Soil Preparation for Organic Gardening

To practice organic gardening methods it is important to start with the soil. It is possible to make your garden rich in nutrients by simply added organic compounds. These are all natural and will not harm the environment in any way.

Testing your soil

You can have an analysis done for your garden soil by your local agricultural department. They will recommend what your soil needs and also tell you if your soil is too acid or alkaline. Plants like a neutral or slightly acidic soil. To make your soil slightly acid you can add leaf mould. If your soil is too acid, you can add some lime.

Plants need nutrients in order to grow. The three main requirements are: potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen.

There are four different organic fertilizers

1. Rock fertilizers

Examples of these are potassium sulphate (potassium), lime, green sand. You can put these rock fertilizers on the ground in autumn and the ground will be ready for your spring planting. These you only have to apply every 1 to 2 years. They are slow releasing and will keep on fertilizing your plants naturally and gently.

2. Animal fertilizers

Manure (nitrogen and other nutrients), blood meal (nitrogen) and bone meal (phosphorus). Be careful not to use fresh manure on your plants as it can burn them. A good way to solve this problem is to apply manure to your garden in autumn and let it over winter. By the time you are ready to plant in spring the manure will have matured and aged so that it will not harm your plants.

3. Made ups of decomposed material

There are many examples of these. The common examples are: compost, leaf mould, grass clippings and shredded leaves. They give a good overall blend of nutrients that plants need. They can be spread over the ground in autumn or in spring, before you plant.

4. Cover crops

These include clover, soybeans, buckwheat and alpha. These crops will add nitrogen to the soil and buckwheat will add phosphorus. These crops are ploughed in to the soil when you are ready to plant. They improve the tilth of the soil and also add nutrients as they decay.

These cover crops can be grown in winter in milder areas or in autumn or early spring, depending on the length of the growing season. You can also use these crops like soybeans as rotation crops. One year you can grow these crops in one area and the next year grow some vegetables or flowers in the same area.

Improving your soil

You can use hay mulch and let it rot down over the season. This will improve the tilth or texture of your soil and add nutrients to it. By the time you are ready to plant in springtime you will have rich loam that will give your plants a good start.

Make sure seedbeds are smooth and free from large clods that can prevent seedlings from pushing their way to the surface. Try to remove as many stones from your soil as possible. You can utilize these by making an English rockery.

Three different types of soils

1. Sandy soil

This soil is very light and has excessive drainage. This means that it dries out easily and nutrients will leach out of it quickly. Adding organic matter like rotted down leaves, grass clippings and straw will help to give more substance to this soil. It is wise to shred the leaves before you add them to the soil. Adding compost will also help this type of soil.

2. Clay

Clay is a very heavy type of soil and is the opposite of sand. It can often retain too much moisture and allow less oxygen to the plants, which will result in poor root systems. You can add sand to make it lighter and also organic matter.

3. Loam

This is the ideal soil and is good for all plants.

The next step towards successful organic gardening will be making good organic compost.

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It of course requires work and some basic knowledge, but it is achievable.

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Planning Your Organic Garden

Planning is very important to the success of your organic garden. When you plan ahead you can utilize space properly. It will help you to decide what plants to grow and where to put them.

Remember to make a list of vegetables that you and your family like, before planning. Take into account your local climate and soil. Make a choice of whether you will plant out seeds or transplants. This will depend on the length of your season and what you are growing. Some plants are more successful with seeds and others are better grown from transplants.

There are several reasons that you should plan ahead when gardening.

How much space do you have?

When you have a plan laid out for your garden you can then use all the space that you have available. You will need to have a rough measurement of your garden so that you will know how many plants you can fit it.

Which way is your garden facing?

How much sunlight your garden will have is very important. Most vegetables will need at least six hours of sunlight to grow well. You should have a garden facing south or southwest to accommodate this. In areas where you have very strong sunlight and heat in summer you can have a garden facing east, so that your plants will not have the searing heat and sun after 12 noon.

