Moving Towards Pesticide Free Gardening

Gardening without pesticides or limiting pesticides in gardening can mean an adjustment in the way some of us gardening. I found some useful tips in an issue of the Caledon Citizen newspaper. (Caledon is located outside of Toronto and according to Maclean's magazine is the safest town in Canada to live.)

Healthy soil is the first step to making your garden grow. Adding compost to your soil, mulching garden beds and fertilizing your lawn in the fall with natural or organic fertilizers will help balance your soil's PH.

Take an inventory and assess what should go where. Choose plants that work with the soil, light and drainage conditions.

Check out native species. These plants will be better adapted to the climate and soil conditions and less prone to disease.

Try planting a xeriscape or "dry" garden. There is a great variety of drought resistant plants available that require very little water.

Use ground cover plants in areas where grass doesn't grow well, such as under maple or conifer trees

Proper watering, aerating, mulching and leaving grass clippings on can help your lawn remain healthy and pest-free without chemicals.

Visit your local garden centre or check out the many gardening Web sites for tips and advice on natural gardening and lawn care.

When you look at the tips they're really about common sense gardening. Native plants have learned to adapt to their environments. So often when we choose a plant we do so because we find a picture we admire or hope to duplicate in our own garden. Sometimes it works but often the plant doesn't make it.

Mulching is always a good way to keep the moisture in the soil and prevent weeds from overtaking the garden. In addition mulch decomposes to make rich fertilizer. I'm always amazed at how composting and mulch can make a difference in the soil.

When I started my patio garden not quite two years ago the soil could have passed for chunks of broken cement. Though I still garden in containers, the base soil is becoming enriched with the mulch and compost I spread on the ground.

The pothos left in an old pot by the previous owners has now moved out of its pot and is trailing the length of the garden. It makes for a lushly green ground cover. Just shows what a little water, mulch and natural fertilizers can do.

Take a moment, please and share your tips on how you've decreased the use of pesticides in your garden. Thanks in advance for sharing.

All in a gardener's day,