Instead of chemicals in your soil and on your food, why not try organic gardening?Begin with just a few plants in pots or a small garden area, tuck a few vegetables in your flower beds, or go really wild and make your whole yard into a garden! 

Actually, if it’s your first garden, it’s better to start small.Everything looks so wonderful in catalogs that gardeners have a tendency to plant more than they can reasonably care for!Even though gardening is a rewarding and fun pastime, it helps to keep in mind it’s also a lot of work.  Half way through the growing season you may wish you’d been a little more moderate in your planting.It’s better to start small with your first garden, and make biggers ones as you get more experience!

On Location…

Like the real estate agents are fond of saying, “It’s all about location, location, location.Some plants thrive in the shade, but they’re usually flowers. Vegetables usually need a lot of sunshine.Ther right amount of sunshine is one thing you can’t provide artificially. Even electrical lights wouldn’t really do the trick, and one could hardly call that practical anyway.

Any garden, whether organic or not, needs ample sunshine to thrive.Best results are obtained by putting your pots of plants or garden area in a location with at least 6 hours of sun daily.  While it’s nice to locate the garden close to the house for easy access, shade from the house or trees may not make that possible.Easy access is good when you can get it, but sunshine is most important.

Plants can’t sit in water, so besides ample sunshine, a garden location should drain well.It’s great to have a good, fertile soil, but if that’s lacking, soil amendments can be added as needed.

Down and Dirty

Adding compost will help your soil no matter what type it is.To improve the soil so plants will grow better, you can also use natural fertilizers and organic materials.The top 6 inches of soil holds most vegetable roots, so double digging or tilling will easily mix materials into the soil where the roots can reach them.

Time to Plant

Seed catalogs and nurseries are brimming with all types of vegetables.It’s important to choose stuff to grow your family will eat, but it’s also necessary to choose plants that will do well in your area.Long season crops like sweet potatoes, for instance, wouldn’t do so well in the far north, while a cool climate crop like peas wouldn’t last in the heat of a southern summer.

Mulching your vegetables with organic material helps conserve water, adds humus and nutrients as well as discourage weeds from growing.It’s a fantastic way to help your plants by improving garden soil and keeping weeds at bay!

Don’t Let Them Bug You

Where there’s lovely young plants, there’s bugs looking for a meal.One option is to hand pick caterpillars and other bugs off plants. Spraying the plant with plain or soapy water will also help dislodge bugs..  

 Not all bugs are bad, and some are even beneficial such as ladybugs, green lacewings, praying mantis, spiders and wasps since they eat insects that try to eat your vegetables. 

Companion planting with insect repellant plants such as marigolds or nasturtiums can also help keep bugs away from your garden.

It also helps to learn to live with a certain amount of imperfections.Vegetables don’t have to be 100% perfect to taste good.Problem spots can be cut away from the food before eating it.

Get Rid of Those Weeds!

You can call a weed “a plant growing in the wrong place.That’s a pretty good definition.If a plant is growing you didn’t want, till it under, hoe it out, pull it up… just get rid of it.Whatever method you use, just get it out of the garden.There is only so much water and nutrients in the soil to go around, and weeds steal some your vegetable plants could be using.

All Set To Garden!

The right ingredients for a great organic garden include a good location, fertile soil, the right plants for your climate, and keeping the garden free of weeds and bad bugs.  Growing an organic garden is a wonderful way to put great tasting food in your diet.Enjoy growing your own organic vegetables!

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Filed under: backyard garden • backyard gardening • gardening tips • indoor herb garden • new brunswick • vegetable garden

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