Deep Organic Gardening — Good for Your Garden, Good for Your Budget!

Reader Contribution by Colleen Vanderlinden

I’m sure that many Mother readers are familiar with Eliot Coleman’s work. Coleman has been a leading voice in not only organic agriculture, but also increasing the power of local food systems by helping farmers and gardeners learn how to grow food year-round, even in the nation’s most frigid climates.

I’ve taken many of Coleman’s lessons to heart. We grow lettuce, spinach, mache, kale, and other greens in low tunnels through the cold Michigan winters, thanks to Coleman’s advice. We’re planning on constructing at least one high tunnel to enclose two of our largest raised beds this fall for additional off-season growing. And, of course, everything in our garden is grown organically.

But the piece of Coleman’s advice that I am most fond of is how to be a “deep organic” gardener. It marries nature, gardening, and frugality (three of my favorite things) in one beautiful concept.

What Does “Deep Organic” Mean?

Deep organic, at its simplest, means that you bring as few off-site inputs into your garden as possible. You don’t buy some granular organic fertilizer for your tomatoes; you give them plenty of compost instead. You don’t buy cypress mulch; you use the leaves that fell from your maple tree to mulch your garden. It requires us to think about our gardens and the waste we produce, rather than go out and buy some potion in a bottle (even if that potion happens to be an organic one.) It takes the money out of the hands of giant corporations who sell “organic” garden brands right next to their conventional brands and leaves it in our pockets.

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