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IrisPrincess
- Full Member
- Posts: 43
- Joined: Sat Jun 16, 2007 3:20 pm
- Location: USA
What is Organic Gardening?
Does this mean gardening without chemicals and things, or is it more than that?
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pixelphoto
- Senior Member
- Posts: 155
- Joined: Thu Apr 19, 2007 9:13 pm
- Location: Middle Georgia USA
yes no chemicals, pesticides, or synthetic fertilizers.
basically all natural. to be certified organic the rules are a bit more strict. for example you must use proper crop rotation to build up the soil properly, no use of pressure treated wood or lumber for poles or fencing or raised beds is allowed, no genetically modified seed is allowed, and so on and so on. There is some controversy over USDA certified organic rules and regulations and there are some ways to slip past the rules but for the most part you try to grow as pure and clean of crops as possible.
Heres a few definitions that clear things up.
You can also check the usda website and NOP standards for rules and regulations as to what you can and cant put on crops to be organic.
Organic - Means foods or crops produced without pesticides or chemical fertilizers. Naturally grown foods or crops. Before World War II all farms and crops were organic. But the use of pesticides like Agent Orange found their way into the Agriculture uses on farms after the war.
Certified Organic - The same as Organic only you are certified by a certifying organization that makes sure you meet all of the USDA rules and regulations. Becoming a Certified Organic Farm means your farm and your practices on your farm meet strict regulations. It also allows you to use the words Certified Organic in your advertising. A uncertified farm is not allowed by law to use Organic or Certified Organic in their advertising under the USDA law. Because of the cost of becoming certified and the strict rules and regulations that have to be adhered to Certified Organic Foods often sell for higher prices.
Permaculture - Originally started in Australia, its a term that means much like being self sustainable and organic and green wise all in one Permaculture can best be described as a moral and ethical design system applicable to food production and land use, as well as community building. It seeks the creation of productive and sustainable ways of living by integrating ecology, landscape, organic gardening, architecture, and agro-forestry.
Self Sustainable - means you or your farm are able to sustain itself without outside needs. Being able to grow your own crops and produce on your farm and sell them to make enough money to pay for themselves would help you be more self sustainable. Saving seed, having animals that create manure for fertilizer, growing enough for yourself and enough to feed your animals. These would also be ways of being self sustainable.
Composting - Recycling organic matter such as manure, newspaper, cardboard, leaves, grass clippings, vegetable scraps, and more. Allowing microbes and bacteria to break it down into its simplest form turning it all into rich organic matter that you can use to mulch and fertilize your crops and plants with.
Vermicomposting - composting with worms allowing the worms to eat the compost and creating worm poop called castings.
GMO - Geneticlly Modified Organisms
GM Foods- Geneticly Modified Food these are most foods you buy today in grocery stores. They have been created by scientist in a lab and their dna has been genetically altered to produce certain traits they need or want. Playing God with foods and seed is not always a good idea. There has been much controversy over GM foods and the cancer rate of people.
Eco- Friendly - Much like the Green Wise it means something or someone that is good for the environment. Aluminum Cans are Eco Friendly because they can be recycled over and over again.
Green Wise - Means someone or something that is good for the environment. You could say that compact florescent bulbs are green wise.
Green Energy - Energy that comes from non polluting sources such as Solar Panels, Hydroelectric, or Wind power from Windmills.
Heirloom Foods or Heirloom Seeds - Generally seeds that are handed down from generation to generation that are over 50 years old. They should be open pollinated and non GM.
Agro-Forestry - Agriculture and Forestry mixed together. Any of the fruit or nut bearing trees can produce food crops available to people. Also growing crops in a forest like setting Trees are often grown in rows and the crops grown between the rows of trees are another form of agro-forestry.
Open Pollinated Seed -Open pollinated varieties are the traditional varieties which have been grown and selected for their desirable traits for millennia. They grow well without high inputs because they have been selected under organic conditions.These varieties have better flavor, are hardier and have more flexibility than hybrid varieties. Breeders cannot manipulate complex characteristics such as flavour as easily as they can size and shape.These seeds are dynamic, that is they mutate and adapt to the local ecosystem, as opposed to modern hybrids, which are static.Commercial breeders lack the incentive to produce new open pollinated varieties from which farmers could save seed and replant.
Hybrid Seed- Hybrid seeds are the first generation offsprings of two distant and distinct parental lines of the same species. Seeds taken from a hybrid may either be sterile or more commonly fail to breed true, not incorporating and expressing the desired traits of the parent.
The development of hybrid seed enabled the beginning of the commercial seed market. Farmers were persuaded to buy new hybrid seed each season, replacing the traditional practice of farm-saved seed, due to the "hybrid vigour" which can improve yields.
