A Quick Start Guide to Organic Gardening

By Martha Green

© 2013 by United Publishing House

Digital Edition

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Table of Contents

Introduction

What is Organic Gardening?

The Benefits of Organic Gardening

How to Prepare the Soil

How to Make Good Compost

Choosing the Right Plants

How to Water Properly

How to Handle Weeds & Pest Control Problems

Harvesting

Cleaning Up at the End of the Season

Conclusion

About the Author

Acknowledgements

Introduction

You’ve probably heard about organic gardening before. You may not have only read about it, but might also have heard about it from ads offering so-called “healthy” produce. This isn’t particularly surprising, since organic gardening has always been associated with healthy living. But what is organic gardening?

Organic gardening means more than just making a conscious decision to skip the use of synthetic fertilizers or pesticides on plants. It’s a choice of working WITH nature, rather than against it. When one works with nature, the choices for growing produce and other plants will be all about making use of the existing ecosystem. It means becoming an element that belongs to the entire system, not just a commodity.

The concept of organic gardening isn’t new. In fact, our ancestors were practicing it long before the term “organic” ever became part of our lexicon. They proved that even without the use of commercially-prepared fertilizers and toxic pesticides that they could still mass produce crops and plants while living a healthy life. If they could do that, there’s no reason you can’t do it too.

Most of our food these days is dependent on fertilizers, pesticides, and other chemical additives that don’t just contaminate the soil, water, and air — they contaminate our bodies as well. Understanding how organic gardening works and learning how to do it is a great learning experience. This is especially true if you want to convert your existing garden into a healthy, profitable, and productive source of naturally-grown produce.

In this eBook, you will learn some basic tips on how to get started with organic gardening. You will be expected to know the following:

·      what organic gardening is, as well as its benefits

·      getting started with organic gardening, preparing the soil and compost, and how to choose the right plants

·      handling weeds and pests, and solving problems without resorting to chemical pesticides

·      harvesting your organic produce

·      cleaning up at the end of the season

What is Organic Gardening?

You may have heard it called many different things. It’s been called chemical-free gardening, earth-friendly gardening, and even natural gardening. These names can confuse people, and maybe they even confused you, as to what the real meaning of organic gardening is. The truth is organic gardening is more than just what you don’t do or use on your plants. Technically speaking, you can’t really consider organic gardening to be truly chemical-free since all fertilizers and pesticides, regardless of their source, are chemicals. Organic gardening encompasses more than just using the right source of chemicals. It embodies everything about gardening – the soil, water supply, air, the choice of plants, and even the harvesting.

So, what is organic gardening?

Organic gardening is treating the plants as part of the natural system. It considers the other elements that make up that system like the soil, water, people, wildlife, and even the insects that lurk in it. Therefore, organic gardening makes up a combination of these three main points: feeding the soil, taking preventive steps, and using the simplest solution.

Feeding the Soil

Everything begins in the soil, which is the basis for growing almost everything in your garden. The quality of your soil matters a great deal, since it can affect both the quality and quantity of your produce. If it is lacking in nutrients, your plants will never grow, and you’ll only end up with a bare-looking patch of dirt.

Even nutrient-rich soil won’t be able to support the growth of your plants in the long run if you can’t keep maintain its quality. One way to continually nourish the soul is to feed it. Feeding the soil is a way of providing plants with a good foundation for their healthy growth. You can do this by adding organic products into your soil. These organic products include things like compost, manure, chopped leaves, and mulch.

Taking Preventive Steps

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure – this is even true with organic gardening. Keep your plants free from pests and disease problems by paying close attention to what it needs: light, moisture, and soil preference. Make sure that the plants you choose match the type of soil that you have. It’s also important to consider the condition and layout of your garden. If you‘re using a shady area, don’t opt for plants that require a lot of sunlight. It’s also worth investing on a wide variety of plant life, especially disease-resistant ones.

