Nourishing Your Victory Garden Naturally

Note: This post is part of the ongoing Virtual Victory Guide, a quick primer for new gardeners.

If you’ve opted to establish an organic (or near organic) garden, then you’re likely willing to put forth a bit more effort to provide your veggies proper sustenance. As convenient as ready-made, synthetic chemical fertilizers may be, they’re less essential to successful home vegetable production than advertisers would have you believe. And while many companies now make commercial organic fertilizers available right alongside the more traditional stuff, you’ll want to inspect the ingredients list and instructions carefully before applying it to your garden. Just because it’s “all natural” doesn’t mean that there are risks associated with using a product.

Alternatively, you can enrich your soil and feed your plants using homemade materials that pose no risk to you, your family or your plants. Yes, really. Lots of people do it. Even celebrities.

“My whole life has been spent waiting for an epiphany, a manifestation of God's presence, the kind of transcendent, magical experience that let's you see your place in the big picture. And that is what I had with my first compost heap.” – Bette Midler

Not everyone experiences a peak moment from composting, but it is a popular technique among gardeners, especially for folks with outdoor space to spare. It’s also a cornerstone of organic gardening since it contributes to the your soil’s long-term vitality. Nutrient rich and possessed of a wonderful earthy smell, compost may be referred to as “black gold”—but it’s cheap and easy to make at home.

Yard clippings, leaves, certain types of kitchen waste (especially coffee grounds, obtained from your coffe maker or your local coffee shop), and some types of paper can be tossed on a heap and cultivated to yield nutrient rich matter to spread in your garden. Fruit is not recommended, however, since it can attract ants and other pests. If your grass clippings are not tainted with pesticides (either from your own application or through run off in your neighborhood), they can be composted as well. Keep diseased or bug-ridden garden debris and weeds out of your compost pile, too.

The compost heap can be started directly on the ground (the cheapest option) or in a commercial composter. If your garden is container-based or if you have limited space in which to create “black gold,” you can now  purchase bags of ready-made compost at most nurseries, home supply stores, and some grocery chains. It’ll cost more than the DIY method, but you’ll reap the same benefits. With composting, in addition to creating a natural substance that will enrich your soil, you get the added satisfaction of knowing that you can help conserve landfill space.

Vermiculture has developed a widespread following in recent years. For this organic technique, worms are placed in an indoor or outdoor bin along with newspaper and appropriate kitchen waste, creating a rich soil conditioner and fertilizer that can be harvested periodically and used in the garden. The bins can be purchased online or crafted at home.

Readers: Other tips for nourishing the garden naturally? Feel free to weigh in and/or provide links to relevant posts from your own blogs.

Update: Great new post over at May Dreams Gardens on composting.