Joys of the Organic Vegetable Garden

Here are some organic gardening tips for growing an organic vegetable garden. Growing an organic garden usually requires use of compost and traditional pest control methods. Let's get back to basics and more natural way of doing things.

When you hear the word “organic”, what comes to mind? Do you think of food—fruits, vegetables, meats? Do you think of environmentally friendly detergents, cleaners and even beauty aid products? Do you even spend a moment considering clothing made from natural fibres like hemp or bamboo? I want to share a few thoughts on my own organic obsession—gardening.

From the time seed catalogues begin to arrive in the mail sometime in January, to the first snowflake in the fall, I am delightfully preoccupied with gardening. I pore over the pages eagerly, trying to keep my order realistic. After all, my garden is not limitless in size, I only have room for so many containers, my seed starting location is very cramped and, most important, I don’t have boundless energy! I know I am not alone in this desperate striving for self-control. It is a weakness in most gardeners, especially novice gardeners, this urge to grow anything and everything.

I am not an experienced gardener of several years. Yet I have become passionate about growing things, and particularly, about growing an organic vegetable garden. I am not an expert. I have no letters after my name. I have read, talked to those with more knowledge and wisdom, and mostly I have tried my hand at gardening. Are you interested in growing food for your family that is not contaminated by chemicals? Do you embrace the idea of plucking a sun-warmed tomato from a plant and popping it into your mouth without first having to wash off poisons? I’ll share with you what I’ve been learning.

There are a few types of soil -- clay, sandy and loam, which is a good mixture of both. Clay tends to be heavy, hard for roots to penetrate, cement-like in wet conditions. Sandy warms easily but doesn’t usually have sufficient nutrients. Loam is good! Please remember, I am no scientist, and do not enjoy elaborate technical details. So, we are going to keep it very simple.

If you choose, you can test the Ph of your soil to determine what you can add to benefit your plants. Most garden centers sell a basic soil testing kit. It will tell you if your soil is alkaline or acidic. From these results, you can determine what you need to add. Most plants prefer a Ph balance of 6 to 7. For a more detailed analysis, you might consider a soil testing laboratory, which will provide very detailed nutrient information.

Here’s my confession. I have never tested my soil. I don’t know what its Ph balance is. I have no idea what the nutrient deficiencies might be, if any. Had I taken the time to test and amend, I might have better gardening results. I’m not entirely convinced!

This is what I have read—and experienced. You can improve any soil by patiently and consistently adding lots and lots of compost. Not fertilisers, not chemicals, just composted matter. Composting is not rocket science. We can all do this!

See How to Compost

See Organic Soil Nutrients For information on compost tea see Green Organics.biz

See Organic Garden Pest Control These are just some ideas on growing an organic vegetable garden.

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