Organic gardening is the act of planting flowers, shrubs, fruits and vegetables without the use of synthetic, man-made fertilizers or chemically-laden pesticides. Garden guides will also tell you that what you do in home vegetable gardening and flower gardening is just as important as what you don't do. Gardening organically has evolved to be a sort of philosophical approach to planting. Organic gardeners look at the bigger picture, how humans are at one with nature, and how the use of natural elements is ideal for replenishing ecosystems. Whatever the garden consumes, typically gets replaced. Organic matter like grass clippings, fall leaves and vegetable scraps make wonderful additions to the soil of a healthy organic garden.

Writer Karel Capek once wrote, "I find that a real gardener is not a man who cultivates flowers; he is a man who cultivates the soil. He is a creature who digs himself into the earth and leaves the sight of what is on it to us gaping good-for-nothings. He lives buried in the ground. He builds his monument in a heap of compost. If he came into the Garden of Eden, he would sniff excitedly and say: 'Good Lord, what humus!'" As Capek insinuates, the organic gardener is a person with a deep down appreciation of earth in its most natural form. He doesn't approve of chemicals, pesticides or other man-made substances meddling with what he views as "already perfect." A rich gardening experience can be cultivated through organic gardening.

Your main concern when organic gardening is soil health. You want your little ecosystem to be as strong and healthy as possible to support the plants you're growing and the beneficial microorganisms within the soil that depend upon your plant's byproducts for nourishment. As you know, these elements work symbiotically to create the best environment for all to survive. Most gardeners begin with a test kit that will provide a detailed analysis of the nutrients present, as well as the acidic or alkaline reading and the drainage level.

Composting is an essential part of organic gardening because it ensures that your soil will be healthy and fruitful. You can add compost, aged animal manure, green manure (like cover crops), mulches, peat moss and kitchen scraps. Be cautious about adding high-carbon material like straw, leaves, wood chips and sawdust because microorganisms will consume a lot of nitrogen to digest these materials, which could deplete your soil. You can add natural nitrogen with hoof/horn/fish meal, natural potassium with granite dust/potash rock, and natural phosphorus with bone meal/finely ground phosphate rock. For more information and gardening advice on building healthy soil and improving existing soil naturally, visit www.gardeners.com/Building-Healthy-Soil/5060,default,pg.html, where you can read about the organic style of gardening in more detail.

In organic gardening, weeds are pulled rather than stripped by chemicals. Growing plants surrounded by mulch, straw or hay can keep weeds from poking through as well. Organic gardeners rely on birds, ladybugs, dragonflies, spiders and praying mantises to kill the pests that feast on their precious plants. To attract these natural born killers, plant Angelica, caraway, cilantro, coreopsis, white cosmos, dandelions, dill, fennel, geraniums, tansy and yarrow for them to sample while they look for bigger prey like aphids and beetles. You can purchase ladybugs at some garden shops and dragonflies at certain bait shops. In the end, you'll be glad you cultivated a healthy and hardy garden, without destroying nature in the process.

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Eating healthfully doesn't have to be expensive when you plant a vegetable garden. For useful vegetable gardening tips