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Organic vs. Chemicals

by | Feb 12, 2012

My session at the seminar March 24 will cover why it is so important that we follow the example of natures natural system that we literally are fighting with when you use chemicals. Chemicals are intended to bypass what was thought to be needless steps the soil and creatures go through to the same end result: feeding a plant. Well so they thought. In fact several unknown things have occurred since the inception of chemical use in place of feeding and caring for the soil as was the practices prior to the discovery of fertilizer in the 1950’s or so.

The chemicals were deemed a success because the farmers saw a quick response to the application of these petroleum based (yuk!) fertilizers. So as is the human nature we loved that almost instant results and thus began our love affair with buy a bag, sprinkle it around and everything is greener next week… and as it appears to me one of the largest industries in the world was born.

What wasn’t expected and no published research to speak of was done because well, this was a new miraculous product. It meant quick results and less labor. The unknown facts; the damage these chemicals caused to the soil and the creatures underground that they kill and how significant all those billion of little creatures living in the soil are and the role they play in the big picture.

Those billions of creatures in the soil are microorganisms and are made up of many different families-bacteria and fungi and others. They are the worker bees of the underground world. Just their shear activity of moving around gobbling up organic matter (think Pac-Man) creates nutrition for the plants. Their life line is organic matter, the nitrates in synthetic fertilizers has the same result to microorganisms as pouring salt onlug, death, When we kill all the microorganisms in the soil our plants became complete dependent upon us, the soil slayers to provide all that they need: nutrients, moisture, and disease and pest protections.

These incredible underground workers played a far more significant role in plant health, vigor, and abundant production. So began the vicious cycle of chemical dependence of the conventional farmer, lawn warrior and home gardener. After you have killed all the microorganisms, you have to apply more chemicals to keep them going.

By gardening organically and mimicking the perfect system provided we enhance the cycle, not fight it. It is after all the original way to garden. ..

“Nature is not more complicated then we think, it is more complicated than we can think” Thomas Jefferson

Hope to see you at our Organic Workshop March 24, 2012. Buy tickets now!