ORGANIC GARDENING

FOR EVERY ACTION, THERE IS A REACTION……….

“Organic gardening is a philosophy that stresses the use of naturally occurring substances and friendly predators while avoiding manmade chemicals and pesticides.”  How simple is that?  It's a breath of fresh air in this age of buzzwords and trendy sayings.  This philosophy is one inherent in helping to sustain our environment both biologically and ecologically.  It is also a philosophy that each and every one of us can practice in order to provide a safe and healthy environment for our wildlife, our earth, and our future generations.  It is one small way that mankind can do his or her part in giving back to nature what is given to us. It's all about creating a habitat that is in harmony within itself.

This is not a scientific paper nor it is meant to be all conclusive.  This is a guideline for those who are curious about this method of gardening or are already gardening organically and need an affirmation. There are many good books and internet articles written on this subject.

METHODS TO USE IN PRACTICING ORGANIC GARDENING:
1. SOIL AMENDMENT (compost, minerals, aged manure, meals, worm castings)
2. MULCHING (leaf mold, pine needles, hay/straw without weed seeds, lawn clippings, newspaper, shredded or chipped wood)
3. COMPOSTING (combination of green materials, brown materials, kitchen scraps, tossed, aged, and ready to spread)
4. INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT (inspection, monitoring, hand picking, natural predators, crop rotation)
3. ORGANIC FERTILIZER (seed meals, bone meal, eggshells, grass clippings, aged manure, wood ash)
5. ORGANIC INSECTICIDE, PESTICIDE (manual weeding, natural predators-ladybugs, frogs, dragonflies, birds; crushed eggshells, water sprayed from the garden hose, soapy water in a spray bottle, rotating crops each year)
6. COVER CROPS (any crop planted to provide soil erosion and fix nitrogen in the soil, wheats, legumes, rye, vetches)
7. COMPANION PLANTING (plant flowers and herbs with your vegetables to attract beneficial insects and repel certain insects)

BENEFITS AND RESULTS OF ORGANIC GARDENING ARE:
1. Enriching Our Environment
2. Contributing to the Natural Life Cycle
3. Promoting Healthy Soil
4. Encouraging Beneficial Insects & Organisms
5. Producing Aesthetically Pleasing Plants and Flowers
6. Delicious Fruits & Vegetables
7. Providing a Good Example & a Healthy Environment for Our Future Generations
8. Cost Savings
9. Physical and Emotional Enjoyment of Nature

The basic principal of nature is that no one thing can be changed without affecting some other organism or ecosystem.  With the use of chemical (synthetic) fertilizers and pesticides, man is promoting artificial stimulation and death.  Chemical gardening renounces everything natural in our ecological community.  The methods are few as they can usually be found in a bag, bottle, or tank.  Commercially, many dollars are spent by the consumer and made by businesses in promoting this method of managing our gardens and lawns.  The benefits are few and results are damaging.

METHODS FOR CHEMICAL GARDENING ARE:
1. Spraying, spreading (mechanical and by hand)

BENEFITS (FOR SOME) OF CHEMICAL GARDENING ARE:
1. Quick stimulant (quick fix)
2. Quick death (to all pests)

RESULTS OF CHEMICAL GARDENING ARE MANY:
1. Harmful to Our Environment
2. Disturbs Natural Life Cycle
3. Potential Long-Term Damage to the Soil
4. Decrease of Nutritional Value of Plants and Flowers
5. Introduction of Disproportionate Amounts of Chemical Into Groundwater Supply
    & Streams and Lakes
6. Introduction of Disproportionate Amounts of Chemical Into Air We Breathe
7. Destroys Beneficial Insects & Organisms
8. Artificial Stimulant
9. Poor Example and an Unhealthy Environment for our Future Generations
10. Potential Death to Many Living Organisms Including Wildlife & Fish 

Recommended Reading:
Gardening for the Future of the Earth, A Seeds of Change Book
The Encylopedia of Organic Gardening, Rodale Books
Organic Flower Gardening by Catharine Osgood Foster
Any and all books written by J.I. Rodale or published by Rodale Press

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