An organic vegetable garden featuring lettuce and other leafy greens.

Organic Gardening

Are you a home gardener looking for an alternative to traditional gardening? If so, organic gardening may be the perfect solution! Organic gardening not only uses natural and eco-friendly methods but can help to build healthier soils, create a more sustainable garden environment, and reap rewards of delicious homegrown veggies. Find all the tips and tricks that you might need from our plant experts down below.

9 Benefits of Raised Bed Gardening

A close up horizontal image of a large wooden raised garden bed with herbs and vegetables growing in neat rows.

Raised bed gardening is an efficient way of growing an abundant vegetable harvest, reducing the need for back-breaking labor and the use of synthetic fertilizers. Learn more about this simple but elegant growing practice and discover 9 top benefits of raised bed gardening in this guide. Read more now.

Organic Gardening 101: How to Get Started

A close up horizontal image of a wooden box filled with an abundant harvest of organic vegetables from the garden.

Starting an organic garden might seem like a daunting task, but with a little planning it’s much simpler than you may think. Nature provides everything from pest control to natural fertilizers, but it’s up to the gardener to employ green systems and discard synthetic ones. Get started with organic gardening now.

Cover Cropping 101: Learn How to Use Cover Crops in the Garden

A close up horizontal image of red clover planted in a field as a cover crop with blue sky in the background.

Cover crops offer a smart and sustainable way to produce healthy, vibrant soil for robust, happy plants without using synthetic fertilizers. They also control erosion, suppress weeds, bust pest cycles, and improve water retention. Learn all about the art and science of beneficial cover cropping right here.

Controlling Plant Pathogens With the Biofungicide Bacillus subtilis

A man uses a pump sprayer to apply Bacillus subtilis to vegetable garden.

Bacillus subtilis can control a range of fungal and bacterial pathogens in the soil and on leaves. It directly inhibits other microbes and also stimulates the plants to control pathogens using their own natural resistance mechanisms. Read on to learn more about these versatile bacteria.

How to Use Trichoderma to Control Fungal Diseases

A micro view showing light green Trichoderma Fungi.

Trichoderma harzianum T-22 is a highly developed fungal strain that effectively controls a number of fungal pathogens of plants. This fungus colonizes plant roots and does not affect other beneficial microbes like mycorrhizae or Rhizobium. Read on to learn more about this fascinating organism now on Gardener’s Path.

How to Make and Use Comfrey Tea Fertilizer

A close up of freshly harvested leaves to make comfrey tea fertilizer set on green grass.

If you don’t like the idea of pouring expensive and harmful chemical fertilizers all over your garden then try making a homemade liquid fertilizer using comfrey. Homemade comfrey tea fertilizer is an organic, easy, and completely free way to feed your plants and recycle nutrients back into your soil. Read more now.

How to Start a Worm Farm at Home: Learn About Vermiculture

Top-down view of red wriggler worms in a vermiculture compositing bin.

Are you looking to recycle your food trash and improve your garden soil at the same time? Try vermicomposting, aka worm farming. Using worms to break down kitchen scraps provides you with worm castings and valuable compost that can be applied straight to your plants. Learn how to start your own worm farm in this guide.

Growing Borage as a Cover Crop and for Green Manure

A close up of the delicate blue flowers of Borago officinalis growing in the garden on a soft-focus background.

Ready to learn some new gardening uses for your beloved borage? This blue-flowered herb can be grown as a cover crop to improve your garden in a number of ways, from soil amendment to pest protection, and it can even be used as a green manure. Discover how to grow borage as a cover crop in your garden. Read more now.

How to use Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) to Control Insect Pests

A Colorado potato beetle belly up from being infected with Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt).

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is a microbial insecticide that is highly specific for certain kinds of insects and safe against people and non-target animals. Certain strains control caterpillars, mosquitoes, black flies, and a few kinds of beetles. Read on to learn how to use this novel but natural insecticide.

Plant Nutrients: What They Need and When They Need It

Side-view of eight small bean plants beginning to sprout up in well-tilled, dark, rich soil.

Did you know that appearance, disease, growth stage, and more reveal what nutrients plants need? Like us, plants need a wide range of nutrients, and they can gain them from many sources. Learn how to master plant nutrients, diagnose deficiencies, and restore balance here at Gardener’s Path!

How to Use Eggshells in the Garden for Soil, Compost, and as Pest Control

A close up of shells of eggs mixed in with rich, dark soil in the garden.

Want to use eggshells in your garden? Learn the best techniques for breaking them down in your compost and using them as a soil amendment. And find out the truth about whether eggshells really repel garden pests. To learn more about turning eggshells into garden amendments instead of landfill waste, read more now.

23 Beneficial Insects and Other Creepy Crawlies That Your Garden Will Love

A close up horizontal image of ladybugs on yellow flowers.

Did you know that not all insects are pests? Many beneficial varieties may already be living in your gardens, helping to control populations of bugs that enjoy feasting on veggies, herbs, and flowers. Read on to discover who your friends are, and how to encourage them to work and thrive in your yard.

