8 tips for how to maintain a healthy organic garden

If you started a garden in the spring, by the beginning of summer you probably have a lot of activity in those once empty garden beds, And before temperatures soar too high or pests get you down, there are several important things you can do to keep your garden healthy and blooming all summer long. 

If you’re just getting started, check out my tips for how to plan a garden, how to plant a garden, and essential garden supplies you’ll need to get it going and keep it running.

And you can always check out my meticulously hand-picked garden supply list in my Amazon store for all the items recommended in this article and more. Happy harvesting!

Harvest

For a novice gardener, even knowing when to harvest can be tricky business!  It can be unnerving when you’re trying to to “mess it up” but harvesting is part of what the plant needs. By removing the fruit, you free up the plant’s energy to make more. Just remember to look up harvesting advice if you’re unsure.

Here are a few (of so many!) specific tips:

• Cucumbers should be harvested when large and dark green
• Wait to harvest tomatoes wait until fully red/orange/purple. Teach your eager kiddos not to pick green tomatoes, too! If they do, you can put it in a sunny windowsill for a few days and see if it will ripen.
• Once they are ripe, don’t wait more than a day or so to harvest because they can quickly rot on the vine or bugs will get to them.

• All varieties of peppers are often much smaller than what you find in the store, so harvest when the shape is fully formed and the color looks rick and shiny, even if much smaller than expected.
• For strawberries, harvest as soon as color is almost fully red—bugs tend to get at them quickly. Also try to keep them off the dirt to avoid rot. You can make or buy strawberry “guards” to keep them off the soil.
• For greens (lettuce, chard, kale, spinach, etc.) harvest from the outside in and before they get huge for better and sweeter flavor.
• For squash, wait until they’ve stopped getting larger and then you’ll know that one is ready to be picked.

Prune

This can be really tough to keep up with, and if you’re new to this, it often requires some googling. If you’re limited on space and plants like I am, then this is important so that your plants don’t overwhelm each other.

• Remove suckers from tomatoes and cucumbers.
• If removing extra vines, always make sharp, blunt cuts with scissors or pruning shears, never use your hands.
• Don’t prune in the middle of the day as it can stress plants out.
• Don’t be afraid to remove a vine of stem if it’s going to cause a plant to snap or topple over. Plant supports can only do so much sometimes!
• Keep up with removing dead leaves to avoid unwanted pests.

Prevent and treat pests

I always keep a multi-purpose organic insecticide and fungicide on hand. My favorite is this one which can be found in my Amazon store with all my favorite garden supplies. Whenever you start seeing spots, holes, or discoloration on your leaves, that’s the time to start spraying. But only spray in the evening or very early in the morning to give it time to dry before the sun hits the plant’s leaves and could scorch them. 

• Look for a spray that’s safe for beneficial insects.
• Use only organic sprays that say they can be used until the day of harvest.
• Always follow the concentrate instructions as closely as you can, if going that route. Too strong of a solution can make the leaves sticky, suffocating the plant or causing burning.
• If you have a persistent issues, check for bugs during different times of the day—you’ll be more likely to catch them when active.
• There are very effective specific treatments for grasshoppers, caterpillars, and others, so knowing what kind of pest you are dealing with can help you eliminate them effectively.

Water 

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, plants like regular, frequent, and deep watering. One of the best things you can do to make your garden more fruitful and healthy is to set up an irrigation system. There are systems for pots, for raised beds, for in-ground gardens, you name it. It takes a little bit of a time investment but it can be kind of fun to put it all together and it will make for a happier and more fruitful garden. And you can use it again and again!

• Try to water the same time each day, plants like the consistency. 
• Water early in the morning or early in the evening. Watering in the middle of the night can encourage mildew growth if the soil can’t dry properly. 
• If you can, use an automatic timer for your irrigation systems. An ideal, mid-summer watering via dripline irrigation would be daily for 10-12 minutes every day that temperatures are above 85 degrees Fahrenheit . You may be able to skip days when it’s lower than that. 

Fertilize

About six weeks after seedlings emerge or transplants are planted, many of your plants are in need of more nutrients. So this is the time to give them more fertilizer, compost tea, or other soil amendments. Every plant has slightly different needs so if you have the time to research, it can be a huge help. But otherwise a quick refresh with some all-purpose fertilizer into the soil a shallow circle about an inch away from the plant can be a huge help.

Protect from heat

Heat can be a sneaky and super-deadly summer garden enemy. I’ve had plants completely die after two days of no watering! But luckily there are ways you can extend your growing season. 

• When planting, try to position plants next to each other in ways that benefit one another with shade and sun. For instance, I planted squash in the front of my tomato planters and their large leaves protected the bottom of my tomato plants from scorching! 
• Use shade cloth on super-hot days (anything over 95 degrees F) to protect your plants. Connect it with clips to existing supports and you can leave on for days at a time if needed, but ideally leave on for just the hottest hours of the day.
• If you haven’t already mulched your garden, now is the time. Did you know that mulch protects from heat as well as from cold? The best kind to use is pine straw mulch as it’s beneficial to the soil acidity but any kind can work!

Cut your losses

If you have plants that aren’t really thriving, don’t be afraid to pull them up and try something new. Sometimes it’s just the wrong amount of sunlight, pests from a neighboring plant, too much/too little water, or something mysterious that goes wrong and there’s nothing to be done. Or the plant got too much sun too soon and sent up tall flower stalks (this is called “bolting” and it’s a sign that the plant is dying so trying to create seeds). Try not to take it personally and just pull it up and replace it with something new! It’s all a learning experience and every growing season you’ll know a little more and do a little better!

Prepare for late-summer and fall plantings

Before plants stop producing fruit or go to seed in the summer (such as greens that will suddenly grow a tall shoot with flowers—that means they are done!), look into what plants can grow in late summer or early fall in your area. The Farmer’s Almanac and your local agrilife extension are wonderful resources that can tell you what does well to be planted in July-October, and you might be surprised! 

So pull up the dead plants, add in more compost, and get back at it to get the most out of all your hard work! 

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What are the garden maintenance areas that you struggle with the most? If you’re looking for more resources let me know and I’ll be happy to point you in the right direction!

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