For a thriving organic garden at home, a healthy soil is a must-have. It should be no surprise that the most important part of organic soil is— organic matter! Manure, peat moss, compost. Compost is the best choice because of the fact in contains decaying microorganisms of other plants, supplying the nutrients vital to plant and vegetable growth.
Use an Organic Garden Fertilizer
Fertilize your garden with well-rotted manure from plant-munching animals (rabbits, horses, sheep, etc) or pre=packaged organic fertilizer bought on the internet or local gardening store. Now, if your soil is already healthy, balanced, and rich with nutrients, fertilizing is not crucial, and in some cases can have an adverse effect!
Practice Crop Rotation
Avoid planting the same, or related, plant species in the same location year after year. For example, the plant family containing tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, eggplant, should not be planted in a spot where a squash was planted the year prior. Related plant families being planted near each other year after year can create conditions where disease spreads easier, as well as cause soil nutrient depletion.
How To Control Weeds In Your Organic Garden?
With your hands 😉
Keep Your Organic Garden Tidy
Maintaining a clean, well-manicured garden is your best bet against spreading disease. As organic gardens are no longer organic is you use chemicals to stave off insects, weeds, or disease, you must but hand take care of these tasks manually. Whether this means pulling dead leaves from your plants, removing insects, and definitely removing fallen leaves and detritus— do what it takes to maintain a clean space to avoid disease.
Water Wisely and Give Plants Air
Air flow and proper watering technique are crucial to maintain a disease free, organic vegetable garden. This means following the seeding directions on the packages to ensure proper distance from one another. Proper spacing will ensure proper growth patterns and air flow. For watering, do not water from above. Instead, use a soaker hose or manually water straight to the soil. Water on leaves, especially later in the day, can encourage powdery mildew to develop which can spread and cause dead leaves.
Now Go Garden!
Following these basic guidelines will help you to be on your way to a healthy organic garden at home. While maintianing an organic requires much more manual action on your part, the money you save on pesticides, fertilizers, as well as getting to spend more time outside— will be WELL worth it. Check back on our website every once in a while for more tips from Dosner Organic Farms & Market, and happy gardening!
