How to Garden Organic Fruits & Vegetables
- 1). Establish your organic garden in a sunny spot with well-drained, fertile soil. Organic plants produce better in an airy location away from trees and other plants.
- 2). Till the soil deeply. Remove all roots, rocks and clods of compacted earth. Clear the garden perimeter of all weeds and grasses, as they can act as hosts for diseases and pests.
- 3). Water dry soils thoroughly before planting. Allow the garden to drain well before planting seeds or transplants. Don't plant in wet or compacted soils.
- 4). Apply a shovel full of compost, well-rotted manure or other organic matter every 6 inches. Organic matter can include alfalfa, bone meal, fish emulsion, wood ashes, soybean meal and corn gluten. Work the organic matter into the soil well.
- 5). Choose fruit and vegetable varieties that are certified as disease-resistant. Organic gardeners do not use fungicides or non-organic chemicals in their soil or around their plants, so it's helpful to plant hardier varieties.
- 6). Examine plants you'll be transplanting from pots into your garden. Look for signs of disease, such as spots on the leaves or bruises on the stems. Don't transplant any diseased plants.
- 7). Pull out several potential transplants and look closely at their roots. Good roots should be light-colored or white.
- 8). Mulch your organic garden with newspaper, hay, straw or wood shavings. Apply the mulch to a depth of up to 6 inches.
- 9). Observe your growing organic garden closely for signs of plant disease. Remove and burn diseased plants to prevent an epidemic.
- 10
Plant a green cover crop such as ryegrass, winter peas or clover in the fall to nourish your organic garden through the winter. Plow or till the cover crop into the soil in spring before the next year's planting. - 11
Soak your plant tray, pots, baskets and stakes in a 50-50 solution of hydrogen peroxide and water in the fall after harvest. This will kill most disease-carrying elements that may have lodged in the containers.