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THE NAKED CROP:Organic Gardening Made Simple 

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Table of Contents

Why garden organically? ....................................................................................................................1

Planning your organic vegetable garden .........................................................................................2

Growing your organic vegetable garden .........................................................................................3

Why grow an organic herb garden? .................................................................................................5

Growing your organic herb garden ...................................................................................................6

You have organically grown herbs, now what? ................................................................................7

Organic fertilizers ..................................................................................................................................8

Organic gardening compost ..............................................................................................................9

Why use organic pest control? / How to control garden pests organically .................................10

Gardening Checklist ..........................................................................................................................12

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Why garden organically? 

Everyone knows that gardening tends to be a fair amount of work on the best of days; toss in

the word ´organicµ and it may seem like more trouble than it·s worth. In all actuality, organic

gardening is no more difficult than regular gardening. It does, however, have quite a fewbenefits to recommend it:

y  The lack of chemicals in organic gardening means that you can pick that great looking

tomato growing nearby and eat it right away without worrying about having to scrub it

beforehand.

y  You don·t need to wear any special protective gear to protect yourself from harmful

chemicals.

y  Organically grown vegetables tend to taste much better than those grown using

chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

y  Vegetables grown organically tend to be better for you with higher vitamin counts.

y  Organic gardening is better for the environment

y  You know that there were no genetic modifications made to your vegetables.

y  You can save money by growing vegetables rather than buying them at the grocery

store.

As you can see above, there are many benefits and no real drawbacks to gardening

organically. So now let·s talk about how to get started.

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Planning your organic vegetable garden

A good way to get started with gardening is to put together a list of the things you want to

grow and the materials you need to get started. If you don·t have any gardening tools, those

are a good first step. I have listed some of the tools below that you will need:

y  Spade 

y  Garden hoe 

y  Pitchfork  

y  Garden fork  

y  Garden rake 

y  Pruning shears 

Another good first step when you are beginning an organic garden is to start a compost pile.

This should be in an out of the way, possibly enclosed, place in your yard. You can put anyplant waste (leaves, clipped grass, weeds, etc.) and kitchen food waste (vegetable and fruit

peelings, coffee grounds, tea bags, fruit cores, egg shells, etc.) into this pile. Once you have a

pile started, shovel a bit of dirt on top and then wait a few weeks for your compost to turn into

some beautiful topsoil.

Generally, when starting a garden for the first time, it is a good idea to start small. Pick out

around 25 square feet of ground to start your garden in; ideally this will be a spot that has

good sunlight during the entire growing season. Avoid areas near fences or buildings as paint

or rust may leech into the soil, damaging your garden.

Once you have your spot picked out, you can begin to prepare the ground. Remove any

debris covering the soil, including grass, rocks that are larger than your fingernail, and any

plants that are already there. Now it is time to use that compost you have been preparing.

Any of the material that has been composted and now looks like

dark soil should be removed from your compost pile and placed

evenly over top of the ground you will be planting in. If you don·t

have enough composted material, you can get some pre-

composted material from underneath forest trees. Placing this

composted material on your garden will introduce some of the

good organisms (worms, small insects, and other beneficial life

forms) that your garden will need in order to thrive.

Once you have a thin layer of organic material placed on the

soil you will be using, it is now time to mix things up. Take your 

shovel or pick and start to mix the organic material with the soil. Make sure you don·t mix more

than 3 inches of soil into the organic material or else it will end up buried too deeply to support

the insects that your garden will need in order to thrive.

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You will need to make sure that your garden has enough moisture to enable things to grow. It

is a good idea to check the soil once a day to ensure that it is damp (image the feeling of a

wrung out sponge) but not soggy. If the ground is too wet, there will not be enough air in the

soil for the plants and beneficial creatures to survive. It is best to water during a cooler time of

day, particularly in the early morning when the water is unlikely to evaporate quickly due toheat.

It is never a good idea to walk on top of your garden, especially on top of soil that you plan to

plant in. This compresses the soil so that the plants will receive less air. It is best to get a board

of plywood, or some other type of flat surface to distribute your weight, and line it with a

cushion for kneeling beside your garden.

Once you have all this work done, it is time to start gardening!

Growing your organic vegetable garden

The first step in growing an organic vegetable garden is to decide which vegetables you plan

to grow. It is a good idea to come up with a list and do some research on the types and

needs of the vegetables you are planning to plant. For instance, if you are planning to plant a

lot of vine vegetables (i.e. cucumbers, peppers, or tomatoes) you will need to invest in some

sort of support structure, generally a trellis (short fence-like structure).

Once you have your vegetables all picked out, it is time to purchase the seeds and plan out

your garden structure. What will thrive best in which area of the garden? This can be done at

any time of year and may be a good exercise for the winter. Below is an example of a garden

plan. It can be as simple or as detailed as you want it to be.

