What is Organic Gardening?
Organic gardening is growing in popularity. Although this technique traditionally has been limited to backyard gardens, commercial organic farms now exist worldwide.
The phrase “organically grown” generally refers to produce grown and processed without the use of synthetic organic chemicals in pesticides, fertilizers, preservatives, or flavourings.
The main arguments for organic gardening are that food is less likely to contain potentially harmful chemicals and that fewer chemicals are released into the environment.
Arguments against it include possible lower yields and reduced quality produce. For the home gardener, organic gardening is an attractive alternative to using synthetic pesticides.
Organic gardening can be challenging, interesting and rewarding, even if only partially successful. However, growers may have to accept some damage and/or lower yields from disease or insects if they don’t use pesticides.
Almost all growers use certain well-established methods of organic gardening, such as resistant cultivars, crop rotation, sanitation and incorporation of organic matter.
Organic Gardening Involves:-
- Treating the soil and growing environment as a resource to be husbanded for future generations, rather than mined for short term gain.
- Providing plants with a balanced food supply by feeding the many soil living creatures that live with composts, manures and other organic materials.
- Choosing renewable resources, thereby creating a sustainable future.
- Reducing pollution of the environment, by recycling garden, household and other wastes, rather than dumping or burning them.
- Combating pests and diseases without using pesticides that may prove harmful to human health and that of domestic and wild animals.
- Encouraging and protecting wildlife, by creating suitable habitats and by minimizing use of harmful pesticides.
- Creating a safe and pleasant environment in which to work and play.
- Moving with the times – taking new scientific discoveries and ideas into account, as well as the best traditional knowledge.
- Using good horticultural practices.
- Recognising the importance of genetic diversity and hence the preservation of threatened plant varieties.
- The whole garden – flowers, trees, shrubs and lawns, as well as vegetables, fruit and herbs.
Whether you have a small suburban garden, a back yard or a stately home, you can grow organically. Tasty crops, beautiful flowers, luxurious lawns – all are possible without using harmful chemicals.
