Everybody knows that organic food is better for you, but just what is organic gardening? Simply put, it means that organic gardeners do not use chemicals for fertilizer or pesticides in the garden. Organic vegetable gardening is better for you and the environment. But it doesn't have to be just for vegetables; you can put these practices to work in your flower garden as well.
Organic gardening, however, is more than just not using chemicals. It's about replenishing and enriching your soil and working with nature rather than against it. You might want to consider composting to recycle your kitchen scraps and lawn and garden clippings, while at the same time adding rich nutrients to your soil.
Another thing you want to consider in your organic garden is the plants. You should choose ones that are suited to your climate and garden conditions. This will make the plants healthier and healthy plants are less likely to attract disease and pests. Going with nature in this way will make your job as a gardener much easier.
Since a big part of organic gardening is not using pesticides, you have to keep a close eye on your garden so that you can head off any pests or disease right away - before it can spread and infect a lot of your plants. This means getting out in the garden every day and inspecting your plants. But where's the problem there? If you love gardening you won't mind spending as much time with your plants as possible - in fact both you, and the plants, will thrive on it.
One thing you can do to cut down on your work in this area is enlist some help from insects and other garden inhabitants that who like to eat those garden pests for dinner. Lacewings, lady bugs, frogs and snakes all like to eat insects that might damage your plants, so make your garden attractive to these guys and they'll help you do some of the work.
Also, it's important to note that healthy plants will attract less bugs and disease. So make sure your plants are healthy and if you see one that is looking sick, remove the affected parts from the garden and throw it out in the garbage. Do not use infected clippings for compost or you may be reintroducing the problem back in to your garden!
There may come a time when you do need some pesticide for your garden. You can buy organic pesticides so you don't have to worry about deciding between ruining your entire crop or the environment. The key here is to know what you need to treat, as the natural pesticides are usually specific treatments for one type of pest or bacteria.
Organic gardening is great for the environment, but there is one drawback, which is that you might not have as large or as plentiful of a crop as you would if you used chemical fertilizers and pest control. On the other hand, who wants to eat chemical laden food?
Nothing could be more satisfying than growing your own delicious vegetables and if you employ organic vegetable gardening techniques, you can be assured that what you eat is pure and wholesome with no toxins or pesticides.
An organic garden doesn't use any chemical fertilizers or pesticides, so it is a little bit more work than if you had the aid of chemicals. But in the long run you will be feeding your family much more healthy foods as well as replenishing the earth in your garden and keeping the environment clean.
When you consider your garden, you want to think about things like crop rotation, soil conditioning and natural pest control. These things are all a big part of organic vegetable gardening and will help your garden flourish as well as make the job a bit easier.
You'll want to make sure that your soil is in tip top shape and you can have it tested to see what types of nutrients need to be added in. Plants need nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in order to thrive and you want to make sure your soil has enough. If you don't then you can buy organic fertilizer like fish emulsion and different manures that you can till into the soil to make up the difference.
One thing a lot of organic gardeners do to make sure their soil is healthy for the plants is to have their own compost pile. You can compost kitchen scraps, garden cuttings, lawn cutting and even things like paper and hair. Organisms within the pile break all this down to a deep rich material that is a great conditioner for your garden soil.
When planting your vegetables, you want to be sure that you leave enough space in between plants so that you can get in there and inspect for pests and damage. Without the aid of pesticides, you will have to keep a close eye on your crops and potentially pick the harmful bugs off of each one, so leave enough room for comfort. This will also help the plant get enough nutrients from the soil without having to compete with neighbors that are to close, as well as give it space to grow. To help keep down the weeds, use an organic mulch after planting.
To help you with pest control, you want to make sure your garden is full of insects and critters that eat the harmful bugs. Starlings will eat the dreaded Japanese beetle so you might want to set up a bird friendly area to attract them. Ladybugs and Lacewings are known to eat pests and toads can even be helpful in a garden.
Organic vegetable gardening can be very rewarding, but it can also be a bit of work. However, if you love the fresh garden taste of toxin free foods, then it can be a labor of love.
