Organic gardening is the very same as regular gardening except that no artificial fertilizers or pesticides are used. This can make absolutely sure aspects tough, such as controlling illness, insects, and weeds. Organic gardening also needs more attention to the soil and the numerous wants of plants. Organic gardening starts with the soil. Gardeners must add organic material to the soil continually in order to keep the soil productive. In fact, compost is important to the healthiness and well being of plants grown organically.
Compost can be made of leaves, dead flowers, vegetable scraps, fruit rinds, grass clippings, dung, and plenty of other things. The ideal soil has a dark color, sweet smell, and is chock-full of earthworms. Some soil may need more natural additives than regular compost can give, for example bonemeal, rock phosphates, or greensand. A simple soil test will tell you the pH balance and which nutrients you'll need to use. One thing that makes even gardeners that are very serious about organic gardening reach for insecticides is insects on their plants. The best way to defend plants against insects is to take preventative measures.
One thing that can be done is to make certain plants are healthy and not too wet or dry because insects usually attack unhealthy plants and if healthy, they can often grow beyond minor insect damage. A number of plant types is a smart idea to keep pests of a selected plant type from taking out the complete garden.
Maybe the simplest way to protect against insects is to make your garden enticing to insect predators, like ladybugs, birds, frogs, and lizards. You can do this by keeping a water source nearby or by growing plants that attract insects who feed on nectar. Other ideas are sticky traps, barriers, and plant collars. There are some home items that forestall against insects too, like insecticidal soaps, garlic, and hot pepper. To avoid plant disease in organic gardening, select illness resistant plants and plant them in their prime conditions. Many illnesses will spread due to consistent moisture and bad air circulation, so that the site of your garden and the way it is watered can help ensure against sicknesses. Weeds can be an irritating and frustrating part of organic gardening.
Organic mulch can act as a weed barrier, but for even better protection put a layer of newspaper, construction paper, or cardboard under the mulch. Corn meal gluten will slow the growth of weeds if spread early in the season before planting, as does solarization. There's also the old style art of hoeing and hand pulling that always works. Your best shot in weed prevention is endurance. Mulch well and pull and hoe what you can ; after some seasons you can beat the weeds for good. Organic gardening is a brilliant way to assure that your plants will be free and clear of all insecticides and, if looked after properly, will be as healthy as possible.
Organic gardening may take a little more time and care than regular gardening, but after gardeners get the hang of it and work out all the mannerisms of their garden, it is definitely worth the additional time.
