Grow Your Organic Garden

Sugar Snap Pea blossoms

Organic gardening means gardening in harmony with Nature. It means using the abundance of the natural systems to supply needed nutrients to the soil and the plants. If your garden is organic it means not using toxic sprays to kill every bug, microbe or weed in sight. It means in some cases doing nothing much at all and letting the system right itself when it is out of balance.

Large influxes of insects or disease attacks usually only occur when something has happened to throw the system out of balance. This is often observed on commercial farms. Spraying for one thing kills off the natural predators. It might have killed the undesirable insect but then the lack of predators causes a population boom of other injurious insects, requiring more spraying, which kills more predators, thus repeating itself. In some areas crops are sprayed as many as 22 times before they are picked, with 5 or more different poisons. What gets me is the government continues to allow companies to sell this food without labeling it with the poisons used.

Nasturtiums in a tub in the greenhouse.

When you garden organically you work with Mother Nature to supply the things your plants need, when they need them. Many people have no idea that the nitrogen in the 'plant foods' that they buy at the garden center are made from natural gas. What a waste of a valuable, finite resource. Nitrogen is a nutrient needed by every green plant on the planet, don't you think Mother Nature knows how to supply it?

And she does indeed. There is something called the nitrogen cycle, fueled by a bacteria which lives in a symbiotic relationship on the roots of plants in the legume family (peas, beans and clover to us laymen). When the plants die and the roots rot the nitrogen that the bacteria captured from the air stays in the soil and is available for the next generation of plants. (The atmosphere is like 80% nitrogen). Lightening strikes also cause nitrogen from the air to go into the soil. Nitrogen is in every living thing and is a major part of all protein molecules. Living animals also excrete nitrogen in their urine and feces. By collecting and returning manure to the soil and growing legumes in our gardens we can have all the nitrogen our soils need for free. In the process we will not be adding to the waste stream, our gardens will sequester some of the carbon dioxide from the air that is beginning to cause global climate change and we will save a lot of money.

In contrast someone who just buys chemically made nitrogen from the store is adding to the pollution of our planet by encouraging the manufacture of the product. (To make just one ton of anhydrous nitrogen fertilizer requires the burning of 33,500 cubic feet of natural gas) They put it on the soil and it actually kills a great many beneficial organisms that would have made nutrients available to their plants for free. Because the water soluble crystals contain no fiber or organic matter they do not add to the texture or water holding capacity of the soil the way compost and well rotted manure does. The large influx of ready to use nitrogen also causes bacteria in the soil to break down the carbon reserve or humus in the soil at a more rapid rate. Thus the soil actually loses its good texture and water holding capacity, eventually becoming quite lifeless. Being in a very water soluble form, with each rain or irrigation much of the artificial nitrogen is leached out of the soil, often into surrounding waterways where it encourages algae blooms which then kill off the fish. Then the gardener has to add more of it to the soil to replace what was lost before the plants could use it.

Even in the 1920's agricultural scientists recognized these problems with artificial nitrogen fertilizer and some, going against the mainstream, preached against it, begging farmers to return to crop rotations that included leaving fields in clover for a year or longer to restore the nitrogen used by their crops of corn. Following such a practice means the farmer (or gardener) has less capital outlay and the farmer makes more profit). But the big fertilizer companies won out, since the 'artificial manure' was easier to apply than manure and made the plants green up faster. Short sighted farmers, looking only for more profit this season and ignoring the long term problems signed on.

This is just one example of how organic gardening (and farming) differs from current mainstream practice. There are many more. When you garden organically you recycle every bit of organic matter you possibly can, from your own property as well as diverting leaves, grass clippings and such from going to the local landfill. You compost your food scraps, keeping them out of the landfill while adding to the fertility of your soil.

When you spot insects in your garden you take the time to get to know them. There are many more beneficial bugs than there are harmful ones. Even if your vegetables have a few holes in the leaves does not mean you have to spray them with any thing. Many plants can lose a fair amount of their leaf cover and still produce a decent crop. Or you can use row covers, light weight covers that not only help protect against frost, but also keep out bugs.

But if you have a large number of insects and they are doing great damage to your plants there are a number of things that can be done that do not require the use of strong, long lasting poisons. Larger ones, like tomato horn worms, snails and slugs can be caught and killed by hand. Sticky traps with pheromone scents can catch many others. Large numbers of insects are usually seasonal and in some cases are predictable. Corn ear worms and corn borers usually hatch out about the same time each year, simply changing the timing of your planting can prevent most of the damage.

Organic gardening encompasses the whole of the life cycle, from seed to plant to compost to soil to plant and seed again. By encouraging natural processes in the garden we can truly live in a Garden of Eden, free from poisons that are causing us irreparable harm.

Broccoli in my organic garden.

