Organic horticulture refers to the art and science of growing vegetables, flowers and fruits by following the various principles of organic gardening that constitutes soil conservation and soil building, pest control and pest management, heirloom variety and preservation. The term ‘horticulture’ stands for the culture of growing plants in the garden. Organic horticulture follows some strict procedures and guidelines and involves a bit of creativity from the part of the gardener. He is supposed to device indigenous ways in order to foster a chemical free garden. Apart from creativity, organic farming needs proper maintenance of the garden, extensive researches and hard work as well. Crop maintenance through the natural gardening process involves using animal manures, compost, organic techniques and mulches. Such steps are vital when it comes to maintaining the sound condition of the soil. The horticulture techniques are also important for returning the acid content of the soil.

Some of the worth mentioning horticulture techniques

•    In the very first stage of growing a garden, you need to accumulate the organic materials and prepare the composting pit. So, within a few months you will have a substantial amount of organic fertilizer to grow plants in the garden. So, the preparation of compost comes first.

•    You need to do a lot of researches to learn the behavior of pests. Study the growing techniques to get maximum benefits from natural seasons. Make use of the planting calendar and study the behavior of pests. Save the garden from pest attack.

•    Thirdly, do experiment with various organic matters, soil mixtures and get to know about the right amount of moisture which is needed by the soil. There must be proper mineral and soil balance without any use of chemical fertilizer.

•    To make natural pesticides, use organic matter. You may also make use of bugs in order to fight out the pests. This is the best way of pest control. Pest management starts from healthy soil. Proper pest control will bring forth healthy plants that may combat diseases.

What are some of the pest control techniques?     

Pest control is very much the part of organic gardening. Organic horticulture tolerates some bit of pest population. When it comes to organic pest control, you need to understand the lifecycle of the pests, their interactions. Follow the tips below for pest control:

•    Permit pest damage up to an acceptable level

•    Try and encourage predatory insects in order to get rid of pests

•    Encourage all the beneficial microorganisms

•    To restrict the reproduction cycle of the pest, consider rotating the plants from time to time.

•    Make use of insect traps to control the pest population

•    Build up the soil in a way that it encourages beneficial microbes, earthworms and microorganisms.

In the field of agriculture, ‘organic’ is the word implying the ‘foodstuffs raised or grown without the use of chemical fertilizers’. You should have the primary goal of improving the health of the plants. However, organic farming enhances and promotes our natural diversity along with the biological cycle in the garden.