So why would one desire to indulge in organic and natural gardening?
1. Organic gardening does not utilize chemicals that could have an adverse influence on your health. This is especially crucial when growing vegetables. Chemical companies reassure us that the chemicals we use are not dangerous when used according to direction, but study shows that even very small amounts of poisons absorbed through the skin over time can cause such things as cancer, particularly in children. On average, a child absorbs 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 farming, these incidents are lessened. Keep in mind, pesticides contain poisons that bear only one function - to exterminate living things.
2. Organic produce grown in organic soil may have a higher proportion of vitamins and nutrients. Scientific tests have shown that there's higher vitamin C in leafy greens, potatoes, and oranges that are raised organically.
3. Gardening organically means you are involved with the whole cycle. You sow the seeds, harvest the vegetables or flowers, gather the seeds, compost the remains, and start again. You're providing the soil with nutrients and feeding people, birds, and insects, which gives you a more intimate and fulfilling bond with the environment around you, and humanity as a whole.
4. You can cultivate your produce to complete ripeness for ample flavor. One can find dozens of seed catalogs with organic seeds that produce wonderful tasting vegetables. You don't need a tomato grown for the purpose of having a tough skin designed for shipping across the country. You're after a tomato that tastes delicious!
5. Gardening organically can entail a smaller amount of effort in the long run. If your soil is organic and healthy, it will yield vigorous crops which are more immune to disease and pests. Stronger plants will grow bigger and cast shade on their roots which means less watering. Excellent soil will absorb water better which also means less watering. Bigger plants may also help to stifle out the weeds which means you do not have to waste your precious time weeding.
6. Organic and sustainable gardening causes less damage to the natural environment. Chemical fertilizers, insect killers, and weed killers can leak into our ground water supply or run off into our rivers and streams.
We can recycle garbage by using our own compost made from food and garden scraps and additional wastes including straw and leaves. Reusing these things keeps them from being burned or else added to a landfill where they don't have a chance to decompose and add valuable nutrients back into the soil.
In addition, organic farming practices help inhibit the loss of topsoil via erosion. The Soil Conservation Service says that an estimated 30 - 32 billion tons of soil erodes from United States farmlands each year.
7. Gardening organically can also save you money! One will not need to pay money for high priced chemical fertilizers and pesticides with organic gardening. Numerous natural recipes used for the control of pests and diseases come straight from the kitchen cupboard. And at times other beneficial plants can be grown in the role of companions to the chief crop. One example of this is the marigold, which can help to keep away aphids from vegetables.
8. Your cooking undertakings can become more innovative and fun! For example, some flowers are suitable for eating when you raise them organically. Give a special touch to a salad presentation by adding nasturtiums or even brilliantly-colored pansies. Your completed dish will look like it came from a gourmet restaurant! (For more cool cooking ideas, just visit our website at: http://www.newholisticliving.com/cookingfromscratch.html.)
Gardening without the usage of chemicals can provide you with hardier crops and save you wasted time. More vigorous plants can mean tastier and healthier veggies that thrive even with less water and also have fewer pest problems. So give organic gardening a try for tastier vegetables and feel good about helping yourself as well as the planet.
Author Resource:
For more information and tips on organic and sustainable gardening, visit our website at http://www.newholisticliving.com/sustainablegardening.html, or blog at http://newholisticliving.wordpress.com/ (just click on the "Sustainable Gardening" topic.