Success in growing ornamentals, flowering annuals or vegetables organically is a long-term process and results from a number of garden practices rather than a single production practice. Organic gardening involves employment of particular practices for creating a sustainable growing environment; such as using disease-resistant cultivars; crop rotation; incorporation of organic matter; proper plant spacing; mulches; planting in the correct season; reducing plant stress; organic pesticides; biodiversity; cultivation; use of clean, healthy transplants, where possible; developing a habitat for beneficial insects; proper fertilization; trap crops; and sanitation. The primary difference between conventional and organic gardening is that organic gardening uses all-natural materials rather than relying on synthetic pesticides or fertilizers.
The use of organic matter, such as compost, is an essential component to building a healthy organic soil, and a healthy soil is critical for successful organic gardening. Organic matter helps improve the water-holding capacity of fine soils, loosen hard clay soils and enhance the activity of soil microorganisms. Organic matter also helps supply some of the nutrient needs to plants that typically are provided from composted animal manures such as cow, horse, rabbit and chicken manure. Manures when utilized for vegetable production, but they should be composted prior to adding to the soil in order to stabilize the nitrogen, reduce the viability of weed seeds in the manure and destroy any harmful pathogens that may be present such as salmonella and/or E-coli. The use of mulch also is an important component for successful organic gardening because it benefits the control of weeds, prevents soil erosion and compaction, conserves soil moisture and prevents crusting. Common mulch materials used for organic gardening include newspaper, leaves, hay, straw, compost and plastic mulch.
One of the major concerns for anyone who gardens organically is pest management. Organic gardeners actually have a wide array of practices as well as organic pesticides with which to manage pests. In general, organic gardeners encourage natural predators by creating habitats and allowing the buildup of predator insects to control pest populations. They also use biological diversity, planting many different crop species and using companion plantings. Companion planting relies on the concept that different plants in a garden may be beneficial together or deleterious. For example, some plants such as marigolds, are known to repel insect pests but attract beneficials. The last resort for organic gardeners is organic pesticides, although organic pesticides such as Neem, Pyrethrum, Rotenone, insecticidal soaps, insect baits and traps often work well and are all-natural, organic products.
Organic gardening can be successfully accomplished by creating a sustainable garden through the use of gardening practices that utilize natural biological cycles, enhance diversity and are ecologically sound. These are the necessary components which have all been used for centuries -- well before the advent of modern pesticide chemicals.