Do what you can to keep your plants healthy. Situate them strategically within your garden, making sure that you give enough space for air to circulate. Maintaining a clean garden also helps in keeping your plants free from pests and diseases. Simple steps like removing diseased foliage and picking up fallen fruits will go a long way.

Using the Simplest Solution

Instead of intoxicating your plants and soil with all kinds of chemical products, opt to use the simplest solution first. In most instances, you don’t need these chemicals to help your plants thrive, as there are always simple solutions to common garden problems.

Are you having problems with aphids? You can get rid of them by spraying them with water from a hose or by coming up with a homemade aphid spray. For caterpillars that keep on chewing on the leaves of your plants, you can simply pick them up and get rid of them.

Organic gardening is really that simple. All it requires is being observant, having an appreciation for the creatures living in your garden, and diligence to watch out and intervene when problems arise.

The Benefits of Organic Gardening

For years, people have been promoting and practicing organic gardening. This was before the term “organic” was ever used by health and wellness companies. The benefits of organic gardening are not solely restricted to one area alone. In fact, it encompasses many different aspects. Check out the following benefits of organic gardening. These might motivate you to start your own organic garden.

FOR HEALTH AND NUTRITION

Some studies have shown that organically produced foods are significantly higher in vitamins and nutrients. This has something to do with the organic approach for preparing the soil. Because organic farming does not use artificial soil additives, the food it produces is more nutritious. Research has also shown that synthetically-produced pesticides and fertilizers can strip a plant of its nutritive value. Some of the most common nutrients affected by the use of these additives include Vitamin C, beta carotene, and B vitamins. Vitamin C has been well-documented to help prevent and treat certain cancers. The same goes for beta carotene, which helps to boost the body’s immune system and prevent lung cancer. Compared to conventional farming, organic gardening doesn’t kill dwelling bacteria. Most of these bacteria are helpful in enhancing the plant’s ability to synthesize or absorb nutrients.

Aside from having higher nutritive value, fruits and vegetables grown through organic gardening also taste better. Flavor is often built with the combination of the genetic material in the plants, as well as from water and the soil in which they’re grown. Since typical farming pays little attention to the soil and maintaining its trace elements, it often leads to bland-tasting produce, which rarely happens in organic gardening.

SAVES MONEY

With organic gardening, you can save more money. For the affordable price of a seed packet, a little fertilizer, and water, you can grow vegetables and fruits all on your own. Also, since organic fertilizer promotes the use of natural fertilizers, you save on the cost of commercially-produced ones. What’s more, by choosing plants that thrive in the place where you live and by introducing insects that are beneficial to long-term controlling of the pest population, you save money on pesticides.

AS A STRESS-RELIEVER

Gardening itself is a relaxing activity. Just going out, basking under the heat of the sun, and feeling the soil in between your toes and fingers can be its own form of therapy. It brings out the child in you, rejuvenates your spirit, and provides you a sense of calm and serenity. Organic gardening can be more than just a way of raising healthy and nutritious food. It’s also a form of exercise and recreational activity.

KEEPS YOU FIT

Aside from being a form of therapy, organic gardening is also a great activity to become physically fit. As a form of exercise, it reduces the risk of heart disease, obesity, high blood pressure, adult-onset diabetes, osteoporosis, and stroke.

BENEFICIAL TO THE ENVIRONMENT

Organic gardeners view the soil as part of the whole system they are part of. With this kind of mentality, they prefer not to abuse the land. Instead, they nourish it to replenish what’s been lost. This eliminates the usual agricultural process that often leads to a loss of topsoil and toxic runoff that result into water pollution, soil contamination, and poisoning of the wildlife.

The benefits of organic gardening go far beyond what most health and wellness ads tell you. So, the next time you think of organic gardening, think beyond just the healthy food on your table. Think of long-term health, sustainability, and balance in the world around you.

How to Prepare the Soil

If you’ve always wanted to have fresh organic produce straight from your garden, or to just eat healthier produce, then you should start your own organic garden. But, before you get started, you should know that everything in organic gardening begins with the soil.

