Organic Gardening - Notes on Organic Horticulture Organic Gardening Systems

by The Urban Gardener

Organic horticulture employs the crucial principles of organic agriculture for the successful herbs, fruits, vegetables, flowers and ornamental plants growing. These principles concern the management of pests in the garden, soil composition and conservation, etc.

General Notes

Mulches, Double Digging, compost, Vermicompost, cover crops, mineral supplements and manures are the main constituents of the soil mixture in this kind of gardening in contrast to the commercial farming. Organic horticulture expects to minimize the risk of insects, fungi, and diseases development with the help of maintaining the high quality of the soil. Nonetheless, sometimes it is still necessary to use insecticidal soaps and sprays, pheromone traps, or other pest-control means, created especially for organic farmers.

Experts define five fields of horticulture:

- olericulture, which stands for the production and marketing of vegetables;

- pomology that means the production and marketing of fruits;

- floriculture, which is the production and marketing of floral crops;

- landscape horticulture that includes the production, marketing, and maintenance of landscape plants;

- and finally, post harvest physiology that studies and practices the preservation and maintaining of the quality of horticultural crops

All these areas can utilize the key principles of organic gardening.

Organic horticulture employs the methods and uses data, which have been collected for thousands of years. Generally speaking, this type of gardening is based on the natural, long-term processes and eco-friendly, global approaches, in contrast to horticulture, based on the use of chemicals that speed up the processes and aim at the separate results and reductionist strategies.

Organic gardening systems

There exist various formal organic gardening systems that utilize peculiar methods. They are listed among the general organic standards, but are more specific than them. For example, Rudolf Steiner developed the so-called biodynamic farming. Masanobu Fukuoka, the Japanese writer and farmer, practiced Natural Farming, based on the so-called no-till system for the small-scale production of grain. Finally, intensive and biointensive techniques and SPIN Farming (Small Plot INtensive), developed in France, also belong to the small-scale gardening methods.

A garden in a container or growing box provides healthy, organic, and highly nutritional food. Moreover, it is also the means to share one’s experience, to improve local economy, and to offer better and more sustainable way of living. A small raised bed garden of 32 square feet is capable of supplying tasty, healthy, and organic greens to a family, requiring, at the same time, less water and fewer nutrients if it is based on the postulates of bio-intensive planting and square foot gardening.

In addition, the existing garden can be improved with the help of composting or vermicomposting. These methods allow getting the best organic fertilizers by reusing organic matter, which provides necessary nutrients to the organic garden. Besides, compost and vermicompost are always an easy way to improve the results.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/organic-gardening-general-notes-on-organic-horticulture-organic-gardening-systems-1368400.html

About the Author: My name is Guy. I am the founder and owner of the urbangardenershop.com.au . I fell in love with hydroponics gardening. As time went by I gathered a vast knowledge base and 2 years ago I decided to find a way to make hydroponics gardening a hobby that anyone can peruse. I added a hydroponic gardening information center to our hydroponic supplies site that offers a large range of hydroponics articles. Thank you for your interest and feel free to ask questions on hydroponics gardening in our site

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The Untold Truth About the Food We Eat

by Henk Mutsaers

Most people die slowly because they forgot to live in harmony with nature. Forgotten that food is our best medicine.

In a world where it is ever so easy to supply everybody with the food they need to live a healthy life, they make us believe genetics are the cause of all those diseases and discomforts. With an, I can't help it mentality, we go to the doctor asking for a miracle pill that will make up for things that we are responsible for our self in the first place. A lack of proper nutrition, a balanced diet, physical activity and steering away from addictions like smoking, sugar and too much alcohol.

However, how many people really know how bad our food chain is at the moment? How many people don't know that most of our foods are produced with fertilizers containing only 11 minerals and trace elements where the full spectrum has 92? How many people have knowledge about the base ~ acid balance? (pH value). How many people do you think heard about the omega 3 ~ 6 balance? How many people really believe that food is the best medicine to cure a disease and preventing them from becoming ill in the first place?

How many times we have been told; "If you eat a balanced diet your body gets everything it needs"? And that, ladies and gentlemen is a big, BIG lie! It's almost impossible to get the minimum amount of essential nutrients for the body to perform well. Ask people about aging and the answer you get will be; "You have to be lucky". When you drive your car without the regular service intervals and you say to yourself; you have to be lucky, that it won't let you down. Silly isn't it? Most people think aging comes with sickness and discomforts. The real reason is however; our immune system is lacking the most essential tools to do the task at hand. Instead of going to the doctor you better start using unprocessed whole food. Instead of giving the responsibility of your personal health to a doctor, you might want to take control of it yourself.

