I try to garden organically. That doesn’t mean I don’t slip up on occasion, usually due to misinformation. I like to try and live with the insects within reason and all the other creatures that share my garden. 

What Is Organic Gardening?

This means that I never use chemical controls. Not only are they bad for the environment, but I also have a fur baby and roaming feline friends on both sides of me. Not to mention the bunnies that oddly seem to be everywhere in my urban area along with the squirrels, birds, raccoons, and opossums. Let’s not even think what chemicals do to our bee and beneficial pollinator friends. Shudder. 

Of course this also means that I’ve had some significant insect infestations. Two years ago our huge cherry tree was literally covered with cherry aphids — really gross looking. However, the tree survived with nominal damage… probably because it’s healthy and large enough to tolerate the damage done. Plus, the good news is the ladybugs were having a field day!

There are other ways we try to garden sustainably. We have areas of drought tolerant native plants, and we save and reuse nursery plant pots for divisions, sharing, and repotting. We save seeds to use and share.   

Organic Gardening Practices

We do compost. However, my yard is tiny, so I don’t actively compost in the yard because I’d have to get rid of some plants. Not gonna happen. So we subscribe to our cities municipal compost program. 

We also use organic mulch of various types to keep roots cool, retain moisture, retard weeds, and add nutritional elements to the soil as it breaks down. Also, when we rake my parents’ tree laden landscape umpteen times in the fall, we run the leaves through a mower and use the mulch to protect plants from winter temps. 

I’m sure there is so much more I could be doing but as they say, “doing something is better than doing nothing,” so I hope you join me in incorporating more sustainable practices in your garden as well. Together we can make a difference.