How to Garden Organically
Ideally, a garden is set to make properties look dainty. An organic garden goes beyond that definition. Aside from looking elegant, it also provides a platform for fresh garden produce like fruits, vegetables and beautiful blooms. You can upgrade your lawn or yard to an organic garden by setting up the requirements for each plant type without using synthetic additives and chemicals.
Make a Plant Bed for Seedlings
organic gardenVegetable and fruit seedlings have particular requirements for them to survive. They must be planted in a moist plant bed. To create one, loosen a wide area of garden soil, preferably 1.2 inches deep. Add a half-inch layer of compost to make the soil richer. Make several plant beds for different types of seedlings. In between the beds dig a shallow trench, which serves as a passageway and storage of excess water. After setting the beds, you may plant the seedlings. Don’t forget to pull out weeds once they start growing.
Transplanting Vegetables and Garden Shrubs
One of the main reasons why vegetables and some shrubs won’t survive in a normal garden is because of excessive sunlight. Give a suitable home for vegetables by creating sizable planting holes. The holes should ideally be as deep as the plants’ previous containers and should be doubly-wide. By doing so, the shrubs get an ample supply of water, keeping them hydrated, in spite of being exposed to too much sunshine. Make sure that the plants’ roots are well-spread, so the water can be easily accessed.
Controlling Weeds and Pests
Weeds and pests are the two main problems of organic gardens. Both issues must be controlled for your garden to flourish.
Stop a Weed Infestation
Weeds, being stronger and more durable than crops, appear in organic gardens to take water and the soil’s nutrients away from the garden plants. Clearly, you should eliminate these annoying plants before they start growing in number. Here are some of the things that you can do:
organic gardening
Use your hands to uproot small weeds.
Use a hoe to remove weed clumps.
Place corn-gluten meal around clumps of small weed to stop their growth.
Spread mulch around the areas with weeds.
Don’t use synthetic soil additives.
Limit Pests
Eliminating garden insects is not advisable, since some of them provide certain benefits to your garden. Instead, you can limit their number by applying the following measures:
Make the garden conducive for garden pest predators.
Distribute the plants well.
Surround the shrub divisions and plant beds with a porous barrier.
Keep your plants healthy, so they can withstand pest attacks.
Don’t use chemical pesticides.
By applying these simple measures, you can cultivate your garden organically. You’ll never run out of vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers in the process.
You may also be interested in reading our guide on how to test your soil’s pH level.