Try organic gardening

How to get started

• Improve your soil by digging in leaf mould or garden compost.
• Make your own compost by recycling vegetable peelings, tea bags and plant prunings.
• Prevent weeds from growing by spreading a blanket of composted bark across the surface of bare soil.
• Choose naturally pest and disease resistant varieties of vegetables and fruit.
• Make your garden a haven for wildlife and beneficial insects and animals will control many pests for you including slugs, greenfly and snails.
• Use biological controls to control many pest problems in the garden or greenhouse.
• Accept a degree of imperfection and you'll learn to live without fertilisers and pesticides.
• Stressed plants are vulnerable to disease, so keep them well watered.
• Try companion planting - strongly scented flowers are planted next to edible crops to deter pests.
• Regular inspection of your garden and plants will help to prevent problems from getting out of hand.