Without doubt, organic gardening is the best, most efficient, and healthiest way to grow plants and vegetables. Regardless of the size of garden, growing organically is something the entire family can do together as a project. As you will see from the information below, there are many different reasons for starting your own organic garden, each extremely beneficial.

WHAT IS AN ORGANIC GARDEN

From a high-level view, organic gardening is a simple way to grow fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers in an all-natural environment. This means that nothing is treated with pesticides or herbicides and that everything grown is clean, natural, and healthy. With organic gardening, not only is the entire family eating healthier but the environment is also saved from harmful chemicals.

Concept

Although organic gardening does require a few changes in the way things are done from traditional gardening, if you have never grown vegetation this way before, it is easy to do and makes a great family project. With organic gardening, two basic components exist. The first is creating soil that is natural and rich in nutrients and the second is managing diseases, pests, and weeds, using only natural controls.

Keep in mind that when it comes to this natural type of gardening, various methods could be used. However, the method you choose will depend on the type of soil and the type of plants you choose to grow.

Being successful at organic gardening does require dedication but you can be sure the first time you taste your homegrown foods or create a colorful bouquet, you will be convinced that the efforts are well worth it. Fruits and vegetables will actually taste better and herbs and flowers will grow strong and healthy.

Remember that organic gardening is much more than preparing soil, using mulch, avoiding synthetic disease and pest controls, and planting your plants. Organic gardening is a mindset, changing the way we think about plants in general. The approach to natural gardening is to view plants as a complete system found in nature that gets its beginning in soil.

This system then includes water, people, wildlife, and yes, bugs. The key to organic gardening is to work with nature in the growing of plants so that the resources consumed by the garden can be replenished both minimally and consistently.

Soil and Mulch

The overall concept is that you need to build your soil up to a level of having balanced pH, whether neutral, alkaline, or acidic, before the nutrients are added. What happens is that when the soil’s pH levels are off, you will constantly be battling with different plants that are not growing well.

By working with living soil, you will produce pesticide and herbicide-free fruit, vegetables, herbs, and plants, giving them a safe environment to grow. Once you get your organic garden going, you will be able to use any number of natural methods for controlling both pests and diseases. One of the most important things you will need to do is educate yourself on the types of pests found in a garden.

The reason this is crucial, especially for an organic garden is that many of the pests you will see are good for the garden and therefore, should not be destroyed. Another important factor of organic gardening is mulch, which will be used for a number of purposes to include:

Regulating soil moisture
Regulating soil temperature
Add nutrients to the soil
Controlling weeds

Choosing Plants and Vegetables

It is imperative that you choose the right type of plants suited for your specific region and even more, your specific garden. Each area of the country has a certain zone and within each zone, only certain plants and flowers will thrive.

These zones are determined by temperature, winter freeze, dry or humid climate, soil types, and so on. Now, once you have determined the types of plants and flowers that will work for your region, you then need to narrow it down to the location of your garden.

As an example, for the state of Arizona, you can be down in Phoenix where valley temperatures average from 90 to 115 degrees in the summer and the soil is hard. However, if you were to drive two hours north, you find yourself 7,000 feet above sea level where the temperatures average from 75 to 85 where the soil consists sand and clay, but it can also be rich and great for growing.

For this reason, the exact location of your organic garden will determine the type of plants that would grow the best without much attention. That does not mean you cannot grow other types of plants, just that they will require different things to boost their natural defenses for them to be productive.

Making Right Choices

If you think about it, gardening has been a part of life for thousands of years. What makes organic gardening so great is that you do not have to have an acre of land to grow plants and flowers naturally. In fact, people living in high-rise apartments can create a container, organic garden. Growing organically provides an incredible sense of gratification and most people find it to be very relaxing.

With organic gardening, you will have a wide range of plants and flowers to grow and save money at the same time. Therefore, if you want to get back to nature to grow things with an all-natural approach, you will quickly discover how much you enjoy the entire experience!

FIGHTING DISEASE

We know that organic gardening is an excellent way to provide rich nutrients. However, can organic gardening also help plants fight disease? First, it is important to realize that when it comes to plant diseases, there are hundreds upon hundreds of different types.

Some of these diseases will only affect a few types of plants and vegetables while others are broader. Before we get to the answer of this important question, let us look at what causes diseases, how they spread, how they can be controlled, and some basic treatments.

