Growing Organically - Tips - Moondance Organic Gardens

“Organic Growing” is a modern term for a very old activity. For the past few thousand years our ancestors were growing nutritious, healthy food and beautiful flowers without the use of synthetic fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides. We are blessed by the fact that seeds and plants want to grow and be healthy. Our job is to support plant health and enjoy the wonder of nature.

From the Ground Up!

Healthy plants start with healthy soil. Fertile soil is made up of sand, clay, silt and humus or organic matter. Healthy plants are less appetizing to bugs and can handle some nibbling. Resilient plants can withstand more adverse conditions and produce nutrient dense food. “Plants take up the most nutrients in the middle pH range” (The Holistic Garden, Karen York) so maintaining your soil around 7 is helpful.

Black Gold

Compost is one of the best long-term soil builders. It provides slow release nutrients for exceptional plant growth, adds space to the soil and helps retain moisture where the plants can use it. Composting leaves, straw, plant wastes, eggshells, coffee, can also divert many materials from dumpsites.

Green Manure

A very old practice of growing a crop to provide food for the next crop and improving soil structure. Particularly beneficial for growing vegetables but also applicable for flowerbeds. “Using legumes (beans, clover) as a green crop allows nitrogen to be fixed from the air into the soil for use by a following crop.” (Pg47, William Dam Seed Catalogue) Green cover crops can be used to add organic matter into the soil, suppress weeds and prevent erosion. Green crops can also be a helpful part of crop rotation. Lupines are part of the bean family!

Mulch, Mulch, Mulch

Applying a protective cover for exposed earth does a multitude of beneficial things. Mulch conserves moisture, reduces soil compaction, suppresses weed seeds, keeps soils microbes happier and eventually adds organic matter to the soil. Use whatever natural materials are available, pinecones, chopped leaves, newspapers, straw, hay, compost, and of course the many varieties of bark chips available.

Go Wild

Birds are on an ever-vigilant bug patrol, frogs love a snack of slugs, bats eat their weight in mosquitoes every night they get. If your gardens are a haven for all sorts of bugs, animals and amphibians then you will see natures balance at work. Providing the right environment and practicing tolerance to the likes of spiders will benefit your gardens.

Weed Wise

A weed is any plant that is not where you want it. Most importantly remove weeds before they set seed and toss them in your compost pile. (Don’t compost them after they have flowered) Weed after a rain and when the plants are young. Pour boiling water or vinegar mixture on young weeds to dispatch them. If you don’t disturb the soil, new weed seeds will not see the light of day! Plant densely and mulch well.

Biodiversity

Overall health depends on variety. Nature is at her best when there are a wide variety of flowers, herbs, vegetables and wildlife. Water can be an important element to support butterflies, birds and frogs in your gardens. Companion planting is an awareness of the interrelationship between certain plants. For example onion repels cabbage butterflies and help protect roses against mildew and black spot. (Roses Love Garlic) Balance is a key to life and patience is a necessity to get there.

Resources: Gardening is a process of growing. Gather as much information as you can and find out what works for you. Some of the best information comes from the wonderful well-aged gardeners in our own communities. As for books, here are a few that I enjoy.

Beresford-Kroeger, Diana, Bioplanning a North Temperate Garden, Quarry Press Inc., 1999

Coleman, Eliot, The New Organic Grower: A Master’s Manual of Tools and Techniques for the Home and Market Gardener, Chelsea Green Publishing Company, 1995

Riotte, Louise, Roses Love Garlic: Secrets of Companion Planting with Flowers, A.E. McKenzie Co. Ltd., 1990.

York, Karen, The Holistic Garden: Creating Spaces for Health and Healing, Prentice Hall Canada, 2001.

Be healthy with your gardens and enjoy the health that you get from them!

Wishing you happiness and growth,Kim Keckes and Family

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