Preparing the garden soil before you begin planting is just the beginning of a healthy garden. With a little planning and prevention, there are steps you can take to prevent garden maladies and stressed out plants throughout the growing season.

Variety. Just as a diversified portfolio will protect your financial future much better than investing in one area, a garden with many different plants is a hardier garden less prone to pests and disease.

Compost, compost and then compost again. Continue to work compost into flower beds and garden soil. Keeping the soil healthy is the foundation of a healthy garden. If short on compost, even egg shells and coffee grounds will help.

Fertilize. To grow organic vegetables, chemical pesticides and treatments need to be avoided. Fish emulsion, bat guano, kelp meal, and worm castings are some of the more commonly known and popular organic fertilizers. Compost and organic fertilizers will provide your plants with all the nutrients they need and reduce plant stress that leads to disease.

Bugs. There are many bugs that benefit the garden. Get to know which bugs to welcome, and which ones to kick out of the garden. Good bugs will save you time in the garden task of policing the garden for bad bugs by eating the bad bugs before you find them.

Water. Know your plants. Read about plants before you plant the seeds. All plants need adequate water, but some need more water than others. Like compost and fertilizers, under-watered and over-watered plants can suffer stress that makes them susceptible to disease and pest infestation.

Birds, bees and butterflies. Plant flowers that attract birds, butterflies and bees. All three will work to keep the garden free of pests. With birds, remember to protect your vegetables with netting to keep them from lunching on your delicious juicy freshly-grown by not yet fully-matured garden vegetables before you can get them to the dinner table.