An organic garden is more than just a means of providing food; it is a model of what is possible in a community. A lot of people could produce nutritious organic food using a container, a growing box, or a raised bed. Such small-scale ventures can supplement a family with home-grown food, and when supported and encouraged, it can even help supply a community with organic produce, promoting a more sustainable way of living. Organic gardening is a structure that can help us work in harmony with ecological systems and reduce the disturbance of the Earth’s natural biosphere.
Soil Fertility in Organic Gardening
Organic gardeners use fertilizers such as compost, manure, mulches, planting cover crops, and other organic fertilizers to maintain a soil cover throughout most of the year. Such use of organic fertilizers yields a higher organic content in soils than on non-organic farms and helps limit soil degradation and erosion.Other methods are used to supplement existing gardens, such as composting or vermicomposting, which recycle organic matter into very effective organic fertilizers and soil conditioners.
Why Choose Chemical-Free Food?
If we have an unhealthy lifestyle—if we don’t care what, when, or how much we eat and if we don’t exercise—we become weak and ill. This is also true for plants.
We should not copy the standards of large farms. At home, our goal should be to grow different kinds of plants, as growing different varieties next to each other is beneficial if done properly, naturally preventing plants from diseases and bugs. Plant association is a science: if one does not apply this science, then a commonly used option is chemicals. However, using chemicals makes plants weak and unhealthy. It is worth the effort to carefully cultivate our garden instead of choosing the simpler but often more expensive solution.
Around the world, more and more people are trying to return to traditional agricultural practices. It is easier in the beginning to join a small local gardening group or become partners on a working farm. Such first steps are valuable to gain experience, and if we stick to our principles and goals, then that will later bear fruit.
Those who choose the organic way will get their payment not in money, but in healthy food and the satisfaction that comes from living in harmony with nature and the shared environment.
Creating Your Garden, Big or Small
Find a small area where you can grow a few varieties of vegetables. If you don’t want to have problems with weeds, you can use plants that cover the soil, like mustard. This keeps away weeds and keeps the soil moist. It also serves as a natural fertilizer.
If you don’t want to kneel on the ground, build raised beds.
You can create a balcony garden with tomato, chili, basil, or hanging strawberries; it all depends on one’s creativity.
No balcony? You can grow herbs in a window box, especially perennials like rosemary, mint, sage, and marjoram. Simply plant them once and they will live for years.
Gentle Methods of Pest Control
Plant association prevents diseases and keeps pests away. There are many methods in this category, such as planting red onion and carrot next to each other. The smell of both plants keeps away pests that would be drawn to the other.
Planting marigold flowers keeps away eelworms. This is important for root crops but also helps other plants as well. It is also good to plant marigolds next to tomatoes. Marigold is an easily grown flower that attracts bees for pollination, yet keeps away many pests with its scent. Basil is also a good growing partner for tomatoes.
There are several types of homemade sprays that are helpful in keeping insects away from plants, including chili and hot paprika. Nettles are also useful and are a great source of nitrogen, too. Freshly cut nettle at the roots of plants is also a natural pest deterrent. Castile soap mixed with water eliminates bugs and pests if used weekly. It is important to also spray the underside of leaves.
One way to get rid of slugs is to collect and remove them. If boards are placed between the rows in garden beds, slugs will gather underneath because they like damp places. From there we can easily collect them and move them far away to a field where nothing is grown for consumption.
Colorado beetles are more difficult. If you have grown potatoes, you know how much damage they can cause. If we can’t fill the garden with their natural enemies like ducks, then collecting them is another solution. But timing is important: they are rarely seen in the morning or evening but are easily spotted during the day.
If we don’t have much gardening time due to other responsibilities, we can use natural sprays used in organic cultivation. Nowadays, we can buy these in many shops, including traditional agriculture supply shops.
Article written by Hungary association, Öko-völgy Alapítvány
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