Organic Herb Gardening

It's about the soil

The soil in your garden is the basis for your success or failure and improving it is the way we're going to succeed here.

Get used to using compost. There's no substitute - this is the basis for success in organic gardening and the more you can put onto your garden, the better. The old-time gardeners put 2-4 pounds per square foot (about a half inch) and loaded it onto the garden. If they were using manure, they'd load somewhere around 4-inches onto their vegetable and herb gardens. We're talking massive quantities of organic matter. While you may not be able to match these levels, it is important to get as much on there as possible because we're feeding the soil, not the plants.

If you have to use a supplementary fertilizer, then pick up a bottle of fish emulsion. This stuff will grow herbs on a flat rock. It is loaded with all the micronutrients your plants need and a booster of nitrogen that will keep them growing. Use it as per the recommendations on the label.

See the section on compost on the left hand nav bar for more information.

It's about insect control

I've read somewhere that insect pests don't bother herbs. Whoever wrote that never came to my garden that's for sure.

But not to panic. The first defense in organic herb gardening is the garden hose. You'll be able to blow most pests off your plants with a strong jet of water. If you do this to aphids, they fall off and get eaten by beetles who will thank you for dinner.

If the pest returns or is a little tougher than an aphid - use insecticidal soap on it. That will knock down the vast majority of pests - anything soft bodied - that you'll see on herbs.

That's pretty simple isn't it. A jet of water or insecticidal soap and the vast majority of your problems are solved. Organic controls are less expensive and easier to apply (not to mention safer for you and your pets) than chemical controls. They are equally effective so...

You can also read the pests section on the left hand nav bar for more information about specific pests and controlling them using organic methods.

It's about plant choice

What you decide to grow has a large impact on the environment as well. Think about it in this way. If you grow your basil yourself, then that basil doesn't have to be grown somewhere else on a large farm (with fuel requirements) and trucked (with the fuel requirements) to your home. If you do it - you save a little bit. If a lot of us grow our own, we save a lot of production and fuel costs moving simple goods across the country. If you grow your own basic herbal needs, you'll save the environment a little bit. Those "little bits" add up.

So grow the things you use. Don't bother growing the exotics that you never use but focus your attention on the plants you like. And grow enough of them to dry, freeze and store.

And let me leave you with a last thought. Organic herb gardening is relaxed, fun gardening. It isn't about stressing yourself out. It is about producing something of value in a fun manner. And it is very easy gardening.

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