Hybrid seed is also known as "high response" seed. These seeds require fertilisers, herbicides, pesticides and lots of water to achieve their high yields.
Aquaculture is the cultivation of the natural produce of water (such as fish or shellfish, algae and other aquatic organisms). The term is distinguished from fishing by the idea of active human effort in maintaining or increasing the species involved, as opposed to simply taking them from the wild. Subsets of aquaculture include Mariculture (aquaculture in the ocean); Algaculture (the production of kelp/seaweed and other algae);Fish Farming (the raising of catfish and tilapia in freshwater ponds or salmon in marine ponds); and the growing of cultured pearls.
Hydroponics is crop production with mineral nutrient solutions instead of soil containing silt and clay. Terrestrial plants may be grown with their roots in the mineral nutrient solution only or in an inert medium, such as perlite, gravel or rockwool. A variety of techniques exist.
Aquaponics is the integration of aquaculture and hydroponics. An aquaculture is used to continuously generate a nutrient-rich solution to feed a hydroponic garden. Aquaponic systems can be used to replicate controlled wetland conditions that are useful for reclaiming potable water from typical household sewage, in addition to generating a continual supply of food with minimal fertilizer use. Aquaponics takes advantage of synergy between self-organizing biological systems, emphasizing the one element/many functions principle of permaculture. This synergy benefits both systems and allows each to help maintain the other. For example, an aquaponic system consisting of goldfish and watercress would require less human intervention into each system. The goldfish would benefit from the filtration carried out by the watercress, and the watercress would benefit from the nutrient-rich waste excreted by the goldfish.
basically all natural. to be certified organic the rules are a bit more strict. for example you must use proper crop rotation to build up the soil properly, no use of pressure treated wood or lumber for poles or fencing or raised beds is allowed, no genetically modified seed is allowed, and so on and so on. There is some controversy over USDA certified organic rules and regulations and there are some ways to slip past the rules but for the most part you try to grow as pure and clean of crops as possible.
Heres a few definitions that clear things up.
You can also check the usda website and NOP standards for rules and regulations as to what you can and cant put on crops to be organic.
Organic - Means foods or crops produced without pesticides or chemical fertilizers. Naturally grown foods or crops. Before World War II all farms and crops were organic. But the use of pesticides like Agent Orange found their way into the Agriculture uses on farms after the war.
Certified Organic - The same as Organic only you are certified by a certifying organization that makes sure you meet all of the USDA rules and regulations. Becoming a Certified Organic Farm means your farm and your practices on your farm meet strict regulations. It also allows you to use the words Certified Organic in your advertising. A uncertified farm is not allowed by law to use Organic or Certified Organic in their advertising under the USDA law. Because of the cost of becoming certified and the strict rules and regulations that have to be adhered to Certified Organic Foods often sell for higher prices.
Permaculture - Originally started in Australia, its a term that means much like being self sustainable and organic and green wise all in one Permaculture can best be described as a moral and ethical design system applicable to food production and land use, as well as community building. It seeks the creation of productive and sustainable ways of living by integrating ecology, landscape, organic gardening, architecture, and agro-forestry.
Self Sustainable - means you or your farm are able to sustain itself without outside needs. Being able to grow your own crops and produce on your farm and sell them to make enough money to pay for themselves would help you be more self sustainable. Saving seed, having animals that create manure for fertilizer, growing enough for yourself and enough to feed your animals. These would also be ways of being self sustainable.
Composting - Recycling organic matter such as manure, newspaper, cardboard, leaves, grass clippings, vegetable scraps, and more. Allowing microbes and bacteria to break it down into its simplest form turning it all into rich organic matter that you can use to mulch and fertilize your crops and plants with.
Vermicomposting - composting with worms allowing the worms to eat the compost and creating worm poop called castings.
GMO - Geneticlly Modified Organisms
GM Foods- Geneticly Modified Food these are most foods you buy today in grocery stores. They have been created by scientist in a lab and their dna has been genetically altered to produce certain traits they need or want. Playing God with foods and seed is not always a good idea. There has been much controversy over GM foods and the cancer rate of people.
Eco- Friendly - Much like the Green Wise it means something or someone that is good for the environment. Aluminum Cans are Eco Friendly because they can be recycled over and over again.
Green Wise - Means someone or something that is good for the environment. You could say that compact florescent bulbs are green wise.
Green Energy - Energy that comes from non polluting sources such as Solar Panels, Hydroelectric, or Wind power from Windmills.
Heirloom Foods or Heirloom Seeds - Generally seeds that are handed down from generation to generation that are over 50 years old. They should be open pollinated and non GM.
