 How to Start an Organic Garden
Growing an Organic garden is a great way to grow your foods in a healthy way while saving a few dollars that can add up over time. Organic gardens involve growing food crops without the use of harmful pesticides or synthetic fertilizers (man-made). On a wider scale, organic farms use these seem methods in crop growing along with raising livestock, organic practices only use methods that are natural.
What I love about organic gardens is the quality of taste that will enhance your favorite food recipes, there are so many other benefits that we will be discussing a bit later
The rise of this method of growing foods has become so popular that many people are becoming health conscious of these all-natural produce to promote a healthy lifestyle. It’s estimated that in the US alone consumers spend more than 38 billion dollars in 2014.
That’s a lot of money spent on organic foods which shows how much people are turning to this lifestyle to ensure they are taking good care of their health, with that said we will be taking a closer look at how to create an organic garden.
1. Where to locate an organic garden?
To have much success with organic gardening requires that you construct your garden in an area that gets full sunlight. Sunlight is so important to a plant’s growth so give your edibles all the sun they need.
2. Organic garden soil
Garden soil is at the root of having success, soils that are used should be rich in organic matter, starting a compost pile is a great way to provide your plants with the nutrient they need. Get your plants off to a great start by having your soil tested which is so important. Having a soil ph test done along with testing how well your soil holds moisture will allow for proper drainage is important also.
3. Plants for an organic garden
When choosing seeds or seedlings for your organic garden ensure plants are of good quality. This means doing a thorough inspection at the time of purchasing. Look for off-colors, rot, insect pests, diseases, etc… purchasing good quality plants will save you so much headache. Remember you want to get off to a good start and continue to build your organic garden from that point.
4. Organic garden seeds and seedlings
When planting your seeds or seedlings ensure they are planted at the right depth along with giving them the proper spacing because planting too deeply will cause seeds not to germinate and if installing seedlings too deeply will cause roots to suffocate along with plant’s roots not being able to absorb nutrients. The planting depth and the proper spacing should be on the seed package or talk with your garden nurseryman but how to plant.
Give the proper spacing because plants need to breathe (proper air circulation) if plants are planted too close will cause issues such as yellowing and browning of the leaves followed by dropping of the leaves. A disease that is brought on by planting too closely is powdery mildew, this disease will cause a white powder-like substance to form on the plant leaves.
The use of fungicides that are labeled for this disease will bring control but since we are growing an organic garden we want to stay clear of all chemicals so give your plants the right spacing to avoid this issue.
5. Watering and organic garden
Many garden plants have suffered setbacks and in some cases died because of overwatering or not getting sufficient water. Get to know the watering needs of your plant’s because a lack of water can weaken plants and encourage garden insect pests. Too much water will cause root rot followed by disease.
6. Weeding your organic garden
Weeds can become a real issue especially if allowed to grow out of control, weeds will encourage disease, garden insect pests and will compete with your garden plants for water, light, and nutrients. Because you are growing an organic garden it’s best to remove weeds by hand pulling. herbicides or weed killers should not be used because drift-off carried by the wind can get on plants causing damage.
7. Keeping your organic garden clean
Keeping your organic garden clear of debris is a must because a clean garden does not only looks beautiful but discourages disease, insect pests and will have everything organized.
8. Organic garden crop rotation
Crop rotation should be done every year because replanting in the same area with the same plant species or other species that may be related will contract the same disease so install plants that are not closely related.
9. Organic garden fertilizition
To keep your organic garden growing healthy use organic fertilizers, these fertilizers will give a better crop. Some organic fertilizers include seaweed, cottonseed meal, chicken manure, cow manure, fish emulsion, and alfalfa meal.
10. Organic garden mulching
Mulches are great because these natural organics will not only add beauty but will hold moisture, suppress weeds, keep the soil temperature cool, help to adjust the soil ph and as mulches break down will add nutrients to the soil which is all-natural.
11. Organic garden insect pests
Garden insect pests can do a number on our garden plants by causing major issues. There are many chemicals on the market that can rid our gardens of these insect pests. But because we are dealing with an organic garden the only pesticides that should be used are organics, the use of these homemade remedies may offer some help.
Another great way to eliminate garden insect pests is by introducing natural predators, these beneficial insects are also known as the good bugs will eliminate insect pests by feeding on them. This method is not only safe for our plants but will also help in bringing balance to our ecosystem.
