Pest Free, Pesticide Free, Organic Gardening

Written by KT @ One Organic Mama, Contributing Writer

I have been gardening for 3 years.

The first year, after vegetables started making their way to the kitchen, my husband and I were both shocked at how successful we were without REALLY trying. Since then, my garden has quadrupled in size and we are growing MANY different veggies and herbs.

I am by NO means a gardening expert – but I hope to share my gardening successes with you here!

While most of you probably have started the process – jump in wherever you can! If you don’t have seedlings going yet – head to your local greenhouse or hardware store – organic varieties are pretty widely available – so grab some that are already started for you! If you don’t want to plant a garden this year -make it your mission to learn what plants grow in your area. Visit farmers’ markets to see what veggies are plentiful and when… next year you can get started!

To start…

I begin planting in March/April (indoors) because I live in central MA – where last week we STILL had frost. I use organic seeds, organic potting soil, organic fertilizer, and homemade compost from the yard (we compost most of the year – kitchen scraps more on that later). I put these newly planted seeds in a sunny window on my (very old but effective) steam radiators. I cover the seedlings to create a greenhouse steamy effect that seems to speed up the sprouting process.

Keeping Pests Away without Pesticides

I have been pretty successful using plants to prevent pests from invading my garden. By that I mean creating a barrier around my garden of some plants that pests don’t particularly like… marigolds, petunias, lavender, are a few suggestions that have worked for me in the past!

Oregano and mint also work to naturally prevent pests – BUT – use caution – these are very rapidly spreading herbs… so unless you are planning on lots of tomato sauce and mint tea – watch these plants carefully and remove what you don’t want spreading all over your garden/yard at the expense of your vegetables.. and grass.

Here is a bigger list on plants that prevent pests. If surrounding your garden with these pretty, and naturally preventative plants isn’t enough, you might need to add a fence – but honestly the plants have worked wonders for me and I haven’t needed an additional pesticide! If you do… look for ones that are plant/herb based only- typically they smell like cinnamon 🙂

Composting… Organic food for your plants!

Composting is a huge part of keeping a successful, organic, garden. My 4 year old is in charge of keeping track of the compost bucket in the kitchen and he takes this chore VERY seriously. When it is full he walks it out back to the compost pile, dumps it, and “stirs” the pile. Also into the pile throughout the year goes grass clippings (we don’t fertilize the grass) and leaves.

We have a two sided pile – divided with wood. The side we are currently adding compost to is not the side I am adding to my garden… the compost sits for about a year (with frequent turning) and then gets incorporated into the garden. Be careful… since you’re composting veggies… sometimes surprises (pumpkins) grow in it 🙂 We also incorporate a small amount of Jobe’s Organic Fertilizer into the garden too. It has worked really well for us!

The Crop Swap

One of the best things you can find (OR START!!!) is a crop swap. Create a (digital or real) community of fellow gardeners – that share your views in gardening. It allows you to swap your overabundance of veggies with someone else’s who perhaps grew something you did not! It is also a great community in which to ask questions about your garden that other’s in your area might better be able to answer!