Organic Gardening VS Non-Organic Gardening- A Tragic Truth

Organic gardening was considered a radical concept only 25 years ago. Gardeners were expected to control weeds, bugs, and animals that could threaten a thriving garden without using artificial chemicals.

Organic gardening is a straightforward theory when you think about it. People have been growing things without using chemicals for so many years. Our country’s early settlers survived without Miracle-Gro or Sevin Dust, and they did just fine.

It can only make sense that we should be able to use the same techniques and achieve the same outcomes as they did today. Rather than concoctions, we should grow food using Mother Nature’s ingredients. Not those created in a chemist’s laboratory for the benefit of all of us.

But the appeal of organic gardening extends beyond the benefits to ourselves and our families. Renewed interest in this type of gardening has been fueled by a surge in interest in ecology and environmental concerns. The home gardener can successfully maintain an organic garden by using natural minerals and materials, utilizing natural predators, and recycling garden waste.

Gardening organically has numerous advantages. The most obvious benefit is that food produced through organic agriculture is more nourishing and healthful.

The Soil Association, a British organization, reported in early August 2001 that a thorough examination of existing research revealed significant differences between organically and conventionally grown food. These distinctions concern food safety, primary nutrients, secondary nutrients, and the health outcomes of organic eaters.

On average, organically grown crops have higher vitamin C and dry matter contents than non-organically grown crops. Organically grown crops have higher mineral content on average. Organic food contains “significantly higher concentrations of antioxidants and other health-promoting

compounds than pesticide-produced crops.”
Organically grown foods, according to many people, taste better. Furthermore, some pesticide-free foods contain a higher concentration of an antioxidant linked to a lower risk of certain cancers.

Overall, most people who appreciate organic gardening report that the enjoyment they get from it is the most crucial factor in their decision-making to avoid chemicals in favor of going the natural route. Many people enjoy watching the tender new growth mature; as a bonus, you get to eat it!

Organic gardening produces more fresh vegetables. Corn on the cob and freshly picked peas naturally stand out, but this trait extends to all vegetables you grow yourself, especially organically. When most people harvest their very first vegetables from their very first garden, they notice that everyone consumes far more of a given vegetable than they would a comparable retail variety.

You will not only save money by growing your food, but you can also make a little extra side income by having sold your all-natural foods, which are becoming increasingly popular in grocery stores. If you’ve canned all the tomatoes you can and still have bushels left over, you can take those to the farmer’s market and sell all your organic tomatoes to others who don’t have access to a garden.

Here are some statistics that may persuade any gardener who is still not convinced of the importance of gardening organically. The American Cancer Society published a report in March 2001 that linked the use of the herbicide glyphosate (commonly known as Round-up) to a 27 percent increased risk of developing Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma.

According to John Hopkins University, home gardeners use nearly ten times more pesticides per acre than the average farmer, and diseases caused by environmental illness, chemical exposure, and other factors are now the most significant cause of death in the United States. With the EPA’s recent phase-out of common pesticides like Dursban and Diazinon, we’re learning that many of the chemicals we once thought were “safe” were never actually tested to see what effect they might have on children, women and the elderly. The time has come to reconsider our reliance on pesticides.