Organic Vegetable Gardening

Reasons why more farmers are getting into organic vegetable gardening are that it is cost effective and almost the same yield of crops is able to be produced. You must first understand the organic vegetable gardening principles before you can do this in your own garden. The use of fertilizers, nutrients or pesticides is forbidden in organic vegetable gardening. To make it all work, sunlight and water are required so nature is your partner here. You must provide the ideal area and adequate drainage as these should not be provided artificially.

Besides sunlight and water, you can mix together leftover food, chipped bark, garden compost, leaf moulds and manure using a compost heap and then spread it throughout your garden to help the crops grow. A lot of people are uneasy about manure but this is sold in stores so you don’t have to scoop this from the toilet and if you keep Chickens then they are great to have – just let them roam around in the garden. Some people use dead animals or meat products but you can’t put these in the soil. Yet, left for a couple of weeks in the bin, maggots will soon appear which is what you use to help fertilize your garden.

Bringing various vitamins and minerals to the surface and providing better drainage as it digs deep into the ground and aerates the soil, is what makes the earthworm is another helpful creature. The casting left behind by this long pink colored creature is, according to experts, five times as rich in nitrogen phosphorous and potassium. Nearly all gardening stores or garden centers will have this in stock.

Organic gardening is a challenge because pests such as army worms, crickets, gypsy moth caterpillars, slugs and squash bugs are unwanted guests. At one time people used fertilizer to kill them but in an organic setting the best weapon is the toad which is known to eat more almost every type of insect. Caterpillars or spiders lurking in the garden are not in the toad’s diet so get a bird.

It isn’t necessary to buy a toad or a bird from the pet store as long as you set the ideal environment for them so they may come in to your home. You will have some new occupants protecting your garden within days if you can put up a bird house or a small pond. As they mark their territory and eat anything that dares enter their domain, the preying mantis and the ladybug are other insect killers which you can get to do the job.

Your vegetables can also be protected by plants: The rotation of crops is seen as the best way to keep the soil fertile, despite all the flowers and creatures that nature has to offer. Change the kind of vegetable for this season with a different one and, after this one is harvested, return to the first one. with some practice you can harvest the vegetables you have planted weeks ago.

The vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients gained from organic gardening are well worth the effort and dedication involved.

William Noel