Organic Gardening

Making a compost pile and turning the composted matter into the soil. Using natural fertilizers and manures which will decompose. Mulching crops and working them back into the soil after harvest.

-Alfalfa and other legumes are a valuable aid in building good soil since they are active nitrogen gatherers and in fact furnish more nitrogen to crops than fertilizer and manure. This occurs through a process called nitrogen fixation. Bacteria attach themselves to legume roots and form nodules which are rich in nitrogen. Alfalfa and other legumes add this extra fertility because they favor bacteria which makes nitrogen available for plants. As their roots sink down, they aerate the soil and add valuable organic matter.

So we see that healthy soil is the most vital factor in establishing a productive and nutritious vegetable garden. Organic gardeners shun artificial and chemical fertilizers because of their over-all devastating effect on the soil. They deteriorate the soil, destroy beneficial soil organisms including earthworms, they lower the nutritional content of crops and make them susceptible to diseases and insect infestation, and lastly they inhibit plants from absorbing the necessary minerals in the soil.

Composting is the core of this type of garden. It is nature's way of building new soil through decomposition of natural plant materials. Composting exemplifies the birth-death cycle prevalent in a11 of nature's actions and reactions. Composting costs nothing and takes little effort. All sorts of organic wastes can be used - table scraps, leaves, grass clip¬pings, weeds, etc. It is the most efficient and practical fertilizer and it creates the finest soil. Compost is more than a fertilizer; it is the process of continuing life. With the proper conditions and organic materials, bacteria will gladly assist in the formation of humus.

A true gardener appreciates the incredibly valuable assistance of earthworms since they will aerate the soil and enrich mineral content. The earthworm actually eats and digests the soil Its excrements are richer in minerals than the soil they ingest. However, all chemical fertilizers and sprays must be abandoned for they are fatal to earthworms.

Mulching is also an invaluable aid to organic farmers. It discourages weeds, preserves ground moisture, and protects plants from freezing in the winter. Mulching is simply a cover layer of organic material such as corn stalks, hay, or leaves placed on the soils' surface.

The advantages to mulching, are that it protects the plant from temperature extremes. It keeps the soil warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer. Mulch materials contain minerals which gradually compost into the soil. It fertilizes on the ground surface and again fertilizes the earth after decay. Mulching eliminates weed growth since the weeds

do not have a chance to grow through the mulch. Mulch also keeps moisture in the ground and prevents wind and rain erosion. Mulched plants can 'endure a long dry season with little water. Lastly, mulch prevents sprawling ground vegies from molding and rotting since mulch keeps the vegetables clean and dry. So you can see that mulching is a most advantageous process for the organic gardener to employ.

There are many reasons for gardening organically. We can be assured of receiving high quality vegetables of superior nutrition without the use of dangerous chemicals and pesticides. In addition we can choose the vegetables we would like to have grown and at harvest time they can be immediately gathered and eaten - an unsurpassed way of attaining fresh and tasty food. On the practical side, gardening is an economical and profitable way to secure your food and also provides good work and exercise in the process."

A new University of Michigan study indicates that organic farming is more productive than chemical and energy intensive industrial agriculture. Researchers noted 293 examples in previous studies that corroborate the fact that organic farming is better than conventional, but pointed out that biased studies funded by chemical producers have clouded the public's understanding of the issue.

Corporate agribusiness has spent decades repeating the mantra that chemical intensive agriculture is necessary to feed the world. But according to the new report, "Model estimates indicate that organic methods could produce enough food on a global per capita basis to sustain the current human population, and potentially an even larger population, without increasing the agricultural land base." Ivette Perfecto, a professor at the University of Michigan, said of the study, "My hope is that we can finally put a nail in the coffin of the idea that you can't produce enough food through organic agriculture."