Things You'll Need:
- Misting Spray Bottles
- Gardening Tools
- Mulch
- Organic Fertilizer Or Fish Emulsions
- Organic Seed Packets
- Seed-starting Supplies
- Stock Seedlings
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Step 1
Get a soil test before making a new bed - or figure that, if grass grows, so will annual flowers. Do your soil work at least a month before planting time in your area and see "eHow to Build Organic Soil" for details on soil preparation.
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Step 2
Work up the soil soon after the last frost date in your area and rake it smooth to plant seeds. Keep moist and covered with a board or hay mulch until seeds sprout, then remove. Feed seedlings at three inches tall with compost tea or diluted fish emulsion.
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Step 3
Or, choose transplants with potential - good green color, sturdy growth and no flowers yet. You want them to root well in your garden before flowering. Water in each transplant at planting time with compost tea or fish emulsion and take off the first flowers to reduce transplant shock and promote rooting.
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Step 4
Put annuals in pots, among perennials, to bridge their seasons and en masse in small beds. Mix up sizes and species in each planting area to confuse insects and inhibit the spread of leaf diseases.
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Step 5
Fertilize every ten days with a balanced organic flower formula and pinch new growth if it's spindly.
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Step 6
Walk the garden daily. Watch for pests and deal with them promptly. Make cardboard collars for little stems if cutworms have plagued you before. Combat bugs by spraying the bed with soapy water, or spray only affected plants. See "eHow to Control Pests Organically."
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Step 7
Enjoy your flowers and deadhead regularly (pick off the flowers before they fade in order to promote free-flowering). Fertilize after each flush of bloom and keep the beds watered and mulched.
