Return to the Organic Gardening Forum
| Post a Follow-Up
organic - does it really matter
| | |
Posted by therealdeal (My Page) on Mon, Nov 16, 09 at 21:37
| I would like honest opinion to prove a point.
I have many friends who think I am a wacko for living/growing organically. They think I have been "tricked." One actually thinks I am some hippie that eats dirt from the yard to heal myself. lol... They see no benefit to organic living/gardening. they need to wake up. they are the ones who have been "tricked" We all know this. Who better then GW to make it happen. The power of many voices vs. just mine.
Please tell me why it is important to you to grow your veggies organically and live naturally. Feel free to speak passionately.
Hopefully we can get to at least 50 replies. I will print this and start to tack it up in various places.
1.
2. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: organic - does it really matter
| | |
One actually thinks I am some hippie that eats dirt from the yard to heal myself.
Do you? |
RE: organic - does it really matter
| | |
- Posted by gjcore 5 Aurora Co. (My Page) on
Tue, Nov 17, 09 at 1:23
RE: organic - does it really matter
| | |
| Ideally, your proof should be in your yard and how it looks. If not, you can tell them many tangible benefits that you should know already- Safer, if you have children and pets. Better for the grass itself if you have a good program. Better for beneficial insects, etc. The list goes on and on. I'll be honest, I am only organic with my lawn, but the results are unreal: |
Here is a link that might be useful: Lawn- November 16
RE: organic - does it really matter
| | |
| It has only been about 60 years (since about the 1950's) that we have really been "living better through chemistry" and in that time we have really done more to destroy the world we live in then all the previous generations were able to. The lessons that were supposed to be learned about the soil during and after the dust bowl days of the late 1920's, early 1930's appear to have been forgotten. Some of the people that once taught that you can spread synthetic fertilizers around pretty freely are having second thoughts about that and realize that we have polluted our water with too much Nitrogen and Phosphorus as well as many other things. What was once thought of an easy way to get rid of the waste we generate, the landfill, has been found to be wrong and we are rapidly running out of space to do that. |
RE: organic - does it really matter
| | |
I doubt that my reasons would convince anyone to go organic, but let's give it a try.
1. It is cheaper. Chemical fertilizers are expensive, manure isn't.
2. I don't have to worry about taking care of hunger pains while picking peas. I can go ahead and eat a handful without getting a mouthful of Miracle Gro and pesticide.
3. Our garbage company hates us. We are on a once-a-month pick up for the few things I can't compost. They charge by the pick-up and they aren't making much money from our household.
4. When we sell vegetables or eggs, we can charge more because the veggies are organic and the eggs free range. The buyers usually don't have the slightest idea what either term means, but they are buzz words and we'd be silly not to take advantage of the situation.
5. I like it. |
RE: organic - does it really matter
| | |
Besides knowing that I am not putting more chemicals in my body, I also have a yard full of bees in the spring, summer and fall. My composting fulfills the basic fertilizing that is needed for crops, and also enriches the soils twice a year.
Alberta |
RE: organic - does it really matter
| | |
- Posted by jekyll New Zealand (My Page) on
Wed, Nov 18, 09 at 6:01
| I don't garden entirely organically, but I use organic methods as much as possible. My reasons are: 1) The biggest risk with pesticides (not often discussed) is to those using them, especially if the users have not had training or don't have the best equipment (such as the home gardener). So being an organic home gardener will probably make a bigger difference to your health than buying organic produce. 2) I'm don't much like mixing sprays, wearing safety gear or digging, whereas I think composting, mulching, carefully monitoring pest and predator populations etc are fun. 3) I like insects and other creepy crawlies and want my garden to have as many as possible. Preferably not ones that eat my food, but if I have a choice between a few pests and also having the lovely praying mantis, wetas, giant earthworms, or having none of them because I used pesticides, it's a no-brainer. 4) A lot of the methods I learned from organic gardening, such as mulching, just seem to work better. I've left a couple of unmulched beds, just to see how they went. Now I remember why I like mulches. 5) I'm trying to make my garden a part of minimising my impact on the environment. So providing as much of my garden's needs from my garden (making compost, growing green manure etc), or from waste, makes more sense than buying fertilizers that have been mined, manufactured, shipped around the country and the world. 6) I hate sending food and other organic waste to landfill, and think it is absolutely terrible for the environment. My garden takes all except a few meat bones. It even takes other people's waste, for example 20 litres a week of coffee grounds from a cafe, cardboard and newspaper from various sources. 7) The only food from the garden I wash is root vegetables, and then only lightly. So far, the more I eat from the garden, the healthier I am. Perhaps I am a dirt-eating hippie. 