ORGANIC GARDENING

Organic gardening is more popular now than ever before.  The certified organic garden must be chemical-free, so those gardeners are forced to use natural methods of pest control.  The trend is even moving into conventional agriculture with the USDA playing a roll.  Why?  Because chemical pest control is expensive and when improperly applied it can do more harm than good.

PESTICIDES. 

Fungicides, herbicides, and insecticides as a group are called pesticides and are generally harmful to the environment, and so they have no place in organic gardening.  The target pest is not their only victim.  Beneficial insects and small animals often fall prey to pesticides.  Birds, worms, toads, and other plant and animal life are potential victims.  Also, they can pollute the ground water causing health problems for humans.  No one knows the full effect of these man-made chemicals.

PESTICIDE DANGERS.

Another reason pesticides are not used in organic gardening is the damage they can do to humans who handle and apply these chemicals.  Many have labels with warnings of the dangers present during handling and strict instructions for safe application.  New chemicals are available that will breakdown into safe, inert substances after application, but  even these in their undiluted state, right out of the container pose an extreme danger to the handler.

USDA INVOLVEMENT.

The USDA (United States Dept of Agriculture) contends that with an already inadequate supply of food, the use of some pesticides is necessary to feed the world, and that is a very good point.  Methods of natural pest control on commercial farms are being developed in concert with the USDA, and will take years to complete, assuming that it can ever be done on a large scale without chemicals.  However, in the small garden, insects and disease can be dealt with safely using natural control methods.  The proper use of chemical pesticides is a science that requires great diligence and on-going education, and that is something that should be left to the experts—the USDA and commercial farmers.

CHEMICAL FREE GARDEN.

Another requirement of the certified organic garden is that it must be free of chemical fertilizers.  That means mulching and fertilizing with organic materials such as compost and shredded vegetable matter.  Not only does this meet the certification requirement but also puts more nutrients into the produce.