Sustainable Baby Steps: Gardening Organically

I’ve written in the past on Pesticide Alternatives and thought I had also written on Organic Gardening, until a friend emailed asking for advice. So, this is for you Kristin.

Gardening is obviously not for everyone and it probably shouldn’t even be considered a baby step, except that it can be done as simple or as complicated as fits your lifestyle. Growing some amount of your own food is one of the most sustainable things you can do, but even growing herbs, native landscape, or beneficial plants to support the ecology of your area is important too.

While I could easily write too much on ways to garden or what to garden, I’m going to stick to what I love: growing organic fruits and vegetables without the use of pesticides or chemical fertilizers. There is really a myriad of awesome info out there, so I’m going to highlight a few of the lesser known techniques I’ve picked up from local gardeners, as well as some often overlooked methods. Here goes nothing:

First up is prevention through health:

1. 1. Maintaining soil health is the first and foremost thing you need to do when growing fruits and veggies. Sick plants are much more susceptible to insect invasion. Keep them watered properly (not too much, not too little), amend the soil with compost and mulch and plant them in the right place so they are getting proper amounts of sun and shade. Compost tea is also a great way to keep plants healthy and it also helps to take care of anything funky going on in your soil. You may also wish to test your soil for nutrients it is lacking. An inexpensive test can be purchased at garden centers or you can order a professional one that will give you much more comprehensive results. Professional soil tests usually cost between $30-60 depending on who does it.
2. 2. If you need more fertilizer than you have compost, stick with organic fertilizers – well-composted manure, cover crops, bone, blood, or feather meal, coffee grounds from local coffee shops, fish emulsion (some gardeners bury entire fish heads) and the likes. Most organic fertilizers can be found at a garden center – if your garden center doesn’t carry them, find a new place to shop. Chemical fertilizers will kill the microbes in your soil, creating unhealthy plants more prone to attack.
3. 3. Companion plantingis another important step. Garlic is said to drive off aphids from roses; basil to protect tomatoes. Things should be planted closely together (high-density) and interspersed with other plants to create a permaculture-like habitat. I like this guide from Golden Harvest Organics but there are many more sources out there.
4. 4. Silver reflective mulch is pretty cool. It is laid down over the soil, small holes can be cut in it and your starter plants (or maybe even directly sown seed?) can be planted inside. It works two ways: One is by being shiny and freaking out birds to keep them away. The other is by shining light on the underside of leaves to repel shade-seeking insects. This will be the first year I use silver reflective mulch – mainly on my more difficult tomatoes - but many local gardeners swear by it. We live with very intense heat and sun in the summer and as long as we are watering properly, there is no problem with the extra light.

Next up is insect control:

1. 1. Beneficial insectsare the first step here. Lady bugs, praying mantis, some spiders, lacewings and certain types of nematodes will take care of many insect problems. Certain flowers will attract these insects – herbs like dill, fennel and cilantro; flowers like cosmos or geraniums or even dandelions are said to attract ladybugs. Or you can get a local community going by purchasing them. Just remember if you don’t have enough for them to eat they won’t hang around, so don’t purchase 500 ladybugs before you’ve seen a single aphid.
2. 2. Hand-pickingis time-consuming but really the best way to control insects. Check the undersides of leaves, and squish bugs you find or remove the leaf entirely. Done for a few minutes each day should prevent most infestations from occuring.
3. 3. There are two products I’ve encountered a lot this past year. They are both considered “organic” but I’m not sure they would be considered “sustainable”. However, neither is it sustainable when you lose your entire crop and have to shop at Safeway, so here are some emergency-only tips for infestations; neither of these things should be used in place of observant hands-on care:
   • Diatomaceous Earth – According to the all-knowing, completely inerrant Word of Wikipedia, DE “is a naturally occurring, soft, chalk-like sedimentary rock that is easily crumbled into a fine white to off-white powder”. It’s the fossilized remains of diatoms and acts both as a repellent and a bug assassin. To the bug it supposedly looks shiny and sparkly and reminds them of the college days to scare them off. If any daring bugs go near it, it sucks the moisture out of them. I’ve also been told it is razor-sharp to insects and can cut them, but I’m not finding anything to back this up now. This also hurts beneficials so it should only be used when absolutely necessary! Also, it can be drying to the skin of humans and should not be inhaled (like any rock sediment, I suppose). Also, it may not work well in very humid climates.
   • Bacillus thuringiensisis a naturally occuring bacteria found in the stomachs of caterpillars. Incidentally it’s used to kill caterpillars, such as the grape leaf skeletonizer (the little Effer that got my grapes last year). It is mixed with water and sprayed on the underside of leaves. I (obviously) have not had much luck with this but many people swear by it for any type of caterpillar. Again, it can affect beneficials, such as butterflies, so it is really a worse case scenario product.

This is not by any means a comprehensive list. Other more basic techniques to look into are neem oil, garlic oil, soapy water or oil and water which suffocates some insects, sticky traps, copper to deter slugs, an entire technique called Integrated Pest Management, and too many more to remember. Also, keep in mind I’m no expert. If you can add to this list in any way, please do so in the comments!

And one last thing to remember: a healthy garden that produces healthy food will have insects and you will occasionally see leaf damage or lose a tomato. Don’t try to totally knock out the entire insect population and don’t expect spotless vegetables. Strive for balance, health and a thriving ecosystem.