If you love the flavour of organically grown vegetables but they’re beyond your budget, think about growing your own. Instead of relying on synthetic chemicals, organic gardening relies on traditional methods that let nature take its own course – no insecticides, no fungicides, no herbicides and no artificial fertilisers.
Sounds hard, but everything is at hand to make it easy. It just takes a different mindset, and you’ll be rewarded with food that tastes sublime!
What is organic gardening?
Organic gardening is a method of gardening that uses natural matter instead of chemicals to fertilise. This natural matter comes from manure, homemade compost, bone meal and other products that are of organic origin. Organic gardening also focuses on techniques such as crop rotation and companion planting to maintain a healthy garden.
The benefits of organic gardening
An organic garden can help create a healthier and happier garden. There are a multitude of benefits, including:
- Healthier soil – less chemicals means a happy, thriving soil make-up.
- Increased biodiversity – the use of natural materials, combined with methods such as companion planting, draw in a wide range of insects and pollinators.
- Reduced toxic run-off – because you are using fewer pesticides and chemicals in your gardening,
How to create an organic garden
01
Start with the soil
The most important component in soil is organic matter such as compost. It contains decayed micro-organisms of previous plant life, which give plants the nutrients they need.
Organic matter helps both with water retention – helping your roots draw up the nutrients – and drainage, so that the roots don’t drown from too much water.
02
Build a compost heap
A compost heap is an area or bin where organic material will decompose into organic matter. The best spots are flat, well-drained and easily accessible. In cool areas, put it in a sunny spot with shelter from cold winds. In warm, dry areas, give it a bit of shade.
Organic material consists of carbon-rich browns and nitrogen-rich greens.
Browns: twigs, wood chips, sawdust, leaves, hay, paper and cardboard.
Greens: fresh grass clippings, fruit, vegetables and herbs, coffee grounds and egg shells.
Mix four times as many browns as greens in volume, not weight. Add water and regularly turn, keeping it moist but not soggy. If it’s too wet, add browns; if it’s too dry, add greens. It can take up to a year to produce great organic matter – or garden gold!
Located in Ingleside, Sydney, this resource recovery centre has everything you need for sustainable waste management and finding natural resources to upcycle into your garden. This includes composting materials, worm farm equipment and natural matter for your garden.
Kimbiki Eco House and Garden
03
Reduce weeds and disease
Weeds attract pests and compete with your vegies for water and nutrients. A layer about 5cm thick of organic mulch (straw, lucerne or newspaper) creates a barrier that prevents weeds from getting sunlight and fungal spores from drifting from the soil to leaves.
Pull out by hand any weeds that sneak through, including the roots. To prevent fungal disease, only water the soil, not the leaves. As the mulch decomposes, it puts organic matter back into the soil.
To prevent disease, don’t put seeds or seedlings in the same place that related plants grew the previous year or two. Related plants include cucumbers, pumpkin, squash and watermelon (the Cucurbitaceae family) and potatoes, tomatoes, capsicums and eggplants (the Solanaceae family).
04
Try a raised garden bed
Narrow raised beds give you more control over your soil and growing conditions.
Consider a wicking bed – an Australian-designed water-saving system. It has a reservoir of water at the base that is drawn up by capillary action to the roots in the soil above.
Use upcycled pieces from your home, op shops or Kimbriki recycling centre to build your raised garden beds without buying any new materials.
05
Attract insects and pollinators
Can you believe that there are plants that can attract or deter wildlife depending on what your garden needs? Our two favourites are marigolds and nasturtiums:
- Planting marigolds will attract beneficial insects and pollinators, and repel nasties such as whiteflies and cabbage butterflies.
- Nasturtiums draw aphids away from your vegies, but attract hoverflies that eat the aphids. They also attract pollinators.
06
Create a seed bank
One of the best things to do in organic gardening is plan for the future. One way of doing this is by building a seed bank, to help sort out how your crop rotation and garden beds will look during the years to come.
Allow one plant of each type of vegie you grow – such as lettuce, cabbage, onion, carrot – to flower. That way you can collect the seeds and put them in a seed bank for sowing next year.
Some seeds, such as spinach and kale, are viable for several years, while others, such as onions and parsley, are good for keeping just one year. Share excess seeds with your neighbours!
