How to Start a Successful Organic Garden

INSIDE: HAVING AN ORGANIC GARDEN IN YOUR YARD WILL SAVE YOU MONEY AND WORRY. SEE HOW TO START A SUCCESSFUL ORGANIC GARDEN

Several years ago, Kris and I watched a documentary on Netflix…..it took our family on a journey that we have only veered from slightly. We started our own organic garden.

Our story –

Rewind to 2009, our second child had just been born. She was so little…..she was sick all the time. Literally, her first day at day care she came home with sniffling and pure exhaustion. OK – it takes time to adapt to day care. But two days later, she spiked a fever of 102 and sounded so congested there was no way there was air getting into those tiny little lungs! To the doctor we went. A diagnosis of RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) after one week of day care….it became clear that this kid was going to change everything I thought I knew about parenting. 

Why did she get so sick? Wasn’t she getting what she needed from my breast milk? Didn’t I give her my immunity during gestation? All these things running through my mind. And then at 30 years old, unable to lose the baby weight, and postpartum depression setting in….I realized…..I was UNHEALTHY!!!!!!!!! 

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The change –

We started watching documentaries about food, the food industry, and why we’ve become such a processed food nation. It wasn’t until we watched “Food Inc.” that we decided it was enough. We needed to make a change for our children, for their future, for the health of our family. Enter organic eating. 

OH BOY!!!! It can be expensive!!!!!!!!!!! At first it was everything. Anything I saw with an organic label, I purchased.

Imported from Mexico, Guatemala, or Timbuktu? Nope! They do not have them same organic rules as the USA! I realized milk went sour faster, fruits rotted faster, and meat was gamey tasting. So I started doing some research. What are the benefits? What fruits and vegetables are most important to eat organically? Where can I relax a little? 

The learning curve –

I learned anything with an outer layer that we don’t eat (or don’t HAVE to eat) can be non-organic (think bananas, potatoes, avocados). If it’s processed, there is absolutely no point in buying organic…..fluffed, flaked, puffed, crunched…..what does it matter? That left – meat, eggs, milk, certain fruits and vegetables. HOW can I save money? Grow my own? Let’s try it…..

Our Garden –

I started with the idea that I could have a small garden in the back yard. My husband, who does NOTHING small, decided to dig up 1/4 of the back yard and build me boxes. 

We planted so many things, there was NO way we could eat all of them partly because we planted them all at the same time. We did TOO much, especially for our first time. I started all of the seeds indoors, not necessary in South Carolina, but that’s what I wanted to do. We bought organic seeds, used compost, and topsoil, watered every day. I don’t even remember eating the vegetables honestly. I remember the watermelons taking over the yard, having a wheelbarrow FULL of potatoes, and the WEEDS! OMG!!!! I had no desire to pick weeds. But it must not have been too bad because I continued growing my own organic vegetables. 

Over the years, we figured out how to make the most of this space with planting companion veggies. We used crop rotation to keep the soil high in nutrients. But never again did we plant all at once! PHEW!!!!!!!!! 

New Garden –

It came time for us to move, and our garden couldn’t come with us. We did not wait long before figuring out how to make it work in the new house. The garden got down scaled thus making it more manageable. 

We have been doing this for so long…..our children go digging for earth worms in here. They find a TON…..good sign of a healthy garden. We still use 50% compost and 50% topsoil. I add fungicide now because the rain has been out of control and root rot has plagued the spring harvest of summer squash. 

We start eggplant and tomatoes indoors using our own seed starting kits. I make them with biodegradable pots, seed starting mix (organic like this one), organic seeds, and a greenhouse made out of foil pans with plastic lids (like this). I encourage you to find that green and white label on your seeds for true organic gardening.

How do we handle pests –

Pest control is probably the biggest challenge for organic gardeners. Obviously we aren’t going to be spraying insecticides or pesticides all over our ORGANIC garden…….so we either handpick the critters (gross) or we use FOOD GRADE diatomaceous earth or DE. DE only works when it is dry! DRY! DRY!!! Think of Gremlins!!! DRY FOOD GRADE DE is a perfect silent bug killer! HOORAY nature!

Happy Gardening,