qondio.com/R8UW

Why Organic Gardening

By Chris Meagher

Surprisingly, in this day and age, there are still people who question what organic gardening is about. This article offers a few simple answers to why organic gardening.

Organic gardening is gardening with nature, as opposed to against nature using chemicals to achieve the same results.

Compost is the backbone of organic gardening and is created by the decomposition or organic material. In nature, this occurs due to the build up of discarded flowers, leaves, twigs, etc from trees and plants, dead plants and animals and the manures of any creature. This is primarily what plants feed on - natural fertiliser.

Compost can be easily created at home using waste products from the garden and kitchen, simply by creating a compost heap or pile in the garden. Certainly this takes longer than buying chemical baits and fertilizers, however it does put your garbage to good use and helps to preserve the environmental, instead of end up as land fill.

Organic farming is organic veggie gardening on a commercial scale. By not using chemicals that may have an adverse affect on your health, organic produce has therefore grown in popularity with the general population. The manufacturer's of these chemicals would like us to believe that our produce is safe, but studies have shown that small amounts of toxins can be taken in through the pores and skin, causing cancers, especially in kids. Imagine the effect caused by eating this produce.

Children ingest up to 5 times more cancer-causing pesticides from foods compared to that of an adult. This can lead to several diseases down the road of children's lifes, not to mention cerebrogenetic problems - one result of this is where the toxic affects of chemicals used do not present themselves until your children's children. At least With organically grown produce, these types of effects are greatly decreased.

Keep in mind, inorganic sprays and they're incorporated toxins are made for one reason - they are made to kill living things.

Chemical fertilisers and pesticides are often washed into streams, causing death for the indigenous fish and also pollute the habitat for any future generations. Ultimately leading to our oceans, where these toxins have higher concentrations the higher up the food chain you go. Think Tuna.

The loss of topsoil through erosion is of major concern these days, the Soil Conservation Service states an estimated 25 - 33 billion tonnes of soil is erodes from United states farmlands annually - either through wind or rain action. Which then washes into the waterways, clogging flow and decreasing oxygen content, thereby decreasing the numbers of water creatures that are able to survive.

However, with organic farming practices, by the sheer fact that the soil is rarely exposed, whether being covered by mulch materials, or plant species that act as living mulches, there is no erosion under normal wind or rain circumstances.

By it's very nature, organic gardening not needing chemical fertilizers and pesticides, makes the excercise less costly. Many organic recipes for the control of pest and disease come straight from the kitchen cupboard, if not the garden itself.

To make an inexpensive garden pest spray, Mix a tablespoon of dishwashing liquid and one cup of cooking oil. Add 3 tablespoons of this mix in 1 quart of warm water and spray this on your plants. Another alternative is to add to this mix the juice of a crushed clove of garlic, as an added insect deterrent.

Mulching in organic gardening, is as much an integral part of the principles as compost, if not the same. Keeping up a steady supply of mulch creates compost as the mulch decomposes. By preventing exposure of the soil to the elements, mulch therefore cuts down on the amount of moisture lost by evaporation. Mulching also suppress weed growth, by either smothering weeds present, or, preventing dormant weed seed from access to sunlight, essential for germination.

If you are growing organic vegetables, then the harvesting of your produce and subsequent preparation for your own consumption, leaves you with more material that can then be returned to the compost heap. This then helps to complete the cycle and you are doing more in the way of protecting the environment.

Basically, the desire for a healthier environment and wanting a healthier existence, is the answer to why organic gardening.

Mr Meagher has been a gardener and organic gardener for 45 years, permaculturist for 29 years. Further reading to be found at : Gardening Secret

PLEASE VISIT THE CONTRIBUTOR'S WEBSITE

Start-a-Garden
Gardening Information
start-a-garden.com

Thank you for sharing this information, Chris. I would like to think that more people are going back to gardening in these tough times.
What is the plant in the image?
Why has the lovely lady hidden beneath a bag?
Being shy I presume.
Best wishes.
Frederick

Hello there Frederick,
Thank you for the comment. The plant in the picture is a strangler fig.
As to the bag on the head...well, my portrait picture disappeared. No idea why.
Kind Regards Chris.

Thanks for sharing this Intel. Really great information, I realized after reading your intel that I didn't know all there was about Organic Gardening. This is some really great information.

Hello there spiritdancer, thank you for the comment - to think, I wasn't going to submit the article, I actually thought it was too much of a muchness.
I am, however, very pleased you gained from it.
Kind Regards Chris.

To make an inexpensive garden pest spray, Mix a tablespoon of dishwashing liquid and one cup of cooking oil.

So the vegetables are cleaned and pre-oiled and ready to be cooked. Sounds very efficient.

I am not ready to try growing a tree out of my hand yet although it is a nice picture.

Hello there biblefreeorg, Thank you for the comment.
Indeed, think pepper spray and tomatoes. Garlic spray, of course, goes with anything.
All the Best,
Chris.

The copyright for this content entitled "Why Organic Gardening" has been specified by the contributor as:

This content may be copied, distributed, or modified as long as the original author is acknowledged with a link back to the content page. If you use this content according to the license specified, you must link to the following URL: