Organic Gardening

What do you invision when you hear the term "organic gardening"? Do you think of extremely large and beautiful fruits and vegetables free of pesticide residues and containing an abundance of vitamins and minerals or do you picture insect chewed leaves and fruit marred by worm holes. In an effort to clear up some confusion surrounding organic gardening, I will try to explain some of the concepts of organic gardening.

Organic gardening is probably the oldest form of gardening which had it's first serious beginning in Europe many years ago. It first came on the scene in the United States in the 1940's and today many people are going back to organic gardening in an effort to grow plants free of pesticide residues and commercial fertilizers.

Many of us have probably used a form of organic gardening without knowing it. The addition of manure or compost into a garden bed, the addition of peatmoss, ground bark or leaf mold to a planting mix, using bone meal to fertilize bulbs and squirting aphids off a plant with a hose are all forms of organic gardening.

There is no disagreement between the organic gardener and the conventional gardener on the value of the addition of organic matter to the soil. Both realize that organic matter makes soil easy to work, increases its nutrient and water retention, improves soil atmosphere, promotes increased biological activity and adds nutrients to the soil. The difference of opinion arises with the method of supplying nutrients (fertilizer) to the plant. The organic gardener uses only organic materials (animal manure, blood meal, cottonseed meal and wood ashes) while the conventional gardener uses inorganic materials (commercial fertilizer). Organic fertilizers release nutrients very slowly and therefore there is less chance of fertilizer burn. However, the nutrient content of organic fertilizers is far less than that of commercial fertilizers. Therefore large quantities of organic fertilizer are needed to do the job of a small amount of commercial fertilizer. Whether you apply an organic fertilizer or a commercial fertilizer, the basic fact remains that plant roots absorb nutrients from both fertilizers in the same elemental form.

The primary difference between organic gardening and conventional gardening is the method of pest control. Organic gardeners do not use inorganic pesticides. Instead, they use natural forms of control.

One form of natural control employed by organic gardeners is by physical means. This involves picking an insect off a plant and squashing him. Washing insects off plants with a strong water spray from a garden hose is another method of physical control.

Another method of natural control of harmful insects is natural predators. Some insects such as ladybugs, praying mantises, lacewing and trichogramma wasps feed on harmful insects. These insects can be purchased and placed in your garden. However, there is no guarantee that they will remain in your garden. They may stay and destroy many harmful insects or they may leave soon after released. Other predators of harmful insects are frogs, toads, lizards, salamanders, snakes and birds. Birds can be attracted by placing bird baths and feeders in your garden. However, not all birds eat insects. Some birds eat fruits and seeds and they can be very destructive in your garden.

Spray preparations are another method of insect control. Soopy water sprays and oil sprays are effective in controlling many harmful insects. There are sprays which can be purchased that contain diseases (Bacillus thruingiensis and milky spore disease) of harmful insects. These sprays are fatal to insects, but are harmless to man. Spray preparations derived from plants have been reported to be effective against insects. Some of these botanical sprays are toxic to insects; others are simply offensive to them and discourage their presence. The most common toxic botanical sprays are: pyrethrum, sabadilla, rotenone and ryania. The sprays which are offensive to insects consists of home-made extracts from juices of such plants as onion, garlic, pepper and marigold.

Some organic gardener's believe that marigolds planted near other plants will keep away harmful insects. There is no scientific evidence to prove or disprove this at present. However, there is evidence that marigolds will reduce or even eliminate nematodes within a 3-foot radius of the plant.

Organic gardening is not for everyone. Those who pursue an organic approach to gardening should expect to have more chewed leaves and more physical exertion. For those hardy individuals who have the time and are willing to exert the extra effort, organic gardening may be both productive and rewarding.