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GROWING AN ORGANIC GARDEN

Find out how growing an organic garden has many advantages both for you and for the environment as a whole. It’s all about gardening the way nature intended.

bee
The word organic means ‘of living origin’ so in terms of growing your own garden is relates to using only naturally occurring materials. This means not using, or at least limiting the use of, synthetic fertilizers or pesticides on crops and endeavoring to create a sustainable and balanced ecosystem in your backyard. It’s about working in harmony with nature to produce both healthy soil and healthy plants. Growing an organic vegetable or fruit garden will produce foods which will be tastier and better for you as they will not contain harmful pesticides which can accumulate over time in your bodies and in the wider environment. You will also find that there are greater variety of birds, butterflies and plants when growing an organic garden due to the fact that it is friendlier to the environment.

There are certain standards set out which farmers, growers and processors must follow in order that their produce can be labeled as organic but, when growing in your own garden, it doesn’t have to be difficult, just take as many steps as you can towards growing an organic garden and you will reap the benefits.

Composter

The Soil

The secret to successfully growing an organic garden starts with a rich fertile soil and one of the best ways to achieve this is by adding compost. If you have not already got a compost bin then you should start one straight away. You can put in grass clippings, fallen leaves, kitchen scraps, paper and other items which, when well rotted, can be added to the soil to encourage earthworms and other insects. These will further break the compost down into nutrients that the crops can use.

Suitable Plants

You should grow those which are known to be suitable for your climate and location; they will be easier to care for and require less additions to the soil to keep them healthy. Pest and disease resistant varieties are a good choice and try to match each one to the conditions available regarding light and moisture. Stressed plants are more susceptible to disease so correct watering is essential. Many experts look for heirloom seeds and seedlings when growing an organic garden; these are open pollinated (non hybrid), untreated and not genetically engineered.

Mulch

A layer of mulch such as shredded leaves, straw, grass clippings, wood chips or even newspaper is a great way to reduce weeds, will conserve moisture and also build up the soil as it decomposes.

Pest Control

Pest often attack unhealthy plants so you should aim to grow strong healthy specimens to minimize  this problem. However, insects are a part of the balanced ecosystem that you are trying to achieve when growing an organic garden so be prepared to tolerate a certain number of them. Great natural solutions can be found in this book:

Butterfly Feeder
Chemical pesticides are not used when growing an organic garden but biological pest control is very effective; this involves making your backyard a haven for beneficial insect and animals, such as ladybugs,  butterflies, lacewings, toads (they will love this Toad House), so that they are encouraged to live there and will prey on the nasties that can destroy your plants.
Traps, deterrents, poly tunnels or nets are all effective natural ways of controlling pests and protecting crops and you can always handpick the insects and squash them as long as you are not squeamish.

Crop rotation

Planting different crops in an area in the following seasons will help to avoid the build up of pests and diseases that can occur when the same crop is continually grown there.

Green manure

In agriculture, green manure is a cover crop grown to add nutrients back to the soil; it’s often grown after the main crop then dug back into the soil, examples being clover and vetch. In your backyard, if legumes such as peas and beans are grown, as well as being able to eat the vegetables you will have the benefit of having nitrogen added to the ground if you dig the leaves back in.

Marigolds
Companion Planting

Companion planting, where two or more crops are grown together for the benefit of one or all, is particularly useful when growing an organic garden. Certain plants are able to produce smells that drive away certain insects while others produce compounds which attract predators to insect pests thereby providing a safe alternative to synthetic compounds. Aromatic herbs are very effective as well as marigolds, whose roots secrete a substance which kills nematodes in the soil and which will also provide fantastic splashes of color.
Dutch Gardens, Inc.

When you become involved with growing an organic garden you will be playing your part in reducing landfill, by recycling your waste, and by using renewable resource you will help to lessen mans impact on planet earth.