The process of organic home gardening has garnered plenty of attention recently, as many are turning to other sources for the food they eat.Many gardeners are pleased to learn just how easy and economical organic gardening can be.With a small area of ground and a few basics under your gardening belt, you can begin growing an organic crop right in your own backyard.This article will provide the basics of organic gardening so you will be ready to get started as soon as the next growing season rolls around.

When beginning organic home gardening, the first question to ask is exactly what makes a garden organic?Organic gardening is the process of growing crops of all kinds without the use of chemicals or synthetic substances of any kind.Instead, elements from nature are used to feed and protect the crops so they can grow as naturally as possible.The end product is a crop that is environmentally friendly as well as safe and healthy for your entire family.

To begin a successful organic home gardening experience, you must first have healthy soil that will help the plants to grow and thrive.To make a nutrient-rich soil, begin with a compost creation that you make by adding food scraps, coffee grounds and other organic matter throughout the year.These ingredients can be kept in a makeshift compost bin right in your own backyard, until it is ready to be added to your garden soil.Avoid adding potentially unhealthy ingredients to your compost pile, such as animal waste, diseased plants or those that have been treated with chemical fertilizers or pesticides.

When spring rolls around, you can incorporate your organic compost into your garden soil before spading it up and getting it ready for spring.It is also a good idea to test a sampling of your soil to ensure the right mix of nutrients are included to help your crops thrive.Soil testing can either be done at home or by taking a sample to your local nursery or extension office for analysis.Healthy soil is the first line of defense against diseases and pests that can kill your crops, so take the time to prepare your soil well.

Organic home gardening helps you grow food for your family that is both safe and healthy to eat.When you begin with your own organic compost and healthy soil, you are much more likely to enjoy healthy, thriving crops.A bountiful harvest will ensure everyone in your family appreciates your organic gardening efforts to the fullest.

Many people have turned to organic gardening today.Chemicals are known to harm the environment and many organic gardeners understand this and avoid the use of such chemicals.Organic gardening involves ensuring that the soil is well taken care of and therefore does not require any extra chemicals.When the soil has organic material, it becomes moist, airy and very fertile.These qualities are the most ideal for healthy plants regardless of the time of year.Organic material in the soil encourages the production of earthworms and other natural organisms that release healthy bacteria into the soil.The organisms also allow the roots of the plant to grow deeper and therefore ensure that the plant reaches into the ground to get water and nutrients.

Since organic gardening does not involve the use of chemicals, it makes it very easy for gardeners to maintain their gardens because all they need is the sun, water and nutritious soil.Learning how to make and use compost manure is very important to ensure that the soil has the nutritional value plants require.Compost can be made in many ways even easily at home.Leaves, kitchen waste and other household waste can be layered and left to decompose in a pit or bin.To ensure that the desired compost is produced gardeners should mix hard and brown waste with green and soft waste in almost equal portions and leave them to decompose.The waste can be put in a corner in the yard in bins with lids that have a passage at the bottom.The opening at the bottom of the bin is to allow gardeners take out decomposed waste in bits and leave the rest to continue decaying.

To ensure that the decaying waste starts off in the right direction, a bit of already decayed waste should be added.This process also speeds up the decomposition as compared to letting it decay naturally.The decayed compost added is called compost starter and can also be bought over the internet or in gardening stores.These compost starters bought in shops have enzymes and nutrients that speed up the decomposition process as well.This is mostly effective if the waste is hard and brown such as wood shavings and other wooden waste.Sprinkling the compost starter on the top layer enables the decomposition process to take off easily.The food and plants produced from organic gardens is healthy and safe enough and can be consumed by children and adults and it is also much cheaper than using commercial compost.

If you are planning an organic garden this year, be aware that this type of garden may take a lot of planning and preparation of your soil.You will want to map it out before starting to plant.Should you be planning on an organic garden, you will want to map it out before starting to plant.There are some herbs and flowers that can act as a natural insecticide and you would want these to boarder the outside of the garden.

Lavender is one of the herb families that can deter pests in your garden.Lavender may be planted in both the spring and fall, it has long stems, and narrow green leaves.One should plant this around the perimeter of the garden plot.Although we might love the fragrance, garden pests cannot stand it making it great for organic gardening.

One herb that can be planted most anywhere in your garden and is visually appealing as well is the Chive.Sweet basil is also said to have traditional medicinal value and the oil from the plant has antibacterial properties.This is one of the most popular and used herb of the organic garden.It has the reputation of repelling insects naturally; this includes the Japanese beetles as well as carrot rust flies.For the organic gardener, you will definitely want to plant some sweet basil in your garden.

