Starting and maintaining organic gardening is not as difficult as you think. Using right tools and planting processes is the key to have high yields of crops right in your backyard. All you need to do is just research about the plants that works perfect for your space and get some natural pest solutions for gardens to protect the integrity of your crops and your soil potential for another productive yield in the upcoming years. Before starting, let’s have a look on what is organic gardening.
What Is Organic Gardening?
Organic gardening is nothing but gardening without using any synthetic products like fertilizers and pesticides on your crops. It involves the use of natural products to replenish the natural resources.
When it comes to organic gardening, you should consider your plants as the natural system that begins with the soil and includes water supply, insects and people. It fundamentals requires cultivation emphasized on creating an ecosystem that easily sustains soil microbes and plants.
Before you begin, you must aware of three things in organic gardening which includes soil management by using organic fertilizer, weed management by manual labor and organic ground coverings and finally pest control by promoting beneficial insects and companion planting.
How To Start Organic Gardening?
Take a look on step by step process of organic gardening.
Planning Your Organic Garden:
Planning is quite important when it comes to organic gardening, many people simply overlook this one. If you don’t plan well, you might end up doing lot of unnecessary things in your garden. First choose the perfect location and what crops you want to grow in your garden, then follow the plan and act accordingly.
Preparing The Soil:
Soil is crucial in organic gardening, you must test your soil with a tester kit in your home and make sure it has PH value of 6.8. After the soil test is done, fertile it by adding compost for more nutrients. If you want your plants to be healthy, you should prepare the soil on which they will grow on.
Just like humans, plants also need food and it comes from the healthy soil. So, you need to ensure that your plants get plenty of nutrients. Proper soil conditioning will give the plants all the nutrients they need.
Make Good Compost:
Generally good compost feed plants, helps it to conserve water, keeps food and even cut down weeds. Spreading compost around your plants or mixing it with potting mix is the best way to keep plants healthy.
However, the best compost comes from the right ratio of nitrogen, carbon rich organic waste when mixed with soil and water. It might sound little complicated, but if you have time to make perfect compost then it will give you decent results.
To get started, measure it and your compost heap can be simple pile or contained with a bin. Add layers of carbon material on it like leaves, garden trimmings etc and nitrogen material like kitchen scrap or manure with thin layer of soil in between.
Now, on the top of the pile turn it as new layers are added and water them to keep moist. You will get good compost within two months and remember that proper compost shouldn’t smell, if it does try to add more carbon material.
Plant Your Crops:
Many people think that buying grown plants from the garden centers and transferring them would save lots of time. But, this is not the correct way to do and you’re not aware of the chemicals they’ve used. So, start your plants indoors and then transfer them in to your organic garden is the only good way to see great results. In this way, you can save time and monitor your plants regularly and transfer them in time to your organic garden.
Maintaining Organic Garden:
Here comes the most important step to consider, firstly you should know and develop some strategies to prevent pests off from your garden. Secondly, you must encourage beneficial bugs and insects in to your organic garden which helps in preventing most of the pests. So, leave a small source of water out to attract friendly predators, you can even try companion planting to prevent those pests.
Clean Up:
If you notice any sick or weak plants in growing season or at the end of the season, make sure to pull them out with entire organism. Don’t forget to rake up underneath, because disease leaves or plants can harbor problems for a long time. Just pull the infected material deep in the woods, in the ground at least a foot deep.