Organic Gardening Made Easy

Easy and Effective Organic Gardening Solutions

Raised garden beds ease tending chores and help protect from slugs

Spring is well upon us: plants are spouting, showing us their first flowers that are maturing into produce and flowers are blooming. This also means pests have returned as well. 

Do you dream of a lush, healthy garden that's safe for children, pets and the environment? It is possible and much easier than  you think. Using simple organic techniques and the latest organic solutions will get you there in no time. 

Gardening organically is simple. By gardening organically, you are allowing plants and nature to work in harmony; and are therefore much less likely to have plant diseases,and insect problems than conventional gardens do.  All it requires is a bit of daily diligence and applying solutions as needed. 

Organic Practices

The first step in gardening is to ensure you have healthy soil. This involves feeding the soil and then allowing the soil to feed the plants. Soil health is paramount. If your soil is alive with earthworms and microbes, everything else will fall into place. Plants will be healthy and resist diseases and pest attacks. 

Any use of chemical, synthetic fertilizers, disease and pest solutions will harm naturally occurring microbes and insects. Therefore anything you add or use in your garden must be organic. Clickhere to learn more about building soil. 

Soil Health

Healthy soil is full of life. It has humus, earthworms, beneficial bacteria and beneficial fungus in the soil that helps plant roots uptake necessary nutrients. Many garden soils will need help to reach this optimal state. Modern organic amendments and fertilizers contain the necessary ingredients to help develop this environment. 

Soil amendments are not fertilizers. Amendments are designed to improve the soil texture. This will help your soil retain moisture and nutrients, increasing their availability to your plants. Composted amendments are important additions to both sandy and clay soils. Lean how to compost here. 

Give the Garden Time to Adjust

It will take a while for things to adjust, so be patient. There will likely be some bugs and fungicides that appear, especially early in the growing season when the ground is still moist. However, try not to become inpatient and intervene with conventional, non-organic solutions. At the same time these bad things are happening, good insects and beneficial fungi will be setting up home. Give them time to get situation and do their job. 

Pest Solutions

Occasionally you may need to help out your garden's environment. That may mean adding more good insects like ladybugs, nenmtodes, green lacewings or praying mantises. In some instances it may also include spraying with a natural pesticide. Don't think that natural pesticides are harmless to everything but what you are trying to eliminate. Follow the directions so you don't harm your good bugs or your plants. To learn more about natural pesticides, click here. ​

Pairing Plants to Control the Insect Balance in Your Garden

Companion planting is an age old gardening technique of pairing two or more plants to gain some type of benefit: vigorous growth, higher yield, repelling pests or attracting predators of common pests. Some companion plantings work, others disappoint. But the idea of strength in diversity is never truer than in the garden and that’s what companion planting provides. Learn more about companion planting here. 

Day to Day

Successful organic gardening is best enabled by observation - and it's also enjoyable. Watch carefully to what is happening and resist the urge to step in too quickly in an attempt to help. Continue to add organic soil amendments and starter fertilizer whenever you plant. Remember, it's impossible to have too much humus in your soil. Vegetable gardens especially take a lot of nutrients out of the soil, so you must replenish it. 

Composting

Composting is often part of organic gardening, but it is not a requirement. You can have a fully organic garden without composting, but it is very helpful (and healthful) and satisfying to do so. If you have room for a compost pile or bin, consider composting as both a way to benefit your garden and the environment by making productive use of many waste products.