Top Organic Garden Tips

To help you garden the organic way this season, we have put together our top organic gardening tips as shared by our Facebook friends (and a few from us!) Check them out below and share yours in the comments section.

• Put cut up banana skins around rose bushes they love them. - Beryl
• An organic way to get rid of aphids on roses is spray soapy water. Use this over the dry season to conserve water by using your dishwashing water. - Jo
• Sheep pellets, blood & bone, and seaweed based fertilisers are all natural options, or to get the most from your vegetable garden use an all purpose blend such as Tui Organic General Fertiliser.
• If you are bothered by the neighbourhoods cats 'using' your garden, sprinkle Tui Super Sheep pellets on your gardens and don't dig them in. Cats do not like the smell and won't use the area at all. The pellets will degrade and water in to the soil over time and are very simple to replace. I have not had cats use my garden for years since doing this and have wonderfully productive gardens. - Mari
• Grab an empty milk bottle. Don't rinse - fill with water, screw lid on and shake. Stab and hole in the lid with a knife and "spray" to treat fungal growth on zucchini and lambs ears. - Emma
• Companion planting is an excellent way to improve your garden. Some plants replenish nutrients lost by another one, and some combinations effectively keep pests away. - Anne
• Used tea bags are wonderful for mulching around rhodos, azaleas, daphne and blueberries. They help the acid levels of the ground and slowly decompose, bag and all. They are a great pick me up for acid-loving plants! - Yvonne
• Grow as many herbs as possible - they have so many uses, in the kitchen, to attract bees and beneficial insects to the garden, and any herb prunings can be added to the compost bin - comfrey is especially good for this. - Vicki
• I use cornflour and garlic powder mixed together and sprinkled on plants to deter caterpillars and white butterflies on my cabbage/broccoli and pretty much every plant. Safe for little ones who touch and taste the garden. - Toni
• We sprinkle coffee grounds, all around the garden, and since doing it the neighbours cats have stopped thinking its a newly dug over, weed free cat toilet. - Joyce
• I plant leeks and spring onions near my lettuces and scatter egg shells to put off pests. - Justine
• A great natural fertiliser is worm tea. See the Tui Worm Farming Guide on how to get your very own worm farm started and your garden will enjoy an endless supply of nourishing worm tea.

Check out more great tips for your garden here >