Teach Your Child Organic Gardening

They Will Also Learn How Things Grow as They Watch Tiny Seeds Grow in to Healthy Plants

Organic gardening involves methods of improving the quality of the garden soil by using natural biological substances. Not only is gardening a fun activity to do with your children, but organic gardening is also a lot safer for them. Pesticide residues on fruits and vegetables have posed serious health hazards both in the past and even now. Also many people see organic gardening as a way of protecting the environment, which is also something that you should want to teach your children. Another advantage of organic gardening is that less waste is dumped into landfills. Food scraps and yard wastes make up a large amount of our garbage. The organic elements however can be piled up and allowed to decompose into a rich compound which is known as compost. It may not sound very pleasant but when it comes to your garden it is a gourmet delight. It is also a great way for you and your kids to get out and exercises and enjoy the sunshine. They will also learn how things grow as they watch tiny seeds grow in to healthy plants.

The first thing you will want to look at before you begin your garden is the soil. Most gardens contain clay soil or sandy soil. Sandy soil has large particles that allow water and nutrients to drain away too quickly to be of any benefit to the plant. Clay soil is made up of tiny layers that are so tightly bound together so the water cannot penetrate the hard surface. In this case the roots actually end up getting suffocated. What you will need to do is balance the soil . You can do this by using a mixture called loam. Once this is done air will be able to circulate freely through the soil, which will allow microorganisms to go about their work of adding nutrients to the soil. You can add large amounts of compost to help you achieve this balance in your soil. If you are going to have your child help you with this process you will want to make sure they have gloves that fit well. Compost carries millions of bacteria although most of it is friendly bacteria that will break down the soil and help the plants to grow. There are also some crops which help to break up the heavy soil and increase the organic matter, such as clover and alfalfa.