Tips for Starting a New Organic Garden

When you work alongside Mother Nature in your yard, you’ll rarely have a need to use synthetic fertilizers or chemical pesticides, which are continually leaching into our soil, air and waterways. That’s dangerous, inefficient and short-term thinking for your yard and neighborhood.

Here are some tips to get your garden started in healthy and sustainable style:

Think Small

Think small. Designing your entire yard at once can be a daunting project unless you’re a professional landscape designer. Look at gardening design books and magazines, and conquer sections of your yard one at a time. If it’s a large yard, consider looking up a local landscape designer to help you. Find qualified designers in your town through the Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD).

It’s all about Soil

Soil is the mastermind of your garden. The biggest mistake novice gardeners make is NOT amending their soil from the start. Adding compost to your soil each spring and fall will help retain moisture and nutrients, improve drainage, allow air in and support beneficial organisms, such as the earthworm, the busy tiller of the earth! Once the frost has passed in your area, shovel 3-4 inches of fresh compost right on top of your soil. Cover that layer with 2-3 inches of mulch. Some good options for mulch are straw, wood chips or leaves.

You can purchase bags or yards of compost from your local landscape supply. If you have space in your yard for a compost bin, you can have fresh compost ready right on site. For city dwellers, a small worm box can fit comfortably under the kitchen sink. Worm castings are full of nutrients for your plants. At first, worms can be a bit unsightly but soon you too will learn to worship the worm! (Available at www.happydranch.com)

Choose the Correct Plants for the Place

Shop! While drooling over flower photographs in catalogues or online, remember to choose some insectary plants (flowers that have nectar and pollen accessible to beneficial insects) such as Cosmos, Rudbeckia, Marigolds, Sunflower, Lavender, Lemon Balm and Sweet alyssum. By planting flowers that encourage beneficial bugs, the good bugs will outnumber the perilous pests and you’ll have no need to spray toxic pesticides in your backyard.

Go to your local nursery, not the huge chain store with a garden center. These large stores that don’t specialize in plants don’t have enough knowledge about plants that thrive in your climate zone. When you go to a local plant nursery, not only will you get one on one customer service from someone who knows plants but you’ll also be supporting a local small business and the local economy. Choose some perennial plants and some annuals (flowers that only live for one season in your yard).

Lose the Lawn

Large Lawns are Like Leg-Warmers! They’re both so 1980’s. Lawns are a nice idea if you live in New England or Minnesota and have those magical summer rainstorms but if you’re in the Southwest or in California, start taking out part of your lawn slowly and replacing thirsty, needy turf with groundcovers or a native wildflower mix. (Eco-lawn is available at www.wildflowerfarm.com)

According to the EPA, 67 million pounds of pesticides are applied to roughly 30 million acres of lawns in the U.S. each year and homeowners are using 40-60 percent of their summer water allotment on their lawn. With droughts popping up around the country, we all should consider growing less lawn.

Lastly, be patient. Nature is not out there spinning a baton; She’s in no rush and she loves to nap! A garden is always a work in progress. Some seasons look better than others, but it’s the lifelong relationship you’ll create with your garden that is one of its unexpected gifts.