The quality of the soil, including the particles and the variety of both micro- and macro-organisms in it, all matter in organic gardening. It’s important to have healthy soil. To determine its quality, it’s necessary to test the soil first.

Soil Inspection

Everything else starts with soil testing. This is an important process that helps you determine whether or not your soil is capable of supporting the growth of your crops. It requires checking for the presence of earthworms and other insects in the soul, as well as vigorous roots. Sometimes, it also calls for a test that can determine your soil’s level of nutrients, acidity, and the need for any adjustments. This soil test can either be done on your own with the help of test kit or by sending a sample to a soil lab.

Testing the pH

Other than assessing your soil for its compactness and the presence of micro- and macro-organisms, it’s also important to determine its pH balance. If your soil had either too acid or too alkaline, you will have a hard time growing different plant varieties. Although there are plants that can thrive in extreme pH conditions, most garden plants can only survive in a narrow range. If you want to have a bountiful organic garden, make sure that you have a soil with a balanced pH. Many garden plants thrive in soil with a pH balance that ranges from 5 to 8.

Preparing the Soil

Once you’ve determined that your soil is healthy enough to support the growth and development of your chosen plants, it’s time to do the actual work of preparing it. Here are a few things that you should do when preparing the soil for your organic garden:

1.             Dig Deep

Digging helps to loosen up the soil. It also helps prepare your garden beds for adding organic material. If you’re completely new in gardening, you can stake the soil and get it ready during autumn. This gives your soil and the amendments you’ve added enough time to settle.

Here’s a helpful tip in soil digging: if you intend to plant root crops like potatoes and carrots, dig deeper, up to a foot or more. You can make use of the technique called ‘hilling.’ It’s a technique where you mound up good soil around crops.

2.             Fill them up

If you want to be successful in organic gardening, then you shouldn’t miss a chance to add compost. It’s one of the key elements by which organic gardeners achieve their desired results. The compost can be made from the dehydrated cow manure, shredded leaves, horse manure, or a mixture of them.

Whatever is the quality of your soil — be it too acidic, alkaline, or too lousy for plant growth — you can improve it with the help of composting. This acts like a magic bullet to improve your soil. It neutralizes pH, draws more moisture into the soil, and attracts more organisms to it like earthworms.

Having an organic garden is a wonderfully fulfilling thing, not just for yourself but for your family and the environment around you as well. So start building healthy soil today.

How to Make Good Compost

Compost is any material made from recycled garden, kitchen or animal waste. It may also be made from paper waste. Composting is the act of turning these organic materials into a substance that is beneficial to plants. This process is one of the cornerstones of organic gardening.

Making and adding compost to your soil is one way of feeding, conditioning, and nourishing it. Some people might try skipping this part of gardening, thinking that it is a complicated process. The truth is, it really isn’t. What composting requires is having the right ingredients and the patience to deal with the entire process.

Composting Ingredients

One can compost almost anything that was once alive. However, you should be wary about composting meat, dairy, and cooked food since they can attract vermin. The best compost is a combination of different things including equal volumes of green and brown matter, along with older or tougher plant material.

Here are some examples of the “greens,” or nitrogen-rich ingredients:

·      Urine (diluted with water)

·      Leaves

·      Raw vegetable peelings

·      Grass cuttings

·      Tea bags and leaves

·      Coffee grounds

·      Green prunings

·      Animal manure from herbivores such as cows and horses

·      Poultry manure

The following are examples of the “brown” ingredients, which are rich in carbon:

·      Cardboard, like cereal boxes

·      Paper waste, including junk mail, glossy magazines, and newspaper

·      Bedding from vegetarian pets (birds, hamsters, etc)

·      Woody prunings

·      Sawdust

·      Wood shavings

·      Hair

·      Wood ash

·      Egg shell

·      Cotton or wool

As a rule of thumb, DO NOT make a compost out of the following:

·      Meat

·      Fish

·      Cooked food

·      Coal and coke ash

·      Cat litter

·      Dog feces

·      Disposable nappies

Making the Compost

The quality of good compost comes from the combination of ingredients. Ideally, you should have more or less equal amount of the greens and the browns by volume. The mixture should also be a combination of other ingredients.

