Starting an Organic Garden

First in starting your organic garden, choose your location that hasn't been sprayed with chemical pesticides, insecticides or fertilizers. You need an area that gets adequate sunshine and that has good drainage. While planning ask yourself some questions. How big do you want to go? How much room do you have? Draw out your space on paper using a ruler and draw in ¼"=1’-0" scale. Graph paper also works. Are there areas that don’t get as much sunshine as others? If so, this is where you want to plant herbs and other cooler weather plants. Will you do raised beds or plant in the ground?

Next step in starting an organic garden is to make a list of all the types of fruits and vegetables you want to incorporate and give them all a number. Don’t forget to add beneficial plants like marigold, garlic and herbs.

Now, you’ll need to decide where to place everything. Label your numbered plants onto your plan. I plant my rows from north to south, but depending on your space you may have to do differently. This is a great time to learn about companion planting and what needs to go next to what and where things don’t like to be. For instance, don’t plant potatoes next to tomatoes, plant tomatoes with basil.. etc. There’s a great book called Carrots love tomatoes (available below) that can help tremendously with learning the how-to-s of great companion planting. You’ll also need to know how far apart to plant your seeds which can be determined from the seed packet information.

You need to decide what you will use for plant food, whether compost, worm castings, or other options. Also, decide what you will use in case of disease and pests. Having these on hand prior to the problems can help prevent Murphy law from invading. What will you use for mulching? Do you have leaves or clippings that can be utilized? Will you start seedlings or buy plants? Do you know where to purchase quality organic seeds and plants? You’ll need to research different varieties that fit well with your climate and taste. Once you’ve got you layout and ingredients figured out, it’s time to plan the actions.

While starting an organic garden you can choose to sow seeds indoors to get a head start on the season. Many fruits such as tomatoes and melons have a longer growing season but getting a jump on the seedlings can help from prolonging harvest. There are many great seed starting kits available. Check your local nursery or order online.

Now the work begins in starting an organic garden. Measure out twine the length and width of your garden and tie the twine onto stakes. Place stakes at all corners of the area where your garden will be to form a perfect rectangle. Cut the existing sod with the tip of a shovel and peel the sod away. If you have lots of weeds, make sure they get pulled out or buried deep. If you have a rototiller, you can use that to make the next part easier. You need to loosen the soil and blend in organic matter. Add organic topsoil several inches on the top of the beds. I like to add earthworm casings near the roots as I plant each section.

Planning a garden is half the fun in starting an organic garden. Congratulations, now that you’ve got your plan in place and your area ready, it’s time to start planting!