Organic Gardening - what is it, and how do I do it?

Growing organically is really the good old fashioned type of gardening, practised before synthetic chemicals existed but using modern scientific research to help. It is basically gardening with nature but using natural controls to reduce or eliminate pests and disease and using natural sources of enrichment for the soil.

Organic gardening needs to be a balance of soil fertility, companion planting and encouragement of beneficial wildlife.

Soil Fertility
One of the keys to a healthy organic garden lies in the soil. Good soil promotes healthy plants and healthy plants are far less susceptible to pests and disease.

A compost heap or two, if you have room, is important for organic gardening. Compost is like gold dust. Of course, if you don't have the room, you can buy in organic compost as well, preferably in the Autumn when preparing for the next growing season.

Companion Planting
This involves planting simple things, such as marigolds round the kitchen garden and garlic with the roses, and planning how you are actually going to plant your garden overall. The marigolds will attract hover flies and lady birds whose larvae eat lots of aphids and garlic will deter the aphids. How you actually plant your crops also has a big influence on deterring pests.