Is Organic Gardening Always Safe?

Every where you turn today people are talking about organic gardening and the healthy benefits of eating organically grown fruits and veggies. However, are organic grown vegetables and fruits as healthy and safe as people claim? The information contained in this article will provide you with food for thought.

In a recent study, done by United Kingdom scientist, revealed that almost 33% of the food being sold in the UK had measurable levels of pesticide and chemicals used in crop enhancement, which are dangerous to the human body. In addition the same study indicated that almost all developed countries, through out the world, had approximately the same levels of contamination. Unfortunately this included organically grown food as well.

The primary reason for this contamination was due to the ground water which the plants consume. This is from years and years of chemical pesticides and chemical fertilizer being dumped on the ground, to enhance the yield and speed the growth of the produce, then leeching into the ground water table. The only way your organic gardening can avoid this water is to use filtered water or distilled water. However using distilled water means your produce will be short on certain nutrients vital to the health of your body. In addition to the ground water the contamination is also caused by the wind currents.

Much of the pesticides and fertilizers applied to the crops are sprayed on. Consequently, the mist of chemicals is caught by the wind and can be carried a good distance before dropping to the earth. If your organic garden happens to be in the path of the wind your plants will become covered with the synthetic pesticides and fertilizer.

Other studies have shown that these same pesticides and other chemicals, over a period of years or even months can cause health problems in the human body. It is now believed that these chemicals can affect the brain development of unborn babies in the mothers womb. In addition these chemicals have been linked to certain kinds of cancer, breakdown of the nervous system, weakening of the immune system and other diseases which can destroy the vital organs of the human body.

Perhaps you believe that washing of your veggies will protect you, but this is not necessarily the case. These same studies have also indicated that certain fruits and vegetables are susceptible to these same chemicals leeching into the meat of these veggies and fruits through the skin. An example of this kind or fruit would be lemons or grapefruit. In this case organic produce would really be much safer than the regular grown fruit.

As you can tell from reading the above information organic gardening may not be quite as safe as you thought it was. However, with the proper precautions, such as always washing the veggies and fruits prior to preparing or eating, will reduce the risk of ingesting dangerous chemicals.

Information You Should Know About Organic Vegetable Gardening

Organic food products are the trend these days after studies have shown that the age old practice of using fertilizers and pesticides happen to be harmful to our health. This means that we have to change our approach and try something else.

The concept of organic vegetable farming is not new given that ancient civilizations have been doing it for years. We somehow forgot that thinking that modern science could help us produce better crops.

But if we go back to the basics, we realize that the resources need to make this work is right before our eyes.

First is the soil. Although 2/3 of the Earth is made up of water, the remainder is what we use for infrastructure while a certain percentage of that is devoted to agriculture.

The second thing you need is water. The ancients used an efficient irrigation system so that water from the rivers would go to the land they planted on. These days, we have the technology to divert water to these areas using pipes. When it has not rained for a long time, we are able to make artificial rain.

Third is sunlight. We may not control its movement but if we are able to plant our crops in an area that has sufficient exposure to the sun, whatever we plant will grow.

But between the period of putting the seeds in the ground and before these are harvested, farmers have to be on their guard. The crops are threatened by insects. This is why people are advised to use other insects, birds and toads.

Organically made fertilizers also come to play here and some examples of them include the application of compost, manure and cover cropping.

The soil where the vegetables were grown and harvested may not be ready to plant the same crops so maintain its fertility, farmers are also encouraged to rotate their crops.

To make sure that farmers who practice organic vegetable gardening are doing it right, the Department of Agriculture together with the International Federation of Organic Agriculture or IFOAM that has been in operation since 1972 sees to it that certain standards are in place.

Some people will argue that organic farming is not able to produce the same amount of yields as compared to those who use fertilizers and pesticides. This is true however, in times of drought, these crops are still able to survive because there is still enough water underground. This means farmers will still be able to harvest and there is a steady supply of goods in the market.

It is expected that the demand for organic vegetables will grow in the future. This is as more people become of food safety issues and how this affects the environment.

You can do your share by trying organic vegetable gardening in your backyard. The things you need are very affordable. You just need to practice what farmers do in the fields.

In fact, such information can now be found in books and online so do some research and put this into practice. It is fun and rewarding to see that what you worked on for weeks is now being served on your dinner table.

Back then, you have to remember that there were only a few skilled jobs and one of them was being a farmer.

How To Benefit Others And Yourself With Organic Gardening

What benefits are in organic gardening besides having a more beautiful garden or eating healthier veggies and fruits? Actually there are more special benefits than most people and organic gardeners ever think about. This article will tell you about the additional benefits and give you some thought provoking ideas that may surprise you.

