- An organic gardener will use natural mineral and organic fertilizers to build up the soil. Instead of chemicals, you will learn how to use natural fertilizers like composted manure (don’t worry, it’s not stinky!), bone meal, fish meal, gypsum, eggshells, and of course, the best of all (and free!), your own compost.
- There are a lot of natural and even home-made alternatives to chemical pesticides and herbicides. Chemicals are often broad-spectrum, meaning they will kill good and bad insects. As an organic gardener, you will know how to treat specific pests and diseases without harming your plants, butterflies and birds.
- You will be thinking long-term. Instead of dumping flowers into a flower garden every spring, you will be aware of soil conditioning, what plants work best together, and how you will help regenerate your garden next year. You will be thinking of your garden as a whole, not as individual beds.
- For your lawn, weaning the grass off chemicals and replacing it with natural fertilizers and mulch will take a few seasons. You will know about optimal soil acidity and how to cultivate good fungi in the soil. In the long run you will be caring for it less, because your lawn will be thicker and stronger, due to the healthy soil underneath. This will mean weeds will have a harder time taking root, and brown patches will disappear (because you will know why brown patches exist and how to combat them.)
- Weed control without herbicides means knowing how to prevent them from growing in the first place ands discouraging their growth.
- Organic gardeners have a certain philosophy. Instead of taking from the soil, you will be conscious of giving and restoring it, as part of nature’s life cycle.
Showing posts with label philosophy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label philosophy. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
What Does it Mean to be an Organic Gardener?
Organic Gardener Philosophy - Reap the rewards of going organic
The benefits of organic gardening are clear, perhaps so simple and straightforward that gardeners used to complicated explanations must dial down their expectations and adopt an attitude closer to those of previous generations.
The earth matters. What we do in our own backyards matters. The food that we put in our bodies matters. And it matters especially to the smallest residents of the planet, birds and bees and other critters whose numbers are dwindling; children, whose bodies take in more pesticides relative to body weight than adults. The American National Academy of Sciences estimates that 50 percent of lifetime pesticide exposure occurs during the first five years of life.
Gardeners don't have to contribute to the grim statistics. They can learn to follow the advice of J.I. Rodale, paraphrased by Texas organic leader Malcolm Beck when he writes that "poor soil can only produce poor plants, and poor plants produce poor animals and human bodies."
The opposite is also true. By building up soil content with composting, cover crops and the addition of minerals, plants become less prone to pests and diseases, and the people who eat those plants (or work alongside them) are healthier for it, as are streams, creeks and rivers.
The education of people about gardening expectations, that using native or well-adapted plants reduces the need for water or that reducing lawn space has similar benefits, helps take the desire to be part of a solution to environmental concerns and makes it something tangible and do-able.
Easy to use products and feedback for fledgling gardeners with problems are other keys to organic gardening.
But the real essence of it is an approach that honors and supports something you can't quantify; the delight in raising fruits and vegetables you know are the best for your family, the pride in producing a healthy green lawn without chemicals or undue water use, the satisfaction of turning fallow land into something that draws butterflies, earthworms and other signs of a healthy, vividly functioning environment.
The earth matters. What we do in our own backyards matters. The food that we put in our bodies matters. And it matters especially to the smallest residents of the planet, birds and bees and other critters whose numbers are dwindling; children, whose bodies take in more pesticides relative to body weight than adults. The American National Academy of Sciences estimates that 50 percent of lifetime pesticide exposure occurs during the first five years of life.
Gardeners don't have to contribute to the grim statistics. They can learn to follow the advice of J.I. Rodale, paraphrased by Texas organic leader Malcolm Beck when he writes that "poor soil can only produce poor plants, and poor plants produce poor animals and human bodies."
The opposite is also true. By building up soil content with composting, cover crops and the addition of minerals, plants become less prone to pests and diseases, and the people who eat those plants (or work alongside them) are healthier for it, as are streams, creeks and rivers.
The education of people about gardening expectations, that using native or well-adapted plants reduces the need for water or that reducing lawn space has similar benefits, helps take the desire to be part of a solution to environmental concerns and makes it something tangible and do-able.
Easy to use products and feedback for fledgling gardeners with problems are other keys to organic gardening.
But the real essence of it is an approach that honors and supports something you can't quantify; the delight in raising fruits and vegetables you know are the best for your family, the pride in producing a healthy green lawn without chemicals or undue water use, the satisfaction of turning fallow land into something that draws butterflies, earthworms and other signs of a healthy, vividly functioning environment.
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