Organic Garden in General
It is easy to start to your own organic garden once all the preparation is done properly and thoroughly. Here, we will try to provide you with simple steps and instructions for you to have your perfect organic garden.
The planning of an organic garden involves taking a look at the growing conditions and natural attributes of the chosen location; and allowing all the natural forces to co-exist harmoniously by creating biological control. These will enable the organic garden to eventually become a small, self-sustaining ecosystem.
Before you begin your own organic garden, throw away all man made and chemical herbicides and pesticides. The quality of soil is of primary importance and time must be spent improving the texture and drainage, and ensuring the essential nutrients are available. Therefore, prepare the ground well by aerating and composting the soil properly.
Garden compost is always an important aspect of any gardening, especially organic gardening. Create garden compost from the recycling of all organic materials. You may like to set aside one area in the garden for composting directly on the ground, and use the area where the compost has broken down for planting. This will save time and labour, and also ensure that all parts of your organic garden benefit from the additional earthworm activity if the heap is positioned differently every time.
Consider investing in a shredding machine to reduce garden plants and its parts (leaves, twigs, spent plants) into finer pieces. This will quicken the compost process, and the shredded material may also be used as surface layer mulch to conserve water and reduce weeds.
Lastly but not least, plants must have the optimum growing conditions to withstand diseases and pest infestations. The basic principles of companion planting is very important and should be practiced. Companion planting is where plants rely on the support and protection of other plant species (for nutrients, pest control, etc) and are planted within close proximity of each other.
Remember to choose vegetables/herbs that are right for your climate, and plant them at the correct time of the year. Keep weeds down by regular mulching, and feed plants to ensure steady healthy growth. Follow the principle of crop rotation and companion planting for a healthy and productive organic garden!