Organic Gardening

Going organic was any easy decision.  Its the way things aught to be, right?  But, there is a lot to think about.  Plants need a nutrient source.  The tired old soil is not going to produce prolific plants.  There is a new area of science which deals with natural fertilizers.  We have been spoiled by the easy to use chemical fertilizers, and this has taken a toll on our ecosystem.  Not just the plants either, it affects the soil itself, and anything where water from the garden might go like streams, lakes, and our food and water supplies.  What they are discovering is to have healthy food plants, you first need to have healthy soil, that means living soil.  The first and foremost rule is to never, ever use pesticide on your soil, it destroys the ecosystem in the soil, and kills the soil.  Bugs are OK, they don't eat much, and can actually be beneficial.  Second, don't use chemical fertilizers, they shock the soil, and much in the same way destroy the ecosystem of the soil.

Here we are preparing the vegetable beds in the spring.  This is in Spring of 2010.  I am using composted cow manure as my nutrient base.  I am adding around 12 cubic feet, or about 240 pounds of the composted cow manure per 32 square foot box.  Then we need to till this in well.

This is the hard part of organic gardening...

 Distributing the composted cow manure...

 and tilling it into the beds.

 It is a whole day project to prepare these two beds.  There are many kinds of natural fertilizers which you can use.  This year I used composted trimmings from my yard, shrubs, and trees.  There are organic, natural commercial products also.  

New plants from the Farmers Market.  I found it is best to get them in the ground soon after you buy them.

 I usually plant several varieties of Tomatoes, Chiles, Onions, Garlic, Herbs...

 This year one box is all Tomatoes, and the other is all Chiles.

 Sticking the Tomato cages first, then mulching.

 Notice the shadows getting long here, almost nightfall.

 Mulching the Tomatoes after the cages.  The mulch helps to hold the moisture in the soil when it get really hot later in the Summer.  A healthy, living soil will hold moisture better than what most people think of as dirt.  There needs to be a lot or organic matter in the soil, a lot of microbial activity, and even a ecosystem of all kinds of beneficial insects, then the soil can be healthy in a natural way, and plants like it...