organic gardening by geoff hamilton

the classic guide to growing fruit, flowers, & vegetables the natural way The classic guide to growing fruit, flowers, and vegetables the natural way “A great book…” —American Gardener Revised and Updated GARDENING organic Geoff Hamilton [...]... fertility is maintained by recycling organic matter (see next page) Gardeners, on the other hand, remove much of the organic material from the productive garden in the form of fruit and vegetables, and from the ornamental garden by weeding, pruning, mowing, and cutting flowers This organic matter has to be replaced through the compost heap, animal manure, and green-manure crops Even THE ORGANIC WAY T here... organisms provide the plants with food in a form they can ingest and improve the structure of the soil by breaking it up and allowing more air to circulate It is perhaps in the treatment of soil, more than anywhere, that organic gardening differs from other gardening methods The very first principle of organic gardening is to nurture and encourage this subterranean life so that it can support a much larger... All soil types will benefit from the addition of bulky organic matter in the form of compost or manure or some other soil conditioner This is the key to soil fertility, and a healthy, fertile soil is the basis of the organic approach to gardening In fact it is the basis of good gardening, whether you are committed to organic principles or not Organic matter will improve the drainage or increase the... soil parent matter Topsoil is formed over the years by the addition of organic matter that follows the decomposition of dead plants or animals (see p 11) It is inhabited by a wide range of living organisms, and it is in this layer that the majority of the feeding roots of plants exist Topsoils can be improved and deepened by the regular addition of organic matter (see pp 18–34 ) The second layer is... plants To reduce the problem, spread organic matter, or mulch, over the beds between plants as often as you can (see p.20 ) This lowers the evaporation rate and improves the soil structure ORGANIC MATTER It is very important to improve sandy soils by adding substantial amounts of bulky organic material each year Because of the quick-draining nature of the soil, the organic matter will work down into... is nothing mystical or magical about organic gardening It is simply a way of working with nature rather than against it, of recycling natural materials to maintain soil fertility, and of encouraging natural methods of pest and disease control, rather than relying on chemicals It is in fact far less involved than the methods employed by the chemical grower Organic gardening is much more than just a way... because it depends on how much, and what type, of organic material you have available to you First of all, it should be taken as given that all organic material not actually used in the kitchen is returned to the soil as compost, and that this should be supplemented by manure (see p 27 ) or some other purchased soil conditioner (see p 29 ), as necessary Organic matter should be dug in during the fall... the fall and can get a summer crop in The most obvious value of green manure is in providing organic matter However, the soft green material quickly rots down, leaving a small amount of stable organic matter in the soil Nonetheless, on soils short of organic matter, anything must be a bonus This addition of organic matter also increases the amount of biological activity in the soil and the roots serve... attack by all manner of pests and diseases In order to control them, chemical pesticides are used, often with short-term success But, in killing the pest, they also kill its natural predators so, eventually, the problem gets worse Stronger and more poisonous pesticides have to be resorted to, and so it goes on It is a vicious circle that, once started, is difficult to break THE ORGANIC GARDENER The organic. .. soil is often very difficult to work initially because it tends to be either very wet and sticky or very dry and hard Eventually though, when it has been ameliorated by the natural drainage afforded by plant roots and the addition of organic matter, heavy soil becomes an excellent moisture- and nutrient-retaining medium Light soils, on the other hand, are easy to dig and warm up quickly in the spring . Updated GARDENING organic Geoff Hamilton