Types of Organic Garden Products: Mulch, Fertilizers, Pest Controls & Weed Barriers

Organic garden products fall into clear categories. Knowing what each does—and what you can DIY—saves money and ensures effectiveness.

Mulch & Fertilizers (Often Overlap)

• Mulch: straw, leaves, grass clippings, wood chips, cocoa hulls, pine needles. Suppresses weeds, conserves moisture, moderates temperature, feeds soil as it breaks down. DIY: free from yard.
• Compost: the ultimate mulch-fertilizer hybrid. DIY or buy certified.
• Organic fertilizers: meals (alfalfa, kelp, soy, feather), rock minerals (phosphate, greensand, azomite), liquid (fish/kelp, compost tea). Slow-release, microbe-friendly. Buy certified OMRI.

Weed Barriers

• Landscape fabric: woven polypropylene. Paths, under mulch. Not organic material but reduces herbicide need. Cut planting holes.
• Cardboard/newspaper: sheet mulch base. Biodegrades. Free.
• Living mulch: clover, thyme, low herbs. Competes with weeds, feeds soil.

Herbicides & Pesticides (Targeted, Last Resort)

• OMRI herbicides: corn gluten meal (pre-emergent), vinegar/citric acid (contact, non-selective).
• OMRI insecticides: neem oil, spinosad, Bt, pyrethrin, insecticidal soap, diatomaceous earth.
• Beneficials: ladybugs, lacewings, nematodes, trichogramma wasps.

Choose Certified, Use Sparingly

OMRI seal = verified for organic use. Spot-treat. Rotate modes of action. Build soil health first—healthy plants resist pests.