12. Orgain garden soil microbes
Garden soil is not dead as some may think but contains billions of soil microbes which are hard at work to ensure that our garden plants are well taken care of. These soil microbes break down organic matter into a form that our plants take up through their roots. It is therefore important that we give our soils a good amount of organics to also help in feeding microbes that are present. For more on how this all works refer to this link, feeding soil microbes.
 13. Labeling your organic garden plants
Labeling or tagging your plants is a great way to keep track of or to remember what you have planted and how each plant species should be performing.
The benefits of growing an organic garden
1. Growing foods that are healthy and free of toxic pesticides.
2. Safeguarding or protecting soil microbes.
3. Saving those hard-earned dollars.
4. Better quality foods.
5. Taste better.
6. By going organic you are contributing to the health of the ecosystem.
7. By working the soil you will be getting that much-needed exercise.
The final word on growing an organic garden
Creating an organic garden is the way to go, these gardens and the methods they are cared for have been widely excepted. Organic gardens are making waves especially since the health message is being heralded. This is a great way to grow food crops that not only taste delicious but will promote good health while contributing to the eco-system this method of growing food crops is a win-win which I think is worth the investment. Let’s join the many homeowners who are taking advantage of these gardens and get in on the action by growing healthy, eating healthy, and living longer.
About the author
Norman loves being in the garden, both at home and for his job....
he is 'Natures Little helper' being outdoors, growing his vegetables and flowers from an early age.
Now having spent over 22 years in the profession he want to give some of his knowledge to others...
his vast array of hints and tips you will find scattered over this site will help you no end growing plants in your garden.
I have always been fond of growing vegetables in my garden and even though I liked the idea, it is quite difficult for a beginner to get started and do things the right way.
In this post, I learned a lot about how to get started and a few tips that would really help me out. Thanks.
You are so welcome and I am happy to help. Wishing you all the best and have a good day.
Organic gardening is becoming very popular because people are so fed up with the amount of chemicals they are ingesting on a daily basis.
Here in the UK we have allotments, these are areas of land owned by the local council that people can apply to use for growing food. Often used if they either don’t have a garden or only have a small garden. Now in many areas there are waiting lists because it has become so popular.
We often use seeds we dry from our food we eat, like peppers etc. Saves on buying plants and you know where they have come from.
It’s nice to see posts that encourage people to grow their own food and give tips on how to do so.
Thank you, I enjoyed this post.
Yes growing our food crop is so important because this is a great way to eat healthy while saving those hard-earned dollars. Thanks so much for sharing and I am so happy to help, all the best to you and have a good day.
I have a small garden in the backyard that used to flourish with dark green leafy vegetables but now, it looks like a deserted open space. You would bet no plant can survive on it if you see it now. I started neglecting it when I suddenly had to continually deal with small powdery-like substances that were forming on the vegetable leaves with tiny infections. You know, I didn’t want to spray the chemicals, so I eventually stopped growing any vegetables there. Now that I have read this post, I should have at least tried crop rotation along with implementing other great gardening tips you provide here. Thank you for planting this ray of hope in me. I’ll give the garden a second chance.
Hello, Sipheni you can do it and guess what this time you will have great success with your garden project. I am so happy to help, please let me know how it goes. Wishing you all the best and have a good day.
Hey, I enjoy a lot while reading your guide to create and organic garden. Now I know that organic gardening requires that we locate our garden in an area that gets full sunlight. Sunlight is so important to a plant’s growth so give our edibles all the sun they need. As we know that soil’s that are rich in organic matter such as organic soils, starting a compost pile is a great way to provide our plants. Now I am planning to setup my organic garden.
That is so great to hear, please let me know how it goes. Wishing you great success with your garden project.
This is such a great and amazing article for gardeners. I have always wanted to be a gardener but wasn’t opportuned to learn because I didn’t know the rightful steps to take. I have learnt a vital information from your article on how to locate your garden in an area that gets full sunlight. Thanks for sharing this amazing post and definitely gonna put that to work
Thanks again for your kind words, so happy to help and wishing you great success with your garden project.
