Some Helpful Hints To Start Your Own Organic Garden

Organic gardening involves cultivating vegetables, fruits, seeds and grains using natural methodology.

This signifies the absence of fungicides, herbicides, pesticides and chemical fertilizers within the scene. It's a philosophy that respects the natural ecosystem.

Here are some easy tips for success:

1) Maintain healthy soil

The first principle is to focus on the soil rather than the plant. While synthetic and chemical fertilisers provide immediate nutrition to the plant, they often serve as a temporary solution for gardening issues. But if you incorporate organic matter and fertilisers into the soil, it nourishes it, which ultimately nourishes the plant. It's a slower process but benefits both the soil and the plant more effectively.

Here are four simple ways to feature soil:

•  At the beginning of each season, refresh all your beds with compost. 
• Test your soil to see if anything is needed, and if so, choose organic amendments. 
•  Introduce vermicomposting bins to your beds and let those worms create those beautiful rich worm castings, which are garden gold for your soil. 
•  Growing cover crops and turning them under into the soil is another excellent way to enrich your soil.

2) Prevent diseases

The second thing that the organic gardeners do differently is they take a proactive approach to disease management, focusing on prevention rather than merely responding to issues as they arise. 

Here are a few ways to prevent diseases in your garden.

• First off, choose disease-resistant varieties of plants. If you have encountered a specific illness in your garden before, choose varieties that are disease resistant.
• While watering your plants, do so in the morning rather than at night and try not to get water on the leaves. Damp leaves and plants left overnight increase their susceptibility to certain diseases. 
• Develop a system of crop rotation in your garden where you are rotating the different families of crops. Diseases can accumulate in the soil, so consistently replanting the same crop in the same area raises the likelihood of that disease persisting in the soil. 
• And finally, if you do get diseases in your garden, dispose of those affected plants in the trash bin rather than in your compost pile to avoid affecting other areas of your garden.

3) Manage weeds organically 

The third aspect that distinguishes organic gardeners is their approach to weeds. Weeds are a common nuisance in the garden, and it can be challenging to keep them under control.

Here are several methods to manage weeds without the help of chemicals:

• One effective way is to hand-pull weeds before they have the chance to seed; this way you're removing hundreds of potential seeds and also the plant from your garden. If you leave that weed to seed, it will grow and start dropping seeds, creating a vicious cycle to break. 
• Another idea is to plant in raised beds. Raised beds naturally have fewer weeds than in bed gardens. 
•  In areas where weeds are a really big issue, consider growing a cover crop for a season or two to choke out those weeds.

4) Grow healthy plants that can resist pest damage.

The fourth plan of organic gardeners is to focus on maintaining healthy plants so that minor pest damage isn't a significant concern.

• One key practice for ensuring plant health is to provide consistent watering. Understand correct watering principles and apply them in your garden. Regular watering prevents the plants from being stressed out. Stressed-out plants are definitely more inviting to pests. 
• Rather than giving your plants frequent, shallow irrigation, aim for less frequent but deeper irrigation that encourages the roots to grow deeply, as plants with deeper roots are more resilient to environmental pressures.
• Provide adequate nutrition by feeding your soil, but don't over-fertilise. Excessive growth due to too much nitrogen can make plants more appealing to pests. Avoid overfeeding your plants.

5) Manage pests without spraying chemicals.

The fifth practice that the organic gardeners implement differently is mindful pest management. Don't just reach for a bottle of chemicals every time you see a bug in your garden.

• First, take the time to distinguish between beneficial and harmful insects. There are numerous resources available online and in books that can help you identify local pests that are a problem as well as beneficial insect species. Familiarize yourself with the different life stages of those insects so that you can accurately identify which are beneficial and which are pests in your garden.
• The second thing to do is to do nothing. Healthy plants can often withstand a little bit of pest damage without harmful effects. Don't be too quick to react and treat, even with organic methods. Use barrier methods such as row covers in your garden to prevent damage from pests before it even happens. Prevent the bugs from getting into those plants in the first place. 
•  Sticky traps, when used correctly, are a very effective method for flying insects.
•  Hand-picking caterpillars and other large bugs and insects is an enjoyable task for kids and can be quite effective. Handpick in the morning when temperatures are cooler and bugs tend to be less active. 
• Check the undersides of leaves; that's often a favorite hiding place. 
•  Spraying off just with water can also serve as an effective remedy.

6) Choose plant species and location correctly.

The sixth practice that the organic gardeners approach differently is choosing the right plant, planting it at the suitable location and planting it at the right time. As gardeners, we often like to stretch the boundaries of what we can cultivate in our area, which can lead to unnecessary stress on the plants. When plants experience stress, they become more inviting to pests and diseases. So concentrating on species that grow well in your area and choosing the right part of your yard to grow that in will make you a more effective gardener. 

• First, choose varieties of plants that grow well in your region ---- those that don't require excessive efforts or special conditions to flourish. 
• Learn about the different areas and the different micro climates in your garden. Are some areas cooler or a little warmer? Is there a spot that tends to retain excess moisture, or one that stays a little bit drier?
• Select varieties of plants that are adapted to grow well in those particular areas and finally use a planting guide meant for your local area. 
• Every plant has an ideal temperature range that they grow well at. When you plant it at the preferred growing temperature, it is much more likely to thrive.

7) Implement the idea of Companion planting.

The seventh thing that the organic gardeners do differently is to practice companion planting and poly-culture techniques. Poly-culture involves planting a diverse range of crops rather than having rows after rows of the same species. It's much easier for pests to find what they are looking for when there are rows of the same variety of their preferred crop. When the garden is host to a wide variety of plants, it more closely mimics nature and increases the overall health of the garden. 

Here are a few ways to implement polyculture and companion planting practices in your garden:

• Learn the preferred companions for plants in your garden and plant them nearby. If you are planting multiple crops of the same type, instead of planting them all in one location in your garden, intersperse them throughout your garden. 
• Interplant several different plants with similar growing needs in the same garden bed. 
• Introduce a diverse mix of perennial and annual herbs and flowers into your garden. These perennial herbs and flowers will attract various beneficial insects and pollinators to your garden.

The Reward of Organic Gardening

Engaging in organic gardening is a journey, not a destination. It teaches patience, promotes mindfulness, and establishes a deep connection with the natural world. 

Each and every yield—whether a juicy tomato or a fragrant basil leaf—is a reminder that sustainability is all about forming a connection with Mother Earth rather than exploiting it.

So, whether you’re managing a full-fledged organic farm or a small home garden, always keep in mind that each plant that has been grown with care plays an important role in creating a greener and healthier planet.