Organic gardening is the way of growing vegetables and fruits with the use of things only found in nature.

Why would one want to indulge in organic gardening?

1.One can easily make compost from garden and kitchen waste. Though this is a bit more time-consuming than buying prepared chemical pesticides and fertilizers, it certainly helps to put garbage to good use and so saves the environment.

2. Organic farming does not use chemicals that may have an adverse affect on your health. This is especially important when growing vegetables. Chemical companies tell us that the chemicals we use are safe if used according to direction, but research shows that even tiny amounts of poisons absorbed through the skin can cause such things as cancer, especially in children.

On the average, a child ingests four to five times more cancer-causing pesticides from foods than an adult. This can lead to various diseases later on in the child’s life. With organic gardening, these incidents are lessened.

Remember, pesticides contain toxins that have only one purpose – to kill living things.

3. Less harm to the environment. Poisons are often washed into our waterways, causing death to the native fish and polluting their habitat.

4. Organic farming practices help prevent the loss of topsoil through erosion.
The Soil Conservation Service says that an estimated 30 – 32 billion tons of soil erodes from United States farmlands every year.

5. Cost savings. One does not need to buy costly chemical fertilizers and pesticides with organic gardening. Many organic recipes for the control of pest and disease come straight from the kitchen cupboard. Sometimes other plants can be grown as companions to the main crop. An example of this is the marigold, which helps to repel aphids from vegetables.

Mixing 1 tablespoon of liquid dishwashing soap and 1 cup of cooking oil can make a cheap garden pest spray. Put 3 tablespoons of this mixture in 1 quart of water and spray on plants.

6. A simple mulch of pine needles will help to suppress the growth of weeds as well as keeping the moisture in.

7. Organic gardening practices help to keep the environment safe for future generations.

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Many times we buy plants on impulse then find there is nowhere in the garden that really suits them. Before buying plants carefully examine your garden to see how much sun and shade it gets, whether the soil is well drained or waterlogged and whether your aspect is sheltered or windswept. You’ll then be equipped to go and buy the best plants for your situation; shade-loving plants for the sheltered areas, sun-lovers for the warm spots, drought-resistant plants for the parched areas which may be either sunny or shaded, and swamp plants for the poorly-drained parts.

But wait! Test your soil first, to determine the pH level of your soil and what kind of nutrients you need to add, if any. Is the soil acid or alkaline? Most plants prefer soil that is slightly acidic, but there are some that must have alkaline soil to grow.  You can alter the soil’s pH level, but it’s much easier to simply plant for the soil you have.

Now you are ready to plant. Well – almost. Will you plant in groups or singly? If you buy ‘one of everything’ your garden may seem rather spotty. Group plantings are organised, harmonious and you can vary the color for interest.

Before planting out, place your chosen plants around the garden bed in their pots to see how they will look. Re-arrange them until you are satisfied. Grouping plants in sets of threes or fives usually looks better than planting in groups of even numbers. Be sure that you have an interesting combination of colors and textures of plants. Tall plants should go to the back, or the centre if your garden will be viewed equally from all sides. Try to keep your plants away from trees. The roots of trees are fiercely competitive and will steal all the nutrients and moisture meant for your flowers.

The right color scheme is one way to maintain the harmony in your garden. Imagine the color of the flowers when they are in bloom. Some colors may clash with others, but can still be planted side-by-side if they have a different blooming season. Foliage color is also important. Many flower plants have silver, grey or purplish foliage that is just as attractive as the flower. This means that they are still attractive well past the blooming season and so have added value.

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If you would like to obtain the greatest results from your flower beds or veg garden, blending in fertilizer with your land is really a good strategy. The cheapest way to obtain compost is to make your own!

When getting started with composting, one of the earliest decisions which will have to be made is what style of compost bin you’ll work with. There are many different sorts of compost bins that you can select from, based upon your preferences, the amount of area you’ve available for composting and your price range.

The main element that all compost bins have in common is they must have the ability to maintain heat so that they can allow the elements to compost correctly. In a lot of ways, compost bins perform like ovens. The only difference is in addition to keeping heat, compost bins should also be able to maintain dampness as well. Whilst it is quite feasible to compost utilizing a heap rather than a compost bin, the advantage to using a compost pin is that they help make every thing look nice and neat. In addition, compost bins can help to contain the odors which are sometimes associated with composting.

One oversight that quite a few people make when composting is choosing to use a wood fence or some other framework as a sidewall for composting. The problem with this is the process of active composting will eventually decompose the framework in addition to discoloring paint and wrecking wood that has not been treated. As a result, you should use only compost bins that are made from plastic or metal. This will help to stop decay and rust from occurring.

You will want to select from an enclosed compost bin or an open sided compost bin. The benefit to enclosed compost bins is that they do are likely to hold moisture at the same time as heat much better than open sided compost bins. The downside is they’re also typically more compact. Because of the fact that enclosed compost bins keep the wetness and heat much better, they also tend to enable the materials to rot more quickly. Open sided compost bins are bigger and accommodate much more material but because they operate slower, they may not compost as much material over time as an enclosed compost bin.

The size of your area may also dictate which type of compost bin you choose. Enclosed compost bins tend to work better in small yards whilst open sided compost bins will not work so well in smaller gardens.

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• Making compost (telegraph.co.uk)
• Composting 101 (415vince.com)

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