Did you know you can feed children around the world with your organic garden? “How in the world can you do that?” you ask. It’s really quite simple and only takes a little more planning and work on your part.

When you began to plan your own personal natural garden you should layout a larger and grander garden. It doesnt make any difference if its for flowers, veggies, fruits or bushes to beautify your yard. Thats right! Make it bigger. When it’s harvest time you will have more flowers, plants and veggies than you can possibly use.

Instead of plowing under the excess crops from your organic gardening or inundating your friends and relatives with it take it to the local Farmers Market or the Flea Market and sell it. Chances are you won’t have a problem selling it and you may end up with a pocket full of cash. Take the cash from the sell and donate it to your favorite “Feed The Children” charity. When you do this a starving child will benefit from your garden, long after you harvested your crops.

Another great benefit from raising your own organic fruits and veggies is it’s a great school project for your childs school. Help your child and their classmates set up their own organic garden. The immediate lessons they learn will be about how to help the environment, healthy eating, teamwork and it makes learning fun for them. Again, set it up, so the children can take the crops to the local Farmers Market or Flea Market to sell.
The proceeds from the sell can be used to buy something which will benefit all of the children of the school.

This next benefit is one that is seldom thought about by your children or possibly by you.
This is the benefit of the physical exercise you and the kids will receive by working in the garden. You know that the kids today dont play outside the way you did when you were a kid. An hour a day of working in your garden will help in weight loss (burning calories), lowering blood pressure, strengthen the heart and lungs, build muscle, sharpen the mind. Relieve stress and sleep better. The end result being you and kids will be much happier and healthy to boot.

One last benefit you will realize by you when working with the earth and growing things organically is the restoration of your sprit and soul. You will receive such a sense of well being when you have a fruitful harvest, you just cant beat it. You will know you have done your part to help Mother Nature return to her natural state and touched all the other human beings by doing so.

As you have just read the benefits to organic gardening can benefit not only yourself and your family, but you can actually reach out and make a difference in the world.

Helping Nature through Organic Gardening

If you are pondering about organic gardening, keep doing so. Not many people are like you who think of such causes for the benefit of nature. Nature may be smiling at you now. With the advent of all the problems with the world around us, specifically the global warming, such simple steps to ease the bigger problem is already a big leap to be carried out.

This will take a lot of hard work. So you better be prepared for it. Once you are already into the process, take time to familiarize yourself. Do not give up just because of a minor problem. Just think of it like nature is testing you how big your love for it is. So prove it worth your tears and fears regarding this type of gardening.

What makes this hard? Unlike the ordinary kind of gardening, going organic will remove from you the freedom to use just about anything that is commercially available as long as it will help you with your venture. No way. You cannot use synthetic materials on this one. Everything must be organic. It must come from nature itself. You must have done it using elements that can be found on the ground. Or you can also buy those available in the market as long as they claim to be organic.

By going organic, you’ll be able to help nature replenish its resources. Yes, you get from it all the materials that you will be needing for this task. You will get the dried leaves, the sawdust, some vegetable peels and other materials from the ground. This is also your way of cleaning your surroundings. But such materials can be used as elements in compost.

You can actually do your own compost by going over some books on how this can be done. You can also turn to someone who is successful with this type of gardening and ask that person for tips and tricks. You can use the result of that compost as fertilizers on your garden.

Finding a guru may serve a lot of purpose as you go along in this type of gardening. It doesn’t matter if you will just be doing so as a hobby or you will turn it into a business. So start asking around and look for that person who can further mentor you in the trade of doing the stuff that surrounds such method of gardening.

By having the aid of an expert, especially if you are only beginning on this task, you will be better at helping nature. You will know what type of plants you can grow in what type of soil. You will have a clearer view as to how the elements of the ground can contribute to the success of your project. You will know what to do in cases of trouble with regards to the growth of your plants or the emergence of pests on your garden.

Nature will really love you for the way you will only utilize organic materials for the purpose of growing green things on your garden. And you will benefit a lot in the process of organic gardening. You will be able to become a guru of this type of task. You will be able to produce organic sources of food.

And you can also turn this into a business venture once you have mastered the art and you are already harvesting more than enough.

Growth Control for Efficient Gardening of Vegetables

A good garden aficionado must know that cultivation or weeding is effective for growth control. Weeds are your garden’s most persistent and cloying enemy. You need to be able to know how to handle weeds in order to foster growth control for your organic garden. If you let weeds take over, they will completely obliterate your capacity to yield a rich number of vegetables.