What I see in this world today in the supermarket is a food chain with at the most 20% non-organic whole food. The other 80 percent has a range from non-benefitional to a real danger for your overall health. Some foods get way to much credit to be named food!

What I see at the other side is the pharmaceutical industry that supplies us with medications that you don't need if you know how to take care of your body. When you save money on foods you might end up spending it on the doctors bill.

I see people bring their car regularly to the garage for a (preventive) service check. The same people might be visiting the doctor after the facts.

I think our world isn't meant to be this way, where company profits are far more important than the health of millions of people. The only way to reverse this collective thinking is for all of us to vote with our wallets. You and Me! Buying healthier food and cutting down our health bills. At the same time feeling much better and productive with a positive look to the future.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/the-untold-truth-about-the-food-we-eat-450510.html

About the Author: Helping people to preserve and maintain an optimum health status.

Organic Whole Food Vitamins are the Secret to Optimum Nutrition

by Terry Schierer

Diet out of wack? No time to eat healthy food? Organic whole food vitamins will give you the optimum nutrition you need to keep running smoothly.

If you're like most people, your schedule is packed and your days are hectic. Healthy meals are often forsaken for the ease of fat-laden fast food and the convenience ingredients found on the shelves of the local supermarket lack many of the essential vitamins and minerals your body needs.

People today are at a higher risk than ever for a number of serious health complications, including several types of life-threatening cancer. The average adult often feels they lack the energy needed to complete their day. Why?

First, commercially produced foods are grown with the aid of pesticides and fertilizers that contain harmful chemicals. Chemical residue is responsible for a number of allergies and illnesses and can absorb the natural nutrient value of the farm soil, resulting in reduced levels of vitamins and minerals in the food.

Further processing of commercial food products detracts even more nutrient value. Most foods contain a very small percentage of the vitamins and minerals they would provide in their natural form. This is detrimental to the human body.

Our bodies require these specific vitamins and minerals for efficient operation, daily endurance, mental stability, and more. To keep the body going strong nutrients are a must for a busy lifestyle.

So, how can you be sure you and your family are getting plenty of protein, disease fighting enzymes, antioxidants, and other essential nutrients in your diet with so many processed options?

Whole live foods are foods grown naturally, without the use of pesticides, fertilizers, and other chemically enhanced gardening aids. Certified organic whole foods are loaded with the vitamins and minerals today's fresh foods are lacking and are packaged without additives or preservatives so those vital nutrients are retained for your consumption.

A fast paced lifestyle and rat race living make it almost impossible to get the 5 to 9 portions of fruits and veggies that a healthy body needs. The answer is organic whole food vitamins.

These all-natural nutritional supplements use vitamin rich, live whole food ingredients that contain thousands of pure nutrients not found in modern processed foods.

Not only do these whole food ingredients supply a higher level of vitamins and minerals than commercial foods and supplements, organic vitamins can provide the benefits of hundreds of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and grains in one single serving.

No matter how carefully you plan your meals and snacks, a hectic schedule can often result in convenience food substitutes and unhealthy snacking, leaving your body craving the nutrients it needs to keep you going.

It is almost impossible between you teen years and say around fifty for the average person to get your recommended allowance of fruits and veggies. Most will not eat 5 servings a day; many will not even consume 5 cups of fruits and vegetables in a week.

The small number of individuals who do eat their veggies will typically consume commercially processed foods, still leaving their body deficient in many crucial nutrients and ingesting a variety of chemical residues.

What if a healthy, vitamin packed diet was simpler and more convenient? What if there was a pill or a smooth, fruit flavored drink that would:

* Provide you with 70 power foods unleashing you with unprocessed benefits?

* Fortify the immune system by eliminating bacteria and germs that cause disease?

* Leverage 80+ must have minerals and essential enzymes?

* Significantly lower your risks of cancer, diabetes, and other ailments?

* Increase your daily endurance so you get more accomplished without feeling tired before the end of the day?

* Improve your overall health and wellbeing by replenishing the essential nutrients that fuel your body, nutrients not found in most of today's foods and supplements?

Organic whole food vitamins are the answer to modern nutrition deficiencies and the key to achieving a healthy, balanced, nutrient rich diet in today's hectic society.