To make compost, you simply add compostable items in a compost heap. Make sure that your heap is placed in a sunny or semi-shaded area, directly on the soil or turf, and if possible, away from any standing water. Remember that it may take a long time for your ingredients to compost, so be patient.

There are 3 different routes on how you can make the compost: the cool heap route, the heat heap route, and the hybrid route.

The Cool Heap Route

1.     Gather enough compost materials and make a pile of at least 30 cm tall (about 12 in) or more.

2.     Come up with a balanced mixture of the greens and the browns. If you have wood chippings or shavings, place them in the bottom to improve air circulation and drainage.

3.     When your compost bin is almost full, remove the material from the bin. Mix everything, adding water if the mixture is very dry, or by adding dry material if it ends up being too soggy.

4.     Replace the lid and leave to mature.

5.     If the lower layers have composted, use them.

The Hot Heap Route

1.     Gather enough materials for your compost bin.

2.     Mix ingredients together, making sure to add more green items, which sometimes tend to dry out.

3.     Fill the container, watering it as you go.

4.    The heap will start to feel hot. When it starts to cool down, usually a week or two later, turn the heap. Remove everything from the bin and mix them all up.

5.     Apply the same process. The heat will become less as you go on.

6.     When it no longer heats up, leave it undisturbed to finish composting.

Hybrid Route

This is a combination of both cool and hot heap.

1.     Fill the bin as you create waste.

2.     Turn the heap if you have time.

Note: The more you turn it, the faster it will compost.

Organic matter may compost as quickly as 6-8 weeks, or might take as long as 1 year. The final composting material usually turns out as dark brown, earthly-smelling, and sometimes crumbly material. If you find large bits in your final compost, you can remove them and add them back into your new batch of compost.

Choosing the Right Plants

For many people, organic gardening seems like a huge job, and they’re convinced that they have to scrap everything from their existing garden and start over. Although organic gardening requires some planning, it doesn’t have to be an enormous task. In fact, you may already have something in your garden that can benefit from this new gardening pursuit.

Part of the planning process of organic gardening is choosing the right plants for your soil. This is the crucial part of the process as the mismatch of the soil with your plant of choice could ruin your dream of having a bountiful organic garden. It is important to consider your soil in terms of its type, moisture content, amount of sun received, and other environmental considerations when choosing the kind of plants for your garden.

The following questions will help you determine your garden conditions and the kind of plants that will most likely thrive in them:

Soil Type

What type of soil do you have?

How to Tell:

To determine the type of soil that you have, you can try this primitive soil test: pick up an inch clump of soil and roll it into a ball. If you can do this successfully, then you have a clay soil. If it falls completely apart, then it is sandy. If it falls somewhere in between, then you have loamy soil.

Moisture Content

Does your soil retain moisture when you water it or when it rains? Or does moisture seeps out in an instant?

How to Tell:

Wait for a few minutes after you water the soil. Dig down, around 8 inches, and grab a handful of soil and squeeze it. If water drips out of it, your soil retains moisture. If it stays together but leaves an imprint on your hand, it has average moisture content. If it crumbles, it’s dry.

Sunlight Exposure

If your plant receives less than sufficient amount of sunlight, it would tend to be weaker and more susceptible to pests and diseases.

How to Tell:

Observe your garden and watch how many hours of sunlight each location receives or will receive.

Environmental Conditions

Understanding the different environmental conditions in your garden will help you prepare for them. This will save you from the frustration of having to replant your seedlings after they’ve been damaged by certain environmental conditions.

