ORGANIC GARDENING - OUR IDEAS TO GET YOU STARTED
You’ve probably heard of organic eating and organic produce, but how much do you know about organic gardening and the benefits it offers to you, your family, your pets, the environment and of course, your garden? Often the people we chat to feel intimidated by the idea of organic gardening, but it’s really simple to get started. Here are a few ideas to help.
Choose Indigenous Plants
When it comes to planting in our gardens, there are two main reasons why it is better to go for indigenous plants. Firstly, these plants are better adapted to our environment and will, therefore, have a far better chance to thrive. Secondly, these plants are often better at attracting birds, butterflies, and other wildlife that we love to have in our gardens.
Use organic fertilizer to get your soil perfect for planting whilst protecting the environment
While there are many chemical fertilizers on the market, we would recommend choosing an organic one. Remembering that our gardens are not only used by ourselves but also as a home to a host of different micro-organism, insects, birds and small mammals. Using chemical products can be detrimental and even fatal to them. Read more on using organic fertiliser here.
Use “leftovers” for the good of the garden
Instead of throwing away those fruit and vegetable scraps or getting rid of the leaves after raking your garden, why not use those leftovers to help your garden grow. Leaves are full of minerals and as they break down, they help to feed earthworms when added to flower beds. The earthworms, in turn, create lovely castings full of nutrition for your soil! Leftover bits of fruit and veg can also be added to your compost heap to enrich your compost with more nutrients that will eventually help your plants grow. If you want to up your game here, you can even create your own worm farm. Click here to read about ours!
PLEASE - Don’t cut down the trees
Our environment is in desperate need of trees to aid preservation, so please don’t cut them down! Not only do trees provide us with essential oxygen and remove carbon dioxide from the air, they also help to stabilise our soil and provide homes and shelter to many of our beautiful creatures. When you have sufficient indigenous trees planted in the right way at the right time, you will end up with a wonderful “organic” microclimate for your garden to blossom under.
Use of organic pesticides
Gardens are natural breeding grounds for all sorts of insects and most of them play a vital role in your garden. Unfortunately, some are counter-productive and cause massive destruction. As the weather becomes warmer now, you will notice a whole lot more ants around and they just love to eat into your lawn. To rid your garden of these, we at Eco Balance use an organic pesticide spray for ants which is safer for humans, birds, pets and the environment, while still being very effective. The pesticide is formulated with only organic ingredients, which are canola oil, garlic extract and natural plant pyrethrums, and has been passed as an organic insecticide by the Registrar from the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
If you’re struggling with ants in particular and would like to use an organic spray to get rid of them, we would be happy to pay your garden a visit to take a look at the infestation and give you advice and quote on spraying organically to remove them.
We’re also super-keen to hear all about your organic gardening! Please feel free to send us your photos and ideas.