Rich soil crumbles apart full of living organisms, threaded with the air channels earthworms leave behind, while poor soil holds few nutrients and clay sits heavy on the spade. Feed that soil rather than the plants — compost, mulch, mixed plantings — and keep the ground covered all year, and it will thrive without fertilizer or pesticides.
From focusing on the soil to carefully choosing what grows together, these simple techniques will increase soil health in your garden.
Feed the soil instead of feeding the plant: that’s the key to organic gardening. For starters, you’ve got to be more aware of your soil and get to know it better. Kits sold in horticulture stores help test the potential of hydrogen, the famed “pH” levels. It might turn out to be acidic, basic or neutral. The soil will also present differing characteristics. Being “poor” means it doesn’t contain many nutrients. “Rich” soil is very fertile and contains many living organisms. “Clay” soil is heavy and hard to work with, but helps plants cope with drought.
An organic gardener will try to maintain an equilibrium in the soil without adding chemical fertilizer or pesticides. Working clay soil before freezing weather transfers the burden of breaking up clumps to frost and nature.
Weeding manually can be sped up by throwing out used cooking water when preparing potatoes, pasta, rice or simply heating water up to a boil. Intensive spading tends to drain the soil of its nutrients by burying organic matter to where it can’t be converted to nutrients. Much better is to simply break the soil up with a light tool such as a broadfork.
Before anything else, organic gardening asks you to identify what you are working with. The article distinguishes a few basic soil characters, each with its own consequence for the gardener.
| Soil character | What it means | Consequence for the gardener |
|---|---|---|
| Poor | Does not contain many nutrients | Little to offer plants, so build it up with compost rather than feeding the plants |
| Rich | Very fertile, full of living organisms | The equilibrium to aim for, kept up without chemical fertilizer or pesticides |
| Clay | Heavy and hard to work with | Helps plants cope with drought; work it before freezing weather and let frost break the clumps |
| pH (acidic, basic or neutral) | The potential of hydrogen, tested with a kit | Kits sold in horticulture stores tell you which of the three you have |
Whichever character your soil has, the aim is the same: feed the soil and let it feed the plants.
Whatever the season, the soil never remains bare: it is always covered with either mulch or a combination of plants. In the vegetable patch, mingling vegetables and herbs helps them band together and fend off each other’s pests and diseases. Thus, French marigolds protect tomato from downy mildew and basil repels aphids.
The carrot provides beneficial services to leek, lettuce, peas and radish. Diversifying species present in a single garden plot will bolster and stimulate growth for all of them. However, check beforehand which combinations work best, because some plants are detrimental to others. This is typically the case for potato which has trouble growing together with carrot and cucumber.
Protecting small animals also has a positive impact on your garden. Even though it doesn’t look appealing, the earthworm is a critical since it ensures proper air circulation in the ground. The cute little ladybug is also an avid aphid predator. To fend off slugs, simply spread sand or ashes around the plant you’re hoping to protect.
To fertilize, nothing beats compost prepared in a damp corner of the garden with all sorts of organic matter (vegetable peelings, fruit rinds, coffee grounds, etc).
Fermented stinging nettle tea also works wonders and helps control undesirable insects, too.
Lastly, to keep your lawn in splendid shape, refrain from mowing too often and too low. Also, ensure that cut grass remains available to breakdown and provide nutrients with the “mulching” position of your lawn mower.
Fabienne Lisse