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Some things to consider when planning your garden are:

y  Which types of vegetables are you planning to plant?

y  What structure will your garden have? Are you planting in containers, raised beds, levelrows, or in a greenhouse?

y  What does each vegetable need for best growth?

o  Spacing

o  Temperature

o  Lifecycle

o  Location (Indoor/Outdoor)

o  Moisture Level

o  Support Requirements

When you are planning your garden, a big thing to consider is symbiotic relationships between

different types of vegetables. Take into consideration things like nitrogen in the soil. Most plants

are unable to break down nitrogen to form ammonia, which is necessary for plants to

manufacture proteins, amino acids, and other essentials. Legumes are a type of plant that is

able to break the nitrogen bond in order to allow it to bond with hydrogen to form ammonia.

Plants in the cabbage family, although they require ammonia, are unable to break the

nitrogen bond to allow it to form. This means that, in order to have a healthy garden, legumes

(bean, peas, etc.) should be planted near members of the cabbage family (broccoli, kale,

cabbage, etc.).

Some other vegetable relationships to consider are shown below:

y  Beans/corn ² beans attract insects that eat the pests that damage corn plants

y  Spider flowers/lettuce ² spider flowers (cleome) provide necessary shade to lettuce

y  Onions/carrots ² onions are shallow rooted and carrots are rooted deep, enabling them

to be planted close together 

y  Basil/tomatoes ² inexplicably, when basil is planted close to tomatoes, both tend to

grow very well

y  Climbing beans/corn/squash ² also inexplicably, climbing beans, corn and squash all

tend to grow very well together 

Once you are ready to plant, it is time to buy your seeds. There are quite a few companiesthat sell organic vegetable seeds. You can order through a catalogue, online, or go to a store

in person. If you need help in deciding what to purchase and want some direction on planting

and care of the vegetables, it may be best to go in person to pick out your seeds. There will

generally be staff that are trained and who garden on their own time there to direct you.

All of the information you will need in order to know when to plant, which method to use, and

how far apart and deep you need to plant your seeds should be on the back of the seed

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packet you purchase. Once you know where, when and how deep to plant your seeds, you

will need to follow these four steps:

1.  Use your hoe to make a furrow in the ground at the depth shown on the back of your 

seed packet. In general, the larger the size of seed, the deeper it will need to beplanted.

2.  Place the seeds in the hole you have made at the distance recommended on the seed

packet, then use the back of your rake to loosely pile soil over the seeds.

3.  Press the top of the soil very lightly with the back of your rake in order to firm up the soil

so that it will not blow away.

4.  Water the area very gently (with a watering can or a hose with a rainwater 

attachment) and thoroughly.

If you want to ensure you have fresh vegetables all summer long, it is a good idea to plant

seeds gradually, with a week or so in between plantings (for instance, one section of carrots

one week and another the next week).

Why grow an organic herb garden? 

Think about the herbs you use every day in cooking. Chances are

they are dried out herbs that are probably at least a year or two old

sitting in a glass bottle somewhere in your kitchen. Chances are you

wouldn·t eat anything out of those jars unless it was already cooked

into something you are preparing and if you did, there wouldn·t be

very much flavor.

Fresh herbs add so many flavors to food and can make beautiful

garnishes to a meal. Just think about most restaurant photos. There is

always a spring of fresh parsley or cilantro on top of that yummy

looking steak, isn·t there? Not only do they provide great flavor, they

are also great for your health and can serve many medicinal

purposes as well.

The herbs you can buy in the store, whether they are fresh or dried, are generally not organic

and have gone through quite a few different processes. Most store-bought herbs are grown

from genetically modified seeds and planted in chemically fertilized soil and covered withchemical insecticides, fungicides, and herbicides. They already don·t sound very appealing.

Once they have been grown, they are transported to a factory where they are dried at high

heat levels, removing most flavor, fragrance, color and any medicinal benefits. They are then

left out in the open and chemically fumigated, irradiated, and mixed with a stream of

additives.

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If this isn·t enough reason to grow your own herbs, just think of picking a fresh sprig of mint or 

parsley to eat. There is nothing else in the world that tastes quite that good.

Growing your organic herb garden

Growing an herb garden is much like growing your vegetable garden. It is a matter of

planning how you want your garden arranged, what method of gardening you plan to use

(garden plot, potted plants, greenhouse, etc.), and making sure that you have completed all

of your preparations before planting.

With your herb garden, just as with your vegetable garden, good soil is a must. Make sure that

you have some organic material from your compost pile making rich topsoil for your herb

garden, whether you are planting it in the ground, in pots, or in a greenhouse.

