Blogathon: The Environment: Organic Gardening

In honor of the Blogathon about the Environment, I am going to speak about Organic Gardening, its pleasures, its usefulness, its benefits to the environment and to our health, both physical and spiritual.

I’m sure most of you have at least heard of ‘Organic’, as a farming/gardening method. What does that really mean? According to Organic Gardening Magazine...

The simple answer is that organic gardeners don't use synthetic fertilizers or pesticides on their plants. But gardening organically is much more than what you don't do. When you garden organically, you think of your plants as part of a whole system within Nature that starts in the soil and includes the water supply, people, wildlife and even insects. An organic gardener strives to work in harmony with natural systems and to minimize and continually replenish any resources the garden consumes. Organic gardening, then, begins with attention to the soil. You regularly add organic matter to the soil, using locally available resources wherever possible. And everyone has access to the raw ingredients of organic matter, because your lawn, garden, and kitchen produce them everyday. Decaying plant wastes, such as grass clippings, fall leaves and vegetable scraps from your kitchen, are the building blocks of compost, the ideal organic matter for your garden soil. If you add compost to your soil, you're already well on your way to raising a beautiful, healthy garden organically.

The other key to growing organically is to choose plants suited to the site. Plants adapted to your climate and conditions are better able to grow without a lot of attention or input; on the other hand, when you try to grow a plant that is not right for your site, you will probably have to boost its natural defenses to keep it healthy and productive.

Thus, organic growing is using natural means to bring about a harvest, rather than artificial—read ‘man-made’—means. In practice, this entails:

- Fertilize with manure, or ‘green manure’ crops like Rye or Buckwheat, or manure tea.
- Use beneficial insects to keep down pests by making sure their habitat is available.
- Compost food scraps, green matter, leaves, and coffee grounds for soil improvement.
- Hand-pick pests, if you can.
- Use biological tricks like companion planting to help plants grow pest-free.
- Pick plants that work in your climate and soil.
- Saving water, using rain water retained in cisterns, drip irrigation, and proper timing of watering to avoid adverse evaporation.
- Grow open-pollinated or heirloom seeds instead of hybrids, if you can, to give you a chance to save seeds for next year.

There are many ways to work with organic methods. You probably can think of more than what I have listed here.

So, you now have the information on what organic gardening is, but is it for you? What benefits will it give you? A few benefits are, deep satisfaction from growing your own food or knowing who grows it, knowing exactly how and where it was grown, enjoying the great taste of fresh produce that hasn't been shipped 1000 miles, eating food that is packed with nutrients and vitamins far beyond those grown commercially with chemicals, to mention a few. It will also give you back something most of us have lost—a connection to the food you eat.

One of my personal favorite ways to grow vegetables is with Square Foot Gardening. This method is great for intensive work, with the least amount of wasted space, and conservation of resources. Check it out, and see if it will help you in your own quest for an organic garden.

Of course, in all this there is a spiritual side. Growing things organically aligns you with nature’s creatures, with her cycles. There is nothing closer to God/dess than tilling the soil, nurturing plants, and harvesting food in the timeless rhythm of the seasons. It creates a peace within that is unmatched elsewhere. With one’s hands deep in sun-warmed soil, our connection to the earth is restored. Stress flows away and tranquility remains. And when the garden is planted, don’t forget to plant flowers, herbs and other plants to attract butterflies, bees, dragonflies and mantises. These and others are allies in the effort to create a harvest.

Now, get those hands dirty, think about next spring and resolve to grow your own luscious veggies. The seed catalogs come in January!

With love and light,

Q.