We’ve put together 10 of our favorite organic gardening tips to help you grow a healthier, more productive crop. Enjoy!
1. If you can not use finished compost for a while cover the pile with a tarp to avoid leaching the nutrients out of the compost.
2. Companion planting is an excellent way to improve your garden. Some plants replenish nutrients lost by another one, and some combinations effectively keep pests away.
3. Dry your herbs at the end of the summer by tying sprigs together to form small bunches. Tie them together with a rubber band and hang, tips down, in a dry place out of the sun. Keep the bunches small to ensure even circulation. Store dry in labeled canning jars, either whole or crumbled. Freezing is also a good way to preserve herbs.
4. Water in the morning to help avoid powdery mildew and other fungal diseases that are often spread by high humidity.
5. The longer the growing season the more compost is needed in the soil. A longer growing season requires more nutrients and organic matter in the soil.
6. Attract ladybugs to your garden with nectar-producing plants such as parsley, dill and fennel.
7. Coffee grounds make excellent mulch around acid-loving plants.
8. In general, thinner leaved plants need more water to stay alive, thicker leaved plants need less.
9. Make compost tea by mixing equal parts compost and water and let it sit. Pour this liquid directly onto the soil around healthy, growing plants. Dilute this to 4 parts water to 1 part compost for use on smaller seedlings. Any compost that has not gone into solution can be used to make more tea or used in your garden.
10. New beds require plenty of compost, soil amendments and double digging for that extra kick.
