Deep Organic Gardening

There is a term I have found to be very interesting.
"Deep Organic"

When I saw it, I thought what the heck is this?

After some reading I kind of thought to my self, is that not what everyone does?

Deep organic, at its simplest, means that you bring as few off-site inputs into your garden-farm as possible. You don't buy organic fertilizer for your tomatoes, you use your own compost and manure instead. You don't buy  mulch; you use the leaves that fell from your trees, grass clippings from the yard or your own straw to mulch your garden. It requires us to think about our gardens and the waste we produce, rather than go out and buy some store bought, commercially made stuff (even if it happens to be organic.) 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.

How We Practice Deep Organic Gardening:

The easiest way to practice deep organic gardening is to compost, and compost A LOT. We have several outdoor buckets, a compost pile, and a manure pile. In addition, I also take anything compostable to the chicken coop that they might like to eat. This way they get the benefit of eating it, their food costs go down and the digest it and give me back valuable fertilizer. Nothing goes to waste: not a leaf, not an eggshell, not a single wilted carrot from the back of the fridge. Anything that can be composted, gets composted. We collect leaves from our wooded lot if we are in need of extra mulch, leaves make beautiful compost, as well as perfect mulch. We leave our grass clippings on the lawn (if they are not needed in the garden) to feed and mulch the grass. This also helps with water conservation during dry periods. When the plants need an extra boost I make compost tea.

It Is Not Exact Science:

You do not need to do all of these things. But trying to do as much as you can without bringing in a lot of off-site inputs keeps your costs down and you have the added benefit of knowing exactly what you are putting on your food. It is not something out of a bottle or package. There are the benefits of cost savings and then of being a little more earth friendly. I like the idea of providing my own anything. This saves on packaging and all that other unnecessary stuff.