Seven Ticks For Organic Gardening
Organic gardening is the way of growing vegetables and fruits
with the use of things only found in nature.
Why would one want to indulge in organic gardening?
1. One can easily make compost from garden and kitchen waste.
Though this is a bit more time-consuming than buying prepared
chemical pesticides and fertilizers, it certainly helps to put
garbage to good use and so saves the environment.
2. Organic farming does not use chemicals that may have an
adverse affect on your health. This is especially important when
growing vegetables. Chemical companies tell us that the
chemicals we use are safe if used according to direction, but
research shows that even tiny amounts of poisons absorbed
through the skin can cause such things as cancer, especially in
children.
On the average, a child ingests four to five times more
cancer-causing pesticides from foods than an adult. This can
lead to various diseases later on in the child's life. With
organic gardening, these incidents are lessened.
Remember, pesticides contain toxins that have only one purpose -
to kill living things.
3. Less harm to the environment. Poisons are often washed into
our waterways, causing death to the native fish and polluting
their habitat.
4. Organic farming practices help prevent the loss of topsoil
through erosion.
The Soil Conservation Service says that an estimated 30 - 32
billion tons of soil erodes from United States farmlands every
year.
5. Cost savings. One does not need to buy costly chemical
fertilizers and pesticides with organic gardening. Many organic
recipes for the control of pest and disease come straight from
the kitchen cupboard. Sometimes other plants can be grown as
companions to the main crop. An example of this is the marigold,
which helps to repel aphids from vegetables. Mixing 1 tablespoon
of liquid dishwashing soap and 1 cup of cooking oil can make a
cheap garden pest spray. Put 3 tablespoons of this mixture in 1
quart of water and spray on plants.
6. A simple mulch of pine needles will help to suppress the
growth of weeds as well as keeping the moisture in.
7. Organic gardening practices help to keep the environment safe
for future generations.