David L. Culp | Author, The Layered Garden
Beyond the harm to local wildlife, any chemicals we used in our garden might end up polluting our well, or run off the property. In a heavy rainstorm, this runoff may end up in nearby Beaver Creek, a tributary to the Brandywine Creek, which runs into the Delaware River, which flows into the Atlantic Ocean. These kinds of direct connections with the outside world exist in every garden, which is why I think we should always aim, in our gardening practices, to do the least harm and the greatest good.
Do you want to start an organic garden? Stuck on how to go about it?
Not to worry, since the article will walk you through how as a novice, you can have your first organic garden.
For starters, organic gardening involves gardening without using any synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. So, it will entail a system whereby the plants get nourished alongside sustaining the beneficial soil insects and the soil microbes.
There are many reasons why organic gardening is beneficial. Not only is it better for healthy living, but it also cuts down the cost of purchasing organic vegetables. And organic gardening is not only better for your health, but it’s also better for the soil and the environment.
Before we move on, there is no way a single article could ever cover all you need to know about growing things organically. What I can do here, is give you some beginner organic gardening tips, besides the obvious "don't use chemicals."
My goal is to inspire you to get started — even if it's a simple container garden at first!
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10 Organic Gardening Tips for Beginners
For a gardening enthusiast like me, nothing feels fulfilling like walking around a garden full of life. The look of vegetables, flowers, and trees blend everything into a complete therapeutic treat. Growing your plants organically is a step to healthy living.
So, let’s discuss how you can start a successful organic garden as a beginner.
Tip #1: Purchase Essential Gardening Tools
If you are starting off, you definitely have no farm tools. To start an organic garden, you will require some basic farm tools. These will include a hoe, spade, rake, gloves, gumboots, and a watering can. Essential farm tools will help you put up a garden and undertake daily farm activities like watering and weeding.
Tip #2: Choose the Right Garden Location
An ideal location should have at least 6 hours of sunlight (and that's a bare minimum for many plants). Sunlight is essential and promotes photosynthesis. Lack of sunlight translates to the poor performance of the plants.
Also, pick a position that is not hilly—it dries up quickly while lowlands flood easily.
I recommend the use of raised beds to avoid disturbances in the garden. Nevertheless, if you are unsure of an ideal position, use containers—they can be moved depending on the weather.
Tip #3: Always Use Good Soil
What do I mean by getting good soil? I mean in terms of nutrients composition and PH. Get a soil test. Soil testing depicts the nutritional value of your garden soil as well as the PH level.
Remember, every plant has different nutritional and PH requirements.
You can get a self-soil testing kit or have a local extension officer carry the test. Having a professional agronomist is advantageous since they will recommend solutions to fix your soil needs.
So, after you get the results, use the recommended solutions to fix your soil nutrient value and PH.
Tip #4: Get Quality Plants
You can choose to germinate your seeds or purchase seedlings from your local market. Planting your seeds is advantageous since you will observe organic practices throughout the gardening process—although it is time-consuming. If you purchase from the local market, insist on seedlings established in an organic setup.
Tip #5: Start Small at First
Don’t be overwhelmed. Start small. After some time, you will be an experienced gardener and expand your garden. A big garden is wanting; it calls for more watering, weeding, and tending the plants. If you start big, you may get overshadowed by the chores and eventually end up getting frustrated.
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Tip #6: Give Your Plants Water
Plants require water to germinate and more so to achieve high yields. Remember, excessive watering of your plants is harmful. So, stick your finger in the soil— one inch; if the soil is moist, do not water the plant, but if the soil is dry, water your plant.
Keep an eye on your plants; make sure they get enough water all the time.
Tip #7: Feed Your Plants
Like humans, plants need to feed. You feed the soil, and the soil feeds the plant. In organic gardening, we use compost manure or organic fertilizers to feed the soil. Unlike synthetic fertilizers, compost feeds the soil and can be made using locally available materials like food scraps, grass clipping, or leaves.
Tip #8: Make Sure to Mulch
We discussed the importance of watering your plants regularly. I can attest that it is a tedious and engaging activity. But, mulching comes in handy to ease the labor. A good mulch will reduce the watering frequency drastically—reduces the evaporation of water.
Moreover, mulching eliminates weeds—they lack sunlight and die naturally. Therefore, if you invest in good mulch, you will not worry about weeds.
So, we can say mulching will save not only your time but also your energy.
Tip #9: Practice Crop Rotation
A successful gardener practices crop rotation. Why is it necessary? Different plants have different nutritional requirements. Therefore, if you plant the same plant in the same plot repeatedly, it will end up depriving some nutrients of the soil; this leads to the poor performance of the plant over time.
When choosing the plants to rotate with, chose plants from different families. For instance, you cannot rotate tomatoes and potatoes or beans and peas. Plants of the same family require almost the same nutrients to give good yields. For example, you can rotate corns with beans. Corns are heavy nitrogen feeders, while beans fix nitrogen back to the soil.
Importantly, crop rotation combats pests and diseases by interrupting their cycle. Planting the same plant over time harbors some pests and diseases. Furthermore, crop rotation improves soil health as well as increasing the biodiversity of the garden.
Tip #10: Attract Beneficial Pollinators
Pollination is paramount for plants to thrive. A bumper harvest is attributed to a successful pollination and fertilization. Successful fertilization calls for pollinators—bees are the best pollinators for many fruits and vegetables. You can attract them through planting beautiful flowers near your garden. Flowers will not only attract pollinators but also improves your space aesthetically.
Closing Remarks
Organic gardening is beautiful, and importantly it helps us achieve healthy living while cutting down the cost. The above pointers are just the basic things you need to know as a beginner. As you jump into gardening, you will learn many things, including pests and diseases and other farm practices.
Go out there, get your hands dirty, make mistakes, learn, and more importantly, thrive. Every aspect of organic gardening calls for patience and the urge to learn every day.
Good luck!!!