They are the number one stealer of nutrients, sunlight and revenue for farmers, so the earlier you try to eliminate them, the better will it be for your gardening. This can eat up your time to such extremes at certain seasons, but monitoring weeds and eliminating them is definitely worth your time and effort.

Weeds are usually much harder to remove when they have matured. So it might require you a keen observing eye to really check out and inspect your garden for the earliest appearances of these culprits. Cultivating your soil regularly in the garden will help eliminate the younger weeds. Once you let those young weeds take hold and be firmly established in the garden, it will become a more herculean task to try to remove them from your garden.

Seasons also affect the appearance of weeds. Warm-season and cool-season weeds proliferate at different times of the year, and it will be your advantage to recognize which weeds are in season so you can more easily expect them in your garden and prepare your anti-weed arsenal more effectively. Some of the weed seeds may also lie in your garden, so make sure that you are able to cultivate your soil properly to remove them as well.

Make sure that your ground remains filled up with the good stuff. If you leave any portion idle or bare, the weeds are more likely to secure that area for their growth. If you are unable to fill the entire area with plant outgrowths, at least have a good cover to keep the weeds from invading your plant territory.

In the case where weeds have already grown when you discovered them, chopping them off from the ground is the most efficient way to remove them. Some of these weeds may cease to be removed, and will not stop even when you cut them down. But repetitive cutting down of those weeds will help eliminate them for good after some time.

The use of herbicides and pesticides is also advised, but it is not entirely necessary when you are able to do good cultivation of your land. The pesticides and herbicides, especially the commercially available ones, may prove to have other harmful effects. It may also pose as a threat to other useful organisms living in your garden. In any case, when you are presented with a huge weed problem, you may use herbicides and pesticides but only sparingly.

Mulching and composting are also good ways to help maintain the soil and ward off the weeds. Ultimately, you will not have to encounter huge problems in weed management if from the start, you are able to keep them from thriving in your garden in the first place.

If you are really consistent in digging up your space, you will have made the most out of your vegetables’ garden and have exercised true growth control against weeds that can steal, kill and destroy your organic garden.

Getting Started with the Hobby of Organic Gardening

Organic gardening can very well pass up as a hobby for starters. This can be true if you are the type of person who has the passion for gardening. This may not be everybody’s cup of tea. So consider yourself lucky if you are among those who can grow green things out of the blue.

Gardening requires certain skills. You have to know the type of soil, what kind of plants you can place on them, how you will take care of those plants, aside from the many other considerations that you must be aware of when you are serious about it.

It may sound complicated enough for the beginners. But if you have been marked as the one with a green thumb and you’ve already honed you skills on this, then you might as well try the organic way of gardening. This method is particularly special as well as hard. It will require you to double your effort as compared with the regular stuff that you do with the usual gardening tricks.

The Concept
The basic rule on this type of gardening is that you will only use synthetic products in all your endeavor with regards to the task. This will include the important elements such as the fertilizers and the pesticides.

You can actually get from the earth what you will then use for your organic venture into gardening. You will use such elements to be able to grow something new, these are your plants, your vegetables or whatever greens you may want to grow. Do you get the picture? To look at it from a bird’s eye view, it is like working closely with nature. Or as others may say, this is like being one with nature.

Organic Fertilizers
Is there such a thing, you may ask? Yes, and you are the one to make it. You can actually perform composting on the materials found on your garden. You can use fallen leaves and twigs, animal manure, but this will depend on the type, and many more.

Organic Pesticides
This type of gardening wants, as much as possible, to stay away from pesticides. But if you can’t afford to pick the insects one by one by your bare hands, then you can go to your local grocery store and ask for an organic pesticide that is available commercially.

The old way really is to be vigilant with your garden and take off every pest that you see. You should only turn to the organic pesticides when it becomes too many and uncontrollable that you can no longer handle. You can also try to bring in the animals that feed on those pests. This way, you’ll have some help in picking those pests up. And that is also helping the other animals satisfy their hunger.

As a hobby, this may be time consuming. So if you cannot devote enough time into it, might as well find a partner or drop the idea until you’ve found the right time to carry on with the tasks.

Organic gardening really entails a lot of hard work. So you better be prepared to perspire in the process. To ease your tiredness when you are already into it too deep, just think that what you are doing is helping nature. This is your way of giving back what nature has bestowed on you since the day you were born.

Fertilization 101: Growing Vegetables in Your Organic Garden

When we talk of fertilization for your effective gardening of vegetables in your organic gardening, it is almost similarly attributed to mulching. But there are also other aspects such as the introduction of fertilizers that can be available naturally or commercially. Simply defined, it involves placing matter, whether organic or inorganic, around your plants.

