Organic Gardening Information
Organic food products are more important than they were before. This is after numerous studies have shown that inorganic farming techniques which have been used in the past are harmful to our health. To give you an idea, here is some organic gardening information that you should know.
Having healthy soil is the basic foundation of organic gardening. There are three types namely clay, sandy and silt. Each one has its own pros and cons but clay soil appears to be the best to have since it is able to retain water especially during droughts so the plants will be able to stay alive.
Also, organic gardening is a technique that does not involve the use of fertilizers or pesticides. Nature does most of the work and by following an organic pest management system you will be able to protect your crops from insects that once threatened the field.
Such a system could mean introducing certain insects to provide security to your crops. You can also use some livestock, birds and toads to do the same thing or plant some of them as they work as a natural insecticide.
To maintain the fertility of the soil, farmers and hobbyists are encouraged to rotate their crops. This simply means planting a new vegetable or fruit every few months so the nutrient levels do not change.
Organic gardening is often referred to as a holistic approach because various methods are used. Aside from crop rotation which was just mentioned, you can also make this happen with the application of compost, manure and cover cropping.
Some farmers may also use processed fertilizers that are environmental friendly such as seed meal and other mineral powders like rock phosphate and greensand that is a natural form of potash.
To create a set of standards for organic gardening, the US government designated the US Department of Agriculture to oversee things. This is similar to what the European Commission has been doing since 1991 which has proven to be very successfully as a lot of their products are imported into the States.
But the governing body for organic gardening is provided by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture or IFOAM that has been in operation since 1972.
Although organic gardening is labor intensive, it generally produces lower yields but is very effective in times of drought. This is because the crops do not require that much water to help them grow which means there is a steady supply that will be harvested.
Because fertilizers and pesticides are not used, it means fewer nitrates and there are more nutrient qualities in the soil especially the number of flavanoids which are an important antioxidant.
The demand for organic products will continue to grow in the future. This is as people become more aware of food safety issues and there is a concern for the environment.
If you do some research over the web, you will realize that there is a lot of organic gardening information out there to help you get started if you want to plant fruits or vegetables in your own garden.
Armed with the proper tools, you will be able to know how to work the soil, which plants are ideal to plant depending on your location and the season and how to take care of them until it is time for harvesting.This just goes to show that you can go a log way with some organic gardening information.
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