Entertainment, Part Two: Organic Gardening

Believe it or not, there are advantages to being chemically sensitive and one of them is being introduced to the world of chemically-free living and natural healing. Organic products become a priority when conventionally-grown, chemically-saturated food is the anti-Christ, but what is the guarantee the food in grocery stores is organic? In addition, the exorbitant prices of organics take some getting used to after a lifetime of cheap, chemically-grown food. What better way to be assured of quality control and to save some money than to grow your own!?

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would be a gardener. I grew up surrounded by agriculture and as a child being a farmer meant you failed at life. You didn't get out. I dreamed of living in a big city, being successful at some prestigious career, and making lots of money. If I had gardens, I'd have gardeners to work in them.

The highest score on my pre-college admission test was in agriculture. No way. I was horrified and convinced the test was flawed or someone scored it incorrectly. Besides if I'm supposed to be a farmer, why go to college? I associated gardening with dirty, uneducated, uncivilized people who hung around cows and pigs all day. I thought gardening would be my personal hell. Who would have known it would be so joyful and satisfying? 

Right about the time I became chemically sensitive, I developed a fascination with herbs, their medicinal value and medieval folklore. I didn't have the property to grow fresh produce, but I did have a patio. I'd start small.  Once I was ready to move into a house with a yard, I had grown a container garden totaling forty-three different herbs. I also knew I would be giving up my former city lifestyle and embracing country living, and gardening was at the top of my list of new adventures. I had no idea how to garden, but I was determined to learn.

Gardening is a no-brainer if one is apt to use chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, conventionally-grown starter plants and treated seeds. What could go wrong? Without chemicals, the gardening novice needs to learn the skills and knowledge that have been developed over centuries of experience and accumulated long before chemicals even appeared on the scene. This was my challenge. I was excited. 

So...stick a seed in some dirt, water it, and like magic, you've got food, right? Not hardly. My first misconception was I'd never have to shop at a grocery store for produce for the rest of my life. It was a rude awakening to find out if you plant in the spring, most of the veggies won't even be ready until August or September and then only for a couple weeks. Where's the fresh produce for the winter??? What about fall and spring, too? I haven't graduated to year round gardening, but it is limited anyway.

Before chemicals ruled the earth, there were a variety of food preservation methods used so meats, fruits and vegetables could be eaten year round: root cellar storage, drying, and canning, for instance. I canned my first couple years in the country and it was another new and wonderful experience. I loved seeing all the pretty glass jars on my shelves. Problem with canning is it's not fresh food! I hate canned food so I ended up giving most of it away. Then I found out the lid seals are made with the toxic chemical bisphenol A (BPA). Eewww....

This green thumb
 looks radioactive! HA!

The real challenge with organic gardening is making sure the plants live to maturity. There are all kinds of garden enemies to deal with: bugs, slugs, fungus, mold, scale, mildew, bacteria, moles, voles, raccoons, cats, deer, watering problems, weather issues, weeds, weeds, and more weeds. It's a war zone out there. Without chemical enhancements, you must find other ways to strengthen and protect the plants from their enemies. It's a science...well, yeah, botany, biology, and chemistry all rolled into one. But more importantly, it's a skill. A talent. Having a green thumb in organic gardening means you work very hard and have a whole brain full of tricks!

Here are brief summaries of some basic organic gardening tricks I discovered:

Companion Planting  Just like it sounds...some plants make good companions for other plants. They strengthen, support and often provide nutrients to each other that they wouldn't normally get on their own. Some plants protect other plants from insects or they attract good insects that will eat the bad insects attracted to their companion. On the other hand, some plants are not good companions and will stunt growth or steal nutrients. It's a system of allies and enemies.

I made all kinds of garden maps to keep it straight. Lots of work, but the planning was very exciting to me and I spend all winter preparing and rethinking strategies. Sorry the examples below were done in pencil so they are hard to see. Click on them for a better view.

Three Sisters Plan 2006

Front Yard Plan 2012

Some years I have strayed away from companion planting, but the years I stick with it I've had the healthiest and biggest plants. The first year I had a turnip the size of a soccer ball and the next year one of my beets won a blue ribbon for largest at the county fair!

