What Is Organic Gardening?

The simple answer is “gardening without using synthetic fertilizers and / or harmful pesticides or herbicides on vegetation.” But gardening organically is much more than what you do not do. When you garden organically, you think of your plants as an important part of a huge system within mother nature which begins in the soil and includes the water supply, humans, wildlife, as well as bugs. An organic gardener tries to work harmoniously with nature and to continually renew resources a garden consumes.

You may say that building garden soil is a defining work of organic and natural gardening. The simplest way to ensure soil success is to consistently add more organic matter, making use of locally available resources wherever possible. Everyone has access to the natural substances of organic matter, because our lawns, gardens, and kitchen areas make them every single day. Grass clippings, fallen leaves, vegetable scraps from your kitchen, as well as other such decaying plant waste are the building blocks of compost, the perfect organic matter for your garden soil. The bacterias in garden soil (particularly fungi and bacteria) feed on organic matter, breaking it down into nutrients and vitamins that can be taken up by plants’ the roots of plants. By frequently mixing organic matter into the garden soil, you collaborate in the natural cycle of birth, growth, decay, and regeneration.

The plant nutrients and vitamins in artificial fertilizers, however, deliver no benefits to the valuable organisms in the soil. During heavy rains, synthetic fertilizers wash away and into streams, rivers, and lakes, where they result in rampant algae growth that chokes out other water life. Synthetic fertilizers affect vegetation in very similar way that steroids act on our bodies. Surely, they will often increase wonderful growth in the short term, but over time they weaken plants’ natural defenses and make them vulnerable to pests and diseases. Furthermore, several synthetic fertilizers are petroleum based, so they force to pay a price on the natural environment even before they are used in a garden.

If you focus on building your soil, you can grow and maintain nutritious, strong plants, and you will have plenty of insects in and around your organic garden. That’s a good thing, since the vast majority of insects in your garden are either useful or at least not destructive. Most home gardeners become restless and even respond decisively whenever they see “insects” on their plants or flowers. Before you think about using chemical bug sprays, keep in mind that most of them have been associated with increased rates of most cancers and other illnesses amongst people and pets. Additionally they harm songbirds, freshwater fish, and other creatures.

Does that mean organic gardeners must allow their plots to be decimated by insects? Absolutely no. Keep in mind the main concept of organic gardening: growing plants and flowers in harmony with mother nature. Pests absolutely are a important element of that system. If you see bugs eating your plants, take the opportunity to observe what they are really doing. Are they actually destroying the plant or simply nibbling it a little? Many plants can grow out of insignificant damage. Also, insects typically go after stressed-out plants and flowers. Do you have enough strong plants to spare the sickly ones? Can you recover sickly plants and flowers to robust health so that they can defend against insect attack?

About the Author: Johnny Cornish is an expert in laptop products. You can read more about his work at notebook & netbook computer reviews and tips.