Organic Gardening at Home

photo by Steven De Polo

What is organic gardening? What are the 'rules' that a home gardener has to follow to practice this more eco-friendly version of an already environmentally-friendly past time? What are the benefits of practicing organic home gardening rather then sticking with more conventional methods?

Organic gardening at home is fun, really easy and very rewarding. Where commercial farmers face many challenges in converting to organic, sustainable methods, the home gardener has it easy. With a few simple changes and some patience you can have your own organic garden and organic vegetables, fruits and herbs to enjoy.

Essentially organic gardening is simply growing plants without the use of anything synthetic. Instead of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, eco-friendly alternatives are used such as homemade compost to nourish and improve the soil and techniques such as companion planting to help manage pests. Everything that is put into the earth or used to encourage growth is natural, beneficial and never poses any risk, such as tainting the soil with chemicals.

The result? Produce is also free of toxins (unless there are still some chemical residues in the soil from previous years or even from nearby pollutants). Fruits, vegetables and herbs are fresh and full of flavor. You don't have to pay extra to have organic produce in your kitchen — the organic home gardener grows it themselves. Also, the soil quality is improved for the future.

Fertilizers such as compost, manure, bone meal and other natural substances add nutrients to the soil and beneficial microbes and improve soil texture. Natural mulches such as organic coir, pine needles, straw and compost also act as a source of nourishment. Techniques such as companion planting and crop rotation serve to encourage optimal growth and maintain nutrient balance and sustainability. Basically, organic home gardening is all about being positive. Everyone wins, the gardener, the soil and the environment. With proper techniques and your own home compost pile there isn't even the need to spend more money to go organic.

While organic gardening is much more than a few simple changes, in fact it is more of a philosophy, to step into the world of eco-friendly gardening practices you really don't need to leap that far.