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Go Organic
Wendell Berry, the great agrarian writer, notes that in the everyday living of
our lives we are at the same time killing the planet. He believes this is due to
the fact that we have given proxies to big corporations and big governments to
provide for our needs. To escape from the squeezing funnel of finite resources
and unsustainable consumption we need to take back our proxies.
Growing some of your food organically can help you to begin to take back some of
your proxies.
In the previous articles we explained the basics of gardening based on natural
systems.
It relies on:
Understanding the plant growth-death cycle;
Awareness of the intricate soil food web;
Build humus from organic matter - microorganism decay;
Composting to add both organic matter and microorganisms to garden soils;
Green manures to add organic matter;
Compost tea to ensure large, diverse soil microorganism populations;
Mulching, which mimics nature by adding organic matter to the soil surface;
Adding sea based amendments to the soil for maximum nutrition.
Many health problems can be traced to the
chronic trace mineral deficiency of our current diets. Do you know your farmer?
She is at least as important as your doctor, as far as your health is concerned.
The best way is to grow some of your food yourself. Next would be to buy what
you can at the Farmers’ Market. The fruits and vegetables are freshly picked and
you can get to know your farmer and ask questions on how your food is grown.
The organic gardening system we have outlined works. It will increase your
garden’s soil fertility over time. With the soil in good health you can turn
your attention to the needs of specific crops. It is exciting to learn about the
requirements of individual plants as your gardening knowledge grows. As your
experience increases you will be able to provide more of your own food. When you
get really good at gardening you might consider growing food for sale at the
Farmers’ Market. There is a huge unmet demand for local organic food. Global
warming and peak oil will ensure that local food production becomes a necessity.
Good gardening. If you have any gardening questions we are at the Farmers’
Market on Saturdays and are willing to discuss gardening questions after the
early rush has eased. The Mount Klitsa garden club will be touring our garden,
Leda Organic Farm 4361 Batty Rd. between 6 and 8 pm June 28 and readers are
welcome to attend.
We will be posting the Go Organic articles on the Alberni Environmental
Coalition web site www.portaec.net
shortly. The Alberni Environmental Coalition sponsors a power point presentation
based on these Go Organic articles, usually in February. An earlier presentation
could be made if a minimum of 5 gardeners were interested.
Remember the most important thing you can do for your health and the health of
the planet is to eat locally grown organic food.
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Sustainable
Living Through Organic Gardening