How to Tell:

Observe how the wind blows across your garden beds. It’s also worth considering how your plant will be affected by rain or wind exposure in that area.

Other Factors:

Other factors to consider when choosing plants for your organic garden include the following:

·      Plant Varieties

Most insects and pests attack the entire family of a plant. Checking the plant’s family and its susceptibility to certain pests beforehand will help you save from frustration. Generally, plants under the Brassica family like Brussels sprouts, kale, cabbage, and cauliflower are all susceptible to club root. Hollyhocks, hibiscus, and several malvas are all susceptible to hollyhock rust.

·      Companion Planting

There are some plants that make it harder for competitors to grow around the surrounding area. There are also those that are beneficial to their neighbors. Here are some examples: chives planted at the base of roses help repel aphids, garlic at the base of a peach tree can repel borers, and basil planted among tomatoes helps to repel tomato hornworms.

How to Water Properly

One of the most basic needs of plants is water. This need for fresh water can either make or break one’s garden. If you’re just starting out in organic gardening and still clueless as to how much you should water your plants, pay close attention to this chapter.

When it comes to watering plants, there are things that you have to consider. Some of these include the following:

1.             The type of plants you have

There are plants that are able to retain more moisture compared to others. Because of this, these plants are able to survive on less water and can even tolerate drought. One example of this type of plant are succulents.

Learn how to determine the kind of plants that you have. It will help in giving you an idea as to how much and how frequently you should water them.

2.             Capacity of your soil to retain moisture

If your plants are growing in sandy soil, they’ll need to be watered more. Aside from greater water volume, plants in sandy soil also need more frequent watering. On the other hand, plants in well-mulched soil don’t need as much water, because a well-mulched soil tends to hold water better. It is advisable for those with sandy soil to consider mulching.

3.             Climate

Another thing to consider when it comes to watering your plants is your climate. If you are experiencing frequent rainfall, then you have to minimize the times that you water your plant or you’ll probably end up overwatering it. Overwatered plants will turn out to be brown and shriveled up. What’s more, they have soft and limp leaves.

Aside from considering these factors, it’s also important to know when to water your plants. As a rule of thumb, you should water your plants in the morning. Morning serves as the best time to water the plants as this time of the day can provide more time for the plant to absorb the water and handle the heat, cold or energy needed for producing chlorophyll. You should steer away from watering your plants in the evening or late afternoon. During these times of the day, the temperature is cooler, making it more conducive for mildews, molds, and all kinds of pests to thrive on your plants.

If you want to check whether you are providing sufficient water for your plants, you can do a simple Squeeze Test. Grab a handful of soil, and if it crumbles apart when you open your fingers, it is dry. If, however, it holds together without being packed too much, then the moisture in your soil is just right. You’ll know that your soil is too wet when if forms a ball with well-defined finger marks. It is way too wet if it forms a soft ball and free water appears when you squeeze or shake it.

How to Handle Weeds & Pest Control Problems

HANDLING WEEDS

Weed control is something that every organic gardener has to face. Whether you like it or not, you will have to deal with weeds at some point. Weeds are plants that grow in places that you don’t want them to grow. Any plant, whether it’s a grass, native plant or wild flower can be considered a weed if it grows in unwanted places.

Weed management starts with an assessment. Once you’ve determined which plants in your garden are considered to be weeds, it’s time to come up with a plan of action. Getting rid of weeds can be done in a number of ways. Some of the most common means of removing them include burning, smothering, applying mulch on them, planting ground covers, removing them by hand, and applying organic weed control spray.

Burning

If you are dealing a large area to weed, it would be better to start removing the weed with the process called solarization. It’s a way of killing weeds through burning them. Although it isn’t the fastest way to get rid of weeds, it’s an effective method to get rid of these unwanted plants. Depending on where you live and the current climate that you have, this effect can last from 3 weeks to 2 months.

