Problems With Inorganic

There has been a lot of talk recently about organics, but is there any legitimacy to the argument? Simply put, yes...and for one simple reason: If you wouldn't voluntarily put chemicals into your body, why pay someone else to do it for you?

This is, in essence, what a person is doing when she picks up a package of raspberries that are a few cents cheaper than the one next to it marked "organic." Hopefully the penny-pincher is saving that cash because, over the course of a lifetime, the pesticides, herbicides, larvicides, miticides, fungicides, bactericides, virucides, ovicides, rodenticides, molluscicides, and chemically-derived fertilizers used to render that cheap produce will almost inevitably result in a number of otherwise avoidable health complications--such as cancer, infertility, birth defects, endocrine disruption, and various neurological and respiratory conditions. The hoarded money will come in quite handy when the ensuing medical bills begin arriving.

What Organic Means

Quite simply, organics are products which are natural, that is, not made using inorganic, i.e. synthetic, chemical agents. That means not only are no chemicals used in growing the produce, but none of the plants have been genetically modified (which is environmentally problematical). Yet, since the yield for organics is understandably smaller, organic produce costs more. But don't despair. Even if you don't have the cash but have a desire to eat healthy, there is a very simple, very satisfying solution: grow a garden. Simple math tells us that the price of two pounds of tomatoes is the same as six baby 'mater upstarts which will render over 20 pounds of fruit...each!

A Sample Garden

Contrary to popular belief, having and maintaining an organic garden does not require a degree in horticulture. As with any garden, first synchronize your planting dates (you can't grow lettuce in the middle of summer and you need to give onions plenty of time to mature) with the zone you are in, make sure your garden is in an area which receives six or more hours of sunlight a day, and grow only what you want to eat.

Now, the only difference between yesteryear's chemically-treated vegetable plot and today's al naturale boutique is that the latter may require a bit more know-how and elbow grease. Getting familiar with your companion plants (those which aide one another in growth), being aware of which insects are beneficial (wasps and ladybugs help rid you of the irritating caterpillar and aphid population respectively), and knowing your various diseases is essential.

But what about the costly overhead? Once the seeds are in the ground, because the resourceful individual has read Heather Flores's insightful Food Not Lawns, he knows that the leaves which have yet to cleaned out of the gutters serve as ready-made (and free) fertilizer and mulch (the latter cannot be overestimated for it inhibits weed growth, helps retain water, and cools the soil) and that there is no need for an increased water bill because runoff is free (stick a bucket under a gutter drain and let nature do the work). Before the end of the first season, the amateur organic gardener will not only be bragging about the potency of his or her green thumb, but the size of one's bulging pockets.

Even those without land at their disposal need not fret. Community gardens are, no pun intended, cropping up at an outstanding rate. These are gardens which are joint, community efforts and, as a result, ones which no one person could single-handedly render. If you see a large plot somewhere, don't hesitate to knock on the nearest door (gardeners are friendly folk on general principle) and inquire as to who's responsible/overseeing the project. All a person needs to join is either willing labor or supplies. Not only does the individual get a multitude of produce out of the deal, but the experienced guidance of gardening veterans.

Live in the city and have to actually search for a grassy knoll? Rooftop gardening is, a-hem, right up your alley.

With this, you'll be ready to move onto more advanced, greater money-saving techniques, such as hardening, seed rendering, germination testing, indoor upstarts and transplanting, winter gardening, seed exchanges, and soil conditions in no time, and--before you know it--people will start coming to you for organic gardening advice.