Another herb that has the reputation of being a natural insecticide is sweet basil.This herb can be planted most anywhere in your garden is visually appealing as well.The oil from the plant has antibacterial properties, and the fragrance will repel flying insects.The chive can be used straight out of the garden, or you can dry the leave for later use in your cooking.This is one of the most used and planted herb in most organic gardens today.

If you plan your organic garden early on with the right types of herbs surrounding your vegetables, insects may not be a problem to begin with.    It is suggested to spray your plants directly at least weekly with a hand sprayer.This will be your favorite dish soap.It is suggested to spray the area at least weekly with this mixture.You can mix the soap and water and safely spray the area, or if you have a large garden, put the dish soap into a sprayer that hooks into your garden hose.

Are you upset at the amount of bugs and insects that infest your garden and which you presume are the root cause of all your gardening woes?As it happens, only a very small percentage of these insects, about 5% in all, can really hurt your garden and many help by carrying pollen from plant to plant and aiding fertilization.Even those that do not actively help your garden work for you by eating weeds or feeding of the eggs and larvae of the harmful insects.Of course, there are still many insect species that can ruin your garden and which have to be kept away.

Being an organic gardener you are already encouraging natural biological organic gardening pest control.Obviously you do not want to use chemical based pest control sprays and so on in your garden – it will no longer be organic.However, there are many natural herbs and other ingredients that can be used as organic gardening pest control materials – things you can make for yourself.Besides keeping your garden organic, these organic garden pest control measures are both safe to use and can result in a large savings over the use of commercial chemical products.

You can find details of how to make these organic pesticides in any detailed organic gardening guide but in general they come in five types.Strong odors drive away many insects and an organic gardening pest control spray made from strong smelling substances like tobacco, garlic and onions is very effective.A lot of plants give off odors that humans cannot smell but are strong enough to drive away insects and a spray made up of water in which these plants have been soaked is an effective organic gardening pest control method.A soapy spray will remain on the plants for a longtime and repel many insects and there are many organic detergents and soaps can be used to make this.If the bugs need to be killed off, you could try a spray made of a mixture of vegetable and mineral oils which will form an oily coating on the bugs and suffocate them.The final basic type of organic gardening pest control spray is made of alcohol and chilies that burns the insects and kills them off without harming the plants.

Any detailed resource on organic gardening will provide detailed information on how to make and use organic gardening pest control sprays and powders.Please remember not to get carried away when using these organic gardening pest control methods.Simply because they are organic does not mean that they are harmless and can be used in large amounts – they need to be potent to work and measured use is the best.Also keep in mind that some of the stronger organic gardening pest control sprays can, if used in sunlight, have a chemical reaction that could cause your plants to burn and these must be used only after sunset or when the garden is in the shade.

Preparing organic gardening compost is extremely simple and anyone can do it with no special equipment of specialized training.Although it is common to see compost being created in special bins or barrels, this is not really needed and it can be done in the open.What is required is that the compost is in contact with the soil during the forming process so that the organisms present in the soil can mix with the compost and, if this is not possible (if the compost is on a concrete slab for example) then soil should be added to it so that the organisms can form part of the process.Since composting takes some length of time, having 3 or 4 compost piles in various stages of development will ensure that you always have enough compost available for your gardening needs.

Organic gardening compost is made up of two main components – materials that have a high carbon content and materials that are rich in nitrogen.The carbon and nitrogen material should be mixed in equal proportion to produce the best results.High nitrogen materials that are great components of organic gardening compost are things like manure, soya bean and cotton seed meal, table scraps, cut grass and so on.High carbon materials to be added to organic gardening compost are those that are dry and bulky like pine needles, straw, hay, leaves, etc.

Top soil, although it feels solid to touch, is 50% water and air and good organic gardening compost should also be the same – too dense and it will not mix with the soil.Grinding up the materials you add to the compost pile in small – but not too fine – particles is the best way to keep the compost from becoming to dense and maintaining the consistency that allows it to mix easily into the soil.In case grinding the materials going into the compost is not possible, do not let it worry you Рthe final product will still be usable.It is also essential to keep the compost moist but not so wet that water may be squeezed out.

It is best to leave the compost pile alone while the decay and fermenting are happening, except of, course for maintaining the dampness.Do not let the heat that emanates from the compost pile worry you – temperatures in the pile can easily reach 150 plus degrees F and this is normal.Turning the pile during the composting process (recommended by some experts) is rarely required and it is better to just leave it alone- turning can slow down or accelerate the natural composting process and unless you are sure of what you are doing, it is best avoided.The best thing about organic gardening compost is that it is a completely natural process and with a little care, nothing can really go wrong and the result will always be usable compost.