How to do it:

Water the area first. Once you’re done watering the area, place a large plastic tarp over it. You may use bricks or rocks to hold the tarp down. The sun will heat the soil, cook the weeds, and eventually, kill the seeds. This process is best done in hot weather.

Smothering

Smothering is another method of getting rid of weeds. It refers to the process of cutting off the supply of sunlight to the plants.

How to do it:

You can use different materials including newspaper, cardboard, landscaping cloth, plastic or even recycled carpet. You may also lay mulch, tree bark, shells, and other things you think can serve the purpose.

Mulching

Another way of removing weeds is mulching. With mulching, you can use any organic matter available to you including compost and garden clippings.

Weeding by Hand

This is one of the more traditional means of weed removal. Weeding by hand, which often involves pulling them out of the soil, doesn’t really kill the weed. Removing weeds by hand will only leave to more of the same seeds. If you want to resort in this method, make sure that you soak them with water to soften the dirt around the roots.

PEST CONTROL

Garden pests can take different forms. They can be animals, birds, or insects that threaten the healthy growth and development of your plants. While healthy plants tend to be more resilient from the damages brought by these pests, you should still do something.

Slugs and Snails

Slugs and snails are probably one of the most common garden pests. They can chew away your plants if left untreated. Getting rid of these pests can be as simple as manually picking them off your plants, to more aggressive approaches like the use of slug pellets.

Slug pellets may be effective in getting rid of slugs and snails, but they can be toxic to wildlife and kids who love to play in your garden. Another option that you have is to use grapefruit skin and beer traps. These materials tend to attract slugs and snails. Then, you can manually remove them from your garden.

Insects

There’s an extensive list of insects that can damage your garden. These include wasps, aphids, caterpillars, and whitefly. These insects can be removed easily by working with nature. You can trap wasps with the use of sugary bait, attract birds to get rid of caterpillars, and introduce ladybirds, lace wings, and hoverflies to reduce the aphid population.

Animals

Just like with garden insects, there’s also a long list of animals that can be a real nuisance in your garden, like your neighbor’s dog, cat or wild deer. You can try to shoo them away without resorting to solutions that can harm them. Other things you can do to keep these animals away from your garden is by using citrus peels to drive away cats or using mesh fencing of at least 2.5 m (8 feet) high to protect it from deer. You might also try sonic repellant, which emits a high pitched sound that will drive these animals away.

As you go along the process of organic gardening, you will find that the journey towards maintaining it requires hard work and patience. There will be times where you will be tested with the presence of pesky pests but remember, there will always be methods to solve such problems, ones where you don’t have to immediately resort to the most aggressive approach. By working with nature and not against it, you will realize that most garden problems can be solved with simplest solutions.

Harvesting

You’ve spent a great deal of time to prepare and work your garden. Now, it’s time for the harvest. But how do you know when to harvest your organic produce? Should you harvest them when they’ve reached full maturity or color? Or do you have to pick them while they’re young?

Learning how and when to harvest your produce is an important process in organic gardening. By picking your fruits and vegetables at the right time, you’re not just providing yourself with better and great-tasting food, but you’re also preserving the integrity of the garden that you’ve worked so hard for. Here are some helpful tips when it comes to harvesting your organic garden:

·      Some vegetables need some protection when cold temperature starts to kick in. You can protect these vegetables form withering with the help of cover sheets like burlap sacks or large boxes. There are, however, vegetables that can withstand colder temperatures. These vegetables actually get sweeter after a frost, so they can be left unprotected. Some of these include kale, cabbage, parsnips, carrots, and Brussels sprouts.

·      Since tomatoes cannot survive in cold temperatures, it’s best to harvest them by pulling them out entirely by the roots and let them ripen gradually by hanging them upside down, on growing them on an indoor vine.

·      Although each seed packet is equipped with “Days of Maturity” information, it’s equally important to consider the environmental conditions, like your temperature and the length of the day since these can affect the duration of these ‘maturity days’.

