Going Organic

Many of us rather like the idea of eating organic, home grown vegetables, possibly because we can know what has gone into them. But not enough people know what organic really means and how to go about converting to it.

The difference between conventional and organic growers is that conventional growers simply cultivate plants and regard the soil as a resource to be replenished when necessary, but organic growers cultivate the soil and all that lives in and on it. “Feed the soil and the soil will feed the crops” is the motto of the organic movement. Fertilisers are not banned in organic gardening and farming, but they take second place to soil feeding techniques. Moreover, organic growers speak of the “the living soil,” an incredibly intricate, interconnected eco-system containing bacteria, fungi, worms, insects and many other types of creature, in dynamic interaction which science yet only partly understands. Therefore the organic movement believes in working along with nature rather than just imposing human controls on it. Organics is humans in partnership with nature to create a sustainable way of growing crops.

Working with nature means that pesticides are out because they kill helpful creatures. If I were to spray my cabbages for whitefly, for example, I might kill the whitefly, but also the tiny creatures that feed on them. Insecticides kill ladybirds, one of the most helpful insect predators there is. We organic growers therefore choose to encourage helpful creatures. Hedgehogs and frogs are strongly favoured, as they eat slugs and snails, so we save places for them in our garden, maybe a pond or a pile of twigs and leaves. We make nest boxes for blue tits, as they eat so many troublesome insects. Non-poisonous methods of killing slugs and other pests are used. My son, an organic nurseryman in a fruit tree nursery, says that he kills thousands of aphids a day merely by blasting them off leaves with high speed jets of water. We may use beer traps for slugs, as the slugs basically commit suicide by plunging in, but be careful, they will not be attracted to cheap lager, only to reasonably good beer.

The organic movement is aware that the soil is an incredibly complex system, so simply throwing chemicals at it might cause problems. For example, many of the fungi that constitute the network of life in the soil are hyper-sensitive to chemicals, and will simply die if they are dosed with them. Yet these inconspicuous creatures live symbiotically with plant roots, passing nutrients onto the plants that we grow. This is not to say that fertilisers cannot be used, but they must be applied carefully and in the right doses.

Normally, organic people do not use herbicides or fungicides, as they dislike the application of chemicals. However, some chemicals are permitted, such as Bordeaux mixture, which attacks potato blight, and derris dust, a naturally-occurring plant derived herbicide. (Be extremely careful when applying these concoctions. Masks should be worn and hands washed afterwards.) Recently I was forced to use glyphosate, a herbicide, when I discovered Japanese knotweed growing on my allotment. This is Britain’s most invasive weed and it is illegal to grow it. Fortunately, I got it early and killed the infestation. Emergency use is permitted only as far as is necessary.

Feeding the soil requires compost, well-rotted manure, leaf mould and, hopefully, if you can get it, seaweed, which is marvellous. Ideally, organic growers make their own compost and try to treat their farms/gardens as self-contained systems, though if you take food out to eat, you must return the equivalent in nutrients to the soil. Making your own compost is best. A day or two ago I dug around in my compost bin to get some insects for my wife’s biology class. It was thriving in life, all of it feeding on my domestic food waste, whereas the compost that you purchase is often sterile, worthwhile in nutrients though it may be.

Leaves are always useful in organics. All you need to make leaf mould is a wooden bin where you put the leaves, let them rot down for a year or two, and then spread the resulting substance. I love seaweed. In Western Ireland, Scotland and Cornwall it was a prime source of fertiliser. Living inland, I have to get it as seaweed meal or liquid seaweed, but it adds so many minor, trace elements to the soil and helps the vegetables taste good.

Lastly, organic growers use green manures. This is not as horrid as it sounds. They are simply ground cover plants sown in autumn/fall and dug into the ground in spring. I sometimes use field beans, as they are legumes, which add nitrogen to the soil by fixing it from the air, so next year I get nitrogen enriched soil.

So going organic is not hard. Anyone can do it. It is simply good sense and a willingness to work with nature rather than aqainst it.