Organic Vegetable Gardening Basics: Making Your Own Organic Garden
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to plant vegetables. But if you want to do this the old-fashioned way which has been proven to be very effective, you should know the organic vegetable gardening basics.
November 13, 2025 02:35
What is Organic Gardening
The first thing you have to know is what is organic vegetable gardening. It is simply a way of farming that does not use synthetic products, including fertilizers and pesticides. In short, you work with nature to get what you want.
Know What Vegetables
The first thing you must do is choose what kind of vegetables you want to grow. You also have to understand how big these can grow so it will be easy to plot how many can be placed per row.
When choosing the right vegetable to plant is knowing which of these are suitable for the soil and the climate. If you live in an area that experiences droughts, buy those that do not consume that much water. Before you drop seeds into the soil, make sure the land is ready by tilling the land so it is clear both of rocks and weeds.
Check Your Soil
The next step is to check the condition of the soil. There are kits you can buy from the store to check its fertility. If the soil is good, you can start clearing it of rocks and weeds by mowing, pulling, or digging them out.
Add Your Compost
You should then add compost, bone meal or rock phosphate, and greensand to the soil to supply it with nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium. You can also add lime or sulfur to adjust the soil’s pH level only if you have to.
Don’t forget to use organic mulch to blanket the garden. You can use ground bark for that since it decomposes over a season. You can also use a compost file of recycled leaves, grass clippings, coffee grounds, eggshells, and kitchen waste since these are good fertilizer.
Before you start planting, check how big is the area so you have an idea of what kind of vegetables can be planted given your limited space. You must buy the necessary tools and make some of them yourself. This information can be found online, in books, and from the gardening store.
The next step will be to add compost, bone meal or rock phosphate, and greensand to the soil to supply it with nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium. If the soil’s pH level is too high, add lime or sulfur to adjust it.
One more thing you must do before planting the seeds is put in organic fertilizer. You can use recycled leaves, grass clippings, coffee grounds, eggshells, and kitchen waste which should be applied a month before planting begins. Build your own compost pile waste point if you have enough room in your garden to do this. You will be able to use all of your garden waste to produce excellent organic healthy soil for your vegetables. A good compost pile is worth its weight in gold.
Seeds or Plants
If you don’t want to start making an organic vegetable garden using seeds, you can get starter plants instead but be aware that they cost a bit more and this takes the thrill out of gardening.
Crop rotation is the best way to preserve the fertility of the soil. This is done after you harvest the vegetables so it is ready for planting once again. For this to work, you have to plant in the same area a different vegetable.
Then it is time to plant the seeds. A certain distance must space each seed so the roots do not fight for water. In between each of the vegetables, you can plant other things as well because the tighter the space, the lesser the chances that weeds will grow.
Garden Pests
Pests are the biggest threat to your organic garden. You can use birds, frogs, or other insects to fight them. Do not use any kind of spray unless it is organic-friendly. You don’t have these creatures to fend off other insects. You must create the ideal environment by putting a birdhouse or a small pond. Once they are in place, they will do the rest by patrolling your garden and eating those who seek to eat your crops.
The organic vegetable garden will grow but it will be always under threat from weeds and insects. For that, you have to use other animals and insects to fight these pests. You don’t have to buy them because setting the ideal conditions will invite them into your home.
As for the weeds, you can get rid of them by pulling them out or spraying homemade vinegar as this stops them from growing. If you plant thick enough, you will be able to discourage weeds from growing in between the plants.
Putting up a few barriers can also help. Row covers are known to prevent moths from landing and laying eggs. You can also use sticky traps and foil collars to stop pests and borers. There are also organic pesticides around but some of them can only kill one or two kinds of pests. So before you buy them, make sure you know what you are dealing with.
Anyone can learn organic vegetable gardening basics and soon have their own little farm in their backyard. It is fresh and you can pick this up anytime you want which is very convenient as these are only a few feet from your home.
Should everyone get into organic vegetable gardening? Perhaps because there is a food shortage right now and most of the vegetables imported do not use this technique. The government for its part has given incentives to farmers here to shift to this method but its going to take more effort to persuade countries that do business with the US to do the same thing.
Related Posts
Why Have an Organic Garden
Organic vegetable gardening is making a comeback. This is because people are more health-conscious about the food they eat and in some places, there is already a food shortage so some have decided to plant and grow these on their own. To help you get started, here is some organic vegetable gardening information.
No Harmful Fertilizers
Organic vegetables have no hydrogenated fats, artificial flavor or coloring, sweeteners, additives, preservatives, or residual antibiotics. This means that what you get is all-natural. But don’t forget to wash these first before it is cooked to remove any residue from the compost used in helping it grow.
Organic vegetable gardening does not use fertilizers and chemicals which can be harmful to humans. It also does not use genetic engineering or irradiation. Instead, it uses simple farming techniques like tilling the land, giving it enough water, and sufficient exposure to the sun.
It will also be a good idea to till or dig in fertilizers using organic matter. This must at least be an inch of sharp sand if your soil is made of clay and then you rake the soil into beds and rows. You should leave it be for at least a month before you start planting.
When harvesting is finished, something new is planted which is better known as crop rotation which helps keep the soil fertile. Growing organic vegetables is not something that only farmers can do. Homeowners can do this since they can plan some of these in their own backyard.
Organic Food Is On The Increase
Organic Farming
In the US, farming is a $6 billion industry. To keep it that way and with the health and welfare of the public in mind, the Department of Agriculture has taken steps so farmers can shift to organic farming. This does not only save money but also has some health benefits.
But first, we have to know what organic farming is. This is a technique that has been practiced by ancient civilizations that simply relied on the land they worked on, the sun, and the water to make the harvests grow. It was only when scientists invented fertilizers and pesticides that we moved away from this technique because it was thought that this will make the crops bigger and harvesting faster.
Unfortunately, using fertilizers and pesticides has done more harm than good. The chemicals used are harmful but never in small dosages. But imagine what if somebody consumes this excessively and unknowingly develops an illness or their baby has birth defects.
Such threats are real, so we have to do something before it happens. Tests were conducted before the Department of Agriculture wanted everyone to go into organic farming. The results show that organically grown vegetables have more nutrients and vitamins than conventional farming. The same goes for its taste.
The government or the Department of Agriculture is not the only one who should push farmers to shift towards organic farming. You can do your share by talking to the farmers themselves as they are the ones who plant them. You can also start planting organically grown vegetables yourself because they cost a bit more in the supermarket.
Conclusion
Planting your own organic vegetable garden isn’t that bad given that the only ones who will be consuming what is planted are those that live in the household. But it’s going to be a bed of roses from the time you till the land to the time that they will be harvested. The advantage of working in a small space is that you can easily inspect the whole area so nothing is left behind.
If everyone does their share, no one will use chemicals and fertilizers anymore. Everyone can live healthily and eat healthily. At the same time, we are able to protect the environment so future generations will be able to use the land we have used to plant their crops in the future.
Organic vegetable gardening is truly the way to go. If you noticed, some restaurants have done their share as well by making people know that whatever they use is organic.