Organic. It seems that more and more these days, this is a word that many people look for. Not only in what they eat, but also what they wear and even what they may grow themselves. With community gardens popping up in major cities around the world, you too can now grow your own garden!
Whilst it may sound relatively straightforward to create your own organic garden, especially since many people equate this to mean that you use less chemicals. It isn’t always the case. When you are creating your own organic garden, there are certain things that you need to think about, that you need to consider before you even start.
To help you along the way, we have put together our guide for starting an organic garden. A checklist that you can use to make sure that you have everything in place and ready to go.
1. Invest in Fruit Cages.
One important piece of equipment that you need for your organic garden is a safe place for your crops to grow. This is where Fruit Cages come in handy. Fruit Cages are designed to make sure that anything that you grow in your garden is protected. Whether that is protected from pests, or protected from the elements.
The great thing about Fruit Cages is that they come in any shape or size, and you don’t need a huge garden in order for them to work for you.
2. The tools of the trade.
No gardener, whether organic or not, is ever going to be able to grow anything without the right tools. This means that when you first decide to set up an organic garden, you need to consider the tools that are going to be required.
Of course, one of the first thing that you are going to need to buy is a trowel set. It is really worthwhile investing in a good quality, ergonomic set as this will help your hands. You should also ensure that you have garden gloves, again top quality to protect your hands and also a lightweight watering can too.
3. Always have a compost.
A key part of organic farming has to be compost. After all, those plants are going to need something to feed them. Not only does compost help your garden to grow, but it also helps you to dispose of any food waste that you may have in your home. Which is great for the environment too. Having a compost is one of the things that optimises organic gardening and is a must have for any organic garden.
You don’t have to have a fancy tub for your compost, sometimes a pile is all that you need. What you need us to ensure that you have the right mix of materials. You need to have plenty of organic waste, which is full of carbon and nitrogen. You will need to layer the carbon material (which is the brown material, e.g leaves and garden trimmings) and the nitrogen material (green which is kitchen scraps), all with a thin layer of soil in between.
4. Test your soil first.
Before you start any form of gardening, but in particular organic gardening, you need to make sure that your soil is in tip top condition. Your plants need to eat, just like you do, so the best soil is going to deliver them all the fresh nutrients that they so desperately need. The best way to gauge the quality of the soil is to test it, you can do this with either a home testing kit or by sending a sample fo your collected soil to your local agricultural office.
Once you know what condition your soil is in, you can start to plan in what treatments (if any) to use and what is going to grow the best.
Creating your own organic garden is incredibly worthwhile, in no time at all you will have a beautiful garden that is packed full of flowers and plants. Not only this, but that is also fully organic too. There really is nothing more satisfying then knowing that you have grown everything for yourself, and that in doing so, you are going to have a positive impact on the environment around you too. Something that we should all be trying to do more!
Photo by Alex Loup
