Organic Gardening

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Some of you may have noticed that the organic food section of your local supermarket continues to grow. As you might expect, this is because the demand for organic foods is increasing all over the country.

But what exactly is organic gardening? The simplest definition of the practice is that it is used to grow food without any kind of synthetic chemicals. That means gardeners must use only natural pesticides and fertilizers.

Benefits

So, what are the advantages of going organic? To begin with, studies have shown that organic foods are more nutritious than foods that are grown with synthetic fertilizers. The truth is that people have known for years that synthetic chemicals are harmful, but until organic foods came along they really didn’t have a choice; they needed the vitamins and minerals that only fruits and vegetables can provide.

Why are synthetic chemicals bad for you?

Not only do they deprive foods of essential vitamins and nutrients, but at high levels they can be harmful to your health. But it’s not just the synthetic chemicals in non-organic foods that are bad for you; they also contain additives like growth hormones, fertilizers, artificial flavoring, coloring and preservatives. In fact, reputable studies have shown that children who eat organic foods have a level of pesticides that is more than six times lower than children who do not. Add to that the fact that organic foods simply taste better and fresher. And why wouldn’t they be? They arrive to the grocery store in their natural state.

Organic Gardening

As with most things in life there is, however, one major drawback when it comes to organic foods. They are expensive. Actually, they’re really expensive. The average organic food cost between 2 and 4 times as much as its non-organic rival. Unfortunately, this means that most families cannot afford to eat an all organic diets.

So, what’s the alternative?

Well, the most inexpensive way to procure organic foods is to actually grow them yourself. That’s right! Years ago many Americans had their own gardens in their backyards and loved ever minute of it. In fact, gardening was a popular hobby. But as life got more hectic and food prices decreased, people gave up gardening and simply bought cheap produce at the store.

But here is the cruel irony of the situation: food prices only decreased because of cheap synthetic chemicals; which means that people stopped growing healthy food in their gardens so that they could buy cheap, unhealthy foods at the store. Of course they didn’t know they were unhealthy at the time. Fortunately, now that people know how unhealthy inorganic foods can be, they are starting to turn to organic gardening once again.

Though it is true that many people start gardening because they have essentially been scared straight by new stories about adult-onset diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure (all of which are diet-related), before very long most of them find they actually enjoy it. And why not? You’re out in the sun getting some exercise while you grow healthy foods for your family. Besides, freshly grown, organic produce just tastes better than the junk people buy at the supermarket. That is why organic gardening is once again in fashion.

One of the major misconceptions of organic gardening is that it is expensive. After all, people see the difference in prices between organic and non-organic foods at their local markets. But when it comes to small gardens prices are about the same. In fact, chemical fertilizers tend to cost about the same or more than organic fertilizer.

Organic Fertilizer

As you might expect, when you are looking to grow organic foods you must use non-synthetic, organic fertilizers. These fertilizers are used to make the soil more fertile and are really only a supplement. Unlike chemical fertilizers, which are often the sole source of fertility for non-organic foods, you will have to use other natural fertilizers like compost and manure to add nutrients.

What makes them so different?

Organic fertilizer does not contain synthetic or petroleum-based chemicals, but rather only natural ingredients. However, it is important to know the source of the organic fertilizer you use. Because, unfortunately, some organic fertilizers may be contain heavy metals, which can be harmful to plants. It is also possible that pesticides or herbicides were used on the plant ingredients in the fertilizer. Therefore, it is always a good idea to speak with the gardening expert at your local store and ask him which brands are actually organic.