Organic gardening means different things to different people. As a nursery owner I have one answer, as a gardener I have a different one and as a "Tree Hugger" I have a third. I intend to share some tips in how to be a successful organic gardener

For me organic gardening starts with the soil. Many people and gardeners even think of the soil as just something to hold the roots of plants. Dead. Of no importance except it can be hard to dig or can hold too much water and kill their plants.

Organic gardeners know that is not true. Your soil is alive with a combination of bacteria, fungi and other organisms that change chemicals to nutrients plants can use, break down organic materials to humus, protect the roots of larger plants and in some cases unfortunatly attack the roots of desirable plants.

Do you remember hearing about top soil in elementary school? I did, but never understood what they were talking about. The reason? I have never lived where there is any top soil. Top soil is that soil with lots of organic material that has accumulated from tree leaves, dead grasses and other plant debris and broken down into true humus.

In most of California  there is no topsoil except maybe an inch or two. This is because of the long warm season that completely breaks down organic material and the long dry season that stops grasses and other small plants from growing except in the spring. Any organic material dissipates long before top soil develops.

If you are a reader of this blog you will know that I am a long time believer of mulching with “Humus” Here I mean undecomposed organic material like fine bark mulch. Not the humus of a soil chemist. I lived for almost twenty years in a section of Modesto with heavy clay soils. In fact it is the first heavy soils that Modesto covered up. As I have mentioned before I mulched several times with “Humus” . About two inches each time. This was not dug in, just put over the top. Before we moved Donna and I did some garden remodeling that put areas into garden that had not been mulched. Boy what a difference. The soil that had “humus put over it was completely different from the new garden soil.

Soft, Rich and alive!

To repeat, this soil had never been dug up by me; just mulched over the top. The mulch had allowed the microorganisms to multiply. The microorganisms broke down the undecomposed organic material into true humus that leached down in to the soil and completely changed it. The mulch helped with weed control. The mulch helped by keeping the soil cool for the plant roots. And finally the mulch turned the top 12 - 18” into top soil!

To me the basis of organic gardening starts with the soil!
 

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