Do you prefer organic fruits and vegetables, but balk at the high costs? Do you enjoy doing things yourself rather than paying someone to do a shoddy job? Then why not grow your own organic produce right in your home garden? Read on to find out how to start making your own produce and have fun doing it!

Recycle your drink cups to start tomatoes for your organic garden. Grow the tomato plants from seed in the cups. When the seedlings are ready to transplant, cut the bottom inch off the cup and put it right in the ground as is. This will help to prevent cutworms from getting at your newly transplanted tomatoes.

Do you have weeds in your garden and you don’t want to spray dangerous weed killer? Common household vinegar can help your problem. Spray full-strength vinegar on the weedy spots on a sunny day. Vinegar works as an organic weed killer and it is safe the environment, and you.

If slugs are a problem in your organic garden, try attracting them with beer. Put beer in a shallow container or containers throughout your garden. The slugs will be drawn to the beer and get trapped. It is best if you do this with some sort of cover so the beer does not get diluted.

Since you are doing a type of “green” gardening by growing an organic garden, be aware of water conservation. If you want to increase the water conservation of your garden, try seeking out drought-resistant plants. These tend to have silver-colored leaves, deeper taproots and smaller leaves. You can also use succulents since they can resist dry weather.

Make your own compost. If you create your own compost at home, you can be absolutely certain of what goes into it, unlike if you purchase bags of compost from a gardening store. In addition, composting in your yard will attract helpful native wildlife such as insects that will balance the ecosystem of your garden.

Ward off infestation of annoying garden pests like aphids by lightly spraying the stems, leaves, and buds of your flowers with a heavily diluted mixture of warm, soapy water and a few drops of liquid dish washing soap. Next, follow-up by rinsing with a generous spray of water. This is effective for even the most serious aphid problem.

Eliminate the need for excessive intervention in the health and care of your landscaping and gardening plants by choosing shrubs, grasses, and veggies that require a bare minimum maintenance. These plants are often easily identifiable by their smaller taproots and undersized, silvery colored leaves. Plants that work well with their environment require very little in the way of fertilizers and pesticides.

If you are trying to grow tomatoes from seed, use old drink cups or yogurt containers to start them. When they are ready to be transplanted, just cut the bottom off of the cup and put them right into the ground. This will help protect the new plant from worms and other pests.

When taking an organic path to control garden pests, try to build up the soil to allow healthy microbes to flourish. Earthworms are also very important to organic gardening and they should be encouraged to stay in the soil. When the soil is unhealthy, it is not as resistant to pests.

Stay out of your garden after it has rained or whenever it is wet. Diseases and bacteria thrive and spread more easily in damp environments. Bacteria can easily attach to your shoes as you walk through the wet garden and be transferred from plant to plant. Instead, wait until the soil is dry to enter your garden.

Protect your seeds from fungus with natural products. You can use milled sphagnum moss to protect all your plants. If your seeds need light to grow, sprinkle the moss first and then place your seeds. This solution is much better than any chemicals you can find in a store and will protect your seeds efficiently.

Use living matter to make the best compost. Though you may be tempted to start tossing everything into your compost pile, don’t do it. Remember your compost is not a trashcan. Put in plenty of grass clippings, fallen leaves, and kitchen garbage such as food scraps and old leftovers. This will make your compost process faster.

Sometimes, it can help to spread a little bit of manure around your plants. Manure contains a lot of essential growth factors for most plants. Farmers and other plant-growing institutions often use this technique of spreading animal refuse on their plants, due to its historically-proven effects, which consists of greener crops and larger harvests.

Organically grown greens and herbs are the perfect multitasking plants for gardeners who have an interest in cooking and spices. Most herbs and spices require only the bare minimum of maintenance and require very little preparation for use in cooking and seasoning. Herbs are fragrant, flavorful, and perfect for landscaping or window gardening.

Use a raised garden bed when planting your plants. Not only does it provide a minor defense against the common vegetable pests, raised garden beds are also warmer during the spring. The planter becomes warmer because it isn’t surrounded by several inches of isolating ground-soil. The warmer climate will result you being able to plant earlier.

Employ crop rotation techniques in your organic garden. Typically thought of for large-scale farms, crop rotation can be useful even in a small garden plot. After a season or two of growing one crop, switch to a dissimilar crop the following year. This will prevent soil depletion and pest build-up caused by growing one plant and result in your gardening success.

Chickens can add a good source of fertilizer for your garden. Having a small coop with a chickens not only gives you a supply of fresh eggs, you can also use top layers of the soil in the coop as fertilizer since it has been saturated with chicken manure. There will also be a large supply of egg shells for your compost bin.

Not only will creating your own garden save you money and give you healthier fruits and vegetables, but it will also help your state of mind as you work in your garden and grow your very own food. Use these tips to become your own farmer, and reap the benefits!