The organic approach to gardening and farming recognises that the whole environment in which plants grow is much more than the sum of its individual parts, and that all living things are inter-related and inter-dependent.

Organic gardening - what it really means

If you want to be a true organic gardener or organic farmer, then these are some of the organic gardening criteria you will need to adhere to :

Treat the soil and growing environment as a resource to be husbanded for future generations, rather than mined for short term gain.

Provide plants with a balanced food supply by feeding the many soil living creatures that live there with composts, manures and other organic materials.

With organic gardening, you choose renewable resources, thereby creating a sustainable future.

Reduce pollution of the environment by recycling garden, household and other wastes, rather than dumping or burning them.

Combat pests and diseases without using pesticides that may prove harmful to human health and that of domestic and wild animals.

Encourage and protect wildlife, by creating suitable habitats and by minimizing use of harmful pesticides.

Create a safe and pleasant environment in which to work and play.

Move with the times - taking new scientific discoveries and ideas into account, as well as the best traditional knowledge.

Use good horticultural practices like organic gardening.

Recognise the importance of genetic diversity and hence the preservation of threatened plant varieties.

more on garden compost - eco-unfriendly activities

Organic gardening compost hints & tips

Autumn leaves - organic gardening
Store some dry leaves to mix with grass mowings and other soft green stuff. Make large quantities into leafmould - stuff wet leaves into black plastic sacks (loosely tied), or a wire mesh container. Use after a year or two. Mow leaves on a lawn to chop and collect them up.
Grass mowings - organic gardening
Mix well with tougher items to avoid a slimy mess. Leave on the lawn whenever possible - they will soon disappear and feed the grass; this will not cause 'thatch'. Can also be mixed into a leafmould heap, or used as an organic soil mulch.
Diseased plants - organic gardening
Persistent diseases, such as white rot and clubroot, are best avoided. A hot heap, turned several times, should deal with everything else.
Diseases that don't need living plants to survive - grey mould, mildews, wilts - may survive in a slow, cool heap. But heat is not the only factor that will kill diseases - the intense microbial activity will also help to dispose of them.
Perennial weeds - organic gardening
Some perennial weeds will be killed in a hot organic gardening heap; avoid really persistent horrors such as celandine, bulbous buttercup, ground elder and bindweed. Don't burn or dump these weeds - they are rich in plant foods. Mix with grass mowings in a plastic sack. Tie it up and leave for a few months until the weeds are no longer recognisable, then add to the compost heap.
Weed seeds - organic gardening
Weed seeds may survive a cool organic gardening heap, but should be killed in a hot one. If your compost tends to grow weeds, dig it in rather than spreading it on the soil surface.
Hedge clippings and prunings
Chop or shred tough prunings and clippings from evergreen hedges before adding to a mixed compost heap. Compost large quantities separately; even unshredded they will rot eventually. Mix with grass or other activating material; water well. Tread down the heap, then cover. In anything from a few months to years you will have a coarse mulch which can be used on perennial beds.
Animal manures - organic gardening
Strawy horse and cattle manure composts well. Keep a sack on hand to bulk up other ingredients. Manure mixed with wood shavings should be left to rot until the shavings are no longer visible. If it is dry, water well and mix with grass mowings, poultry manure or other activating material. When rotted use as an organic gardening surface mulch. Wood shavings incorporated into the soil can lock up soil nitrogen, making it unavailable for plants for a year or more. Small pets, like hamsters, don't produce many droppings but you can still use their waste as a strawy addition to the compost heap. Guinea pigs are marvellous - they love eating weeds and convert them quickly to prime compost material!
Paper products - organic gardening
Newspaper can be added to a compost heap, but in any quantity it should go for recycling into more paper. Cardboard, paper towels and other paper items can be scrumpled up and composted. They are particularly useful where kitchen scraps make up a high proportion of the compost ingredients. Avoid glossy paper and colour print.
Sawdust and wood shavings - organic gardening
Very slow to decay. Add in small quantities; balance with quick-to-rot activating materials. See also 'Animal manures' above. Do not use if treated with wood preservatives.

Where to buy your composter - the organic garden catalogue

end of organic gardening information page

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Organic gardening