The Scientifically-Backed Benefits of Companion Planting

A close up horizontal image of marigolds growing as companions in the vegetable garden.

You may have already learned many great companion plant combinations, but do you understand the science behind why they work? From controlling pests to preventing soil erosion, companion planting is a key element among organic backyard gardening practices. Read our guide on the benefits of companion planting now.

How to Use Beneficial Nematodes to Reduce Pests in Your Garden

Top down view of various beneficial nematodes view through a microscope.

Beneficial nematodes may be used to control soilborne insects in their larval and nymph stages. These tiny, worm-like organisms penetrate the body of their host, introducing a strain of bacteria that kills the host insect. Learn how to use beneficial nematodes for garden pest control in this guide. Read more now.

Planting Your First Vegetable Garden: A Beginner’s Guide

Colorful vegetable garden with marigolds for companion planting.

If you’re new to the world of vegetable gardening, you’re in for a treat! Fresh veggies have a flavor that can’t be beat, and they’re healthy and nutritious. Plus, growing your own is friendly on the budget, and gardening is an excellent way to reduce stress. Learn all about these positive benefits right here on Gardener’s Path.

The Ultimate Guide to Understanding Garden Soil

A close up of a potato fork stuck in the dirt in a garden setting.

Ready to learn how to get the most beautiful and productive results from your garden? Our article gets to the root of the problem. The soil type in your yard is the key to happy plants. From woodland to seashore and acid to alkaline, this piece will guide you to success. Read more on Gardener’s Path.

Composting Autumn Leaves: How to Use Leaves for Compost and Mulch

A close up horizontal image of a wheelbarrow with fresh compost in the garden, with a fork to the right of the frame, pictured in light sunshine.

When life gives you leaves, why not make compost? Autumn’s falling leaves are perfect for making a well-balanced compost bin. Often treated as “waste,” dead leaves are a valuable natural resource that you can turn into black gold for your garden. To learn how to create compost and mulch with fall leaves, keep reading.

How and When to Compost Tomato Plants

A close up of a garden fork stuck in a gray plastic backyard compost bin, containing garden waste, pictured in bright sunshine.

Whether or not to compost tomatoes is a controversial topic in the gardening world. Fears that composting tomatoes will encourage pathogens, create messes, and cause trouble the following season lead many gardeners to trash their plants. Read on to examine these concerns and learn how to safely compost tomato plants.

Using Pheromones to Control Insects in Your Garden

A close up of a green plastic insect trap hanging from a tree in light sunshine on a soft focus background.

Sex appeal comes in all shapes and sizes, but in insects, it’s often rooted in trace amounts of a pheromone. Gardeners and growers use this to their advantage by luring and trapping the males or preventing them from finding their mates. Read on to learn how to use these hormones to control pests in your garden.

How to Naturally Kill Insects on Kale: The Best Organic Solutions

A Brassica oleracea plant, seen from above, with its leaves chewed and destroyed, only small fragments of them remaining on the plant. Instead of being bright green, it is a dull yellow color. In the background is soil and other damaged foliage.

Don’t let your kale get overrun with pests. If you’re growing kale in your vegetable garden there’s a good chance you’ve got some insects damaging your plants. If they get out of control you’ll want to take action. Learn how to identify who’s chomping on your greens and kill these bugs naturally. Read more now.

How to Use Streptomyces lydicus to Control Fungal Plant Diseases

A microscopic vie of the Streptomyces bacteria.

The bacteria Streptomyces lydicus colonize plant roots and protect them against fungi and bacteria that cause disease. They can also be sprayed on plant leaves to control foliar pathogens. These bacteria are safe for people and beneficial insects. Read on to learn how they work and how to use them in your garden.

How to Start Annuals Indoors from Seed

How to Start Annuals Indoors | GardenersPath.com

Are you itching to get into the garden, but it’s still too cold outside? Satisfy your craving to play in the dirt by starting seeds indoors. With an egg carton and potting medium, you can grow flowers, herbs, and vegetables to transplant outside when the weather warms. Learn how on Gardener’s Path.

Make These Easy DIY Raised Beds: The Perfect Solution for Veggie Gardening

A wooden garden planter box filled with brown soil, with a few green seedlings growing in the planter.

For vertical gardens, leafy greens, and especially root crops, or if you simply want improved soil and drainage, a raised bed is the best option. But buying these from the store can really make you question the frugality of gardening. Check out this simple plan to build a small, economical version. Read more now.

Teaming with Microbes: A Fresh Review for Today’s Gardeners

Close up of a white beneficial fungus spreading across the soil.

Teaming With Microbes was a landmark guide for raising awareness of the soil food web in 2006 – and promoting more environmentally aware, chemical-free gardening techniques – fueling an organic food revolution. Does it still apply today? Read more on Gardener’s Path now, and find out why you should toss out those chemical pesticides and fertilizers!

The Basics of Composting

Compost with Kitchen Scraps | GardenersPath.com

Have you decide to make the jump to a more organic lifestyle & want to know how to recycle your kitchen waste into compost? Read our guide and find out.