·      Some crops are grown for their vegetative part (roots, leaves, stems). Examples of these crops include lettuce and radishes. Crops like these should be harvested while they’re young, tender, and immature. For these kinds of crops the rule is to “harvest early and often.”

·      There are fruits that are best to be left to ripen on their plants. Examples of these include tomatoes and apples. There are fruits that we often consider ‘vegetables’ that are best to harvest while they’re young. These include summer squash, snap beans, and eggplant.

·      Pumpkins are only harvested when they reach full maturity. To determine this, you can do a simple thumbnail test. Mature pumpkins have a very hard rind that resists puncture from a thumbnail.

·      Onions and potatoes can be harvested when their tops began dying and have fallen over.

·      Peppers can be harvested regardless of their color and can be eaten at just about any size or color. However, they are best eaten when they fully ripen.

·      Harvest your crops early in the morning. During this time of the day, your crops are cooler and have both a higher water content and crisper texture.

If you’re ready to harvest the crops that you’ve worked hard for, you’re going to need the following materials:

·      Gloves

A pair of gloves will protect you from plants that naturally irritate the skin. These will also protect you from thorns and brambles. Pair your gloves with a long sleeved top.

·      Sharp knife

Don’t get just any knife — prepare a sharp knife. This is helpful when cutting vegetables such as squash, broccoli, and cabbage.

·      Scissors

This can come handy when cutting herbs and leafy vegetables.

·      Pruning shears

This is a great tool for harvesting crops that have woody stems such as peppers, pumpkins, and squash.

·      Spade

When harvesting root crops, a spade will be your go-to tool. Just be careful though when using it do you don’t damage or ruin your crops.

Cleaning Up at the End of the Season

Cleaning up your garden at the end of the season will not just save you time and effort for the next batch of crops, it will also help to keep your garden in good shape. If you’re having a hard time figuring out where to start, here are some suggestions for your end of the season clean-up:

Garden waste, leaves, and compost

The first thing that you can do for your end of the season garden cleanup is to pull out the spent vegetables and annuals. Make sure that you include the roots when you’re pulling them out. Together with any weeds, place them in a compost bin.

Aside from harvesting annual plants and vegetables, you can also rake fallen leaves. You can either throw them directly in the compost pile or spread them on your garden bed. Make sure to dig them deep into your soil so they stay on place. These leaves will help improve the fertility of your soil for the next gardening season. When these leaves have composted, they’ll make your spring planting a wonderful experience. You can also make compost out of grass clippings and yard trimmings.

Pick up the pots

When you’re done pulling out weeds and annual plants, go around the garden and look for any broken and empty pots. If there’s no way that those broken pots can be fixed, get rid of them. Empty pots can be stored in your greenhouse for the winter. You can use them to replant your roots for the next season. One benefit of removing these pots is to keep snails, slugs, and fungi away from your garden.

Get rid of diseased plant matter

Aside from disposing broken pots, also look out for signs of diseases on your plants. These include leaf spot, powdery mildew, and rust. If you spot these, remove the affected part and dispose them in a trash bin — do NOT put them in your compost bin. Although heat will eventually kill most of the plant’s diseases, some don’t give up easily. Placing diseased plant matter in your compost will only spread the disease in your garden.

Clean and store garden tools

Give your garden tools some TLC. After using them for months for tending your garden, clean and store them in a cool, dry place. Kill pathogens and possible diseases lurking on your garden tools by dipping the business end of these tools in a bleach solution (1 part bleach to 3 parts water). Sharpen the blades and then coat your tools with oil to get them ready for the next season. Store them in your garage, tool shed or any sheltered place.

Here are other things you can do at the end of the season:

·      Harvest everything from your vegetable garden. Don’t forget to remove dropped fruits from trees. If you let them stay where they are, they will rot and attract garden pests.

·      Clean up any overgrown trees. Animals might treat them as their home if you leave them as they are. When you do this, not only will be dealing with garden pests, you also have to deal with seed drop and more mess.

