Several people embrace the concept of organic gardening, keeping in view the health and environmental issues. We understand that gardening is a daunting task, but implementing organic gardening tips and tricks pays off with tremendous rewards. But are you aware of what organic gardening is? Let us provide you with a brief understanding of it to make things easier for you to understand.
What is unique about organic gardening?
It is the art of growing plants without using synthetic products like fertilizers and pesticides. Only natural products help grow plants in your garden. The benefits of organic gardening cover everything from conservation of soil and water and plant diversity to environmental health. With the help of basic gardening techniques, you can grow gardens in an organic way.
How is it different from traditional gardening?
In the case of organic gardening, it differs from conventional gardening. The gardener takes care to ensure the ecosystem is supported naturally and holistically. Furthermore, it helps promote optimum use of natural resources for a short-term benefit and helps conserve resources for generations to come.
Below is a robust list of garden plant tips and tricks, which will keep your garden healthy and fruitful throughout the year:
1. Prepare the Soil
Soil has great significance when it comes to organic gardening . The soil is prepared by adding organic matter to the soil and using readily available local resources in all possible aspects. Begin by testing the soil pH. It is done by collecting soil samples and sending these samples to the local agricultural extension office for proper testing and analysis of the soil.
If you want to keep your plants healthy all year round, it is crucial to prepare the soil thoroughly on which they will grow. It is vital to make sure that your plants get fresh nutrients. With proper soil conditioning, your plants will get all the essential nutrients they require.
2. Make a good compost
While waiting for the soil results to arrive, you can prepare compost. It plays a pivotal role in helping plants get nutrients and conserve water, and it also reduces the chances of weeds. To add, it helps in keeping food and yard waste out of landfills. Compost can be obtained or made from locally available resources like grass trimmings, leaves, yard garbage, and kitchen waste.
3. Prepare your garden
Until the compost becomes ready, the next step is to prepare your garden. After receiving a go-ahead for the soil type, you should prepare the garden area next. You can use specific essential gardening tools so you can prepare your garden carefully. However, it is crucial to not destroy the soil.
4. Select the right plants
Once you have prepared your garden thoroughly, the next step is to select the right plants for your garden. Soil testing and sampling come in handy at this stage. It is essential to choose plants that can thrive well in different spots as per your soil type. Carefully select plants that can successfully thrive in different spots in your garden in terms of light, moisture, drainage, and soil quality. The healthier your plants are, the more resistant your crop will be against attackers.
5. Plant the crops in Beds
When planting crops, ensure that you plant them in wide beds. Planting them in beds will help prevent them from being walked on and destroying the soil surface when harvesting or cutting the flowers. Grouping crops plays a vital role in reducing weeding and water wastage and makes it easier for you to apply compost.
6. Water regularly
After planting the crops, the next step is to water them. It is good to water the plants immediately after planting them to provide them with the much-needed moisture to enable them to grow continuously. It is recommended that plants are watered in the morning as the atmosphere is cool at that time, no winds are blowing, and the water lost due to evaporation can be significantly reduced.
7. Weeding
Weeds reduce crop yield by competing for water, soil, light, essential nutrients, and space. It can reduce crop quality by contaminating the commodity. It serves as a host for diseases and provides shelter for insects to overwinter. It might require significant efforts to pull out weeds by hand, but on the other hand, you can consider it as an excellent exercise to help you get fresh air.
8. Provide nutrients to plants in the form of compost
When you carry out organic gardening, you need to look at eco-friendly ways to shield your plants against toxic fertilizers and pesticides. Therefore, it is imperative to ensure that your plants get enough nutrients, light, and moisture, which helps them grow better. A diverse garden helps prevent pests by limiting the number of types of plants and enhances biodiversity.
Instead of utilizing chemical pesticides, advanced organic gardening emphasizes promoting beneficial insects and companion planting. Organic farmers must eliminate insects and diseases by making use of chemicals. Pest control is carried out by keeping diseases and pests below damaging levels. One of the major mechanisms is promoting beneficial insects and pest predators like birds, lizards, spiders, and toads.
9. Use quality organic fertilizers
Organic matter and compost play an imperative role as they will improve water and nutrient retention in the soil by supplying essential nutrients for healthy and productive growth, which can be limited to a great extent. Besides organic matter and compost, consider adding worm castings in your organic gardening for growing healthy plants. The humus present in them increases soil water retention, enhances soil aeration and provides required nutrients for proper plant growth. Besides compost, organic gardening requires additional fertilizers from natural resources and plant products, such as wood ash, natural deposits like glacial rock dust, animal byproducts, and manure.
10. Maintain your garden
Lastly, it is vital to properly maintain your garden. Below are some of the useful tips to maintain your garden in the best way:
- Mulching
- Watering plants in the morning
- Using compost and natural manure
- Removing weeds at the appropriate time
- Pruning at frequent intervals removes proper aeration and a suitable use of valuable nutrients
By following the above-mentioned advanced gardening techniques and tips, you can quickly grow and maintain the garden.
Apart from the tips mentioned above, you can use other products like Nutrients pH Perfect Bloom 1L, Nutrients Bud Candy 1L, and Nutrients Starter Kit 1L-500ml to keep your organic garden in the best condition. These products give your plants the exact nutrient ratios and concentrations required to bestow the best growth to the plants. Do a bit of research about these products before trying them in your organic garden.
FAQs
1. Which fertilizers can be used for an organic garden?
Naturally occurring fertilizers like manure, worm castings, slurry, seaweed, guano, and peat prove helpful in an organic garden.
2. What are the benefits of organic gardening?
- Improve soil quality
- Affordable
- Reduced toxin-intake
- Increased nutrients
- Reduces soil erosion
- Water conservation
3. Which are the basic organic gardening tools required?
The essential tools required for organic gardening are a spray, a nozzle, a hose, pruners, quick connectors, and a water timer.
4. Which are the different methods of organic farming?
The different methods of organic farming are as follows:
- Soil management
- Weed control
- Crop diversity
- Controlling other organisms
- Maintaining buffer zones & recordkeeping
Danielle Dixon
Danielle is a content writer at Homegrown Outlet. Aside from having a longtime passion for literature and writing, she is also an animal lover who enjoys crafting and watching documentaries.
