Healthy Organic Green Gardening Tip 1. Compost
As you might imagine, compost is an essential ingredient when it comes to a green healthy organic garden. It provides plenty of nutrients for the garden, and it also provides a way for your to live a greener life. Even if you have limited space, it is often possible to build a small worm composting box to help create this natural fertilizer. Organic kitchen scraps, grass clippings, and fallen leaves are great additions to the compost pile.

Healthy Organic Green Gardening Tip 2. Mulch
You can use your compost as mulch in the garden. Organic mulch is great for attracting earthworms. A three-inch layer can be very attractive, and bring earthworms that naturally aerate the soil and build it up. You will find that mulch can also help keep down the weeds, especially when combined with newspaper.

Healthy Organic Green Gardening Tip 3. Orange Peel Slug Traps
You want to keep out the damaging slugs. Orange peels can be a way to do this. Set them out toward evening, and slugs will gravitate toward the shelter — and the sweetness of the fruit that used to be in the peel. In the morning, you can discard the slugs, and put the peels in the compost pile.

Healthy Organic Green Gardening Tip 4. Water Smart
It is vital to understand how to properly irrigate your garden. When done improperly, water can actually encourage diseases in your garden. Instead of watering at night, water early in the the morning. This will give the soil time to absorb the water before the sun evaporates it all, and the leaves of your plants will dry out before night. Wet plants at night are more prone to fungi and mildew.

Healthy Organic Green Gardening Tip 5. Biological Pest Control
An organic garden can benefit from organic pest control. There are parasitic nematodes that will destroy Japanese beetles (milky spore disease works as well), and there are some bugs that naturally prey on garden pests while leaving the plants alone. You can find biological controls for garden pests at different seed stores, greenhouses and organic gardening shops. You can also order them online.

Healthy Organic Green Gardening Tip 6. Provide Space for Your Plants
Plants need some space and ventilation to grow. Make sure your seeds are spaced properly, so that they have room to grow. You also want to make sure that there is properly ventilation so that air flow can benefit the plants. Earthworms can help with this by naturally aerating the soil. Raised beds and container gardens, when done properly, can also help provide proper ventilation.

HHealthy Organic Green Gardening Tip 7. Keep Your Garden Clean
Pull weeds when you see them, vigilantly keeping them from cluttering your organic garden and choking out the plants. You should also clean your garden at the end of the growing season, raking up leaves and preparing the soil so that pests don’t find shelter in your organic garden. You can also clean out plants that do poorly for two seasons. Instead, choose something that is more likely to thrive. You’ll get a better yield, and you can supplement from other sources.

Keep it real
You know what they say about Mother knowing best? Well, Mother Nature never needed to steal sips from a chemical cocktail of pesticides, weed killers, and chemical fertilizers to keep her act together. Nix the poisons and layer on some all-natural compost, instead. Call in beneficial insect reinforcements to wrestle pesky garden pests to the ground. Who needs to play Command & Conquer when you have battlefield drama unfolding before you in real time?

Make compost from kitchen scraps
Compost like a champ by throwing in your vegetable waste, instead of allowing it to be trucked off to the landfill. Known as “gardener’s gold,” compost enriches soil fertility by giving it a shot of high-powered, plant-loving nutrients. Aside from stimulating healthy root development, the addition of rich and earthy compost also improves soil texture, aeration, and water retention. Why waste your hard-earned cash on commercial products when the real deal is free for the taking? Speed up the process with the help of earthworms or go wriggle-free (if you’re the squeamish sort).

Buy recycled
If your delicate aesthetic sensibilities balk at the idea of reusing yogurt or takeout containers to house your hydrangeas, check out the myriad environmentally friendly planters and raised-garden kits now available. It takes less energy to recycle something than to mine virgin materials, so whether you choose recycled copper, plastic, or even rubber to anchor your tender shoots, it’s all copacetic. Admire your handiwork and eco-smarts while lounging on recycled lawn furniture.

Grow your own food
Buying organic produce can admittedly get pricey, so how about growing your own food instead of painstakingly manicuring that lawn for the umpteenth time? An estimated 40 million acres of the 48 contiguous American states are covered in lawns, making turf grass the United States’ largest irrigated crop. American homeowners apply a cringe-worthy tens of millions of pounds of fertilizers and pesticides to their lawns, often at many times the recommended levels. All that for little more than ornamentation. It’s time to return to the use of gardens as food sources—you won’t find fresher (or cheaper) eating anywhere else.

Join a community garden
Urban dwellers bereft of a yard shouldn’t fret: You can still get in on the hoeing and growing action by signing up for a plot at your local community garden. Community gardens typically have a communal composting area, as well, so if you don’t have room for one of those triple-duty rotating barrel composters in your home, here’s your hookup.

Go native
Now that you’ve learned some of the merits of “de-lawning” your home, consider replacing the ol’ putting green with native and indigenous plants, whether they’re cactus gardens in Arizona or bottlebrush grasses in Northern Michigan. Already adapted to local conditions, native plants are easy to grow and maintain, generally requiring less fertilizer and water, as well as less effort to rein in pests.

Harvest rainwater
Adding a rain barrel is an inexpensive and effortless way to capture mineral- and chlorine-free water for watering lawns, yards, and gardens, as well as washing cars or rinsing windows. By harnessing what’s literally raining from the sky, you’ll not only notice a marked dip in water costs, but also a reduction in stormwater runoff, which in turn helps prevent erosion and flooding. Pop a screen on top of your barrel to keep out insects, debris, and bird missiles, and make frequent use of your water supply to keep it moving and aerated.

Water with care
While we’re on the subject of water, adopting a few smart-watering habits will do much to stretch out your supply, especially during dry, hot spells in the summer. Adding mulch and compost to your soil will retain water and cut down evaporation. Plus, soaker hoses or drip irrigation only use 50 percent of the water used by sprinklers. Water early in the day so you can avoid evaporation and winds. And the best place to drench your plants? Directly on those thirsty roots.

Bring on the butterflies and bees
Provide a pesticide-free sanctuary for our pollinator pals, such as butterflies and bees, by growing a diverse variety of native flowers they’re particularly drawn to, such as wild lilac, goldenrod, and lemon balm. (Gardens with 10 or more species of attractive plants have been found to entice the most bees.) If you haven’t already heard, we’re in the throes of a major bee-loss epidemic, which is causing beekeepers in North America and Europe much hand-wringing. Because pollinators affect 35 percent of the world’s crop production—and increase the output of 87 of the leading food crops worldwide—extending a little hometown hospitality could go a long way.

The power of 4
Get hip to four “R”s of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s GreenScapes program: Reduce, recycle, reuse and rebuy. You want to reduce your output of waste to ensure you’re using materials efficiently. Reusing compost and tree clippings for mulch, or rainwater for watering take up little time and energy, but offer plenty of environmental bang for your buck. Recycling saves resources, while rebuying means seeking products that meet your needs, but are more environmentally friendly than your usual purchases—take, for instance, solar outdoor lighting versus electric-powered fixtures.