Organic Gardening

Organic gardening has been practised for most of the history of cultivated crops, long before synthetic pesticides and fertilisers were developed. Organic gardening uses only naturally occurring materials and takes an integrated approach to controlling pests and diseases and increasing soil fertility.

Prevention rather than cure is a big part of organic gardening and involves attention to weed control, pruning and disposal of diseased plant material, crop rotation, composting and mulching. Look for disease resistant strains when planting. Keep weeds to a minimum. Practise crop rotation and increase the diversity of your vegtable patch to mimic nature so that health problems are reduced and you will provide a better home for beneficial insects.

Composting

Made from waste garden material, compost is an essential ingredient for creating a rich, friable soil and therefore healthy plants. Whether the open heap method is used or the more compact portable compost bins, the principle is the same. Garden waste such as hedge and grass clippings, vegetable scraps, and animal manures are layered to a depth of 20cm then add liberal sprinklings of blood and bone and enough lime to whiten this layer. Lime and blood and bone are added to enable microbes and worms to work faster. Compost activators are useful to add as they contain microbes for speeding decay. Keep adding the layers until a pile of 1.5m is reached. In warm weather with frequent watering and turning compost can be ready in six weeks but it may take over six months at other times.

For further information see the Mitre 10 Guide for Making Compost.

See our Growing Media section for ready bagged compost.

Mulching

Mulching is a layer of material covering the soil which helps conserve soil moisture, keeps down weeds, insulates soil temperature, encourages worms, aerates clay soils, and helps bind sandy soils, as well as acting as a balanced fertiliser. It has so many benefits that almost no garden should be started without its addition. Results Compost is a specially formulated mix but you can also use bark, peat, leaf litter and other materials.

Fertilisers

Results Sheep Manure is gentle and slow acting, it contains useful amounts of potash which is important for flower and fruit development.

Results blood and bone has been a favourite with all gardeners as it has a slow and safe release of nitrogen and phosphorus, ideal for use around leaf crops such as lettuce. Nitrosol is a liquid blood and bone concentrate, this is faster acting than dried Blood & Bone.

Seaweed extract and fish emulsion both contain essential nutrients as well as good amounts of potash and trace elements. There is evidence to suggest that foliar spraying with fish emulsion can reduce whitefly numbers.

Lime reduces soil acidity and helps improve the availability of other nutrients. It is particularly valuable when new beds are being dug. Lime and Gypsum in a 50/50 ratio is an excellent clay breaker when dug in.

Natural Pest Control

Eco friendly gardeners who practise good cultural techniques will need to spray less, but some spraying may be necessary. Luckily there is a wide range of environment friendly products available. A product called "No Caterpillars" and "Yates Natures Way Pryrethrum" is widely used for caterpillars.

Mineral oils are good to use to control mites and scale with no toxic residues.

Fungicides

Copper Oxychloride controls a wide range of fungus and bacterial diseases with no harmful residues. Natures Way Fungus Spray contains copper oxychloride as well as Sulphur and has a broad spectrum of control.

These are just some of the ways that you can promote a healthy garden if you wish to reduce the volume of synthetic products that you use. It's gardening in a more "natural" form.