Causes of Disease

Plants and vegetables get disease when they are exposed to bacteria or a virus. The good news is that there many good options for fighting disease. The key is providing your garden with early treatment as soon as you realize it has a disease. Unfortunately, some diseases cannot be cured regardless of what you do.

Ways Diseases are Spread

In most cases, plants and vegetables are infected by airborne diseases or through insects and other animals. For diseases that are airborne, they can only be stopped if their breeding ground is eliminated and then treated.

In the case of diseases transmitted by insects and animals, the options for preventing and stopping the disease are much greater. For this particular problem, if you can control the bad pests, then you can control the disease. Additionally, disease can live in the soil, especially mulch and compost, which are crucial for organic gardens.

One excellent way to prevent disease in soil is to rotate your crops by making sure plants and vegetables of the same family are not planted in the location each year. Another consideration is that once you pull diseased plants, be sure you seal them in a garbage bag and throw them away. By placing them in the compost pile, the disease will spread even worse.

Keep in mind that one serious problem for organic gardens involve organisms that are notorious for attacking the plant’s tissue. Typically, these organisms will get into the plant through stressed, weakened, or broken tissue. For example, if the plant has a nick or cut, organisms can get in. Another consideration for damaged plants is that some insets look for ways to suck the juices out and in doing so they actually inject toxins into the plant while feeding.

Controlling Disease

The best way to control disease is by preventing it from happening in the first place. Just as with pests, educating yourself on the various types of diseases is an excellent idea, which will be covered further in this book.

However, to give you an idea of the types of things you can do to reduce the chance of your organic garden from becoming diseased, consider the following:

Never water your garden at night since water, humidity, and heat will promote disease

When you water, preferably in the morning, be sure you water at the base of the roots and not just on top of the plants and vegetables

Again, rotate your crops each year. Otherwise disease remains in the soil during the wintertime and then when you till, the diseased plant is tilled right back into the soil, making the disease worse

When choosing the location of your garden, make sure it has plenty of air circulation

Do not space the plants and vegetables too close together

Throw diseased plants away, never putting them in the compost pile

When choosing plants and vegetables, choose disease resistant varieties

Disease Treatments

The most important thing is that the minute you notice that you have a disease plant you want to treat it immediately. The longer you wait, the worse the disease will be. If the plant or vegetable does not respond quickly, then it should be pulled and destroyed. Specific diseases and treatments are covered further on.

Using natural methods is an efficient way to assure pathogenic organisms have energy to go to battle with the bad organisms. In addition to that, the good organisms will actually prey on the bad ones when active. This battle between the good and the bad organisms occurs on a leaf or on a small section of soil, which is known as “competitive exclusion.”

Therefore, when you promote the production of the good organisms in your organic garden, the chances of the pathogenic or bad organisms causing or spreading disease is dramatically reduced.

To start the competitive exclusion process, you want to apply an abundance of organic matter directly to the soil or you can do this by adding it to the compost pile, organic mulch, and manure that will eventually be added to the soil. What happens is that when you add organic matter to your garden, it encourages the growth of the good organisms. All you need to do is add a four-inch layer of the compost, mulch, or manure to provide the good organisms with the needed energy. As the organisms grow, they produce in the rich, organic soil. In other words, the answer is yes – organic gardening can help plants fight disease.

ARE ORGANIC GARDENS PRODUCTIVE?

Most definitely, as you will soon discover. The great thing about organic gardens is their versatility. You could start a garden to sell vegetables at your local farmer’s market, joint a co-op, or simply use the food for your family and gift-making projects.

Organic gardens can be quite large, grown in raised gardens that measure 12x12-foot or whatever size you like, or in a small container. This means the level of productivity is dependant on how much you want to grow, how much space you have, and the amount of time you an dedicate. To give you an idea of some of the vegetables that you might consider growing, look at this list of popular choices.


POPULAR VEGETABLE CHOICES 
Beans Beets Broccoli Cabbage 
Carrots Celery Chicory Cucumber 
Eggplant Fennel Garlic Lettuce 
Melon Onion Peas Radishes 

Many people will also use the vegetables for canning, which can be stored away for cold winter months or given out as gifts to friends and family. Herbs and flowers grown in an organic garden also make excellent gifts. You can create potpourri wreaths, bottles of herbed vinegar and oil, a starter set for someone else to grow, and many other wonderful gifts.

These are just a few ideas of how an organic garden can be productive for you. Again, the level of productivity is up to you but in most cases, the possibilities are endless!

Starting Your Organic Garden