Guide to Organic Gardening

Organic gardening, where chemical-based pesticides are not used and the emphasis is on recycling the materials that nature provides, is simpler and more fun than you may think.

Looking after the soil is the cornerstone of organic gardening. The quality of any soil is much improved by adding compost – maintaining your own compost heap is therefore essential.

Organic gardeners recycle all garden waste and degradable kitchen waste – from tea leaves to fruit, vegetables and eggshells – through the compost heap. Don’t put meat or bones on a compost heap. Mature compost looks and smells like good garden soil, but is high in nutrients and teeming with the micro-organisms your soil needs to keep it in good condition.

Making compost is something you can do all year. You need material that is not too wet or too dry. If you've got a lot of wet stuff, such as kitchen waste or green weeds, mix it with dry material, such as egg boxes and crumpled cardboard. Old envelopes are particularly good for mixing with grass clippings.

You can use a container to store your compost or simply make a heap on the ground. Add to it whenever you like. If you're energetic you can turn the heap around, mixing it all up occasionally – but you'll get equally good compost by letting nature do the work for you. Then it’s a matter of digging it in to your soil, and using it to plant new seedlings in.

The other major concern for organic gardeners is pest control. Slugs are a common problem. Barriers of anything sharp and gritty will stop slugs eating your plants, as can bran – slugs eat it and dehydrate.

Insects and wildlife are your best friends when it comes to controlling pests in your garden. Planting annuals amongst your vegetables, such as Californian poppies and marigolds, will attract a wealth of good insects such as ladybirds and hoverflies which will eat plant-destroying aphids.

Create a pond, leave a small pile of logs in the corner of your garden and feed the birds throughout the winter. Doing any or all of these will keep enough wildlife in your garden to eat thousands of pests and their eggs.

Keep plants growing steadily by never letting them go short of water. Dry roots lead to stressed plants that are more likely to succumb to disease.

Be vigilant and check your plants regularly so that any pests and diseases don't get a chance to take hold.

To control weeds, grow clover in the winter in areas where you have no plant cover. As well as keeping down weeds, it stores nutrients in its roots. These are returned to the soil when it is uprooted and dug in during spring.

Pull up weeds as soon as they appear. All the green waste can be added to the compost heap where any minerals and other nutrients they have absorbed during their short growing time will be recycled for the benefit of your garden plants.