I guess you've seen Organic produce in the shops, but do you know what is involved in the production of all things Organic? And why should people grow in an organic way instead of conventional farming? The philosophy and application of the organic gardener is a contrast to that of the conventional gardener. Fundamentally the stark difference, and probably the one you will be most familiar with is the usage or non usage of chemical fertilisers and pesticides. Gardening organically means not using chemicals on the land and using processes that are natural and holistic whilst protecting the natural ecosystem. To achieve successful results from organic gardening different techniques are undertaken. and the principle approach is prevention rather than cure. The soil is one of if not the most important aspect of organic gardening as this is where the plants and produce grow from. The chemical gardener dare I say it, fails to recognise the importance of this, and perhaps unwittingly, disrespects the soil. Chemicals may provide a quick solution to fertilisation and pest control, however the long term usage of them has proven to be a detriment to the quality of the soil. This not only is an unsustainable practice, but it also has more far reaching consequences, imposing negative effects on society and most importantly the care of the earth. I could twitter on in more depth about these, but i'll just highlight a few of the negatives that chemical usage is responsible for, and perhaps touch on this subject again in the future. - Of the Chemical fertiliser used in conventional farming, approximately only 10-50% of it is retained by the plant, the remainder washes away into the water table, ending up in rivers and eventually the sea. This nitrogen rich chemical has negative effects on ecosystems, and creates an unnatural and unbalanced make up - Surplus chemicals escaping the plant can also have adverse affects on the health of animals and humans - This type of farming relies heavily on fossil fuels, which are evidently dwindling in numbers The organic approach towards fertilisation is by preparing and regenerating the soil so that it is already efficient enough to naturally fertilise the plants, and also fight off disease. By applying organic matter, compost and by obtaining a healthy ratio of Carbon and Nitrogen, you can create a cosy home for all the tiny micro-organisms to thrive. These little critters then do all the hard work for you, creating symbiotic relationships with one another, the organic matter and the plants roots. They do each other favours, help create nutrients, send the nutrients deeper into the soil, and become wonderfully productive at energy efficiency and waste reduction. The longer this process continues without any outside interference from humans, the stronger and more sustainable it will become.
This is what the natural world did for billions of years before we came along! Even our more primitive ancestors knew a great deal about this. Things were doing just fine. But... the industrial revolution kicked off a new age of modern man and with this all of the problems we have come to realise today began. As early as 1929 people started to realise how the natural world was a super productive machine. Over the decades more people came to realise the importance of this, however societies reliance on industrial agriculture increased. They began to see that our blind approaches towards land management were not working. To this day it is still such a non mainstream topic that it is going to take a lot longer to turn heads and change peoples understanding of it. The reason positive changes aren't occurring and why farmers aren't changing to organic approaches is all down to money. The economy is bad enough and farmers just cannot afford to change their practices. The whole chemical monoculture farming industry got itself in a pickle too long ago. Todays farmers fathers and grandfathers who started using chemicals were unaware of their long term destructive properties. If however the farmers now were to stop using them their soil would completely deteriorate. It would take a number of years regenerating their soil by practicing organic farming. Due to the way the economy works their business would more than likely go bust. They cannot do this, and this is understandable, for they have families to feed. A gradual shift towards organic growing would be the best option, and the creation of a reward system in the form of Carbon Credits would incentivise farmers to make the changes required to regenerate the land. Is there anything you could do to spread the message of this subject? Any comments and discussion would be very welcome, no matter what your understanding and confidence level is on this subject. Class dismissed :)
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AdamThe idea is to document my perspective as I embark upon a journey into the world of organic gardening and permaculture, through the medium of literature, music and art Archives
February 2017
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