All plants need the following in varying degrees. We'll cover a bit about the first two, sunlight and water now. I plan to add some in depth lenses covering the various nutrients that plants need, what the plants use them for, how to know if your plants are getting enough of them and how to add them to your soil organically if they are in short supply.

*Sunlight
*Water
*Nutrients

Purple Peas in my organic garden. See How to Grow Peas to grow your own.

All green plants need sunlight to thrive, truly solar power rules the world! The amount of light needed depends on the plant and the ecological niche it occupies. Plants from wide open prairies or deserts will usually want full sun. Plants from the jungle or forest floor may do well in full shade.

In the home garden most trees, shrubs, fruits and vegetable plants will want full sun in most climates. There are exceptions so doing some research before you buy plants not commonly grown in your area can help prevent costly mistakes.

You should also consider the climate of your property. In the desert Southwestern United States, most plants from temperate climates will appreciate some afternoon shade to protect them from the heat of the day. Take care also when planting in front of masonry walls facing the south or west. They may get hot enough to cook plants not accustomed to the excess light and heat of such a situation. Conversely it may be an ideal situation if you live in the northern states and wish to grow something that might freeze on your coldest nights. The heat from the wall may be just enough to keep a tender plant alive on a frosty night.

On the other hand if your plot is heavily shaded by buildings or tall trees you may have to experiment to find which plants will grow well for you. Map out those small areas that get the most sun and reserve them for the plants that need it the most, like tomatoes and corn. Lettuce and other leafy greens can get by with a little shading.

Plants are very adaptable and can often do fairly well in less than ideal conditions. However if there is a choice, usually the best place for a garden is in full sun, unless you are specializing in jungle or woodland plants that demand a lot of shade.

Red Oriental Poppy

Water has as many functions in a plant as it does in a human body. It carries nutrients and oxygen to all parts of the plant. It transfers sugars made in the leaves of many kinds of plants to the roots where they are stored as carbohydrates. The carbohydrate provides energy for the plant to grow again after the dormant season. Water is necessary for plants from the moments the seeds are planted in the soil, through most of their life cycle. Some plants will need more water at certain stages of their life than at other times. For instance, onions and garlic planted in the fall need some moisture over the fall and winter, to grow a few leaves and roots. They will need even more in the spring when the bulbs are enlarging, then the moisture level of the soil should gradually lower until the bulbs are mature and ready to pull. Too much water during the last few weeks can cause the bulbs to be attacked by fungus which causes rotting, either in the field or later in storage.

Conventional advice is that gardens should receive 1 inch of water each week, either from natural rainfall or irrigation. In very hot dry climates they will need more than that. Then there are the two camps of how to water. One camp says water slow and deep as infrequently as possible. The other camp says water every day to keep the soil charged with moisture so the plants never get thirsty. I must say that the second method is usually recommended by people who are doing intensive food production, with many plants crammed into a small space, while the first method is usually advocated for landscape trees and shrubs.

Since I use intensive methods to cultivate vegetables, but my fruit trees and ornamentals are more spread out I follow both methods. I use the slow soak method for my fruit trees and flowering shrubs and the second method of watering almost daily for my intensively cultivated vegetable garden.

Rather than adhering to a rigid schedule I prefer to let my eyes and fingers tell me when to water. I will observe the plant so it can tell me what it needs. Plants will often wilt in mid afternoon, but they may not actually need watering. Letting their leaves droop is a conservation measure of the plant. I will poke around in the soil around the plant to see if the soil is drying out or if it is still damp. This will help me judge if I should water or not. Usually if plants droop in the heat of the afternoon, but perk up once the sun is beginning to go down, they are ok. Still, poke around the soil at least 3 inches deep and see how dry it is before you water.

Too much water can be just as bad as too little. When water pools around plant roots they are not able to take in oxygen that they need and the roots may begin to die. Many of you have probably killed a house plant by over watering it at some point. Out in the open this usually only happens during flood conditions when it takes a long time for flood waters to recede, planting in a low spot on clay soil that doesn't drain well, or in places with very high rainfall conditions.

A word here about planting in 'hills'. This has confused more novice gardeners more than anything I have ever seen. I wish we could ban the use of the word 'hill' in reference to planting seeds. I have observed many gardeners, carefully following seed packet instructions make a mound of dirt and plant their seeds on the top. Looks very much like the moat surrounding the castle. While this might be a good idea where you have extreme rainfall or your garden is subject to flooding, it is a terrible idea everywhere else. No matter how much water you pour into that little moat it is never going to get the top of the hill wet enough for the seeds to sprout. Should you luck out and the seeds sprout they will not grow nearly as well as either planting on the flat or by planting in the ditch.

What I mean by 'planting in the ditch' is if you have to water your garden because there is a shortage of rain fall, then the best place to plant your seeds is in the bottom of the furrow or little ditch you have made, not on the ridge of soil to either side of it. This way the water goes directly to the roots of the plants, whether you sprinkled them or it rained. Planting on the ridge of soil means that you will have to use twice as much water to get that soil wet, if you ever can.

