From the Organic Garden: Just the Basics

Organic gardening consists of growing food without the use of chemically synthesized fertilizer, pesticides, fungicides, and/or herbicides. This results in better tasting, more nutritious, and safer food to eat. Consuming conventionally grown food exposes you to highly dangerous and toxic chemicals which, ultimately weakens your immune system. For example, imagine preparing a nice salad plate for your lunch and then spraying it with a can of Raid prior to sitting down to eat! This sounds extreme yet, that is exactly what you are doing every time you consume conventionally grown food. When purchasing certified organically grown food you also greatly improve your chances of avoiding Genetically Modified food.

Here are some better alternatives to conventional gardening:

Instead of This	Use This
Chemically synthesized fertilizer (NPK) Bone Meal Pesticides Herbicides Fungicides Hybrid Seeds	Vegetative Compost, worm castings, and worm tea Ociean Solution and rock dust Beneficial Insects( lady bugs, praying mantis, etc.) Cardboard covered with mulch and vinegar spray Neem oil and milk spray Heirloom Seeds

The following list of foods called the “Dirty Dozen – Plus”, should always be purchased organic. These foods in particular have demonstrated a high pesticide residue when grown conventionally. In some cases, the pesticides penetrate deeply in the produce with no practical way of washing them off.

Apples                          Nectarines (imported) Corn

Strawberries                  Cucumbers

Grapes                         Cherry tomatoes

Celery                          Snap peas (imported)

Peaches                       Potatoes

Spinach                        Hot peppers

Sweet bell peppers        Blueberries (domestic)