Have you always wanted a beautiful bed of roses but just aren’t quite sure how to make them grow? If so, you may be in need of some great organic gardening tips. Whether you’re trying to grow flowers or rows of onions, these tips can help you get started with an all-natural organic garden today.

Your children can help you with your garden. Growing a garden offers a unique learning experience, and you and your child can grow closer while growing healthy food for your family.

If you have a young baby, consider wearing your child in a backpack while you garden. Being outdoors is a great stimulating experience for an infant, plus they get to spend more time with you. Organic gardening is safest for baby, as there is no risk of them encountering harsh or dangerous chemicals while you work.

A great trick for organic gardeners and a neat way to reuse plastic milk jugs are to use them as a form of self irrigation for your garden. All you need to do is poke little holes into the bottom of plastic 1 gallon jugs, bury the jugs next to your plants and make sure to leave an opening. Fill the jugs allowing the water to seep slowly into the ground.

If your yard’s soil isn’t as healthy as you want, or has been contaminated in some way, you can still grow organic produce using raised beds. You can use wood, brick or stone for the border. Make sure that it is at least 16 inches high so that there is room for the roots. Fill it with organic soil and compost.

Variety makes for a better compost pile. By using a wide variety of materials in your compost pile, you are providing a better pH balance, more nutrients and microbial organisms. Shred materials when possible, as smaller particles decompose much faster, but having a few larger materials in there helps to improve the aeration. For the best results, don’t add any more materials once the composting process has begun.

Plant slightly more than you will need. Pests and poor weather can diminish yields from your garden, especially if you are new to organic gardening. To account for this possibility, plant a little more than what you will need. However, don’t go overboard, if it is successful, you could have more vegetables than you could possibly use.

Use alcohol to help control the slugs in your garden by fashioning a beer trap. Start by burying a wide-mouth jar in the soil, ensuring that the rim of the jar is just at the soil’s surface. Next, fill the jar with beer until there is only one inch left below the mouth of the jar. The beer attracts these slugs, but traps them in the jar.

Stay shallow in the soil when you are working it. You do not need to break your back digging deep in your organic garden. Keep your depth to an average of six inches. Nearly eighty-five percent of all plant roots only require the top six inches of soil. That should make your work easier.

Choose the correct spot for growing organic vegetables. An organic garden needs to be self-sustaining, with the ability to defend itself from damage. This defense is promoted by four factors: water, sun, soil and air circulation. Choose a sunny spot, preferably with both morning and afternoon sun. In humid areas, morning sun is important to dry dew quickly, avoiding fungus. If your soil is clay or sandy, amend it with peat to improve water retention and drainage.

Grow organic herbs to add some flavor to your cooking and brighten up your yard. Herbs make great landscape plants: add them to a bed or pot in your yard. They are wonderful to flavor foods you cook, offer fragrance and have medicinal properties. Herbs are very easy to grow and actually thrive on neglect.

Do you have weeds in your garden and you don’t want to spray dangerous weed killer? Common household vinegar can help your problem. Spray full-strength vinegar on the weedy spots on a sunny day. Vinegar works as an organic weed killer and it is safe the environment, and you.

If you are trying to grow tomatoes from seed, use old drink cups or yogurt containers to start them. When they are ready to be transplanted, just cut the bottom off of the cup and put them right into the ground. This will help protect the new plant from worms and other pests.

The great thing about these tips is that they deal with organic gardening in general. So it doesn’t matter if you’re planning on growing fruits, vegetables, trees, bushes or flowers, the tips in the above article will help you get started. Your thumb won’t turn green overnight, but you will begin to learn how to go organic.

Grow Organic Produce For Your Family With These Tips was originally published on Spring