Organic Vegetable Gardening

I love fresh tomatoes and cucumbers and the safety I feel when grow them myself. I know that my vegetables are truly organic from top to bottom. I do not use any pesticides or genetically altered seeds. I know where my food comes from and I know because I believe in organic vegetable gardening.

I believe that organic vegetable gardening is a year round activity. I make sure that I am composting year round. This is the first step in ensuring that even the soil you are using is organic. I make sure that all vegetable peels and organic coffee grounds along with garden and grass clippings go into my compost pile in the back yard. I know I never use chemicals on my grass or garden and only by organic products, hence, my compost is organic.

The next step to a great organic vegetable garden is the seeds. Although I often save seeds from the previous years garden I do sometimes need to buy seeds. In this case I like to buy seeds from a company that offers certified organic seeds. I also like to make sure that they specialize in other organic products. I have found a few great sources such as Seeds of Change and Greta's Organic Gardens. Both companies only use organic seeds and only sell seeds that are open-pollinated. Neither company stocks genetically engineered seeds.

Once I purchase my seeds I get ready for indoor sprouting. I live in the midwest and like to get the most out of our slightly shorter growing season. I usually start my indoor seeding in the beginning of April. I am a big fan of DOTPots which are certified 100% organic and made of 80% wood chips and 20% peat moss. They can be purchased in a variety of different places, but I usually get mine from Park City Seeds.

I start out my organic vegetable garden by using the compost that I have built up over the past year in the peat pots. I place the seeds in the peat pots, and keep them in a well lit area of my house. I actually have an indoor room complete with a lighting system to ensure the seeds sprout quickly. If you do not have this luxury to dedicate part of your house to your garden, and very few people do, placing the peat pots under a window.

Make sure to water your peat pots daily. Make sure to have a drip tray under your peat pots. After a few weeks your peat pots will start to sprout. This is a very exciting time. Now you need to think about preparing the outside soil for your organic vegetable garden.

Prepare the soil by rototilling it. I like to work in a years worth of compost to make sure the soil is tops. This is so good for your garden I can not stress it enough.

Once you have your garden prepared and you have your peat pots sprouted it is time to get planting. It is so easy to plant the sprouted peat pots. You simply dig a hole in the ground 1 1/2 times larger then the peat pot, place it in pot and all, and fill in the hole with your freshly prepared mix of soil and compost.

You have now successfully created the perfect organic vegetable garden. Keep watering, and enjoy the produce in a few short months!