Agro-Forestry - Agriculture and Forestry mixed together. Any of the fruit or nut bearing trees can produce food crops available to people. Also growing crops in a forest like setting Trees are often grown in rows and the crops grown between the rows of trees are another form of agro-forestry.
Open Pollinated Seed -Open pollinated varieties are the traditional varieties which have been grown and selected for their desirable traits for millennia. They grow well without high inputs because they have been selected under organic conditions.These varieties have better flavor, are hardier and have more flexibility than hybrid varieties. Breeders cannot manipulate complex characteristics such as flavour as easily as they can size and shape.These seeds are dynamic, that is they mutate and adapt to the local ecosystem, as opposed to modern hybrids, which are static.Commercial breeders lack the incentive to produce new open pollinated varieties from which farmers could save seed and replant.
Hybrid Seed- Hybrid seeds are the first generation offsprings of two distant and distinct parental lines of the same species. Seeds taken from a hybrid may either be sterile or more commonly fail to breed true, not incorporating and expressing the desired traits of the parent.
The development of hybrid seed enabled the beginning of the commercial seed market. Farmers were persuaded to buy new hybrid seed each season, replacing the traditional practice of farm-saved seed, due to the "hybrid vigour" which can improve yields.
Hybrid seed is also known as "high response" seed. These seeds require fertilisers, herbicides, pesticides and lots of water to achieve their high yields.
Aquaculture is the cultivation of the natural produce of water (such as fish or shellfish, algae and other aquatic organisms). The term is distinguished from fishing by the idea of active human effort in maintaining or increasing the species involved, as opposed to simply taking them from the wild. Subsets of aquaculture include Mariculture (aquaculture in the ocean); Algaculture (the production of kelp/seaweed and other algae);Fish Farming (the raising of catfish and tilapia in freshwater ponds or salmon in marine ponds); and the growing of cultured pearls.
Hydroponics is crop production with mineral nutrient solutions instead of soil containing silt and clay. Terrestrial plants may be grown with their roots in the mineral nutrient solution only or in an inert medium, such as perlite, gravel or rockwool. A variety of techniques exist.
Aquaponics is the integration of aquaculture and hydroponics. An aquaculture is used to continuously generate a nutrient-rich solution to feed a hydroponic garden. Aquaponic systems can be used to replicate controlled wetland conditions that are useful for reclaiming potable water from typical household sewage, in addition to generating a continual supply of food with minimal fertilizer use. Aquaponics takes advantage of synergy between self-organizing biological systems, emphasizing the one element/many functions principle of permaculture. This synergy benefits both systems and allows each to help maintain the other. For example, an aquaponic system consisting of goldfish and watercress would require less human intervention into each system. The goldfish would benefit from the filtration carried out by the watercress, and the watercress would benefit from the nutrient-rich waste excreted by the goldfish.
As an organic gardener, I'd have to say the most important part of organic gardening is soil-building. It isn't just the absence of potent and destructive artificial chemicals that figures, it's the presence of well-rotted organic matter (with an eye toward proper pH), and all the good things it brings: strong, healthy plants, lots of earthworms that aerate the soil and feed the plants with their castings, better tasting fruits and vegetables and more beautiful flowers and foliage. There is a relationship among the different layers of soil in an organic garden that support each other in its eco-system that is best not tilled if possible. It takes a year for the micro-organisms and insect-life in the soil to re-establish themselves properly. Not all bugs are bad bugs, remember.
Sometimes garden-center people will say "the plant doesn't know the difference between chemical plant food and organic fertilizer." Perhaps they got this quote from the companies who stock their shelves with all those lovely-smelling pesticides that make a garden-center such a pleasant experience. Questions of consciousness aside, this is patently untrue. Plant roots have a different molecular structure in organic gardens. Ever see all those fine white threads in the soil of a garden that is rich in organic matter? They actually help roots feed off the soil.
Plants that "learn" how to reap the nutrition organically are different from plants that have grown while getting their sustenance from chemical fertilizers. For more information on this, I highly recommend the Smillie/Gurshuny book "The Soul of Soil."
Kit
Sometimes garden-center people will say "the plant doesn't know the difference between chemical plant food and organic fertilizer." Perhaps they got this quote from the companies who stock their shelves with all those lovely-smelling pesticides that make a garden-center such a pleasant experience. Questions of consciousness aside, this is patently untrue. Plant roots have a different molecular structure in organic gardens. Ever see all those fine white threads in the soil of a garden that is rich in organic matter? They actually help roots feed off the soil.
Plants that "learn" how to reap the nutrition organically are different from plants that have grown while getting their sustenance from chemical fertilizers. For more information on this, I highly recommend the Smillie/Gurshuny book "The Soul of Soil."
Kit