Creating a Natural Garden: Ecological & Sustainable Gardening

Organic Gardening: Tips for a Natural Garden

In times of climate crisis, ecological and sustainable action has become necessary in all areas of life - including gardening. Every gardener should practise conscious use of increasingly scarce resources. At the same time, environmental pollution and contamination caused by nutrients, pollutants and waste must be reduced.

Promoting Ecosystems Through Diversity

Sustainability means preserving the basis of life for future generations without overexploitation. Instead, existing natural resources should be used to an appropriate extent. Sustainable gardening means promoting a healthy ecosystem in your garden. A large biological diversity of flora and fauna is crucial for this. The higher the number of different individuals, the stronger the system's self-regulating mechanisms can work and make your garden more resistant to disease!

Permaculture: Gardening With Nature

Working with nature and promoting a stable ecosystem through horticultural measures stems from permaculture. You can read more about permaculture in our article on the subject: Permaculture - Gardening in Harmony With Nature. Provide the widest possible range of food and habitats for wildlife. This includes a year-round flower-rich garden with native early bloomers, fruit trees, perennials, berry-bearing shrubs and wild herbs.

Ecological & Organic Fertilization

You can find all the basics about Ecological & Organic Fertilization in the article on the subject. There are a few things to consider when using (organic) fertilizers correctly. If used incorrectly, you run the risk of over/under-fertilizing your plants and polluting the environment through leached nutrients or emissions.

Maintaining and Improving Soil Fertility

In addition to a high level of biodiversity in the field, an organic farmer or gardener also wants the soil to be as biologically active as possible. This is to maintain and promote the soil's function of "digesting" organic matter and supplying nutrients to the plants. Maintaining and promoting soil fertility is one of the most important goals. This idea is based on the understanding that the soil and the plants that grow on it are an interconnected, open system. This system is susceptible to external influences, which is why plant protection and fertilization measures must be handled consciously and carefully . You can find Everything You Need to Know about Your Garden Soil in this article.

Preventive Plant Protection Instead of Control

In organic horticulture, the focus is on good precautions and preventing infestation with so-called pests. If you pay attention to the following points, you can naturally promote plant and soil health:

Mixed Crops Instead of Monocultures

When growing mixed crops, plant species are planted next to each other to complement each other and protect each other from pathogens. You can find out How to Plan a Mixed Crop in the Vegetable Patch and what you need to bear in mind in our article on the subject.

Observe Succession Planting and Crop Rotation

You should take enough time to plan your gardening season, as good preparation can save you a lot of work and trouble later on. In addition to the principles of mixed cultivation, you should also consider succession cropping and crop rotation rules when planning your garden. You can find more information on this in the article "Succession Planting and Crop Rotation in the Vegetable Garden". This is an important tool for preventing diseases, especially soil-borne diseases.

Promote Beneficial Organisms

Beneficial insects are our little helpers in the regulation of unwanted insects that like to nibble on our vegetable and fruit plants. If you encourage them in your garden, they can keep aphids & co. at bay. To attract beneficial insects, you should sow lots of flowering crops in your garden. Flower strips or the creation of a herb spiral are suitable for this. You can also install overwintering facilities, nesting boxes or insect hotels in your garden to create a habitat that has unfortunately become rare.

If you want to know Who the Most Important Beneficial Insects in the Garden are, take a look at this article. However, it is just as important to know the most common Plant Pests in the Garden. You should know the most important players in your garden so that you can react correctly in the event of an infestation.

Naturally Strengthen and Protect Plants: Nettle Manure & Co

• Plant strengthening agents for more resistant plants. They are designed to increase plant immunity in a natural way. You can read all about Natural Plant Strengthening Without Chemicals in the article on the subject.
• Crop protection measures such as crop protection nets, tunnels, slug collars, pheromone traps, glue rings, etc.
• Regular checks for diseases and pests. You can find out how to deal with an infestation of animal pests in the article on Controlling Various Plant Pests.

We hope this article has given you a good overview of the principles and measures of sustainable and organic gardening. And now have fun gardening!

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