How to Keep Your Garden Pesticide-Free for Non-Toxic Living

In terms of gardening, non-toxic living involves using pesticide-free methods to keep your plants growing. Your garden can yield great tasting fruits and vegetables for your non-toxic lifestyle, if cultivated properly. There are plenty of pesticide-free options for your garden, which will decrease reactions due to conditions such as Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS). Follow these steps to learn how.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Computer with Internet capability
• Reliable water hose located near garden
• Pruning and digging tools

Plan the Layout of Your Non-Toxic Garden

1. Maintain a diverse garden to keep garden pests guessing. A good mixture of flowers, fruits and vegetables makes your garden pleasing to look at and tougher to infiltrate.

2. Buy plenty of plants with nectars, pollens and fruits. Birds and insects that consume garden pests will flock to enjoy these plants. These welcome predators will take care of a good number of destructive organisms.

3. Shop for hybrid plants and flowers that are bred to resist predators. Garden shops and greenhouses can help you find these plants, which mix well with favorites in your garden and help protect them from hungry predators.

Maintain Your Pesticide-Free Garden

4. Create a watering routine for your entire garden. This routine should fluctuate based on drought or rain conditions. A regular routine helps plants flourish without pesticides.

5. Apply mulch to your garden soil early in the planting process. Mulch used around heartier trees, bushes and plants builds up nutrients that are important for producing strong plants.

6. Prune your trees and large plants frequently. Dead and dying branches offer a refuge for garden pests of all sizes.

7. Dispose of dead branches and plants as the need arises. Pruned branches can be disposed of immediately. Plants that stop living through the growing season should be uprooted as soon as possible.

8. Help keep your garden pesticide free for non toxic living by staying up-to-date with the latest strategies outlined in "Organic Gardening" magazine. Read articles on the magazine's Web site (see Resources below).

Tips & Warnings

• The temptation to use sprays and treatments, synthetic or organic, on your home garden will be strong. Consider ways in which you can improve the maintenance of your plants by using suggestions found on the "National Coalition of Pesticide-Free Lawns" Web site (see Resources below).
• Budget additional funds each month for pesticide-free solutions. The amount of organic gardening products you'll need will add up quickly.
• Avoid ingestion or prolonged exposure to organic gardening materials. Gardeners who experience shortness of breath or skin irritation should immediately consult their physicians.

Who Can Help Sponsored

• How to Lose 30+lbs Guaranteed. Try it Free.