegetables. 

Companion planting with insect repellant plants such as marigolds or nasturtiums can also help keep bugs away from your garden.

It also helps to learn to live with a certain amount of imperfections.Store bought vegetables may look perfect, but taste blah. Your organically grown vegetable may not look perfect, but it will taste a whole lot better.  You can cut off any problem spots before eating it.

No Freeloading Weeds Please!

Weeds have been defined as “a plant growing in the wrong place.”  That pretty much sums it up.Anything unwanted that grows is a weed, so hoe it out, till it up, or pull it up.Use whatever means you wish, just get them out of the garden.There is only so much water and nutrients in the soil to go around, and weeds steal some your vegetable plants could be using.

You're Ready To Garden!

If you have a good location for your garden, fertile soil, plants that do well in your area, and keep the garden free of weeds and bad bugs, you've got the right ingredients for a super organic garden.  Growing an organic garden is a wonderful way to put great tasting food in your diet.Enjoy your own organic garden!