• Organic gardeners only use vegetable or animal fertilizers  rather than synthetic fertilizing products.
• It involves the use of natural pest control methods , not insecticides.
• Organic gardens contain natural substances to keep away pests.
• Sometimes, beneficial insects are released to eat or ward away harmful creatures.

Spade Shovels 

Perfect for digging your planting holes, removing sod, edging flower beds, and relocating soil or compost. Look for a spade with a square steel head, strong wood, and fiberglass handle.

Digging Forks 

Digging forks, unlike pitchforks, are built with strong tines for digging, turning compost, loosening soil, spreading mulch, and diving plants. A good digging fork will have a steel head with a wood body and D-shaped handle.

Rakes 

Rakes are necessary for removing leaves, rocks, and dirt clumps from any garden (or lawn). Plastic rakes, rather than metal rakes, are recommended for gardening because they won't harm emerging plants if carefully used (not to mention they're inexpensive and moderately sturdy).

Hand Trowels 

Hand trowels are perfect for digging small holes, removing weeds, and mixing compost. Most durable, quality trowels are made of a solid piece of forged stainless steel with a rubber grip for comfort.

Hand Cultivators 

These tools are useful for both roughing up soil before planting seeds, as well as removing small weeds. The best hand cultivators should consist of a single piece of forged or molded stainless steel.

Bypass Pruners 

Perfect for cutting vegetables, reshaping plants, and removing dead leaves. Look for a pair of pruners that fit comfortably in your hand and can be easily cleaned.

Composting

Composting is an essential ingredient to any organic garden. Adding organic matter  to your growing greens helps to conserve water, feed plants, cut down on waste, and decrease weeds. It's a fairly straightforward process and anyone with a backyard can join in developing their own compost pile.

1. Designate an outdoor space and acquire an appropriate container  for your compost pile.
2. Add alternating layers of carbon-rich materials--often brown or yellow colored and include leaves, straw, and corn stalks--and nitrogen-rich materials--generally green, such as plant-matter or manure--with a small layer of soil in between.
3. Add 4 to 6 inches of soil on top of your compost pile  and add water to keep moist.
4. Allow 2 months for your pile to decompose.

Preparing the Soil  

Soil needs to be properly conditioned in order to yield the best results from your garden. Nutrient-dense soil creates an environment for healthy and productive plants, but chemical soil treatments can find their way into your food and can also harm beneficial bacteria, bugs, and microbes in your garden. If you've been cultivating your at-home compost pile , you'll need the finished product to prepare your soil before you plant.

1. Test your soil for a breakdown of pH and nutrient levels. Testing is best done in the fall, and you can use an at-home soil testing kit  (check out our top choices below) or have your local agricultural office test a garden sample for a modest fee.
2. Three weeks prior to planting, mix the top layer of your garden's soil with your compost pile.

Luster Leaf Rapitest Soil Test Kits 

• Inexpensive system features easy-to-use capsules and color comparisons.
• Tests for pH balance, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium levels.
• No experience required to perform tests.

Ferry-Morse Electric Soil Testers 

• PH preferences on over 400 flowers, vegetables, and other plants.
• Tester provides fast results and is reusable.
• Includes a helpful garden guidebook.

Hanna Instruments Soil Test Kits 

• Portable kit comes with backpack for simple storage.
• Evaluates soil quality and fertility through testing Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, and pH.
• Contains enough materials for 50 tests.

Carrots 

Carrots are root vegetables that come in various lengths and colors. Orange is the most widely seen color, but there are red, white, purple, and yellow variations as well. They require heavy watering and a carbon-rich fertilizer, but are otherwise easy to tend to.

Foxgloves 

Foxgloves are perennials that can grow 2 to 6 feet tall. The bell-shaped flowers come in many colors such as red, purple, white, and yellow. These plants are simple to care for because they do not require a lot of watering, only nutrient-rich soil.

Lupines 

Lupines are fast-growing perennials that require very little care. Easy to spot because of their stiff and colorful flower spikes, lupines can grow 1 to 4 feet tall. They can be planted in any kind of soil as long as they are in a cool, moist environment.

Watering is best done in the morning when the temperature is cooler, there's less wind, and the water isn't lost due to evaporation.

How to water a garden:

1. Water the roots of the plants, not the sprouting greenery.
2. Make sure to water once or twice a week, which will encourage deeper roots and stronger plants. 

Tip: If you can't seem to remember when to water your plants, try using self-watering Aqua Globes  in small gardens or potted plants.

Reducing the number of weeds in your garden can be as easy as applying mulch  regularly (although some gardens will require more attention than others). Remember, do not use weed-killing chemical sprays!

How to weed a garden:

1. Make sure the plants you are pulling are weeds and not your vegetables or flowers.
2. Grab the unwanted plant at the base, as close to the dirt as possible, and pull it straight up.
3. Dig and pull out the roots of the weed as well, or the unwanted weed will grow back.

Tip: It is easiest to weed a garden after heavy rain, when the soil is wet.

While weeding and watering are essential in keeping a healthy environment, there are other situational factors that might prohibit your glorious garden from blooming. 

How to protect your plants:

• If your garden is full of unwanted visitors, be sure your plants are getting the proper amount of light, water, and nutrients.
• Certain animals help keep away garden enemies. Making your garden friendly towards these animals will help keep away pests.
• Frogs, lizards, birds, bats, and lady bugs  are natural predators of insects that will destroy your plants.
• Protecting your garden with netting  or a fence can also help keep larger pests out, like deer and rabbits.

Tip: A diverse garden helps prevent an onslaught of pests by limiting the number of plants a particular creature is interested in.

Rodale's Ultimate Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening , written by Fern Marshall Bradley , has been a go-to guide for gardeners for more than 50 years. It teaches the principles of organic gardening for fruits, vegetables, herbs, trees, shrubs, perennials, and annuals.

Gayla Trail , author of Grow Great Grub , details how to grow and cook organic foods with this great guide. She explains how to garden in any environment, whether it's indoors, in a windowsill planter box, or on a rooftop garden.

Four-Season Harvest , written by Eliot Coleman , is full of simple how-to's, humor, and reliable advice. This guide is unique because it provides instructions on how to have a garden year-round, even during the winter months.