Basic Organic Gardening Tips

How to work with, not against, your garden

By: Green Energy Herbals

With a basic understanding of what it means to be an organic gardener and some useful knowledge on the matter you too can move away from poisoning your land and food and move towards a more harmonious interaction with your plants and the ground they live in.

Chemical pesticides and fertilizers are short term solutions to gardening and food production. Organic gardening is a holistic, alternative approach to growing plants that allows plants and animals, insects included, to work in harmony with one another.

Follow these basic tips for a healthy, happy garden:

Soil needs to have 3 vital nutrients: nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium.

· Nitrogen is needed for stem and foliage development

· Phosphorous is needed for root and flower growth

· Potassium promotes the plant’s food production

Wood Ash is a valuable source of potash (ensure the wood is untreated).

Feathers are a small source of nitrogen – do encourage birds into your garden.

Dock, Dandelion and Comfrey all bring nutrients up from the subsoil. They also improve the structure and drainage of soil.

Nettles enhance the growth of other plants, especially tomatoes.

Mustard, green beans and spinach are good green manures and should be dug into the soil before flowering. Allow some mustard to flower in order to collect the seeds for the next patch that needs a dose of green manure.

Practise companion planting for increased success and insect resilience. Plant the following together:

HYSSOP, SAGE, MARJORAM, CHIVES, PARSLEY

THYME, LAVENDER

TOMATOES, GREENPEPPERS, LETTUCE

CHILLIS, BASIL, CHAMOMILE, THYME

MARIGOLDS, BORAGE

ASTERS, COSMOS, COREOPSIS, MARIGOLD

PETUNIAS, DAHLIAS

Some plants act as insect repellents and are useful for keeping household pests at bay, as well as protecting other plants from damage:

BASIL (flies & mosquitoes)

MINT (ants)

THYME (flies & aphids)