PLANNING AN ORGANIC GARDEN

Organic crop growers, unlike commercial growers, feed their soil not their plants. Healthy soil is alive and breathing. It supports micro-organisms along with other creatures like earthworms. All these things maintain a balance that keeps the soil healthy and able to produce good crops.

We need earthworms and good bacteria to maintain the quality of the soil but many chemical fertilisers kill them. This makes the use of natural, well balanced, fertilisers essential. Two other ways to ensure healthy soil and good crops are land resting and crop rotation. If you have the space it would be ideal to mark out five sections of land as "plots" for your vegetable garden.

Land Resting

One portion of your land should be allowed to "rest" each year for at least a full year. This allows the land to recover from feeding hungry crops and renew itself ready for the next crop. Change/shift your beds, biennially.

Container Growing

If you are/will be container growing, You will need to replace the media(potting soil) at the end of the life of the plant, or say for rhubarb, change the soil every two years. Wash and rinse the container well.