Conclusion

Organic gardening is not all about planting crops without the use of chemicals. Instead of looking at organic gardening in that light, it would be better to look it as a way of working with nature. If you see it this way, organic gardening shouldn’t sound as daunting to you.

Aside from the nutritional and health benefits of organic produce, organic gardening provides an individual with a practical way of growing crops. Imagine the hundreds of dollars you can save simply by opting to solve garden problems with simple solutions. You can resort to composting if you want to make your soil more fertile, and you can always introduce insects and other organisms to drive away garden pests.

Aside from that, organic gardening is a great way of keeping the environment free from toxins. As an organic gardener, you steer away from artificial additives that harm the soil as well as the surrounding wildlife. This form of farming also proves to be a good activity that nourishes not just your physical well-being, but also your emotional and psychological well-being.

Just like any form of farming, the process of organic gardening begins in the soil. It starts from determining the kind of soil that you have, its pH, and overall condition. This is one crucial step that you shouldn’t miss since it helps to determine the kind of plants that you can place in your garden. A good soil-plant match is a vital component of your garden’s wellness.

However, it’s not enough that you have good soil quality and plant-soil match. To be successful in organic gardening, you need to continually nourish your soil. One way of doing this is by adding compost. Compost is any living material that is left to decompose and serves as a fertilizer. Be wary though, as not all organic matter can be turned into compost. Dead animals, cat litter, and dog manure can’t be turned into compost since they only serve to attract vermin.

Learning to determine how much is too much when it comes to watering your plants is equally important. Under- or over-watering can result in serious damage that might just put all of your gardening effort to waste. Things to consider when watering your plants include the type of soil that you have, the kind of plants that you have and if they can survive drought, and your current environmental conditions. When it comes to watering your plants, the key is to water frequently and deeply.

A garden wouldn’t even be called a garden without intruders. At some point, garden pests in the form of insects and other animals can eat away or damage your plants. In these situations, you don’t have to resort to the most aggressive approach immediately. You can turn to nature by using organic products to get rid of these garden pests. You can also add minor changes like building a fence to keep wandering animals away.

One of the most fulfilling parts of organic gardening is the harvest. To have a fresh taste in your produce and to get the maximum amount of nutrients from them, you have to know the right time for harvesting your crops. Most leafy crops cannot survive colder temperature, so you should harvest them before winter comes along. As for some fruits like tomatoes, you can let them reach maturity indoors.

You see, organic gardening isn’t as complicated as most people think it is. Just as in conventional farming, it requires dedication and hard work. As much as this eBook would like to provide you with every step you need to know for organic gardening, it’s not enough to fully equip you to succeed every time. Learn to be patient, connect with other organic gardeners, and continue to educate yourself. There’s still so much to learn about this worthwhile activity.

About the Author

Always loving the great outdoors, then graduating with a degree in environmental science, Martha thought she would spend her life working in the deepest jungles of South America. Instead, she fell in love with her college sweetheart, settled down on the west coast, and is thrilled to be a stay-at-home mom for her three great kids.

When Martha's youngest was four, she developed a severe case of asthma. After extensive medical testing and a personal quest of her own to understand why, Martha became concerned about the cleaners and products she was using in her home. Her findings have since taken her in the direction of eliminating toxins from her home, studying how to develop safe cleaning products for her family, and sharing information with her friends and family.

Although Martha never ended up in the jungle, she and her family love to go camping, hiking, boating, snorkeling and other activities that allow them to enjoy the great outdoors whenever they can.

Acknowledgements

A big thank you to all the wonderful photographers whose shared images brought this book to life:

-      Julian Lee

-      Mary Beth Jarrosak

-      Christopher Craig

-      Gorillaimages

-      Cary Bates

-      Will Merydith

-      Oakleyoriginals

-      Sharon Pruitt

-      BMJ

-      401(K) 2013

Table of Contents

Introduction

What is Organic Gardening?

Conclusion

About the Author

Acknowledgements