Organic Vegetable Gardening Guide to Zucchini and Tomatoes

Organic vegetable gardening helps us understand and be in harmony with nature, but it's also the right thing to do for the environment. Chemical fertilizers, pesticides and other components of modern agriculture have far-reaching effects on the environment, whether in local streams or even being carried by natural processes to pollute the oceans and affect wildlife, birds and insects. As with so many other areas of modern life, industrial products are being replaced with new technologies which allow more responsible living in a way that is more compatible with the modern lifestyle.

In my organic vegetable garden, that still means that my already rich soil is enhanced by manure from a local farm. It is a little fragrant, and I've discovered a product from Canada that answers any objections, especially for the little plots that surround my doorstep and welcome visitors - "unscented" manure! Basically just dried cowchips, they are perfect for my purposes, carrying the nutrients I need but not the aroma my visitors don't.

My organic vegetable gardening plot is a factory for zucchini lasagna which I freeze for the winter months, so those are the most important plants for me. Unlike some plants like cabbage, it's not a problem to replant each year with tomatoes and zucchini squash, but I do plow in the manure and sometimes add some good rich earth (topsoil) because my garden is in a reclaimed yard and is a combination of a variety of soils. Over time, it is becoming an oasis, even a jungle! A little bit of catnip I planted even returns each year to tantalize my cats. Zucchini and tomato plants, just the varieties sold by the local farm stand in Massachusetts, are not particularly challenging to grow organically, but that's the point - anyone can do it, so why not do it as a way to learn organic vegetable gardening? If you do it with an eye towards the future, you can diversify your crops as the soil becomes more uniformly rich and welcoming to whatever plants you wish to grow. If you aren't sure about the organic status of the plants, you can start the plants yourself indoors ahead of planting time.

Good soil is like "GORP" to a hiker, it has the combination of nutrients for the long haul. Some fertilizers strive to emulate what nature can do, but it's not the same. Organic soil development is a matter of balance, not pushing the soil to produce. When you've got the balance right, you'll find the plants respond beautifully without any store-bought chemicals.

Some more details for the two plants I started out with - water, maintenance, and harvesting. Both of these plants, tomatoes and zucchini, need plenty of water and sunshine. Give them what they need, and you won't know what to do with all the produce they give back! Make sure that you protect the tomato plants with a cutworm barrier at the base, and nip the false "sucker" growths at the joints of the branches so that all the energy goes into the fruit. If you have a bug problem, which I tend not to, why not try some mosquito netting over the plants? You can also plant Marigold flowers in your garden as a natural deterrent.

If you have heavy rains or other stormy weather, make sure to tend and re-stake your plants as necessary, and care for any blossoms that were affected. Harvest your produce promptly and trim damaged growth, keeping the plants' energy focused. Enjoying your tomatoes and zucchini, rich and succulent, you know that the water and nutrients these plants pulled from the soil and prepared for your eating didn't contain anything that nature didn't intend for you to eat. Organic vegetable gardening is very satisfying, and allows you to supplement your carefully chosen market foods with home grown.

Organic vegetable gardening is more rewarding because you plan for the future and see the results year after year. Leaving out the chemicals you may lose a little convenience, but you will find yourself naturally getting into the harmony of the land, and your awareness will help you grow better crops than chemicals ever could.