Organic Gardening
Organic gardening is the best way to ensure that no harmful
chemicals or substances have gone into the fruit and vegetables you
grow. As well, gardening organically means that you are
gardening in a way that is natural and environmentally responsible.
Is it possible to still have delicious, healthy, pest free fruits
and vegetables from your garden if you don't use commercial chemical
based fertilizers and pest control products? With organic
gardening: Absolutely!
What can I use to fertilize?
Making sure that you have healthy soil is a first step in organic
gardening.
Always rotate your crops so that the soil will not become depleted in
one area of your vegetable garden. Then one of the best ways to
build up your soil is to add in compost every year. Making
your own organic compost is simple and it's free! (see our article about
composting) Adding well rotted manure to your soil is another
great soil builder if you don't have enough compost or have a really
large garden. For more intense fertilizing you can
purchase organic fertilizers such as fish fertilizers.
These won't burn your young plants and won't cause damage as they
drain away in the earth.
What about weed control?
Make sure that you put a mulch around your plants and vegetables. A
layer of straw or even grass clippings one to two inches deep on the
soil around your plants will keep down the growth of weeds, reduce
water loss and benefit the soil as the material breaks down over the
gardening season.
How can I get rid of harmful insects?
There are so many natural predators in your garden that chemical
means are really unnecessary. Organic pest control uses
beneficial insects like wasps, ladybugs and green
lacewings who love to devour aphids and other harmful garden insects.
If aphids are very thick, then you can simply spray them off
with plain water, or try mixing a gallon of water and about a
half teaspoon each of pure soap and vegetable oil to use as a spray.
Nematodes which are microscopic parasites, will destroy all kinds
of soil dwelling grubs and larvae and benefit your lawn and root
crops. You can even inject nematodes right into the stems
of plants like pumpkins and squash to stop borers.
Where can I find these beneficial insects?
They are probably in your garden already if you know where to look.
But we usually don't have enough of these helpful organic organisms. You
can build up your supply by purchasing these handy bugs from garden
retailers such as
Gardens Alive. They are shipped to you live, along with
instructions and you release them into your garden!