Great article on how to create an organic garden! I think organic produce is so important! People need to be made aware of the chemicals that can be harmful. I have a garden and have really enjoyed it. I’ve grown an outdoor garden and an indoor garden. I have lots of herbs growing indoor too.
Do you have any articles on harvesting? I never know when to pick my veggies.
Having an organic garden is really amazing as you get to eat healthy which I think is the way to go. So happy to hear that you have both an indoor and outdoor garden. I have many posts on harvesting but they are including in many articles that I have written on growing and harvesting. If you have the time you can always browse my website. I hope you find what you ate looking for. https://gardenofedengardencent…
I like the idea of an organic garden, but we have been inundated with snails and the only way we could eventually get rid of them was with poisoned pellets. However, we didn’t try introducing insects into the garden to help the plants. I read your post, but couldn’t find any insect to get rid of snails. Did I miss something?
I am also going to try using mulch so that the moisture can stay in the soil, as we have very dry sandy soil here and we are trying to get a veggie garden growing, but only having success with tomatoes so far.
So good to hear that you like the idea of these garden types. When it comes to getting rid of snails especially in an edible garden your best choice is handpicking them and throwing them into a bucket of soapy water. This may take some time depending on the extent of your snail issues but at least your food crop will be safe to eat. This article can also help you to bring snails and slugs under control without the use of harmful chemicals. Hope this helps.https://gardenofedengardencent…
Hi Norman I never thought pure organic gardening is possible these days. It is interesting to find out that inadequate spacing of plants can affect the health of those plants. If fungicides are forbidden, how can the yellowing be taken care of?
What advice do you have for preventing slugs?
Thanks for providing so much information.
Hello Kavinah, so happy to meet you, growing and organic garden is so amazing and has so many benefits. And all natural way to get rid of slugs is installing plants among your herbs that will keep them at bay this is known as companion planting.https://gardenofedengardencent…, https://gardenofedengardencent…
Plants such as rosemary, rue, astrantia, fennel and wormwood will help, even though some yellowing is a natural part of plant life to much yellowing indicates that your plant may be getting to much water, to little water, a garden insect pests problem or it may also be a nutritional issue such as a lack of nitrogen.
Check for these signs first, also you can purchase and organic fungicide if needed, there are several brands. Hope this helps and please let me know how it goes. Have a good day!
I’m very fortunate to have been growing my own vegetables for most of my life on the farm but recently I sold the farm to retire to the coast and had to start all over again. I did what you suggested and had my soil tested to see what the ph was, it was great for growing vegetables. I was lucky that the old guy who had owned my house had two big beds on either side of the back door and had been feeding them with good soil and compost for years.
They get sun all day. One thing I noticed was that at the back of the beds the soil didn’t get any rain. So I planted that area with dry-loving plants like my rosemary and basil bushes. It’s been fun filling the beds with seasonal veg plants and I’m careful of what I buy and the distance apart. I’ve started a compost bin in one corner of my yard and created a wooden box around it and a tarp on top. I have to watch for rats as they love these places to nest, so I put baits under the tarp so my dog doesn’t get them.
You gave some great tips on knowing the water requirements for my organic garden and keeping pests down.
Hello Lily I am so so Happy to hear from you again, it is so good to know that you are enjoining outdoors in your garden while connecting with nature. Thank you so much for sharing your garden success story with me and as always I am so happy to help.
Please keep me posted on what’s happening in your garden, wishing good success always. Have a wonderful day thanks again.
Hello Norman,
i have been to your site a few times now and always find the info so useful. My wife and I have been gardening for years now and do pretty well. We have it down pretty well to get what we want out of our garden for canning and homegrown vegetables though out the year.
One thing I was looking for is more info about heirloom seeds and how to collect them. Now that we are happy with what and how much to grow I would like to learn how to make it more sustainable. I don’t want to have to depend on buying seeds every year. I would prefer the garden provided tose too.
Is there a recommendation for a specific brand that is more resilient for organic gardening than others?
Thanks,
Chad
Hello Groomy Dude, thank you so much for your support and your kind words, so happy to you hear that both you and your wife are having garden success. As for heirloom seeds there are so many brands but here are a few to consider, survival garden, most popular veggies, garden salad, unique onion varieties, etc. for more organic brands give amazon a search and I am sure you will find what you are looking for. Hope this helps and all the best to you, please let me know how it goes. Thanks again.