You may decide that you really need an automatic sprinkler or drip irrigation system because you are away from home a lot or are very busy and do not have time to hand water a large garden. These are decisions only you can make about your garden, your goals, and your life.

An Early Snowball Cauliflower

Drip irrigation is simply a method of slowly watering plant roots. Ancient farmers used unglazed clay pots buried next to plants to accomplish this. Modern plastics enable use to use either 1/4" tubing with holes drilled in it for plants grown in rows or small emitters which can be placed precisely around plants. Drip irrigation is used a great deal in desert climates because it waters the plants efficiently with almost no run off or evaporation waste. Today you can buy drip irrigation supplies almost every where. A draw back to individual emitters if you live where the water is hard, is that they clog up with calcium deposits, needing some maintenance and replacement more often than the predrilled tubing.

Some of the first soaker hoses were actually small diameter pipes with holes drilled into them. Later came what looked like flat garden hoses full of holes and now you can buy soaker hoses made of recycled tires that drip water from millions of small pores. This last type is especially good in a border where you can loop the hose around the plants that are larger and need more water or lay it straight next to rows of smaller plants. Over time, especially if you have hard water, the inside of the hose will glaze over with calcium clogging up the pores and preventing the flow of water. Also if exposed to the sun they will eventually start to blow out holes in the hose under pressure.

Sprinklers, we've all run under the sprinkler on the lawn in the summer time. However sprinklers, whether permanent automatic systems or movable hose end ones are not very efficient waterers. I'm sure you've all seen automatic systems that were watering the house or the street instead of the plants. Besides which a great deal of the water is lost to evaporation on a warm afternoon.

My personal preferences are to use soaker hoses for the long borders around the edges of the yard and to gently hand water my intensive vegetable garden with a trigger sprayer. I turn my 50 foot soakers on and let them run 18-24 hours about once every two or three weeks, depending on heat and rainfall. Because my vegetable garden beds are quite small and I usually broadcast fine seeds such as carrots, the drip hose really does not work out too well for me. However, if I begin to garden on a larger scale, then I would probably put everything into nice straight rows with drip tape to be able to water a large area at once. I almost never use a sprinkler, the rare occasions being when my job becomes extremely demanding and I cannot possibly water all the plants with the hose myself. Then I might turn on a sprinkler to water a larger area to tide the garden over until I can water by hand.

While some say watering by hand is a waster of time, I say it is a conserver of water. I plant most things 'in the ditch' and by carefully directing the water right to the roots of the plants I do not have to wet as large an area of soil to keep my plants healthy and growing. I gradually expand the area watered and the amount applied as the plants grow. I can also carefully adjust the amount of water applied depending on weather conditions. In warm still humid weather the garden will not need near the amount of water as it does on dry days with a breeze.

My grand daughters harvest beets & carrots

Nutrition for plants is actually much more complicated than buying a bag of crystals at the garden center and pouring it around them. In fact there is so much to learn about it I can think of half a dozen lenses to write right off the top of my head. For the moment though I'll give you general over view. But before I do, I'd like to say here that organic gardening is easy and you don't really have to learn a lot about soil science if you don't want to. If you just remember to imitate nature and return to the soil everything you take out of it your garden should grow well indeed. However learning about how the soil systems work and things like the nitrogen cycle is very interesting. Having this knowledge can also be very important if you are trying to reclaim land that has been injured by man's activities. Also, if in the first few years of your garden it is out of balance and plagued with insects or disease, being able to identify the problem and knowing the remedy will help you bring it into balance much more quickly.

There are three major nutrients needed by all plants in fairly large amounts, these are Nitrogen (N), Phosphorous (P) and Potash (K). When you are looking at fertilizers you will see 3 numbers listed, like 5-10-5. This means the ratio of Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potash (N-P-K) in the bag.

In addition to the "Big 3" plants also need a full range of minerals. These are divided up into 'macro' and 'micro' categories. The macro minerals are Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg) and Sulfur (S). The micro category minerals are Boron (B), Copper (Cu), Iron (Fe), Chloride (Cl), Manganese (Mn), Molybdenum (Mo), and Zinc (Zn). In addition there is some evidence that plants have a need for and can use virtually every other mineral found on earth in trace amounts.

Each nutrient plays a specific function in the making of the plant and many are interconnected. Too much of one means the plant can't take up enough of another. Plants need a balanced diet much as we do in order to grow strong and healthy. The best way to ensure a healthy balanced diet for your garden is to feed the soil with as much organic matter as you can. Besides giving it a good texture and water holding capacity, organic matter from a variety of sources contains nearly all the nutrients your plants need. I'll be going into each of these nutrients in more depth in future lenses.

All photographs in this lens copyright Mary Hysong, 2008-2011 and were taken in my organic garden in Claypool, Arizona