Organic Gardening Starts Now!

So you're contemplating throwing away the chemicals and taking your garden organic, but one thought keeps getting in the way:

"I've always used synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and insecticides. I'm afraid that my garden won't thrive without them."

Now let me ask you a question: Did plants grow on that very spot before you arrived? Of course they did: fruits, vegetables, grasses, trees, you name it. Chemical fertilizers were conceptualized and developed in the 19th century, but only put into wide use in the mid-twentieth century, which leaves about a billion years that plants - every plant - grew without them. Big Agriculture has done such an excellent job of marketing their products that they've brainwashed consumers into believing that their plants will downright choke to death without chemicals. I promise that won't happen if you follow a few simple guidelines.

1. Toss the chemicals...NOW!

In your first season of organic gardening, you may experience some pest problems. Because you've been dousing your garden with pesticides, killing the target bugs along with many others, the "food web" of your garden - the "good" bugs, birds, and other creatures that used to eat those bad bugs have moved out to find food elsewhere. But don't worry, they'll return and your garden will fall back into balance.

2. Load up on compost.

Whether you make it yourself from kitchen scraps, have a local horse stable deliver manure, or buy bags of compost at your local nursery center, your health, your plants' health, and your soil's health will benefit. Compost feeds your plants (and the soil) the way nature intended them to be fed, and also supplies everything (and more) that synthetic fertilizers supply. The difference is that those bottled chemicals are water soluble and are quickly taken up by plants, while compost supplies nutrients to plants via organic decay (slowly but surely). If your plants need a quick boost, add fish emulsion, liquid seaweed, or compost tea to their regimen. These are all high in the nutrients that chemical fertilizers impart, but they also have the extra power of bacteria, fungi and micronutrients.

3. Use organic mulches
Organic mulches are the kind made from tree bark, wood, or shrub and tree wastes (what you'll typically find at your local municipal compost pile). Mulches help your soil retain moisture and add to the biological activity and decay that feed your plants. They also regulate soil temperature to protect your plants' roots from heatwaves and frost.

4. Raise Those Garden Beds

The most efficient way to plant your garden is with raised beds. Instead of row-type growing, design a bed 3 feet across by however many feet long you like and add top soil and compost until you get it at least 8 inches high. Raising your beds this way helps with water drainage, warms the soil earlier and yields more intensive crops in less space.

Don't believe the chemical hype - organic gardening is at least as successful as using synthetic chemicals, but is safer for you and your family's health.

By: Todd Heft

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Todd Heft is a self-taught organic gardener who lives in Northeast Pennsylvania (Lehigh Valley). He is happiest when he has dirt under his fingernails, mud on his boots and an aching back. Read more of his articles at Big Blog Of Gardening: www.bigblogofgardening.com