The basic principle of organic gardening is growing things without the use of any synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. When you garden organically, you want to make sure that you manage your whole garden and lawn that way. That means you don't use lawn chemicals on your grass and then say your vegetable garden is organic.

Getting Started

The best way to start an organic garden is with organic seeds or starter plants. Pass up any genetically modified seeds or plants. Try going for organic heritage seeds and plants to preserve natural plant species. To keep care to a minimum, also choose plants that are native to your area.

Even in the garden, you should adopt the principles of reduce and reuse. Collect rainwater and gray water to water your garden. Don't burn yard trash; turn leaves, yard clippings, and organic waste into mulch and compost.

Keeping Pests Away

Having bug problems in your garden? The old-fashioned way to deal with bugs without pesticides is by using an all-natural, biodegradable soap spray. Dr. Bronner's soaps are a good choice. You mix about 3 tablespoons of the soap per gallon of water and spray it directly onto the plants to get rid of pesky bugs. This will kill most soft-bodied insects such as aphids, mealy bugs, spider mites, stinkbugs, crickets, and grasshoppers. Be careful, though, because some plants can be damaged by spraying too much. Cabbage, cucumbers, and melons should not be sprayed with soap mixtures.

Diatomaceous earth can be safely used throughout your garden, as can a natural pesticide derived from chrysanthemums called pyrethrum.

Having problems with mosquitoes while you're working in your garden? Combine a base oil with a strong-smelling essential oil such as mint, eucalyptus, citronella, or tea tree oil and rub the mixture on your body. Vinegar is another natural deterrent if you can stand the smell yourself. Is something nibbling on your growing goodies? Hot sauce sprays and hot pepper powders sprayed or sprinkled on your plants can get keep a variety of critters away from your plants, including many insects, snails, deer, rabbits, and even snakes.

Cultivating beneficial plants, insects, and animals are great ways to keep unwanted bugs out of your garden and your home. The growth of pennyroyal and peppermint around your yard will help keep fleas away. Asters repel many insects, basil repels flies and mosquitoes, borage helps deter tomato worm, and calendula and chrysanthemums repel most insects. Garlic will help keep Japanese beetles at bay, while marigolds make sure there are no Mexican bean beetles or nematodes in their area. Peppermint planted next to cabbage can keep away the cabbage butterfly.

Strips of aluminum foil mixed in with the mulch can keep bugs off your plants as well as reflecting light onto them. Ground-up banana peels should be buried into the soil about two inches deep around roses and other plants that are prone to aphid infestations. Bananas are also a great natural fertilizer because they are rich in potassium.

IPM can also be practiced outside. Water plants correctly, physically pick unwanted insects off plants, mulch well, and cover delicate plants with lightweight row covers to keep away pests naturally.

Making your yard wildlife friendly is a very green thing. With their natural habitats dwindling, animals will be drawn to and benefit from the safe areas you create for them. Plant dense shrubs and provide a few dead logs, a rock garden, and a little cave or burrow area. Include a water feature and you've just created a wildlife-friendly habitat for a variety of critters. Add some bird feeders, birdbaths, squirrel feeders, and a couple of bat houses and you'll practically have a nature preserve right in your own yard.

Further Resources

Many organic gardeners also actively compost. If you compost all your food scraps and yard clippings, you should have an unlimited supply of healthy garden fertilizer readily available. Andrew Lopez's Natural Pest Control: Alternatives to Chemicals for the Home and Garden has a chapter devoted to composting and gives very helpful advice for the organic gardener. If you really want to learn a lot about organic gardening, Rodale Publishing has put out many books on the topic, including Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening, an all-inclusive one-stop resource for everything about organic gardening.

Gardening is a greatly beneficial way to be a part of nature and live in a green way. The benefits of gardening are many. It will improve your health, help you relax and get in shape, put you out in nature, and give you a sense of accomplishment. Plus, you are growing your own healthy food and beautiful flowers.

Incorporating eco-responsible choices into your world for every aspect of your life does not have to be overly time-consuming or expensive. Green living can and will become a natural part of your life with just a little effort. It really is all worth it to make life a natural and safer experience for you and your family, and it is a wonderful way to reduce your footprint on the planet and make sure that the beauty of nature will be preserved for generations to come.