Gardening – Why Go Organic?

Organic gardening is simply growing fruits and vegetables without the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

Why go through the extra effort of gardening organically?

Gardening

1. Organic gardening means eliminating chemical fertilizers and pesticides that could potentially be harmful to your health and the environment. This is particularly beneficial when applied to growing vegetables. Research shows that even tiny amounts of poisons absorbed through the skin can cause such things as cancer, especially in children.

Children generally ingest many times more cancer-causing pesticides from foods than an adult. This can mean potentially more health problems later in a child’s life. Reducing children’s exposure to these chemicals is reason enough for us to adopt organic gardening practices.

Pesticide and herbicide companies tell us that the chemicals used are safe, if used as directed, but you should remember that pesticides and herbicides have only one purpose – to kill living things.

2. You can easily make compost from garden and kitchen waste. Though this is a bit more time-consuming than buying prepared chemical pesticides and fertilizers, it certainly helps to put garbage to good use and so saves the environment.

3. Less harm to the environment. By organic gardening, you will also be reducing the chemical runoff problem into our waterways and the negative impact it has on wildlife.

4. By the judicious use of mulch and netting, organic gardening also reduces the loss of topsoil and erosion.

5. By eliminating the need to buy costly chemical fertilizers and pesticides with organic gardening you can save money. Natures own methods for keeping things in check can also be implemented through the use of lady bugs and praying mantis to help in pest control. There are other solutions available that can be as simple as companion plantings. For example, planting marigolds helps to repel aphids from vegetables.

There are also organic solutions such as Neem oil which has been used for thousands of years in India for not only insect, mites, and fungus prevention, but also as a medicinal oil.

You can also use plant covers made out of netting that will not only keep birds and bugs off your vegetables, but will also help to control the temperature, allowing an earlier start in getting your plants in the ground and protect them from the excessive heat of summer.

6.The use of natural mulch, like pine needles or bark chips, not only helps to suppress weeds, but also helps to keep moisture in. Or you can purchase recycled organic mulch cloth that will decompose at the end of the growing season and help put nutrients back into the soil.

So, as you can see, the practice of organic gardening offers many benefits to the environment, your pocketbook, and your family’s health.

For more tips and supplies for organic gardening, check out http://www.onestoporganicgardening.com.