Organic gardening gives significant benefits to our health

People have become more health conscious lately making it more important that there be greater access to organic gardening information. From the composition of the soil the vegetables are grown in, to the way in which the pests of the garden are treated, approaching gardening from a natural perspective allows us all to have a greater peace of mind about the food we eat. This section of the website is dedicated to helping you get started as a successful organic gardener, so here is some basic organic vegetable gardening information.

Organic gardening does not utilize artificially manufactured fertilizers or chemicals harmful to the food chain. Nor does it use genetically engineered or irradiated processes on the food that is grown. Rather, the organic gardener employs simple farming techniques such as tilling the land, feeding the plants with naturally made compost while giving them sufficient water and appropriate sunlight. In subsequent seasons, he employs crop rotation to help keep the soil fertile.

This process of growing organic vegetables is not exclusive to only farmers, but the process can be effectively practiced by homeowners who want to grow some of their favorite vegetables in their own backyard garden. Once you’ve made the decision to try organic gardening the next thing to do is decide what vegetables to grow. Involved in this decision is having an understanding of the space requirements of those vegetables and the space you have available. Lettuce grows rather fat while radishes are small. I’ve had a single sweet potato vine totally consume an entire garden bed. So space is an important factor.

Now that you’ve chosen the space and the vegetables your will grow, it is now time to make sure your soil is properly prepared.  Garden supply stores have kits available to test the soil for its fertility as well as a large selection of essential gardening tools. To make the soil ready, clear it of rocks and weeds and grass. Churn it to break up clumps of dirt, particularly if it has high clay content, and then add compost, bone meal or rock phosphate to supply it with sufficient nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium, creating an optimum growing medium. Adding Greensand, rich in organic matter, will help allow the soil to drain properly. If your test kit indicates that you need to balance the ph, you can add lime or sulfur to the soil. Ideally, all of this should be done about a month before you begin planting.

Placing several inches of organic mulch after planting, to blanket the garden, will help make the soil warm for growing and over the season it will aid in keeping the weeds at bay.  Mulch made from ground bark is perfect for organic gardening. It will decompose over a season or two and will help keep the soil loose. You can begin making your own compost pile from recycled leaves, grass clippings, coffee grounds, eggshells and kitchen waste, these make good fertilizer.

Your garden will grow your vegetables well, but it is also threatened by weeds and insects. As an organic gardener, you must use other animals and insects to fight off the unwanted pests. It is not necessary to buy these “friends” of your garden. The ideal is to create the conditions that will naturally invite them in to your garden. These friends include bees, butterflies, ladybugs and dragonflies as well as some birds.

As for the weeds, apart from pulling them out you can try a homemade spray made with vinegar to stop them from growing. A somewhat recent concept is to employ the techniques of “square foot gardening” where you plant densely enough to discourage the weeds from growing.

Organic gardening can be a perfect pastime with some great rewards.

Not only do you eat what you grow, it is fresher and tastier than what you get elsewhere. Then there is your contact with Mother Nature and the feeling of self-sufficiency. There is work involved from the moment you decide to start a garden, from tilling the land to harvesting your crop.  If you plan well, you’re efforts at organic gardening will give harvest some of your crop within months.