Aside from providing fertilization, it also protects your soil. Whether your garden is subjected under heavy rains or at the risk of weed infestation, the mulches provide ample protection and strengthening needed to supplement the natural growth processes of your organic garden vegetables. Aside from this, it also regulates the temperature of the soil; it can also render aesthetic appeal to the garden because it will help improve the ground texture and overall appearance.

If you have effectively established mulches in your garden, less watering is required because it will also help the plants retain water. The plants will also experience better growth levels and moisture retention. Although known to help in weed control, it does not directly fight or ward off the weeds. It just helps as a filler for bare areas that are at higher risk of weed infestation. Also, persistent weeds can die down as it forces itself in the soil surrounded with mulch.

For the case of organic mulches, bacteria has the tendency to eat up the much-needed nitrogen, so in some cases, you might be required to inject additional dosages of nitrogen. Some examples of materials you can use for mulching include lawn clippings, compost mises, leaves, straw, sawdust, wood chips. These are examples of organic materials for mulching. If you opt for inorganic, it often has its optimum results on plants placed on a hill.

When fertilizing your soil via mulching, you may be required to be more meticulous with your organic garden. You might be required to water more frequently when you are using inorganic fabrics, and then you must also watch out for the greater tendency to wilt because the ground cover tends to be more crowded.

Testing your soil is a good way to ensure effective fertilization. you cannot afford to buy fertilizer by the bulk, only to realize that it is not the right fertilizer suited for your soil. The best way to make sure that you are able to score the best fertilizer is by means of doing an actual test on a sample of soil taken from your garden.

Once you apply fertilizer, it is often recommended to maintain it. Having a budget for high quality fertilizer is also a good must-have for a gardener, especially a beginner. There are also some fertilizers solely tailored at the beginning of the planting process and need not be maintained all throughout your gardening activities. In any rate, make sure that you are getting your money’s worth and have thoroughly proven for yourself that the given fertilizer you are putting on your garden has been tried and tested on your soil type.

Even if you put fertilizers or inorganic mulches in your soil, the organic matter is still the best source of fertilization for your plant, and it adheres closely to the natural growth process of plants. If at all possible, avoid introducing too much chemical interventions in your soil so that the plants will get used to growing and maximizing its potential via natural means.

Feeding the Soil One Vital Aspect of Organic Gardening

Feeding the Soil One Vital Aspect of Organic Gardening

There is an important aspect of organic gardening that you can very well relate to. Imagine this. You are hungry. You haven’t been fed. You haven’t taken a bath. You haven’t pampered yourself. You’ve spent so much time working and taking care of others, but you haven’t tended yourself for your own good.

How would you feel? For a time being, you may be able to accept the fact. You may still tire yourself out without asking for anything in return. But as the days go by, you will feel the negative effects of the situation. You will no longer have the kind of energy that you used to. Your body will deteriorate until it can no longer function for the things that it used to do.

How is this related to the organic method of gardening? You can actually compare this to the state of the soil. Soil is a very important aspect in this type and all the other kinds of gardening. This is the base of everything. This will be the bed, or the house of your plants. You must choose the right one in the first place.

Depending on your location, the soils that you may acquire vary on such factor. You should base the decision in picking out the plants on the types of soils that are available in your area. Once you have picked the right kind, you are now on you way to the first steps of your gardening venture using the organic method.

Relating to the sample above, the soil must never be left untended. It must never go hungry. Or else, what happened to the example may also happen to the soil. You have to feed the soil. You have to bathe it. And you have to take care of it just like how you tend to yourself or to the plants situated on your garden.

You may know from your grade school days that the soil needs water, sunlight and air. But you are doing everything organically now. Does it carry out any differences? Yes, a lot. Although you still have to feed your soil and the plants on it enough sunlight, water and air, you have to add something else. You’ve got to have organic matters placed on the soil.

Have you ever heard of composting? This is the process where you culminate decaying matters like leaves, grasses, peelings of fruits or vegetables, even manures and fish heads to act as your soil’s fertilizer. This is organic remember? You cannot resort to anything synthetic. This is one proof that this process entails a lot of hard work than you can ever imagine.

Not only are you going to feed the soil, you also have to attend to it regularly. Mulching is like massaging the soil to keep its shape. This way, you will be able to get rid of the pests that your soil has gotten through the days or months, however long you have been gardening.

This will actually help you prevent acquiring bigger problems. There are many types of soils that need certain care and attention. For example, clay can hold up water better than the sandy kind. You have to know those kind of details to be able to improve on your organic gardening venture.

