SolveYourProblem
Article Series: Organic Gardening
Organic
Gardening Tips & Advice
Organic
Gardening: A Beginner's Guide
Organic gardening for beginners is a hot topic
right now as more and more people are getting into growing
their own organic food. First let's look at the benefits:
- it's
the very best way to put the healthiest, freshest and tastiest
food onto your table
- it's
much more environmentally friendly to stop spraying your
garden with chemical pesticides
- it
gets you out into the fresh air
- it's
a fun hobby to have
- it
keeps your backyard looking just great!
The first thing to do when you are planning your new organic
garden is to decide what you want to grow. Most people start
with vegetables because that is usually their reason for going
organic - they want to eat their own home grown pesticide-free
food. And it's a great reason!
There are plenty of organic seeds available now. You can buy
them at markets, nurseries or gardening stores, or online.
Be sure to pick out vegetables that are suited to your garden.
This means you need to check that they will grow well in your
climate, soil type and the amount of sun or shade that you
have in your backyard. You should also consider what time of
year you need to plant them.
Seeds are normally started indoors in small containers or
seed trays. You can buy special planting mix to help your seeds
to sprout. Be sure it is organic and does not contain chemical
fertilizers. Don't forget to label your trays - often you will
find that baby seedlings all look alike!
If you want to cut out the time taken to start your new crops
from seed, you can buy small plants to put directly into your
garden. This is a good option if you are starting later in
the year.
Since you won't be using standard pesticides you need to think
about protecting your new seedlings from slugs and
other pests.
You probably know what pests are a particular problem in your
area from your previous gardening experience. If you don't,
you can ask gardening neighbors.
Choosing plants that are less likely to be attacked by your
neighborhood pests will give you a big advantage. You can also
take steps to protect your plants while they are young. Depending
on the type of plant and the pests that it attracts, you may
want to use nets, upturned plastic bottles, or barriers.
It is possible to buy organic
pesticides for some pests, but
many organic gardeners prefer not to kill the insects that
are part of the natural food chain in their local environment.
Instead they will often encourage the natural local predators
to come to their garden - in effect, inviting the hitmen of
the insect kingdom into the backyard to do the dirty work for
them!
When you look at the benefits, you will see that organic gardening
for beginners is a great way to get all of the family involved
in creating a wonderful environment in your backyard. # # # # #
SolveYourProblem.com
: 2008
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