Turning to Organic Gardening

Organic gardening is a chemical-free and earth-friendly method of gardening. Organic gardening and conventional gardening differ on how they control pests and nourish the soil. Conventional gardening uses chemical pesticides and chemical fertilizers while organic gardens use organic means of enriching the soil and organic weed killers and fertilizers.

Organic gardens follow natural practices that include:

Organic Soil: Quality soil is the main component of creating a successful garden. By providing nourishing natural substances to the soil, you will be well on your way to growing healthy plants and vegetables. For an organic garden, it is essential to add natural additives such as organic compost, manure, chopped leaves, and mulches. Before adding natural compounds, you should do a soil test to determine whether the soil has any mineral deficiencies. To improve the quality of the soil, you can add a number of natural products that are rich in nutrients. Natural additives can include organic compost, fish emulsion, and blood meal. If you do not have the time to make your own natural soil feed, there are many natural products available for purchase. Such products that are rich in nutrients include seaweed meal, straw mulch, and worm casts. Making worm compost is a great way to compost organic waste

Organic Pest Control: Every garden will attract pests that will eat some of the plants and vegetables. Conventional gardens use pesticides to control pests. These pesticides contain chemicals that are harmful to the environment, humans, and animals. Attracting or buying bugs that will eat pests such as aphids will help reduce their numbers. Bugs that kill aphids include damsel bugs, lady bugs, and lacewings, and more. There are also organic pest control products on the market. Homemade tomato leaf and garlic sprays will also repel aphids.

Diversifying your garden will help reduce pests. Planting strong smelling herbs will repel plant eating bugs. Birds and insects that feed on aphids will also be attracted to a diverse garden and will reduce pests that harm your plants. To control weeds, there are number of organic weed control products on the market. Removing weeds daily is the best way to control weed infestation.

Crop Rotation: To maintain rich and healthy soil, it is recommended that you rotate your crops. Crop Rotation involves planting crops so that plants and vegetables are not grown in the same spot each year. This will ensure that the soil does not lose its nutrients. It will also reduce the risk of disease. The nutrients left behind from one set of plants can be used by another type of plant the next year. The best way to rotate your crops is to draw a map of the garden that outlines where each plant is located. You can then refer to it the following year to make sure you do not plant the same type of plant in the same location. Crop rotation and growing diverse plants will help deter pests.

The benefit of organically enriching your soil, using organic pest control, and rotating your crops ensures a healthy garden. This method will also attract bees which will result in pollination of the plants.

The biggest difference between organic gardening and conventional gardening is that organic gardens do not use chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Successful organic gardening can be achieved by understanding how to create organically productive soil that is rich and fertile, the type of crops to plant that includes the appropriate plants for the particular climate and season, and implementing organic maintenance practices.

Because of the illnesses and diseases such as cancer that are now being linked to chemicals in fertilizers and pesticides, more people are turning to organic gardening. Developing an organic garden may seem like a bit of hard work, but the reward of creating a healthy garden will be very gratifying.