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Royal Horticulture Society: Conservation and Guidelines Series - Organic Gardening

The Royal Horticulture Society (RHS), the UK's leading gardening charity, in their Conservation and Guidelines Series, has release a short six page PDF leaflet on Organic Gardening.

It provides a definition of organic gardening, stating that although "regarded as an alternative to gardening with chemicals, many organic techniques are simply good gardening practices." The guide further goes on to discuss why organic gardening should be practiced, noting that the side effects of commercial food growing has been poor soil structure, water purity and wildlife survival.

"There is much reliable evidence that total reliance on chemical solutions to problems can be counterproductive. For most gardening situations the production of maximum yield and total excellence is not essential; and since the aims of gardeners are to enjoy and benefit from the natural environment, it is incumbent on them to adopt practices which do not threaten it. It is certainly a subject deserving careful thought and attention to environmentally-friendly options." - RHS

The challenges of eliminating inorganic substances means that the organic gardener must be dedicated and committed to learning new information. Soil fertility, composting, pest and disease control are among the other topics mentioned in the leaflet.

Click to learn how to grow your own organic garden.

The leaflet on Organic Gardening can be downloaded at http://www.rhs.org.uk/research/documents/c_and_e_organic.pdf.

Other other publications by RHS can be read and downloaded from www.rhs.org.uk/publications.