The Organic Garden doesn’t need much of an introduction for regular La Huertina readers, as well as those who watch my videos on the Youtube channel. But every day new readers come to this space, and among the most frequent questions are what is it and what is the difference between an organic garden and a conventional garden, as well as what is the objective or how to achieve it. Today I will try to answer all these questions.
Contents
What is an organic garden?
An organic garden is a garden that has been created to produce food in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way. You could say that it is characterized by a natural culture, where pesticides or chemical fertilizers are not used.
The organic garden is based on techniques such as crop rotation, biological pest control and the use of non-transgenic organic seeds. This ensures that the food produced is clean, nutritious and free from harmful chemicals.
How is an organic garden made?
To start developing an organic garden, it is advisable to take into account some characteristics that are not very different from other types of cultivation methods. The first is to choose a location with sufficient sun exposure and well-drained soil. The latter, as we have already seen, can be improved by working on the substrate. In addition, it is important to check that the ground is not contaminated by pesticides or chemical fertilizers.
Once the place has been chosen, the land must be prepared for cultivation. This is done by incorporating organic fertilizers, such as manure, compost, ashes and other methods, although I always recommend consulting our crop guidesto take into account the particular needs of each vegetable, fruit or plant.
What can you grow in an organic garden?
A wide variety of foods can be grown in an organic garden, or we could say virtually anything. That is to say vegetables, fruits, aromatic herbs, medicinal plants and edible flowers.
To ensure a successful harvest, it is advisable to be familiar with the cycles of each crop, as well as the requirements for temperature, light, humidity, soil, nutrients and the most common pests or diseases.
What is the purpose of an organic garden?
The main objective of an organic garden is to produce food of high nutritional quality, without pesticides and without using chemical fertilizers. This is achieved through the selection of disease-resistant varieties, the use of organic products and the crop rotation.
The organic garden also contributes to the improvement of the environment, since organic fertilizers contribute to the fertility of the land, as well as the planting of trees and shrubs which contribute to the maintenance of biodiversity.
In addition, as it is important to maintain a living environment, we usually place plants that attract pollinatorsas well as insect and animal species that function as biological pest control.
What is the difference between a common garden and an organic garden?
The main difference between an orchard and an organic orchard is that the former is based on the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers, and sometimes the use of GMO (genetically modified or transgenic) seeds, while the latter is based on the production of food naturally, without the use of harmful chemicals.
This means that food produced in an organic garden is more nutritious and healthy than that produced in a conventional garden. In addition, the organic garden contributes to sustainable development that respects the environment, avoiding contamination of soil and groundwater.
Crop rotation
Crop rotation is a key practice in organic farming, which is practiced to maintain soil health and improve the yield of agricultural production. This is achieved by using different successive crops over the seasons and years, to avoid the accumulation of diseases in the soils and to make the most of the nutrients.
Crop rotation is done to improve soil fertility. This is accomplished by rotating plants with each other, so the soil is not depleted of the same nutrients each season.
In addition, some crops add nutrients to the soil, such as nitrogen or phosphorus, while others remove them. These changes in soil composition maintain the balance of nutrients and improve soil health, which, for example, does not occur in monocultures and that is why these types of crops need a constant supply of nutrients.
Another benefit of crop rotation is its ability to prevent soil erosion. By alternating crops, soil stagnation is avoided, resulting in more nutrient-rich soil and less erosion. This improves soil structure and water retention, allowing for better crop growth.
Insect control
In addition to fertility benefits, crop rotation also helps prevent disease buildup in soils. By alternating crops, we avoid the presence of diseases that can be fatal to crops. Rotation also prevents insect pests from adapting to a specific crop.
But this is not the only way to avoid pests or diseases. We have seen many ways to both prevent and control, such as the use of homemade insecticidesas the neem oil or the potassium soapwhich work with a large number of parasites, as well as the homemade fungicides that we saw
fertilizers
Although we usually talk about fertilizer and fertilizer interchangeably, the truth is that there is a difference between compost and fertilizer, as to how it is applied above all, but for the case it is the same. The idea is to both improve soil quality and grow a specific crop.
There are many types, but I refer you to the post on homemade plant fertilizerwhere I share what the 10 exceptional fertilizers and fertilizers are for me in an organic garden, as well as their forms of use.
planting schedule
He planting schedule It is a tool used to plan the planting time of the different crops in the organic garden. It is based on identifying the best times to sow each plant, in order to make the most of the climate and the availability of nutrients in the soil. It is essential for planning appropriate planting activities at different times of the year.
Lunar calendar in organic farming
The lunar planting calendar is important to keep in mind, as the moon influences plant growth cycles, as well as climate and temperature.
The moon influences seed germination time, plant growth rate, fruit production, and soil fertility, and among other things, it also influences insect behavior, which affects the amount of pests in a crop.
The moon also influences how soil microorganisms grow and the amount of nutrients available to plants. All of these factors are important for success in the organic garden.
I hope these brushstrokes on what an organic garden is and everything that needs to be taken into account have helped you to remove some doubts. In any case, for more information, I recommend that you go directly to Huertine forumwhere we share more information and solve many doubts in a common way, as well as in the different articles on different topics that we discuss on the blog.
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