This theory of gardening isn't conducive to the traditional row gardening one imagines. I had one acquaintance look at my first garden with the companion plants all intermixed with herbs and exclaim, "Well, I like my other friend's garden better. She has a real garden. One with rows." Gee, thanks, annoying acquaintance! Yes, rows are pretty, but not always smart.

Moon Planting  This is planting according to the moon phases. It's how farmers have been planting crops since the beginning of time. It is what we call in modern times The Farmers' Almanac. Now  instead of oral traditions passed down through generations, it's a bound book!

The basic theory of moon planting is seeds are sown or plants transplanted during the first three weeks of the moon phase (1st, 2nd, and 3rd quarters) depending on what kind of plant it is. Herbs are always grown or transplanted during the 1st quarter. It is believed during these phases the moon pulls at the earth's gravity assisting growth. Plants are then strengthened making it easier for them to resist diseases and pests. The fourth quarter is a bit of a anti-gravity time and this is when you would apply fertilizers, pest controls and weed. If you weed during the fourth quarter, the weeds don't come back! I don't know if this is true as I have so many weeds I can't tell, but I like the idea. It's like a fairytale. 

Ed Hume's Garden Almanac is available at most garden supply stores for about $1.79. It will have the calendar dates according to the current year's moon phases and tell you month by month, day by day exactly what to do and when.

Moon planting was really fun because people thought I was a little loony. I was always saying things like, "Oh, no, I can't do that now I have to wait until second quarter." "Oh, that would be best during first quarter, but only if you harvest during third quarter in Sagittarius." They'd laugh and shake their heads, but I enjoyed having knowledge that no one else seemed to have. Moon planting in combination with companion planting was extremely challenging. I have to admit, I still keep an eye on the dates, but I'm not as strict as I used to be.

Feeding and Fertilizing  There are all kinds of natural substances an organic gardener may use for fertilizing. Ashes from your fireplace will replenish potassium in the soil. Egg shells are good for potassium, too, but slugs love to eat them. Bone meal adds phosphorus. Winter cover crops such as crimson clover may be planted to replenish nitrogen.

Various manures are also very high in nitrogen. Chicken manure is the highest, but messy and smelly. Rabbit manure is second highest and also not "hot" so it can be used right away. The third best is horse manure, but pasture weed seeds infiltrating your soil is a hassle. Don't use cow manure because of e coli contamination.


I've been using rabbit manure for a few years, but only on certain plants. Although Peter is a very hard-working bunny, he really doesn't produce enough for a whole yard. Last fall I found a local rabbitry willing to unload what they had and I transported sixteen garbage cans of it into my gardens. Peter was NOT happy. I'm hoping for over-sized veggies this year! We'll see.

A trick I learned for transplanting is placing alfalfa pellets (rabbit or horse food) under the plants. They are very high in nitrogen and hold water well so the newly planted roots don't dry out. Just be aware of your raccoon population. One year I transplanted all my basil, went out the next morning and a whole family of raccoons pulled them all up to get at the pellets. Grrrrr....

Railroad Nails and Old Iron Nail

There are other little tricks one learns, for instance, tomatoes love iron. I happen to have some old railroad nails I bury in the ground next to each plant. I also grow all my indoor starts in egg shells for the calcium and potassium. I know someone who's husband is a fisherman and they supplement their gardens with fish heads and guts. She gets gigantic zucchini!

Pest Control     Companion planting and moon planting strengthen plants so they are better able to resist insect attacks, and many plants, herbs in particular, are pest deterrents.

My all-purpose, natural, home-made bug deterrent recipe is made with garlic, onions, cayenne pepper and Planet Dishwashing Liquid, the all-purpose miracle soap. I liquify the onions, garlic and cayenne in a blender with a lot of water. Let it sit in a bucket for a few days. Strain. Add soap. Spray on and around the plants.

Straining Bug Spray...Stinky!!

Always apply any kind of bug spray at night when the bees are not foraging and during the fourth quarter of the moon cycle. See also my post titled, "Pest Control" for more gardening and household pest control tips.

Finished Bug Spray...Lovely!

This is but a brief summary of organic gardening. If you would like more detail on anything in particular, just comment and I'll see what I can do. The Internet is also full of information and there are thousands of books on the subject.

Happy Gardening!