If I had my own back yard and somebody said, "You can only have ONE organic aid in your gardening efforts, but you can have a lot of it", I'd choose unsulfered black strap molasses.

Urea
and those listed by Turbo Cat.

Those bunny berries work right away and also act as a slow time-release fertilizer. Can't beat it.

When I was starting our garden here, I focused more or getting organic matter into the soil than anything else. Once you get the organic matter in the soil to the right level, a garden doesn't need a lot of other stuff---just the continual adding of organic matter of all kinds (as described by others above). However, until you get the organic matter to the right level, plants will need supplemental feeding. Because new gardens often lack the beneficial microbes in the soil that break down organic fertilizers into the components that the plant roots can absorb, I used a lot of water soluble fertilizers in the early years here, including Miracle Grow. It doesn't really matter what water soluble fertilizer you use, so I used them all (but not all at the same feeding). To this day, I still use them. I generally have on hand liquid fish fertilizer, liquid seaweed or a combination product like Neptune's Harvest that combines both of those into one fertilizer. I also use compost tea, alfalfa tea and, back in the early days I used manure tea a lot, but have largely stayed away from it since all the problems with herbicide carryover in animal manure became a problem for gardeners. I prefer using compost tea to manure tea nowadays. I used a lot of Garrett Juice in our early years. I use it less now because the plants don't need it as much once they're growing in great, nutrient-filled soil that has nutrients readily available. You can see the recipe for Garrett Juice and Garrett Juice Plus on the page I've linked below (which also has a lot of Howard Garrett's other 'recipes').

Organic Recipes From The Dirt Doctor

I always incorporate either Garden Tone or Plant Tone fertilizers from Espoma into my soil before planting. One reason is because they contain some of the microbes needed to break down organic fertilizers into components the plants can use.

Also always sitting on my shelf of garden supplies prior to planting time are the following:

Slug-Go or Slug-Go Plus. In rich, humus-filled soils, pill bugs and sow bugs often are a problem and I have a lot of trouble with them some years. I'm a heavy mulcher and they love to live in and feed on mulch of all kinds. So, long before my soil was rich enough in organic matter to attract slugs and snails (we now have both, which is a problem, but it is the right kind of problem because it means we have great soil now too), I used Slug-Go and, later on after it was introduced, Slug-Go Plus, to combat the sow bugs and pill bugs. Given a choice (like if I am ordering it online), I order Slug-Go Plus. Usually all I see in stores is the regular Slug-Go. Either way, its use is very important during the planting season because snails, slugs, pill bugs and sow bugs, if present in sufficient quantity, can wipe out new plantings literally as soon as the seeds sprout and the plants emerge. I also believe that Slug-Go and Slug-Go Plus generally help with cut worms because ever since I began using them, I have very little cut worm issues.

Sulfur. This is a great multipurpose fungicide, though you cannot use it on some types of plants (all cucurbits and some fruits). I usually buy one off the shelf, and often the brand I see in the stores near me is made by Bonide. It looks like this:

Bonide Sulfur Fungicide

There's also liquid sulfur products available. Always follow the label directions because sulfur can cause plant damage at high heat.

Potassium bicarbonate. Or, you can just use baking soda. I use a product called Green Cure that was developed by a scientist at Cornell University.

Liquid Copper Fungicide, and I usually buy whatever brand either Lowe's, Home Depot or TSC have on hand.

Neem Oil. I always have a bottle of it handy, though I really don't use it that often.

Spinosad. Many brands are available. I always have it handy, though I don't use it very often. I try to avoid using it unless absolutely, positively necessary because it is more of a broad-spectrum pesticide and I prefer to use the most narrow-spectrum pesticides possible, when I use a pesticide at all. It is very useful for controlling Colorado Potato Beetles, but my preferred control of them is just to put on a pair of disposal medical gloves (I buy a box of blue nitrile ones on the first aid aisle at Wal-Mart) and to hand-pick the CPBs off the plants and drop them into a bowl of soapy water to drown. If you scout your potato plants regularly and kill the first CPBs that show up, you'll never have a big infestation that requires spraying.

Insecticidal Soap. I am not a fan of using insecticidal soap and never have been. I cringe every single time I see anyone, anywhere recommend the heavy use of soap, especially home-made concoctions containing Dawn liquid detergent, which is a detergent product and not even a soap. I buy a commercially-produced insecticidal soap in a spray bottle, and never spray it routinely on plants. What I will do is spray it directly on a specific pest I see in the garden. I spray it right on the pest, not all over the plant the pest is on---just on the pest. The small amount of soap spray that gets on whatever plant part the pest is sitting on will not harm the plant. Never under any condition to I spray entire plants---not even one single plant---with soap spray. I just target the pest I see. One big issue with homemade soap sprays is that many people think that if 1 teaspoon of soap is good in a specific amount of water, then 3 or 6 teaspoons is better, which is so wrong it makes my head ache. Know why? Soap spray can change from an insecticide to a herbicide if you use too much soap in too little water. I've seen people kill off entire rows of plants by overusing homemade soap sprays.

