The History of Organic Gardening
You could say that the history of organic gardening started centuries ago when ancient civilizations would till the soil, plant the crops and then harvest them. As the demand for such goods increased, fertilizers or pesticides were used to help grow crops but because It was only later on that people realized these were also being eaten after they were washed thus there was a campaign to go back to organic gardening.
There was renewed interest in the 1980’s that people in the US began to switch back to organic gardening. The Department of Agriculture even gave the farmers incentives to this old approach and as the demand for such products grew, more and more people have shifted to this method. This has been the trend in many countries especially in Europe.
But what is organic gardening? Well, aside from no longer using fertilizers and pesticides, gardeners will have to rely on compost, crop residue, crop rotation, integrated pest management and mechanical cultivation in order to preserve soil productivity and combat pests.
Currently, such organic gardening methods are regulated by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements which helps farmers grow crops in 75 million acres of land across the globe.
Their goal can be summed up into two words and that is sustainable development so that the land that is used will be around for the next generation because there is a healthy ecosystem.
Is organic gardening effective? The answer is yes. Over a 22 year study that was released to the public in 2005, the results showed that going back to the basics produces the same amount of corn and soybean yields as conventional methods. However, it does so by consuming less energy and without any pesticide residue.
A study done by the University of Michigan shows developing countries that practice organic gardening could double or even triple their crops mainly because they do not have the financial resources to buy pesticides or fertilizer.
The nice thing about organic gardening is that farmers are not the only ones that can do it because you too can make this happen in your own backyard. You just have to learn how to till the soil and keep it in good condition, how to make your crops grow and how to fight against pests so you will be able to harvest them.
You can even turn this into a hobby and see how fun it is to make grow your own vegetables instead of buying these from the grocery. So, go online or buy a few books to learn how easy it is to do.
Remember, the key to a successful harvest regardless of what you decide to plant is all in the planning. Take into account how much you are willing to spend, your limited space and how much time and effort is in your hands.
You will also need to get the right gardening tools like gloves and a tiller to break the soil because it makes the task much easier than doing this by hand so that in a few months, you will be able to see what you planted grow.
As you can see, the history of organic gardening isn’t really something new. We have been doing it for a very long time and we probably lost sight of it but we learned our mistakes and we are simply going back to the basics.
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