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Enjoy Country Living with Organic GardeningOrganic gardening refers to the practice of using only natural methods and compounds in gardening and growing. The principles of organic agriculture are to use no synthetic chemical agents for soil building, fertilization, and pest control and weed management. The vast majorities of people buy their food at the local grocery store, and depend on producers for food quality. As the agriculture industry is very competitive, most growers and food producers try to stretch product yields for better profit. The quickest and easiest way to increase harvests is to use chemicals to control pests and weeds. Growth hormones produce cattle that are more resistant to disease and provide more beef for market. However, amid widespread outbreaks of E. coli bacteria in produce and mad-cow disease in cattle, consumers have become much more health conscious about what they eat. Reacting to the market place's increasing demand for healthier eating, food producers have now begun using more organic agricultural methods in growing. Enter the currently popular phrase organically grown to your favorite supermarket's shelves.
Of course, Madison Avenue marketers being the way they are, the term organic is being used for everything from drain cleaners to breakfast cereal. But in short, organically grown means food certified by the USDA to be free of synthetic chemicals and ingredients. Organic gardening is a natural result of this modern health consciousness for anyone who enjoys growing his or her own fruits and vegetables. This current trend of health consciousness has prompted many folks to make a first try at growing their own salads. Any place with a small plot of ground can support a small garden. Vegetables can even be raised in pots on a patio or deck or mixed in with ornamental plants. Organic gardening techniques lend themselves very nicely to these gardens as well as larger ones. Of course those of us enjoying country living can benefit most from organic gardening methods. Organic gardening involves using mulches, compost, natural manures and other natural supplements for garden soil prep. Use these natural ingredients for soil building and in addition to rich growing soil, you can deter insects and control weeds. The principles of organic cultivation work well with flowers, landscape plants, and fruits as well as vegetables. While chemical-based growing methods focus on immediate, isolated effects, organic gardening is based on knowledge and techniques gathered over thousands of years. They also involve natural processes that often take place over extended periods of time. Soil fertility is the basis for productive gardening. Soil can be made more fertile with synthetic additives and chemicals. That same soil can also be made fertile with organic or natural additives. While chemicals focus on immediate fixes, organic methods rely heavily on the natural breakdown of organic matter. Organic methods use techniques like adding green manure and composting to replace nutrients taken from the soil by previous crops. This biological process is driven by microorganisms, and allows the natural production of nutrients in the soil throughout the growing season. This process is often referred to as feeding the soil to feed the plant.
Organic Gardening - Organic Soil Building Like soil building, insect and weed control can be accomplished using organic gardening techniques. Chemical insecticides and herbicides are designed to quickly kill off particular insects and weeds. Chemicals dramatically reduce damaging insect populations and weeds for the short term, yet may cause long-term problems. Chemicals unavoidably kill natural predator insects and animals, and can cause an ultimate increase in the pest population. Repeated use of herbicides and pesticides also encourages resistant insects and weeds through natural selection. This usually requires increased chemical use or new, more powerful chemicals. Organic methods may not show immediate results, but may be better insect and weed fighters over the long haul.
Organic gardening for personal satisfaction and use isn't a total failure if a little commercial weed killer is used on tough weeds. However, food products must be USDA certified in order to label and market them as organic. If you are going to raise food products for sale to the public, it is important to remember that the terms natural and organic are not the same. Terms such as free-range, hormone-free, and natural can be on food labels and advertising, but these same products can't be sold as organic. In order to sell food products labeled organic, the item has to meet USDA organic standards and be certified. There are 56 domestic USDA organic certifying agencies, and 41 foreign organic certifying agencies.
USDA Organic Certification Guide Organic gardening lets you use the wide-open spaces of country living to grow your own salad while doing something good for the ecology. You can enjoy country living while enjoying organic gardening and growing with natural methods. You'll also enjoy fresh vegetables from you organic garden and at the same time save a few dollars on your grocery bill. Soil building and fertilization, pest control and weed management can all be accomplished with natural methods. Organically grown will refer to you own pantry instead of stuff found on your favorite supermarket's shelves. Enjoy Modoc Country Living! More Modoc Country Living...
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But, exactly what does organically grown mean?