This document is a great guide to the use of organic fungicides, by the way:

Purdue University: Organic Fungicides

There are quite a few organic fungicides available, but they have varying degrees of success and some can be used on some veggies and fruits but not on others.

The final product I now, grudgingly, keep on the shelf and sometimes even use is a synthetic fungicide containing the active ingredient, chlorothalonil. I don't especially like using it. However, in wet and humid years, it seems almost essential to use it regularly to keep the tomato plants from developing early blight. In the years when I use it, I'm most likely to use it once or twice in either May or June, whenever the first symptoms of Early Blight appear. Since I grow so many tomato plants, I have learned that I cannot ignore Early Blight. For many years, I adamantly avoided the use of Daconil (chlorothalonil's common trade name). Finally, I used it one year when Early Blight was really, really bad and decided I'd rather use the Daconil than have early blight all over my garden. Still, I'm not one of those disciplined gardeners who spray the plants with it on a regular basis from Day 1 when the plants go into the garden. I avoid its use as much as possible and generally only use it a couple of times in one growing season when I use it at all. However, I buy that bottle when the products first appear on garden shelves. Because it can be used on many plants and because many gardeners spray it regularly on a scheduled basis, it can be very hard to find it when you actually need it, so I buy it early when I see it and then I don't have to worry about not being able to find it later on. The one I see most often on store shelves comes in a red bottle and looks like this:

Daconil Fungicide

There are other formulations available from other companies with chlorothalonil in them but they just aren't seen as commonly on store shelves.

Neem Oil is another product I keep handy but don't use all that often. It is readily available on store shelves in many different formulations.

Bt 'kurstaki'. Bt is available in many products labeled as caterpillar killers. Because it will kill butterflies and moths, I avoid using it unless I absolutely, positively must.

Organic fire ant killer. We have fire ants everywhere, and they especially love loose garden soil, particularly raised beds. While I ignore fire ant mounds outside the garden, I always treat the fire ant mounds I come across inside the garden. The organic fire ant products I buy usually contain either Spinosad or abamectin as the active ingredient. Spinosad fire ant baits are easier to find on store shelves than abamectin. If I want a product containing abamectin, I usually have to order it online. EcoSmart is one brand containing spinosad that I can find on store shelves, and Come and Get It is another one. When I use either product, the fire ants disapper pretty rapidly from the garden.

Most synthetic fire ant products are not approved for nor labeled for use in a vegetable garden so should not be used there. Extinguish, though pricey, is one chemical fire ant product labeled for use around at least some food crops, but I don't use it and likely never will. The synthetic fire ant products commonly seen in stores are not labeled for use in areas where edible crops are grown and the organic ones sell out just about as quickly as they hit store shelves. If I don't see Come and Get It or Conserve/EcoSmart spinosad baits on the store shelves early in the season, I order them online so I'll have them when I need them. Abamectin is stronger and more expensive so I usually only order it if I have a huge fire ant problem.

While I have all the above on hand every year, it is surprising how little I actually use them most years. I do like having them if I need them, even if I rarely use them. The one I use the most is Slug-Go or Slug-Go Plus. There's nothing worse than coming outside in the morning and finding that snails, slugs, cutworms, pill bugs or sow bugs have mowed down and eaten entire rows of young seedlings overnight. I use the organic snail bait products to avoid that. Never, ever, ever use the synthetic snail baits as they contain a nasty pesticide that can be harmful and even deadly to pets.

Ah, yes: Tomato Tone, and Garden Tone. That was another thing that Lowe's didn't have the other day. I wanted to get some of that stocked up in the shed. I probably still have some from last year, but I started using that based on recommendations here. I like it. I put some of it in my planting holes last year, too. Between Dawn, and Earl's method, and the Tomato Man method, there are some great ideas to amend soil as you plant your tomatoes and peppers. One hole at a time, over time, covers a lot of area.

Tomato Tone & Garden Tone

Sluggo Plus - probably the most important to me next to fertilizer, especially for spinach and lettuce. The Plus is the one that's safe for edibles.

Neem

Insecticidal soap

Fish emulsion (am going to try seaweed emulsion this year too)

Miracle-gro - I do use it about once a month, in rotation with other fertilizers. It gets the job done, and is inexpensive enough that I can afford to repurchase it when necessary. I'd rather use this and put more into avoiding pesticides when I can.

