What is Organic Gardening?

Organic gardening is the practice of not using synthetic pesticides and fertilizer in your garden. Instead, you harness the power of nature to work with you to create healthy, vibrant plants, fruits and vegetables.

Does this mean it’s more difficult and time-consuming? Not at all! In fact, organic gardening is often easier than regular gardening. Why? Instead of spending time mixing synthetic fertilizers, constantly spraying weeds and wondering why your vegetable yields are dropping year by year, you really only have to pay attention to one thing – the soil. Keep your soil healthy and replenished with rich, natural minerals and organic matter, and everything else will grow healthy and strong.

Healthy soil means your plants and lawn will be better able to resist pests and crowd out weeds. After a while, you will begin to find yourself spending less time maintaining your garden, and more time just enjoying it. Or, if you’re like me, you’ll revel and enjoy working on it more!

There is another benefit to going organic – you will begin to learn how your garden actually works. You will want to spend more time outside, and with that you will begin to see more of the wonders of nature in your own backyard. You will learn what butterflies like which flowers. You will begin to understand why some plants thrive so well together. You will know why weeds grow the way they do, and what permanent and natural techniques to use to keep them away. Care for your garden naturally, and your plants, shrubs and vegetables will thrive.

What Does it Mean to be an Organic Gardener?

An organic gardener uses natural minerals and organic fertilizers to build up the soil. Instead of chemicals, you use natural fertilizers like composted manure (don’t worry, it’s not stinky!), bone meal, fish meal, gypsum, eggshells, and of course, the best of all (and free!), your own composting material.

Instead of using chemical pesticides and herbicides, organic gardeners use natural and even home-made alternatives. Chemicals are often broad-spectrum, meaning they will kill good and bad insects. As you know more about how your garden works, you will know how to treat specific pests and diseases without harming your plants, butterflies and birds.

You will be thinking long-term. Instead of dumping flowers into a flower garden every spring, you will be aware of soil conditioning, what plants work best together, and how you will help rejenerate your garden next year. You will be thinking of your garden as a whole, not as individual plants.

Caring for your lawn is almost free. Conventional lawn care involves expensive chemicals and treatments to make it appear green and healthy, when in fact it is slowly killing it. Organic gardeners will test their soil for the optimal soil acidity to encourage strong lawn growth. In the long run you will be caring for it less. Healthy soil and strong grass means weeds will have a harder time taking root, and brown patches will disappear (because you will know why brown patches exist and how to combat it naturally).

Weed control without herbicides means knowing how to prevent them from growing in the first place and discouraging their growth. I myself have developed an effective three-pronged approach, which I discuss in my organic gardening ebook.

Organic gardening is a philosophy, and it is a simple one: you give back to nature what you take from it. What this means is constantly replenishing your soil, and realizing that your garden is part of Mother Nature’s life cycle.

Helpful Organic Gardening Links

Here’s a couple links to help you out:

Learn Organic Gardening ebook – My years of experience as a professional horticulturalist and organic gardener is now collected into this ebook I wrote.

Gardens Alive! – A great gardening website for organic soil, seeds, and natural pest control products. Get $20 off your first order of $40 or more.

Gardener’s Supply Company – I’ve discovered a lot of neat garden furniture and supplies at this website.

Organic Pet Supplies – There’s a natural pet food store near me, but I found a great website called Only Natural Pet Store with an excellent variety of organic food, toys and health care products for pets.

Composting Tips and Supplies – New to composting? Here’s a couple tips for effective composting and suggestions for supplies (if you don’t want to build a compost bin yourself.)

As an organic gardener, you will not only be giving back to the land, you will be creating a safe and healthy place for children, birds, pets and helpful insects like butterflies, bees and dragonflies. There are countless reasons to go organic, from saving the environment to keeping your family chemical-free to harvesting healthy vegetables. Organic is not a new way to garden – it is simply going back to growing food and plants the way nature intended!