Some questions you should ask yourself before planting are:

y  Will your herbs be for ornamental, culinary, or medicinal purposes?

y  Are you planting them alongside vegetables or flowers? If so, you should look into the

possibility of symbiotic relationships between your herbs and any flowers/vegetables as

well as appearance (if it matters to you), scent, and the possibility of flavor transference

(for instance, green onions).

y  Where are you planting your herb garden? Most herbs require at least six hours of

sunlight per day, but some require shade.

y  Will you be growing your herbs in containers or in the ground?

y  How much room do you have for planting?

Some tools that can really help in planting a herb garden include the garden tools you

purchased for your vegetable garden as well as these two helpful devices:

y  Soil pH Tester : Most herbs grow well in soil with a pH that is between 6 and 7, although

most grow the best in soil with a pH level of 6.5.

y  Electronic Soil Tester : This device will test several different important conditions of your 

soil ² moisture, l ight intensity, pH level, and combined nitrogen and phosphorus and

potash levels (NPK). This will help you figure out any changes you need to make to your 

soil.

The best way to grow herbs from seeds is to plant them indoors in shallow containers four to six

weeks before the planting season. Make sure to use a well-drained soil so that the seedlings

won·t drown. As with vegetable seeds, the rule is: the larger the seed, the deeper you plant it.

Some seeds, however, don·t transplant well (coriander and fennel being two of these) and

should be planted directly into your garden at the start of planting season.

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You have organically grown herbs, now what? 

Once your herbs have been grown and picked, you can use them in either fresh or dried form.

If you are looking to preserve your herbs for the winter, drying them is the best idea. Air and

oven drying are the two simplest ways to preserve your herbs:

y  Air drying ² In air drying, you tie clusters of herbs together and hang them upside down

(the same as you would drying a bouquet of flowers) in a dark, dry place that stays

warm. A pantry off the kitchen would be an ideal location to dry your herbs. You can

test if the herbs are ready to use by seeing if the leaves crumble; this will generally

happen after about two weeks of air drying.

y  Oven drying ² If you are using your oven to dry herbs, put it on a low heat setting and

leave them in for several hours. Generally 150 degrees Fahrenheit for 3 hours is the

suggested time.

You can also try extracting essential oils from the herbs by soaking the stems, flowers, leaves,

roots, etc. in a capped bottle of oil (i.e. olive oil). It is recommended that you sterilize the bottle

for 10 minutes before using it. Place the bottle of oil and herbs in the sun for several days and

then strain the oil through cheesecloth and dispose of the remains of the herbs in your 

compost pile. The oil you make can be used for cooking (especially in rubs for meats) or, in the

case of medicinal herbs, for salves or massage oils.

If you are harvesting seeds, you will need to dry them for several days on a sheet of paper.

Once the seeds are dry, you will need to rub them vigorously between your hands in order to

remove the shells. When you have removed the shells, dispose of them and dry the insides of

the seeds for several more days.

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Organic fertilizers

Organic fertilizers are naturally occurring fertilizers. These can be found in the organic soil

created through your compost heap, manure, peat, seaweed, humic acid, and guano.

Organic fertilizers have several advantages over non-organic fertilizers as well as severaldisadvantages, as shown below.

Advantages:

y  Organic fertilizers mobilize existing soil nutrients, so that good growth can be achieved

with lower nutrient levels while wasting less.

y  Organic fertilizers release nutrients at a slower rate, making for less peaks and valleys in

nutritional absorption.

y  Organic fertilizers help to retain moisture in the soil.

y Organic fertilizers improve the soil structure.

y  Organic fertilizers help to prevent the erosion of topsoil.

y  Organic fertilizers, depending on the type used, reduce expense for the gardener.

Disadvantages:

y  Larger amounts of organic fertilizer is required than inorganic, making transportation

(depending on type . . . i.e. slurry, manure) cost prohibitive.

y  Organic fertilizers have a composition that is more complex and has greater variations

that need to be taken into account than inorganic fertilizers.

y  Improperly processed organic fertilizers can contain pathogens that are harmful to the

plant life. However, proper 

composting should remove any

issues.

y  Extra labor is required for 

organic fertilizers; however, this is

offset by the lower cost.

The cheapest and simplest form of

organic fertilizer is created in your 

compost pile. By simply piling up

leaves, lawn clippings, and food waste,you can create your own fertilizer for 

your garden without adding any

additional cost. See an example of a

home-composting set up to your right.

