Gardening Techniques

The practice of gardening involves cultivating/rearing plants for consumption, medicinal use and ornamental purposes. Small shrubs, herbs, lawns and few big plants/trees are the typical elements of a garden. Fruits orchards (more often grapes) are maintained in slightly bigger gardens. Gardens can be specialized (which house only a single crop/plant) or diversified (having a variety of crops). With the inclusion of different crops in gardens and change in external conditions (climate, topography, soil condition, water availability, etc), the gardening techniques undergo many changes. Let us take a look at the different techniques being used in gardening.

Gardening techniques can be classified into two categories viz., organic and intensive gardening techniques. Actually there are many different ways in which these techniques can be classified; however, the above classification takes place on the criterion of space utilization and the 'green' techniques being used. Thus, it would also help us demarcate the distinguishing features (including advantages and disadvantages) of intensive and organic gardening.

Organic Gardening Techniques

The basic idea or concept of organic gardening is the promotion of natural diversity and enhancement of biological cycles. Synthetic fertilizers and pesticides are not used in organic gardening techniques.

The different concepts related to organic gardening can be better understood with the help of the points given below.

• The plants to be chosen for growing in a particular soil should be well-suited and must have tolerance to droughts. Hardy plants are capable of surviving in the long run.
• Instead of increasing the expenses by purchasing chemical pesticides, one should opt for disease-resistant species.
• In organic gardening, it is recommended, not to till the soil deep. It removes the beneficial organisms from soil.
• Fertilizers to be used for enriching the soil, need to be prepared from leaves of vegetables, garden plants and kitchen waste.
• To carry out mulching, one should avoid using polythene sheets. Roots of shrubs and shredded barks can provide a good cover against heat, which in turn prevents evaporation of water.
• Apart from the compost made with leaves of fruits and vegetables and other garden plants, organic materials such as pine needles and peat moss can be used to improve the texture of soil.
• To make use of worm composting is another way of going green. This form of compost is prepared with the help of earthworms.
• Earthworms and other kinds of worms like red wigglers, white worms, etc. are fed with organic matter such as leaves, kitchen waste and other such materials. These materials are processed by worms in order to produce vermicast.
• Vermicast is a rich organic fertilizer and which nourishes the plants without causing any kind of side effects.

Techniques of Intensive Gardening

Idea of intensive gardening works on the principle of making maximum utilization of available space. The techniques incorporated in this form of gardening are not only employed to make better use of space, but also to obtain quality yields with minimum amount of efforts.

The following points help in getting to know the different techniques used for intensive gardening.

• The area of soil which requires mulching is reduced to almost zero, by using the intensive form of gardening.
• Raised beds are commonly used for intensive gardening. The 3 - 5 feet wide raised beds make it easy to contain soil moisture and nutrients in the given space. Raised beds also provide greater depth for roots to penetrate. It helps in healthier growth of the plants.
• The technique of successive planting is used in intensive farming. Successive planting helps in obtaining a constant harvest throughout the year. An example of this technique is planting spinach every 2 weeks.
• Companion cropping is an intensive farming technique which is used in growing plants which live in symbiotic relationship with each other. The plants which prefer sunlight can be grown near those which require shade.

The different gardening techniques and tips presented in the article should help in cultivation, both for profit and also from the point of environmental conservation. Increasing crop and thereby food production though, is the need of the hour, as it would be disastrous to overlook the environmental implications of using traditional/chemical fertilizers and other means. One should thus, complement intensive form of agriculture with organic gardening techniques.