Different Vegetable Gardening Styles

Each gardener has his own set of characteristics that make him fit for certain gardening styles. If you know yourself and the right gardening style that will fit your rearing of your organic garden and help you yield your vegetables effectively, then you have pretty much gotten an edge over other gardening enthusiasts. But what are the different types of gardening that you can look out for? Here are some of the types that you can consider:

Residential Gardening

This is the most common of all gardening techniques. If you are just a beginner and not yet inclined to produce vegetables for industrial reasons, then residential gardening is for you. The primary purpose of residential gardening is to sustain a family or two of a steady supply of vegetables and at the same time, render aesthetic appeal to your backyard.

Residential gardening does not require too much space. It can also be cultivated in window sills, balconies and other small areas that have sufficient light source, easy to monitor and at the same time, easy to maintain or free from pests. The good thing about residential gardening is the ease with which it ushers the gardening wannabe from having no knowledge of planting to expanding to other gardening styles, whichever deems the fancy of the budding gardener.

Specialized Gardening

Specialized gardening involves non-residential areas that are known for its green quality and are often marketed as such. Parks, botanical gardens, amusement parts and other tourist attractions fall under this category. Often a staff is required to maintain due to its size, so effective administrative skills on top of gardening expertise may be required. It is also tailored for delivering in profit to certain causes or organizations.

Impact Gardening
If you are up to the challenge of blocking weeds with minimal costs, then impact gardening is for you. It involves using a relatively small space and maximizing its gardening potential. The plants are often crowded together.

Indoor Gardening

Residential gardening is under the huge scope of indoor gardening. Other types under this category include the gardens of conservatories, greenhouses and academic institutions. Systems for heating and air conditioning may also be found for certain breeds of plants. If you are the type of gardener who really loves cultivating plants in and out of season, then indoor gardening is for you.

Water Gardening

If you want to garden with minimal supervision and love water organisms, then water gardening is for you. This is a bit of a challenge for most gardeners because it usually doesn’t involve the initial conditions of other traditional gardening techniques. The novelty of water gardening appeals only to those who have ample water facilities to cultivate this type of gardening style.

Community Gardening

If you are motivated by group efforts, community gardening may be for you. It involves concentrated efforts of the different members of the community to be able to help make a greener place. It involves a huge scope, but the members of the community are given autonomy to style their areas in whichever way they choose.

An Organic Summer Garden Experience

If you have the time and the inclination to create an organic summer garden there are few better ways to go when it comes to the potential impact on the planet. A summer garden is a thing of beauty to be enjoyed by all you invite into your garden. That being said, there are certain pests we’d all like to keep out of our gardens as well. The problem is that the pesticides of the past have undetermined side effects that have the potential to cause lasting harm. If we can avoid introducing those chemicals to our own gardens we are protecting our kids from dangers we may not even be aware of yet and protecting the other animals that may innocently come in contact with our gardens such as birds and butterflies from being harmed by the chemicals present in most common pesticides.

What does this mean to gardeners when it comes to efforts directed towards keeping out potential pests? Quite honestly, it means we are going to have to get a little bit creative in those efforts turning to natural solutions rather than chemicals. One way in which this can quite easily be accomplished is by encouraging animals that prey upon the pests to make your garden their home. Of course, this could potentially bring about its own set of problems but from a gardening perspective it is often very sound reasoning.

Use organic mulch. While this isn’t necessarily a means of pest control it is a wise move when it comes to organic gardening. Not only does the mulch provide the very useful mulching properties throughout the growing season but once the growing season has ended can be turned over and used in order to boost the organic material within the soil. This in turns provides nutrients that are important to keeping the soil fit for sustaining plant life in future growing seasons.

Attract birds to your garden. This has a two-fold benefit for the organic gardener. First of all the birds are often natural predators for many of the bugs that make a nuisance of themselves in the average summer garden. Second, birds leave behind their own little fertilizing additions to the landscape of your garden. Don’t you wish all solutions were this simple?

Keep your garden healthy, well fertilized, watered regularly and appropriately, and free of weeds. A good offense is the best defense. A good immune system and constant hand washing are the best defense the human body has against catching colds and viruses. The same holds true for gardens and their ability to fight pests. Keep your garden strong and healthy and it will repel many of the pests that may cripple other gardens on its own. It certainly doesn’t hurt anything to keep this philosophy in mind and you may be amazed at how well it works.

Organic gardening is more than a plan for your garden it is a return to the ways of old in the world of gardening. For centuries before pesticides were created man managed to live off the abundance of his gardens. It makes sense that by returning to those ideals we can also enjoy great food and a bountiful harvest in the modern world. Make the choice today to make your summer garden an organic garden and reap the benefit in better health and greater enjoyment of the gardening process.

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