Organic Gardening 101
Reasons to Garden Organically
- Organic Gardening creates healthier, more flavorful fruits and vegetables.
- Chemical Pesticides and Fertilizers seep into the ground water, poisoning our drinking water.
- The longer you garden organically the less you have to do to amend the soil year after year. Organic Gardening add nutrients and topsoil back to the earth creating a richer soil year after year.
- Conversely, Chemical fertilizers strip the land of much needed topsoil, which is why with chemical fertilizers, you need to add more and more chemicals each year to maintain the same results.
- Chemical weed killers have created stronger and stronger weeds. We are now seeing a rapid increase in "Super weeds" which can not be killed by ordinary methods.
- Chemical fertilizers are picked up by the plants roots and transfered to the fruit, which is then ingested by us. The chemical toxins build up in your body, which among other things causes cancer as well as other diseases. Think of it this way. If the product is poisonous when you put it on the plant, it will still be poisonous when you harvest the plant. Just in a smaller dosage.
Goodness from the ground up.
Dig right in and get your hands dirty.
Your first step should be to determine the condition of your existing soil. The condition of the soil is the Ph of the soil as well as its water retention and nutrients. You can test the Ph of your soil by purchasing a Ph tester, an inexpensive electronic tool that reads the soils Ph level. You can also contact your local county extension service to submit a sample of your soil. They will test your soil and give you a report on the ph of the soil as well as the various levels of nutrients in your soil.
Identifying the consistency of your soil is even easier. Clay soil is a heavy reddish colored soil that is difficult for some plant roots to thrive. This soil retains water and may cause standing water in heavy rains. Sandy soil is a light soil that is the opposite of clay, it drains quickly and there are many plants that prefer a sandy soil, especially succulents and carnivorous plants. Loam is right in the middle, it is not to heavy and not to light.
Once you've learned some basics about your soil, it time to start amending the soil with a good quality organic material. The first thing you will want to do is loosen the soil in your bed area at least 6 to 12 inches, preferably up to 18 inches deep. The looser the soil is around your plant roots, the easier it is for them to grow deeply, and deep roots mean healthier, better producing plants.
After loosening the soil you will mix in about one to two inches of organic materials including peat moss and organic compost or organic worm castings into the soil, mixing well. Now you have an amended soil that your plants will be very happy to live in.
Dirty Secrets
Getting the scoop on compost and worm castings
- How to Acquire Compost Mulch?
- Compost, also known as black gold to gardeners, is the cornerstone of healthy organic soil. This article gives you some pointers on how to get the black gold for free in your area.
- Organic Matter
- The basics of soil structure and how to amend your soil with organic matter.
- Build a Compost Bin
- A how to on building a compost bin for your yard.
- Composting with Worms
- Learn the basic of composting with worms or Vermiculture. This is a great activity to do with children to get them interested in organic gardening. Worm composting is also a very efficient use of your kitchen waste. Within a year a fully functioning worm farm can eat up to a pound of kitchen scraps per day.
Meeting your plants specific needs.
The Vegetable Gardeners Bible
The ultimate reference guide for the organic gardener.
The Vegetable Gardener's Bible: Discover Ed's High-Yield W-O-R-D System for All North American Gardening Regions
My number 1 recommendation for any organic gardener, especially beginning Gardeners.
Water our most precious resource
Finding the right balance between watering your plants and conserving water
- Caring for your plant while Conserving Water
- We all need to be aware of our personal use of natural resources. Our planets resources are precious and not inexhaustible. We need to use our resources wisely and this article will teach you just how to maximize the benefits of the water you use in your garden.
- Drip Irrigation
- The benefits of drip irrigation, soaker hoses and sprinkler hoses and how to install your own system for the home garden.
Although insecticide
use in the U.S. increased more than tenfold since 1945 to date, crop losses to insects have nearly doubled during this period.
- David Pimintel, Ph.D., Cornell University
Great unique gifts for the Gardeners in your life.
Conserve Organic Cotton Tee
Organic Men's Fitted T-Shirt
Nurture Nature Organic Cotton Tee
Organic Men's Fitted T-Shirt
Treehugger Organic Cotton Tee
Organic Men's Fitted T-Shirt
Celebrate Nature Organic Cotton Tee
Organic Men's Fitted T-Shirt
Writing a Garden Journal
The best way to learn from your sucesses and failures.
Planning next years garden is a great activity that can keep you busy during those cold and dreary winter months. Use your garden journal to map out what you would like to plant next spring summer and fall. Draw diagrams of your garden and experiment with new layouts.
During the gardening season, record garden information and ask yourself these questions. When did you started your seeds indoors? Should you start them earlier or later next season? What plants transplanted well, and which did not? What varities of plants you planted and how did you like them? Did they produce well, did you enjoy the flavor? Did you have to much of one crop or too little of another?
And don't forget to write down any new ideas that you would like to try for next season or new varities which you would like to grow.
Garden Journals
Love This Lens?
Guestbook for Gardeners New and Old
Leave your comments or tips
Whether you have been organic gardening all your life or if you are brand new to organic gardening, or anywhere in between, we would love to hear your garden tips. Have you found a great product to help in your garden? Do you have a secret tips for the best tasting organic tomatoes? Did you read a great article on organic gardening lately? Do you like this lens? Any comments, tips, suggestions or advice is appreciated.
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- bloomingrose bloomingrose Oct 2, 2009 @ 12:19 am
- Love this lens, we are becoming organic gardeners and loving it.
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- Ramkitten Ramkitten Apr 13, 2009 @ 12:24 am
- Very nice lens. My husband and I used to grow almost all of our food, organically, and always had way more than we could use, even with what we'd lose to insects. We were big on mulching, using leaves, grass clippings and straw to keep the moisture in the soil and save on water. When we moved back to Flagstaff (Arizona), we stopped gardening, but I'm really starting to miss it.
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- Mickie_G Mickie_G Mar 30, 2009 @ 10:38 am
- Nice lens. I live in the Southeast. Sometimes one must use insecticides, but I always try to use organic and natural ones first.
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- SusanFaye SusanFaye Mar 5, 2009 @ 1:28 pm
- Thanks for the tips! We started composting two years ago and think growing organic just makes sense...
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- flowski flowski Jan 4, 2009 @ 3:22 pm
- Living healthy is all about a natural foods and lifestyle, that starts with organic gardening.
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- steveffeo steveffeo Dec 26, 2008 @ 7:58 pm
- Excellent lens high 5 and welcome to the Organic Gardening group.
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- ElizabethJeanAllen ElizabethJeanAllen Dec 26, 2008 @ 12:01 pm
- The only way to truely know what you're eating is to grow it yourself.
Excellent lens.
Lizzy
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- CherylK CherylK Dec 21, 2008 @ 9:32 pm
- What a nice lens, Lauren! We are organic gardeners by default, I think...we simply have never used chemicals or pesticides on our gardens. And there's nothing quite like a vine ripened tomato that you KNOW is the best it can be. Yum!










