Organic Vegetable Gardening - How to Produce Mouth-Watering Vegetables & Healthy Soil Articles | Garden Information Center

Lots of studies have already proven that organic gardening makes all the difference in producing tasty, ripe vegetables.

It's always important for us to be on the same page on the main "thrust" of it: you should never use chemical pesticides and synthetic fertilizers in your garden!

It might be easier in some ways but your garden will suffer for it!

...besides, you wouldn't be able to say you have an "organic" garden and that would disappoint me personally! :)

Organic Gardening Is Really A *Unique* Frame Of Mind

First let me say that I am not trying to get all "new age-y" on you here and start talking about "the zen art of gardening"... :)

I do, however, think it's important for you to have a *complete* picture of organic gardens so that you'll understand what comes next: exactly how to produce great tasting vegetables and healthy, rich soil!

So here's the deal: Think of an organic garden as a whole "system" that works within our nature. It all starts with healthy soil, includes a water source, people to cultivate and care for the garden, insects - beneficial ones that are healthy for the garden or unwanted pests - they call it home as well.

The organic gardener (that's you!) works with nature to maintain their garden - you don't want to do more harm to the environment - and here's the big thing - organic gardening actually replenishes the garden with even more nutrients!

That's the complete opposite of chemical gardening, which literally depletes your garden of nutrients and makes it worse off than before!

How To Produce Healthy Soil That's Rich In Nutrients

The "secret" to keeping your soil healthy is replenish the nutrients that your plants used last season.

So how do you do that? Easy! Just go into your compost pile - you always should be keeping one! - and mix that stuff in with your soil. If your compost pile isn't up to speed you can go out and buy organic soil additives like bonemeal or phosphates.

Step 1 to healthy soil: Get your soil tested.

If you're starting a new garden or never had your soil tested, that's the very first thing you need to do - it's the only way to know if you're improving it later on!

You can get commercial tests that not only give you soil composition numbers but also make recommendations on how to improve it. You can also get 'home' self-testing kits and run the test yourself!

So here's what the test does: it tells you your soil composition, the pH and if any nutrients are out of balance.

How To Take Care Of Your Soil So It Stays Healthy

After testing your soil you can then add organic matter - decaying plants, grass clippings from mowing your lawn, fall leaves, even vegetable scraps from your kitchen! - these things will prepare the ground to grow healthy plants.

Again, those things I just mentioned should all be going into your compost pile!

How To Keep Healthy Plants

Now that your soil is in order you can focus on the fun part: your plants!

If you're planting seeds, make sure you get healthy, organically grown seeds. Otherwise if you're getting plants straight from a nursery, make sure they're a good fit for your soil conditions before you buy the plant!

I recommend choosing plants that grow naturally in your local area. They'll save you time and require much less upkeep & maintenance from you!

The point is, if you start out right by preparing your soil and selecting the right plants I promise your garden will not only succeed but it will thrive!