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Organic gardening compost

Composting is fairly easy to do. All you need is a blocked off area of your yard, generally a

pen made with fencing or a large plastic can will do and some waste and soil. The first step in

composting is to gather together anything easily biodegradable that will break down quickly.This includes quite a few things:

y  Coffee and tea grounds

y  Vegetable and fruit trimmings

y  Leaves

y  Grass trimmings

y  Brush trimmings

y  Old plant materials

y  Weeds

y Yard trimmings

y  Kitchen waste (no fatty meats as these can attract rodents and other pests)

One thing to make sure of when you start adding waste to your pile is to make sure that you

leave room for the pile to breathe. Make sure you have some larger bits (wood chips, twigs,

etc.) that take a bit longer to break down as this allows for more air to enter the pile. Make

sure to mix the pile with your rake/pitchfork every week or so to allow for equal distribution of

the damper waste among the drier waste (i.e. grass clippings vs. leaves). When you add new

kitchen waste to the pile, make a hole in the pile and add the waste in, covering it up. Move

the burying site around the pile as you add more material. This will provide the proper carbon

to nitrogen level naturally in the compost.

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Why use organic pest control? / How to control garden pests organically 

Ideally, one would never have to use any pesticides but, unfortunately, insects like the food in

your garden just as much as you do. Inorganic chemical pesticides can do a great deal of

harm to the environment as well as turning delicious healthy food into a disgusting chemicalmess. Organic pesticides do not contain any harmful chemicals and allow you to control the

pest problem without harming the environment or worrying about the state of the food you

have grown.

Here are some organic pesticides you can create in your own kitchen:

Tobacco or Nicotine Spray 

Used for combating aphids, caterpillars, and vegetable-damaging

worms.

Ingredients:

1 cup of tobacco

1 gallon of water 

Put the tobacco into the container of water. Allow the mixture to set for approximately 24

hours. After it has stood for a day, check the color. It should be the shade of weak tea. If it is

too dark, just dilute it with water until it looks right.

*Warning: Don't use this solution on peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, or any other member of the

solanaceous family. Tobacco chemicals can kill these types of plants!

Soap Spray 

Soapy water is another great organic pesticide. Insects don·t like getting soap in their mouth

any more than you do! When you finish doing the dishes, just collect some of the water in a

pan and pour it in a watering can or pitcher to use on your plants. This works well on all hardy

plants.

If you want a stronger solution, mix 3 tablespoons of a liquid detergent into a gallon of water.This should be applied weekly.

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Salt Spray 

This solution is used for cabbageworms and spider mites.

2 tablespoons of salt

1 gallon of water 

Just mix and spray!

Garlic Spray 

Garlic spray is primarily used to fight slugs. Here is a list of ingredients:

1 garlic bulb

1 quart of water 

1 medium onion

1 tablespoon of cayenne pepper 

1 tablespoon liquid dish soap

Crush the garlic, mincing it fine. Add finely chopped onion to the mixture, while adding the

rest of the ingredients except the soap. Wait an hour before adding the soap to the mixture.

The spicy ingredients need to steep, almost l ike tea. After an hour, add the soap. This solution

can be stored in the fridge for a week.

Spearmint-Hot Pepper-Horseradish Spray 

This works on many different types of insects.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of red peppers (hot)

Water (read below)

1/2 cup of fresh spearmint

1/2 cup horseradish (roots and leaves)

2 tablespoons of liquid detergent1/2 cup green onion tops

Mix the spearmint leaves, horseradish, onion tops and peppers together with enough water to

cover everything. Strain the solution. After mixing this, add a half-gallon of water and the

detergent. To use this solution, mix 1/2 gallon of this solution with 1/2 gallon of water. You can

use this to spray almost any plant safely. Store this mixture for a few days in a cool

environment.

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Gardening Checklist

Check out the exposure: If you plan on planting vegetables, you will need at least eight

hours of sun per day. Herbs will require at least six hours of sun each day. Study the sort of

light your plot gets during the day, focusing on the sunny and shady areas.

Designate your planting area/s: You need to plan out where and what you plan to plant.

For vegetables, a 4 foot x 4 foot plot of land will be a good start. A fence or trellis is an

important investment if you plant to plant any climbing vegetables (tomatoes, cucumbers,

peppers, beans). A fence around your garden is also a good idea to keep any wildlife out.

Discover what kind of dirt you have: Most kinds of soil can be enriched with compost and

will eventually be fine for planting. However, you need to determine how much organic

material/fertilizer you will need to add to make the soil viable for your garden. A local

gardening center will be able to answer most of your questions.

Decide whether you want a tilled garden or a raised bed: If you don·t want to till the soil

you have, or if you would rather not bend down so far, you can build a raised planting bed

with wood or concrete. There are instructions at wikihow.com.

Write down your preferences: If you are planting a vegetable garden, think about what

vegetables you would like to be eating this summer/fall and what will grow in your part of

the country.

Create a seasonal plan: Once you have determined what will and won·t grow, what you

want to plant, and what time of year the plants will be ready for harvest, you need to put

together a schedule. For instance, if your tomato plants will take months to grow, plant

some smaller vegetables in the nearby spaces in order to make use of the area.

Purchase some of the basic tools you need: Have these on hand before you begin ² 

garden fork, space, soaking hose, hand weeder, hoe, and a gardening basket.