The organic gardening way: long-term sustainability and abundant harvests in one garden 🥕🐛
Organic gardening is not a recent fad, but a modern approach to an ancient knowledge. It is an approach that, by listening to nature and tuning into its rhythms, helps us produce chemical-free, healthy food. The real power of organic gardening lies in not just caring for plants, but in building a whole, self-sustaining ecosystem. Instead of fighting pests or weeds, we create an environment where natural balance helps solve problems. This article is a comprehensive guide, following BioGarden365’s biointensive approach, detailing how you too can become a master of organic gardening. 🌳👩🌾
1. The soil that gives life: the basics of biointensive soil building 🪱
The most important principle of bio-intensive organic gardening is to treat the soil as a living thing. For thousands of years, agrotechniques have been based on turning the soil, but we now know that digging, rotation and deep ploughing damage the living structure of the soil. It kills the worms, fungal filaments and beneficial micro-organisms that make nutrients available to plant roots. This destructive intervention breaks up the soil layers, brings weed seeds to the surface and depletes the soil in the long term.
BioGarden365 recommends the “no-dig” method. The idea is that the soil surface is never disturbed. Instead, we spread a thick layer of compost and mulch. This method not only protects the soil, but also significantly reduces the gardener’s workload. Less digging, less weeding, more time to enjoy the harvest! 🥳
Step by step for the perfect no-dig bed:
- Laying the groundwork: if you’re starting in a grassy or very weedy area, the first and most important step is to kill the weeds. Spread a thick, overlapping layer of cardboard over the area. The cardboard forms a natural, decomposing barrier that prevents weeds from growing while being broken down by soil-dwelling organisms such as worms. 📦
- The compost magic: Spread 5-10 cm of mature, nutrient-rich compost on the cardboard. This will be the main source of nutrients for your plants. It is important that the compost is mature and free of weed seeds.
- Mulching: Cover the compost with a thick layer of organic mulch, such as straw, grass clippings or shredded wood chips. The mulch protects the soil from direct sunlight and drying out, suppresses weeds, and gradually decomposes, providing more nutrients for plants. 🌾 The thickness of the mulch layer depends on the weeds and the material used, but 10-15 cm is usually ideal.
The no-dig method allows the natural ecosystem of the soil to function undisturbed. Worm burrows aerate the soil, fungal filaments help plants absorb water and nutrients, and micro-organisms work continuously to break down organic matter. This creates a soil that is rich, loose and full of life, so your plants will grow faster and stronger. 🌻
2. The power of biodiversity: the art of planting and dense planting 🤝🌼
Organic gardening is not about monocultures, it is about biodiversity. Rather than planting plants in large rows, spaced apart, biointensive beds are used to plant different species close together. This dense planting serves several purposes:
- Maximum space: you can harvest much more in a small area.
- Weed suppression: the dense foliage of the plants quickly covers the bed, blocking light from the weeds, which cannot germinate.
- Natural pest control: we use the right plant associations to deter pests and attract beneficial insects.
Planting examples in practice:
- Onions and carrots: the smell of onions repels carrot flies and carrots protect against onion flies. 🧅🥕
- Tomatoes and basil: The strong scent of basil keeps tomato pits away and improves the taste of tomatoes. 🍅🌿
- “The three sisters” (corn, beans, pumpkin): corn supports runner beans, beans fix nitrogen in the soil and pumpkin leaves suppress weeds and retain soil moisture 🌽🎃
- Cabbage (broccoli, cauliflower) and chamomile: the scent of chamomile will deter cabbage plants and help them grow 🥦
- Marigolds and root vegetables: marigolds keep soil-dwelling nematodes at bay with their root exudates, making them an ideal companion for carrots and parsley. 🧡
The most important principle of organic gardening is diversity. Mixed crops are more stable and resistant to diseases and pests than monocultures.
3. Natural plant protection and nutrient replenishment 🐞💦
In organic horticulture, the aim is not to eradicate pests completely, but to achieve a balance. In a healthy garden, pests have natural enemies. Our job is to attract and keep these beneficial insects and birds in our gardens.
How to attract beneficial insects?
- Floral borders: plant flowers such as marigolds, marigolds, marigolds, nasturtiums or dill in and around vegetable beds. These will attract pollinating insects and pest enemies such as ladybirds and chickweed. 🌸
- Homemade sprays:
- Nettle juice: an excellent growth stimulant and aphicide. One kilogram of fresh nettle juice (10 litres of water) diluted (1:10) works wonders. 💪
- Garlic tea: Fungicide and insect repellent. A decoction of crushed garlic (10 cloves to 1 litre of water) (strained after boiling) is also effective against powdery mildew and other fungal diseases. 🧄
- Milk spray: a 1:2 mixture of milk and water is an effective way to fight mildew. 🥛
Natural sources of nutrient replenishment: soil nutrition is the alpha and omega of organic horticulture. Compost is the most important source, but other methods can also help:
- Green manure: Plants that grow in winter (e.g. facelia, mustard) act as mulch and are then worked into the soil to provide nutrients for the next season’s plants 🌱
- Coffee grounds: the nitrogen in coffee grounds, when released into the soil, helps acidophilic plants (e.g. blueberries, potatoes) and repels slugs. ☕
- Liquid fertilisation during the breeding season: diluted with various plant juices, such as nettle juice or black conifer juice.
4. The organic gardener’s annual calendar: planning and keeping 🗓️
Successful organic gardening depends on careful planning. The following table will help you to overview the most important tasks, according to the seasons.
| Period | Tasks in the garden | Tips and tricks |
| Winter (Dec-Feb) | Planning, seed ordering, indoor planting (peppers, aubergines, celery). | Prepare a detailed sowing plan and rotation. 📝 You can also plan based on the lunar calendar. |
| Early Spring (March) | Spreading compost mulch, sowing cold-tolerant vegetables (peas, radishes, carrots) in the open ground. | Use protective film against early frosts. ✨ |
| Spring (Apr-May) | Planting of heat-sensitive seedlings (tomatoes, cucumbers, courgettes). Start mulching. | Stick to the principles of planting when planting. 🥒🌶️ |
| Summer (Jun-Aug) | Regular, deep irrigation. First harvests, then reseeding in vacant places. | Water in the early morning or late evening to minimise evaporation. Do not leave the soil bare! ☀️ |
| Autumn (Sep-Nov) | Autumn harvest, harvesting of root vegetables (beetroot, carrots). Planting garlic and winter lettuces. | Compost the plant remains. Cover the soil to prepare it for winter. 🍂 |
The importance of crop rotation: do not plant plants of the same plant family in the same area two years in a row. Crop rotation prevents soil depletion and the build-up of specific pests and diseases 🔄
Organic gardening is a continuous learning process. Every seed planted and every crop harvested is a step towards sustainability. 💚
BioGarden365 is your digital partner in organic gardening 📱
Organic gardening requires a lot of knowledge and attention, but the BioGarden365 app will help you in your daily life.
- Sowing calendar: with our interactive calendar, you’ll never forget sowing times.
- Planting guide: see which plants help each other and which ones should not be planted next to each other.
- Recipes for natural sprays: easily make your own organic protectants and get instant access to recipes.
- Knowledge base: browse about diseases, pests and use the tips.
