Growing Organic & Regenerative Agriculture Posted on 19 Oct 19:58 , 1 comment
In case you're just finding us, new to our page or missed our previous articles, lately we've been talking about SOIL.
We started with The Importance of Living Soil, "Soil organisms, which range in size from microscopic cells that digest decaying organic material to small mammals that live primarily on other soil organisms, play an important role in maintaining fertility, structure, drainage, and aeration of soil."
Next in the series is Mycorrhizae: The Fantastic Fungus, "Mycorrhizal fungi include many species of fungi, like mushrooms. They all have long filaments that resemble roots, and they grow near plants with which they can share a beneficial relationship."
At Mary's Heirloom Seeds, growing Organic is what we teach and what we practice in our own gardens. We realize that many people who read our articles are new to growing food from seed and/or new to growing organic. For this reason we are going to start with the basics of Growing Organic by explaining what that actually means.
One of my go-to resources for growing organic is the Rodale Institute, founded by J.I. Rodale in 1947. "Organics is not a fad'" J.I. wrote in 1954. "It has been a long-established practice - much more firmly grounded than the current chemical flair. Present agricultural practices are leading us downhill."
From SARE, "Beginning in the 1940s, Rodale provided the main source of information about "non-chemical" farming methods and was heavily influential in the development of organic production methods. Rodale drew many of his ideas from Sir Albert Howard, a British scientist who spent years observing traditional systems in India. Howard advocated agricultural systems reliant upon returning crop residues, green manures and wastes to soil, and promoted the idea of working with nature by using deep-rooted crops to draw nutrients from the soil"
Even back in 1954, Rodale warned that the increase in chemical pesticides and synthetic fertilizers were "leading us downhill."
During WW1 and WW2, Victory Gardens were encouraged. People were told that it was their duty to grow food for their family and for their community because of food shortages around the country.
Now, we have grocery store shelves full of food or food-like products and it seems less people are interested in growing their own REAL, organic food.
A simple explanation of the HUGE savings of growing your own can be found in my article In Times of Uncertainty, Grow & Save.
180 homegrown bunches of Arugula $21
180 store bought bunches of Arugula $358.20
If you save your seeds...The savings are incalculable!
Getting back to Organic gardening, it is defined as not using synthetic pesticides or fertilizers in growing crops. Ideally, it would also include giving back to the soil, also known as Regenerative Agriculture.
Some of the most common practices of Organic Gardening include:
-Composting
-Creating Pollinator gardens to encourage "Good Bugs" and boost crop yield
-Companion Planting for Organic Pest Control
-Boost root health with Mycorrhizae Use Organic plant food options to nourish plants and soil
Next time we'll talk more about Regenerative Agricultural practices
Sign up for our E-Newsletter
We started with The Importance of Living Soil, "Soil organisms, which range in size from microscopic cells that digest decaying organic material to small mammals that live primarily on other soil organisms, play an important role in maintaining fertility, structure, drainage, and aeration of soil."
Next in the series is Mycorrhizae: The Fantastic Fungus, "Mycorrhizal fungi include many species of fungi, like mushrooms. They all have long filaments that resemble roots, and they grow near plants with which they can share a beneficial relationship."
At Mary's Heirloom Seeds, growing Organic is what we teach and what we practice in our own gardens. We realize that many people who read our articles are new to growing food from seed and/or new to growing organic. For this reason we are going to start with the basics of Growing Organic by explaining what that actually means.
One of my go-to resources for growing organic is the Rodale Institute, founded by J.I. Rodale in 1947. "Organics is not a fad'" J.I. wrote in 1954. "It has been a long-established practice - much more firmly grounded than the current chemical flair. Present agricultural practices are leading us downhill."
From SARE, "Beginning in the 1940s, Rodale provided the main source of information about "non-chemical" farming methods and was heavily influential in the development of organic production methods. Rodale drew many of his ideas from Sir Albert Howard, a British scientist who spent years observing traditional systems in India. Howard advocated agricultural systems reliant upon returning crop residues, green manures and wastes to soil, and promoted the idea of working with nature by using deep-rooted crops to draw nutrients from the soil"
Even back in 1954, Rodale warned that the increase in chemical pesticides and synthetic fertilizers were "leading us downhill."
During WW1 and WW2, Victory Gardens were encouraged. People were told that it was their duty to grow food for their family and for their community because of food shortages around the country.
Now, we have grocery store shelves full of food or food-like products and it seems less people are interested in growing their own REAL, organic food.
A simple explanation of the HUGE savings of growing your own can be found in my article In Times of Uncertainty, Grow & Save.
180 homegrown bunches of Arugula $21
180 store bought bunches of Arugula $358.20
If you save your seeds...The savings are incalculable!
Getting back to Organic gardening, it is defined as not using synthetic pesticides or fertilizers in growing crops. Ideally, it would also include giving back to the soil, also known as Regenerative Agriculture.
Some of the most common practices of Organic Gardening include:
-Composting
-Creating Pollinator gardens to encourage "Good Bugs" and boost crop yield
-Companion Planting for Organic Pest Control
-Boost root health with Mycorrhizae Use Organic plant food options to nourish plants and soil
HELPFUL LINKS
Next time we'll talk more about Regenerative Agricultural practices
Sign up for our E-Newsletter
Comments
Angela on
So glad I found your site! We are starting our gardens. I started with herbs that I can grow here in sandy Florida and am now moving on to veggies, I am very excited and am anxious to delve deeper into your site for helpful info & tips. Thank you!