Size of plants

The size of the plants will make a difference to the number of plants you can fit into your garden. If you have limited space it is wise to stake plants and let them grow upwards rather than sprawl on the ground. This will save you a lot of space. Make sure you stake them early and give strong supports.

How high will they grow?

This is important to estimate, as you want to position your plants so the tall ones will not shade the smaller ones. Positioning of the sun will be an important factor in this decision.

However you should also utilize tall plants to shade those that don’t like too much heat and direct summer sun. For instance tall plants like corn will shade vegetables like lettuce.

Utilize fences and walls of buildings if possible. These are useful for attaching trellises; these can look quite decorative and enhance your house or garage. Some plants climb quite high and do well on fences, especially metal mesh ones, as these allow the tendrils to attach themselves.

Companion gardening

One of the key points of organic gardening is letting plants grow naturally as nature intended. Companion gardening is planting different plants together so that they will help each other grow. Be careful to have a chart for this as some plants will grow well together and others don’t like each other. For example peas and spinach do well together as do beetroot and onions but cucumbers don’t do well with onions.

Draw a couple of diagrams and decide which one you want to try. Draw more than one plan so that you can give yourself a choice. You can try different shapes for your garden beds. The common ones are rectangle, square and circular. Sometimes it is better to see your plan on paper, as it will help you visualize it better. Graph paper can be useful as you will be able to gage the measurements of your garden better.

Be extra careful when planning an orchard, as it is hard to gage the height of a full-grown tree. You can get miniature trees to accommodate smaller gardens. Types of fruit trees will depend on weather conditions in your area. However you can also get around adverse weather problems by planting fruits in containers.

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Starting with Organic Gardening

What exactly is Organic Gardening? 

Organic gardening is a method of gardening without using any harmful chemicals. It is completely natural and works closely with nature. Organic produce tastes superior and is much better for you. There are many advantages when you practice organic gardening methods. 

Health 

Your health will be better without chemicals in your food. Organic food is chemical free and this means that there are less toxins being produced in your body. Toxins from artificial fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides accumulate in the produce we eat. These toxins can cause us serious health problems. Our bodies can only get rid of a limited amount of poisons and toxins, but with the constant ingestion of these chemicals our bodies are on overload. This leads to the deterioration of our whole system and problems with our health.

Environment

Organic gardening and farming practices will mean there is less pollution of the soil, water and air. This results in a better environment for people, birds, fish and animals to enjoy. In turn this will help us live better. Without all the chemicals from artificial fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, the ecology of earth will have a better chance of survival.

Healthier Plants – Fewer Problems

Gardening is easier when you use organic gardening and farming methods. Plants will grow stronger and healthier. Although chemically grown plants look bigger and better they are not really. They have less nutrition and more toxins from the accumulation of the chemicals in them. Added to this they are more vulnerable to insect attacks. With organic gardening the plants are healthier and more able to fight off disease and survive insect attacks.

Ecology

Organic gardening will preserve the ecology in your garden. Chemical pesticides and herbicides will kill the beneficial plants and natural insect predators in your garden. Everything has a fine balance in nature. Putting chemicals on your garden will not help your plants but will make them more vulnerable to attack from pests and disease.

Cost of gardening the organic way

Despite the fact that organic produce is sold at vastly inflated prices, in actual fact organic gardening is a cheaper way to garden. You will not have to spend money on expensive chemicals for your garden. Homemade bug spray and insect repellent plants are far cheaper to implement.

Organic fertilizers are cheaper in the long run as they are slow to release nutrients to the soil and you do not need so much. They will also not deteriorate the quality of the earth; on the contrary they will improve it over time.

Also mulching with organic mulches will eliminate the need for weed killers and also save you money on water bills. You will save your time and your back, when you do not have to weed your garden.

What about the Lawn?

Your grass will be healthier and be able to withstand insect and weed attacks, eliminating the need for chemical applications.

If I would’ve been able to plant a little seed to go for organic gardening you will find all you need for planning a garden, gardening, about garden power tools, and also very important, about relaxation in your backyard after a busy working day (in the garden or at work) including a proper barbecue at

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