8) I'm actually not convinced that buying organic food is better for me and I consider pesticide residues low down on my list of concerns. When I buy organic food, especially stuff like coffee, I do so mostly in the hope that some farmer in a poor country didn't get sick from using pesticides without having any safety equipment or training, and maybe even got a better price for their goods. 9) Not entirely related, but I've lost nearly 20 kg trying to eat a diet that was better for the environment. I was NOT trying to lose weight (although I'm not complaining as I was a bit overweight) and I haven't even given up chocolate. 10) I've had more than my share of the earth's resources. I'm trying to leave something for those who have less. Of course that is probably cancelled out when a neighbour buys a new SUV or some greedy politician flies his girlfriend/ boyfriend around the world at the taxpayer's expense, but in theory, maybe there will be something left for that girl in rural Bangladesh who is studying hard at school and hopes she will grow up to be a doctor. Honestly, I'm not convinced that it is necessary or even a good idea to follow every idea in the "organic" philosophy. I'm not convinced that some of it is effective, or more effective than the so-called "conventional". I'm not convinced that organic food is better for me, or that it invariably tastes better. I don't think it is the answer to all the world's problems and in some cases I don't even think it is necessarily better for the envoronment. But I think there are many valuable lessons and certainly many benefits for the home gardener. |
RE: organic - does it really matter
| | |
| One actually thinks I am some hippie that eats dirt from the yard to heal myself. Do you? No, but actualy it probably would be Ok to eat dirt. I heard of some poorer countires doing that and the comments were that it was actually good for you. go figure. |
RE: organic - does it really matter
| | |
| Hi Jekyll -- in response to your comments. [no particular order] [1] My dedication to organic gardening is more because all that measuring and spraying of ChemGardening sounds too much like work! I garden for relaxation. In my working years [27 years public utility] was one long corporate hoop-jump....following rules that will change next year, but if I don't follow this year can get fired. YIKES! Organic gardening is in harmony with nature, which doesn't change on a whim or to enrich the bottom line. So that's what I like about it ... working with the forces that create....and all those little creatures in the soil working along with me. [2] Reusing my plant and kitchen waste saves me money that I can then splurge on something like books or grandchildren. So, "no holier-than-thou, look how wonderful I am" motivations, just too stubborn to spend [waste] my money on things that the corporate/pr machines opines I MUST have. In short, I organic garden because it feels so darn good! [San Diego county] |
RE: organic - does it really matter
| | |
My husband and I have been gardening organically for more than 25 years. Our first introduction to organic gardening was through a library book, The No Work Garden, by Ruth Stout. When we read this book we were sold on organic gardening. Our parents had used chemical fertilizer and pesticides in their gardens and this was our only knowledge of gardening until we read Ruth's book. I never liked using the chemical dust my parents had used for garden pests. The label said such things as, don't get on skin, don't inhale dust, wash thoroughly after using, keep away from children. When people told me it was safe, yet I had read the label, the two things just didn't add up. Needless to say when I realized there was another way to garden I was excited. We changed our methods right away and have never been sorry.
I can't say that I know that chemicals never have a purpose in agriculture because I don't possess enough knowledge on all circumstances to make that judgment. However, in my own experience as a market gardener since 1991, organic agriculture has served me very well. We have been told that our tomatoes are the best at the market, our strawberries and watermelons are the best and so on. The flavor is better and the shelf life is better.
Now lets talk common sense, something there seems to be little of these days. Common sense tells me, it may not be too smart to throw chemicals around where your children play, or on the food we eat, or on the soil from which our vegetable plants take up water and nutrients, or on the land that ultimately gives us our drinking water. Some experts say they are harmless. Experts have been known to be wrong or to say anything when money is an issue. My common sense also tells me that nature is a very powerful force and it is probably better to work with it than against it.
And so my answer is definitely, YES, organic - really does matter. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Health and Nutrition: Whose Responsibility?
RE: organic - does it really matter
| | |
- Posted by rdak z5MI (My Page) on
Sun, Nov 22, 09 at 10:10
| Alot of my friends and neighbors thought that many, many years ago. Then one day I gave them a homegrown, organically grown apple.......they never made fun of me again. They beg me every fall for some apples. |
RE: organic - does it really matter*
| | |
- Posted by rdak z5MI (My Page) on
Sun, Nov 22, 09 at 10:13
| I forgot to add that I am a bit wacko when it comes to organic gardening and do have to use some chemical spray to get rid of the plum curculios but, in the main, I simply don't care what people think about my organic wacko ideas. It's my property and I'll do with it as I please (i.e., within reason). Most people are cool with it though. We just all laugh at some of the wacked organic things I do. No biggie. |
|
|
|
|