Mushroom compost - I've been using it as a soil amendment, alternatively to other kinds, to avoid herbicides.

I'm not out in the garage where everything is kept, I'm sure there's more.

Oh, I am so thankful for this post. I procrastinate every year about getting this stuff stocked up BEFORE I need it. I want to get serious about educating myself more. Thanks!!

Don't laugh

Does anyone know why I would have bought orange oil last year?

HAHAHA!!

Orange oil has many uses but I don't know of any for gardening.

Perhaps this use :)

Orange oil is considered a mild aphrodisiac, increasing interest in sex as well as performance. While its ability to reduce anxiety and relax the mind may be playing a part, an increase in the secretion of sex hormones can be helpful too.

Orange oil has many useful purposes around the house and garden. I always have a bottle of Medina orange oil on hand. Because it is so strong and must be diluted a great deal for use, a bottle lasts a very long time. This stuff is strong and will strip paint so be careful with the concentration of it no matter what you use it for.

My first use of orange oil (d-limonene) was as part of a homemade soil drench for fire ant mounts. I am sure that I first learned of it from The Dirt Doctor, and this probably was in the 1980s or possibly the early 90s. Back then, the sole organic fire ant killer you could buy ready-to-use had orange oil in it. Some people use it as a herbicide. I'm not sure how they use it, and I haven't tried it as a herbicide myself. You can buy pre-mixed orange oil insecticides. The one I see in stores is called Orange Guard.

Here's some of what Howard Garrett has written about the use of orange oil:

The Dirt Doctor: Orange Oil

You can Google 'how to use orange oil in gardening' and find lots more info.

Some people spray it on the ground around their home's foundation to keep fire ants and carpenter ants out of the house. We've used it that way in some rainy years and it seemed to work really well, but I am careful to spray it only on the ground, not on plants and not on any painted surface--like the exerior of the house. Some people spray it around their garden perimeter (taking care to not spray it on desirable plants) to repel cats. We haven't tried that. Some years when it rains a lot, ants invade the house, particularly the kitchen, sunroom and laundry room. I spray whatever path they are following with a very strongly diluted orange oil (1/2 teaspoon per quart of water) and the orange oil seems to impede their ability to follow ant scent trails. It also kills them if it hits them directly. That is how it works as an insecticide---it dissolves the insect's skeletons just like it dissolves paint. You even can buy commercial paint strippers whose active ingredient is orange oil.

Howard Garrett mentions people using as a foliar spray. I've never tried that, and I'd be really careful with using it in that way because I'd be worried that it would burn plant foliage. For a use like that, always test it on one plant or even part of one plant first and wait 2 or 3 days to see if damage appears before using it on a more widespread basis.

Orange oil also can be used to spray dog yards and kennels and such to deter fleas.

So, while I don't know why you bought it, Kim, I suspect it was for some sort of insecticidal purpose.

LoneJack's suggestion of your purpose for buying orange oil is interesting...and fun, I'm sure. :)

KIm, you don't have chickens, right. I soak orange peels in vinegar for a few weeks to make a cleaner...and then will add a few drops of orange oil too! It makes a great coop cleaner. Also, orange oil and clove oil in a diffuser is wonderful.

And thanks for all the suggestions! I'll make my list tomorrow.

Thanks lone jack

I am quite sure that was Not it lol. But I will make sure no one tours the property after I spray.

Maybe fleas and ticks. We had such a problem last year. I bought a quart so I must have had something serious in mind and it was after howard Garrets talk. I will read up on this and write it down this time

Hazel I make my own cleaner with orange peels too. And I am getting chickens this year so I'll write that in my chicken notes. I am sensitive to oranges when I eat them so I have to be careful when I use this.

Garret had several recipes that called for orange oil.

Melissa, I agree. I need to start shopping before I need it and can't find it.

And at the end of the season, check Walmart for clearance stuff. I got a bunch of organic fertilizer for less than half price.

I did too Amy. I got the $10 bag for $3 at one walmart. I think I got 3 of the tones

I generally do that as well, but didn't this past year because of being so distracted by all the work on the kitchen. Our Wal-Mart already is having trouble keeping Tomato Tone on the shelves. As soon as they put it out, it is gone, so apparently I'm not the only one buying it and stockpiling it now. I did notice, in that way that you notice things that just do not make sense, that while they had the smaller 8-lb. bags of Tomato Tone, they had the really large (20-lb.) bags of Citrus-Tone. Does that make any sense? Who in North Texas is growing enough citrus trees in pots to require 20-lb. bags of Citrus-Tone?

I have never seen Citrus-Tone. I didn't realize there was such a thing! My daughter had a lemon tree in a pot, but it died. I guess she could have used some Citrus-Tone...lol