Gardeners new to organic gardening can become frustrated when the natural methods they use on their flowers fail. It is disappointing when insect soap kills everything except the garden pest, or when compost from carefully tended bins fails to give us the armloads of cut flowers we expected.

Good organic gardening practices encompass more than just the best natural pest control spray or the newest plant variety.

Gardeners must ensure that each piece of the puzzle is in place for a lush and vibrant organic garden.

Create Healthy Soil

Although gardeners may debate the value of various organic soil amendments, and may dabble in peat moss or vermiculite for problematic soils, conventional wisdom shares that compost is the number one soil builder for organic gardeners. Well-rotted compost helps the soil retain moisture, encourages beneficial microbes, adds nutrients to the soil, and normalizes pH. It’s almost impossible to add too much compost to the soil, so start a compost bin if you haven’t already to create a ready supply of this garden essential.

The Right Plant for the Location

If you’ve fallen in love with a plant you saw on vacation or in a garden catalog, ask yourself several questions before you subject it to a slow death in your landscape. Is this plant hardy in your growing zone? If not, it won’t survive the first winter. Does this plant need a boggy soil or lean sandy loam? Will the plant grow straggly in your shady lot, or will it wither in your relentless sun?

Diversity in the Garden

A mixture of plantings is not only pleasing to the eye, but also attracts the pest predators that make your gardening job easier. If you have a vegetable garden, add some flowering plants to provide a nectar source for beneficial insects. Instead of growing the same annuals every year, rotate your flower choices to prevent diseases from building up in the soil.

Choose Healthy Flowers

This sounds like a no-brainer, but the siren song of ailing plants on clearance at the end of the growing season can be difficult to resist. Tease the plant from its pot, and reject the bargain if it’s root bound. Check closely for pest hitchhikers that will make their new home in your garden.

Caring for Garden Flowers

Once your plants are established in the organic garden, you must provide routine maintenance throughout the growing season. Replenish your organic mulch each spring to suppress weeds and retain moisture. Use a balanced organic fertilizer like seaweed emulsion to give your heavy feeders like roses and cannas a boost. Prune your plants to encourage air circulation and remove diseased growth.

Watch for Pests and Diseases

The best time to treat garden pests is before the plant is showing serious signs of stress. Look closely for early signs of tiny garden invaders like aphids or whiteflies on your daily garden rounds. Peek beneath leaves, where beetles may be hiding from birds and vigilant gardeners.

Match the Organic Pest Control to the Problem

Choose the natural pest control method that targets the insect or disease in your garden. Sometimes, gardeners mistake damage from weather or poor drainage for a pest infestation. If necessary, get help from your nursery or horticultural extension agent to identify the culprit.