Organic gardening techniques and philosophy

Biointensive, sustainable and permaculture explained

Choose plants that thrive in your climate.

Organic gardening often is thought of as simply gardening without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers -- but it is so much more than that.

Organic gardeners strive to replenish resources the garden consumes by adding organic matter to give the soil the nutrition it needs.

And they work in harmony with nature by selecting plants best suited for the site. As a welcome bonus, plants that thrive in your existing climate and conditions won't require as much time and attention.

Under the umbrella of organic gardening, you'll find several types of natural and eco-friendly gardening. Each type offers slightly different techniques and philosophies. Here's a look at three of them.

Permaculture gardening is an integrated approach; plants, animals, land, people, buildings and nature work together to support a multidimensional ecosystem. In other words, you're working with, not against, nature.

To be a permaculture gardener, repurpose an area of your lawn to create a food-producing garden that includes fruit trees and vegetables. Or just grow meadow mixes and other flowers that are beneficial to wildlife.

Sustainable gardening contributes to, rather than takes away from, the planet. This type of gardening conserves water, doesn't use chemicals and doesn't add to pollution. And because it is sustainable (which really means it sustains itself), this gardening technique requires less work and input from the gardener, which also makes it more efficient and less time-consuming. As with all of these forms of organic gardening, the foods grown via sustainable gardening -- whether they're vegetables, herbs or fruits are much healthier to eat. So it can have a positive effect on our health as well as the environment.

To be a sustainable gardener, maintain soil health by using increasing amounts of compost. Use only natural fertilizers such as seaweed and kelp, which encourage plants to grow at a natural rate and help prevent pest problems. Choose hardy plants that are well-adjusted to your climate and will feed birds and attract other types of wildlife.

Biointensive gardening, which is rooted in ancient Chinese agricultural practices, combines Eastern and Western techniques to yield a large amount of crops in a small space while requiring little annual maintenance and no use of power tools.

To be a biointensive gardener, grow cover crops -- which include alfalfa, oats, clover and other grains during the time that your garden is not planted with vegetables. Cover crops feed and replenish the soil, which means you will have higher yields. Also, consider planting your crops in closely packed hexagonal (six-sided) patterns. This style of planting maximizes the amount of vegetation in your garden, eliminates weeds (which require extra work to remove) and decreases the amount of water needed.