Most people get started gardening organically by growing organic herbs and vegetables. Organics are grown without harmful pesticides and chemical...
Most people get started gardening organically by growing organic herbs and vegetables. Organics are grown without harmful pesticides and chemical...
View Organic Gardening RSS feedMost people get started gardening organically by growing organic herbs and vegetables. Organics are grown without harmful pesticides and chemical fertilizers, and have been shown to be higher in vitamins and antioxidants than conventionally-grown produce. Best of all, it is easy to get started growing your own organic veggies.
All organic gardening starts with the soil. If you are growing your vegetables in a traditional garden, rather than in a raised-bed or container garden, you will have to amend the soil. If you have sandy soil or clay, you will need to add organic matter to improve the texture and nutrients in that soil. The best soil amendments are compost and aged manure. To apply them, loosen the soil and mix the amendments into the top eight or ten inches.
In order to have a purely organic garden, it is highly recommended that you start with organic seeds or starts. Organic seeds are readily available in many garden centers, but there are also plenty of mail-order catalogs and web sites that carry them. Organic starts may be a little harder to track down, but they, too, are getting easier to find. If you can't find either of these, or your budget doesn't allow for the slightly higher price of organic seeds and starts, don't worry. What's important is that you use organic methods to grow the plants from here on out.
One of the best ways to protect your vegetable garden from certain pests is to practice companion planting, which is the age-old method of planting certain plants together so that they will aid each other throughout the growing season. Besides deterring pests, some companion plants offer additional nutrients, support or shade. It takes a little bit of planning, but is definitely worth the effort.
Along with companion planting, crop rotation greatly reduces or even eliminates the need for the chemical pesticides that are an absolute no-no in an organic garden. Crop rotation simply means that you don't plant the same crop, or even a crop in the same family, in the exact same spot in your garden year after year. By moving your crops around, you leave behind any dormant disease or insect problems that prey on that particular crop. Again, it takes some planning, but crop rotation is fairly easy to do.
We all know that vegetables and herbs need water to grow, but how we water is just as important as how much we water. Proper watering techniques will reduce the amount of disease and fungal problems you'll have to deal with, as well as conserving as much water as possible. To reduce the chance of creating fungal problems and spreading diseases, the best way to water vegetables is by using a soaker hose. A soaker hose lays on the ground and slowly dribbles water onto the soil so that the water goes directly to the plant's roots, the place where it is needed most. Watering from above wets the foliage, which can cause issues like powdery mildew. In addition to this problem, a fair amount of water is lost through evaporation when you water from above.
To prevent weeds and help your soil retain water, you'll want to add a two or three inch layer of some type of organic mulch such as chopped leaves, bark, grass clippings, straw or cocoa hulls. As the mulch breaks down, it will also add organic matter to your soil.
By following these simple organic gardening techniques, you can enjoy your own organically-grown vegetables and herbs.
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