Organic growing is all about minimizing the amount of manufactured chemicals required to grow a healthy garden. If you want to focus on healthy, environmentally friendly gardening, the organic route is for you.

Organic gardening offers some amazing benefits for both existing gardeners and anyone who's never done it before. You can save money by creating a garden that doesn't require lots of chemicals to thrive. Your crops are likely to be more flavorful, with numerous nutrients proving to have higher levels in organic foods. And if that's not enough, using organic soil helps to protect the environment. Plus, you get all of the usual benefits of gardening, which is calming, energizing, and can keep you active too.

A few basic principles can guide you, making organic gardening for beginners easy to master. If you're just getting started, take a look at these five fundamentals of organic gardening.

Fundamental #1: Your organic garden is only as healthy as the soil you nurture & cultivate

If you want to master organic gardening, start with the soil. Soil is so important when you want to grow anything because it has a huge effect on the conditions that will help your plants thrive.

So what makes good soil for organic gardening, and how do you get it? It takes time to create the best soil, but it's worth it for the results you can get. Healthy organic soil is made up of several components. It should have organic matter, microorganisms, minerals, and the right amount of aeration.

There are a few methods you might use to nurture your beautifully organic soil. Composting, mulching, and cover cropping are just some of the techniques that can be effective. They help to provide the soil with the organic matter and minerals required, while also protecting it from anything you don't want in there. Your soil might be composed of several different types of organic matter. These could include compost, manure, and more. You can also feed your soil with various nutrients to give it a boost.

Cultivating healthy organic soil is vital for the health of your garden. If your soil isn't healthy, your plants won't be getting the nutrients and water they need to grow strong. So the first thing you need to do when starting an organic garden is to spend time assessing the soil and determining what adjustments might need to be made.

You might be eager to get planting, but it will pay off if you're patient.

Fundamental #2: Biodiversity and vibrant biology is always good

Biodiversity should also be at the core of your organic gardening approach. The positive nature of biodiversity and vibrant biology is a rule of nature and you should always follow it. If you try to grow a single crop and push it to its limits, you can quickly start to see negative side effects.

When you set up an organic garden, think of yourself as a caretaker and someone showing hospitality. You're not a production machine with the aim of producing as much as possible. You're a provider for the needs of the beneficial bugs and pollinators that you live amongst. And if their habitat is a little scanty in your yard, you could plant some wildflowers, which would beautify your space and also improve the habitat for butterflies, ladybugs and bees, among others. In return for caring for the life around you, you'll likely be rewarded with bumper crops.

Balance is a must for any organic garden, and biodiversity is the way to achieve it. Your garden is its own tiny ecosystem, teeming with life. Even if you're just growing things in containers, bringing balance to your ecosystem will keep it thriving.

Fundamental #3: View your resources as a continuous loop

The circle of life isn't just a song from The Lion King. It's a very real thing for plants, as well as animals. Treating your resources as a continuous loop means that nothing goes to waste and everything has a purpose.

Composting your food waste is a great example of how you can make the most of everything you have. You can compost fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds and paper filters, paper tea bags, and egg shells. These materials are rich in nitrogen and should be mixed with materials rich in carbon, like dry leaves, plant stalks and twigs, and wood chips. Nitrogen is like chocolate for your compost, giving it a tasty treat to power and make it more vigorous.

Your compost needs a healthy mix of nitrogen-rich (green) materials and carbon-rich (brown) materials. It also needs oxygen and moisture to thrive. Aerating your compost is a good way to give it a boost. Use a gardening fork or another aerating tool to do it. You'll want a well-drained location for your compost too. It needs moisture, but it's also important to have somewhere for moisture to drain away. If it's dry, you can add more water to help it along.

Fundamental #4: Crop rotation for organic gardening

You can't talk about biodiversity without talking about crop rotation. The two go hand in hand, with crop rotation helping to maintain biodiversity in your garden. But it's also important to keep in mind that plants don't just take nutrients and oxygen from your soil. Every plant has a give-and-take relationship with the soil, putting in as much as it takes out.

Changing up your plants keeps things fresh. It helps make your plants healthier and your soil healthier, which is ultimately going to give you higher yields. Different plants will put different things into the soil and benefit from different nutrients too.

Companion planting is something to think about too. When you plant certain plants together, they support each other and create a beautiful balance. One popular example of this is the "three sisters" of corn, beans, and squash. Each one provides benefits to the others, making them the perfect combination.

1. Corn provides a natural pole for the beans to climb so there's no need for artificial stakes. You'll save money and space.
2. Beans are excellent for taking nitrogen from the air and delivering it into the soil, making it more fertile. This provides nitrogen for the squash and corn, which both need it to grow healthy and strong.
3. The squashes have large leaves that spread on the ground and protect the soil. They offer shade and prevent the growth of weeds, as well as retaining moisture. This helps both the corn and beans.

Planting in this way maximizes both the space and resources you have. It promotes a healthy and diverse ecosystem in your organic garden too. Other companion planting ideas are available too, so research what will work for you. Planting mint with brassicas such as cauliflower or cabbage keeps pests away with the strong smell. Lavender can attract pollinators for crops like carrots and leeks, while also deterring pests with its scent.

Fundamental #5: The fundamentals of water for organic gardening

When it comes to water, there's a lot to think about. New gardeners often think that watering their plants will be the easy part. That's true in some ways, but it's also easy to get it wrong if you're not sure what you're doing. There are some fundamental rules to follow if you want to get it right.

First of all, don't drown your plants. More water isn't always better. Too much water will leak nutrients from your soil, promote bad diseases and fungi, and stunt proper root structure. If the soil is moist, there's no need to overdo it.

On the other side of the coin, underwatering isn't helpful, either. Your plants can get too stressed if they don't get enough moisture. A little bit of stress is good for your plants. The roots will go in search of nutrients and water if they're not found in the closest soil, which promotes the growth of their root system and creates an overall healthier plant.

But don't overdo it (or rather underdo it) if you want to ensure your plants get the water they need. At some point, your plant can reach the point of no return, where you won't be able to rescue it. It's important to learn to look for signs from your plants and the soil to check for temperature and moisture.

A watering schedule might seem like a good idea, but it could lead to over- or underwatering. There's no one-size-fits-all for every plant you're growing or every garden. Instead of a rigid schedule, take the time to understand the right amount of moisture. Nature knows best and it rains different amounts at different times of the year and even day.

No matter what watering schedule you decide on, you'll need to have a reliable source of water. Now, this could be city water, well water, or you could even use a rain barrel to collect rainwater. This may be able provide the water you would need for an irrigation setup, and reflects back on the concept we mentioned earlier–a continuous loop of resources.

Your garden is hardier than you might think. It can survive just fine without your constant tending, even if it needs a little help occasionally. Don't be a helicopter gardener — let your garden do its thing and run free.

Start mastering organic gardening for beginners today

Organic gardening is eco-friendly, affordable, and often pretty low-effort too. By focusing on organic gardening for beginners, you can cultivate thriving crops that yield a beautiful bounty to supply you with healthy food. Start your own organic garden and you could soon see some incredible results.

We're always here to answer your questions if you need help getting your organic garden going!

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