Reasons Why You Should Garden Organically
Great gardens don't have to be pumped up with chemical fertilizers and pesticides to look good or give you wonderful veggies. Consider taking your garden to the next level - organic. There are many reasons why you should garden organically and I will cover some of them here.
The first, and biggest reason to garden organically, is the health issue. Organically produced vegetables are not passing along chemical residues that can build up in your body. We don't know the long term effects of some of these chemicals, but why risk it when there is an organic alternative?
Organic vegetables grown in organic soil may have a higher percentage of vitamins and nutrients. Studies have shown that there is higher vitamin C in leafy greens, potatoes, and oranges that are grown organically.
Gardening organically means you work with the whole cycle. You plant the seeds, harvest the vegetables or flowers, collect the seeds, compost the remains, and start again. You're providing the soil with nutrients and feeding people, birds, and insects.
You can grow your vegetables for full flavor. There are dozens of seed catalogs with organic seeds that grow wonderful tasting veggies. You don't need a tomato grown commercially to have a tough skin for shipping across country. You need a tomato that tastes great.
Growing organically can mean less work in the long run. If your soil is organic and healthy, it will produce healthy plants that are more resistant to disease and pests. Healthier plants will grow bigger and cast shade on their roots which means less watering. Good soil will also retain water better and that also means less watering. Bigger plants will also help to choke out the weeds so you don't have to spend your precious time weeding.
Chemical fertilizers, bug killers, and weed killers can seep into our ground water supply or run off into our rivers and streams.
We can recycle waste by using our own compost made up of food and garden scraps and additional wastes such as straw and leaves. Reusing these items keeps them from being burned or added to a landfill where they don't have a chance to decompose.
Some flowers are edible if you grow them organically. Add a special touch to your salad presentation with nasturtiums or brilliantly-colored pansies. Your prepared dish will look like it came from a gourmet restaurant!
Gardening without the use of chemicals can give you healthier plants and save you time. Healthier plants can mean tastier and healthier vegetables that thrive with less water and have fewer pest problems. Give organic gardening a try for tastier vegetables and feel good about helping yourself and the earth.
