When the winter chill is out of the air and spring starts to settle in, a lot of people out there break out their shovels and plows and decide to plant a garden. If you want to plant a garden this year, why not make it an organic garden? Here are some fantastic tips you can use to make sure that your garden grows.

When organic gardening, it is very easy to make your compost for your garden. Not only will it give you something to do with all of your table scraps or even pet waste, it will make your garden thrive! Compost all of your waste organic material and your garden will thrive in the spring.

Eliminate the need for excessive intervention in the health and care of your landscaping and gardening plants by choosing shrubs, grasses, and veggies that require a bare minimum maintenance. These plants are often easily identifiable by their smaller taproots and undersized, silvery colored leaves. Plants that work well with their environment require very little in the way of fertilizers and pesticides.

An organic alternative to chemical fertilizer is compost. You can make your own compost by using fruits, vegetables and other organic wastes from your home. Compost gives your soil the nutrients it needs and improves its structure.

Water your organic garden with storm water runoffs and collected rainwater. Rainwater is more pure and better for plants than home tap water, because it won’t contain chemicals such as chlorine or fluoride. Using rainwater also helps in reducing your overall water usage. Rainwater can even be stored in barrels or cisterns to be used during dry spells.

Aerate your compost pile with PVC pipes. An ideal compost pile should be about 3 to 4 feet high, but it needs aeration throughout the pile. By installing a perforated pipe you can avoid the routine of constantly turning the pile over. If you add a perforated pipe in the center of the compost pile, air will flow freely, helping decomposition.

When you buy seeds for your garden, be sure to purchase seeds that are labeled “certified organic.” This ensures that your plants will be organic throughout their lifespan and that the seeds you are buying aren’t contaminated with chemical fertilizers or pesticides. Watch out for labels, such as “genetically engineered” or any mention of “natural” that does not include the phrase “certified organic.”

Regulate how often you revitalize your soil based on your planting season. During a very long season it might require you to fertilize the ground more than once. It’s important to give your plants the proper nutrients to grow, and remember that as plants grow the nutrients within the soil slowly diminish. Having the correct amount at the correct time will promote your harvest to grow to its maximal size.

Make your organic garden a nice orderly place to be. Create some boundaries using stone walls, fences, or hedges. You should then make easy pathways through the fences. You can use stepping stones, gravel, or special paving materials. Choose the materials that will be the best match for your environment.

Use and organic pest control, organic pest control will help to build healthy soil. Organic pest control is a comprehensive approach instead of a chemical approach. Create a healthy biodiversity so that the insects and microbes will control themselves. Using natural products and building healthy soil is the best long-term treatment for pests.

Keep your surrounding water clean. Everything that you put into your garden, whether it’s pesticides or commercial fertilizer, always makes its way into the water system by leaching through the ground. By only using plain water and natural fertilizers you will ensure that your gardening is organic and environmentally friendly.

When starting your own organic garden, a great tip is to use an old laundry basket for washing all of your fruits and vegetables. The basket will be like a strainer, which will make it easier for you to wash off all of the dirt from your fruits and vegetables.

The ability to discourage common garden pests like grasshoppers, weevils, and aphids without using pesticides is very important to maintain your organic garden. The best way to achieve this is to maintain the health and quality of your garden soil. Healthy soil leads to healthy plants, which are better able to withstand pests and illnesses.

A natural, albeit somewhat tedious, way to keep pests and fungus from destroying your organic fruit crop is to use plastic zipper bags. When the fruits are still young on the branches, place them in large zipper bags secured at the top with staples. Cut off a bottom corner to allow for adequate drainage.

A great tip that can help improve your organic gardening is to start keeping a gardening journal. Noting all of the changes that occur and when they occur, can be great information to have. A gardening journal can help your next year of gardening be much more successful.

Collecting rainwater is the natural way to supply yourself with water for all your organic gardening needs. You can simply build your own system of rain barrels or buy them ready made. That way, you won’t have to pay for water for your garden or lawn maintenance. Caution is needed! Covers are suggested to cut down on mosquitoes and other pests that can be attracted to standing water.

Plant some fennel in your outdoor garden. Ladybugs are a wonderful addition to any garden, as they eat aphids and help to keep your plants healthy. If you plant fennel, you can attract ladybugs to your garden area and thus, help all of your plants. This beneficial herb is easy to grow, and easy to care for too.

One of the best things about a garden is that once you put in the initial labor, you can sit back and enjoy the fruits – or vegetables – of this labor as your garden begins to grow. Make sure that you’re using these tips correctly if you want to experience the best possible results with your organic garden.

Tags: organic alternatives, organic compost, organic gardening, organic vegies, planting gardens