Better than the typical nutrition supplement, organic whole food vitamins contain pure, unprocessed ingredients with thousands of enzymes, antioxidants, and other vital nutrients that can't be found in most available commercial products.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/nutrition-articles/organic-whole-food-vitamins-are-the-secret-to-optimum-nutrition-263691.html

About the Author: To get the rest of the story on organic whole food vitamins go to the authors website: http://organicfood-guide.com/organic-whole-food-vitamins.html where the second half of the secret to optimum nutrition is revealed.

Natural Remedies Discover Natural Alternative Remedies that are Safe & Effective

Growing House Plants With Organic Indoor Gardening

by Benjamin Brook

Indoor gardening is a popular hobby, and one that can actually improve your decor and your health. Glossy green living plants are an unbeatable decorating accessory, whether you favor the bold statement a snake plant makes or the ethereal lightness of an asparagus fern. By surrounding yourself with healthy green plants, you oxygenate your living environment and gain more energy.

Grow Houseplants Organically

You can do some organic indoor gardening with houseplants. Growing organically means you don't use chemical pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers in your gardening routine. Organic indoor gardening also means not using genetically modified seeds, cuttings, or other elements.

Indoor Gardening The Organic Way

If you're serious about indoor organic gardening, you might want to purchase Indoor Gardening the Organic Way: How to Create a Natural and Sustaining Environment for Your Houseplants, by Julie Bawden Davis.

The beginning of the book explains how houseplants are grown and shipped to your local garden center. Young house plants are fed the equivalent of a fast food diet to pump them up so they'll look good in the garden center. When you bring your new house plants home, they may have a bit of a chemical fertilizer hangover at first. Be patient with them, and soon they will become accustomed to an organic lifestyle.

Organic Fertilizers

The best organic fertilizer is homemade compost. Even if you live in an apartment, you can make organic compost for gardening indoors.

Use a coffee can or another metallic container with a tight fitting lid. Make a few ventilation holes around the side of the coffee can with a nail or a drill. Fill the can with alternating layers of crisp, dry ingredients and wet ingredients.

For the crisp, dry ingredients, use dry leaves if you have access to them. Otherwise, you can use shredded newspaper or crumpled up paper bags.

For the wet ingredients, you can use raw vegetable scraps nothing with oil or butter on it and coffee grounds.

Keeping the compost can indoors will heat the compost up fast and help process it quickly. You can get the compost to make itself more quickly by stirring it periodically.

When one coffee can is full, start another. Turn the first can upside down every day to mix the ingredients and keep the compost cooking. Soon the first can will be full of rich, crumbly compost the key to indoor organic gardening.

Mix a little bit of compost in with your plants' soil to provide long-lasting nutrients. You can grow almost any houseplant with this indoor organic gardening trick.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/growing-house-plants-with-organic-indoor-gardening-391315.html

About the Author: For more information about gardening please visit my website Gardening">http://www.free-gardening-tips.com/">Gardening - Gardening and Moon Phases

Top 7 Tips to Go Organic

by Raymond Lee

In the light of these studies, it is surprising that few studies have compared the health consequences of eating organic and conventionally grown produce. Any fruits and vegetables are better than none. In a study, those who ate the fewest plant foods had the highest cancer rates, and those who ate the most produce had the least cancer. Most pesticides are fat-soluble. If you eat plants that have been treated with them, you ingest a tiny amount of residue that accumulates in your fatty tissues, such as female breast tissue. But the real problem develops when you eat animal fat. Food animals accumulate pesticides in their fat tissues throughout their lives. By the time people eat them, they have much higher levels than any of the feed plants they ate. When people eat meat, they consume most of the pesticides the animals ate. The higher up the food chain you eat, the more toxic chemicals you ingest. The cleanest produce is organic. Even organically grown fruits, vegetables, grains and beans may pick up some pesticide contamination because of chemicals in groundwater, in the air from neighbouring nonorganic farms or from fumigation of trucks and warehouses. But compared with conventionally grown produce, organic fruits and vegetables are significantly cleaner. If you opt for organic fruits and vegetables, the good news is that they are more available than ever. Health food stores, farmer’s markets and even some supermarkets now carry items called organic. So what are you waiting for?

1. Support Your Local Farmers

Buy foods in season and encourage your supermarket to stock locally grown items, which are less likely to be waxed and treated with postharvest pesticides during transport and storage.

2. Scrub Up

Wash all the fruits and vegetables with a dilute solution of dishwashing liquid and water. Use a vegetable brush. Chop spinach, broccoli, cauliflower and celery before washing.

3. Grow Your Own

No matter where you live, you can grow at least some of your own fruits and vegetables organically. If you do not buy organic, you can still minimize your exposure to pesticides by heeding the above suggestions.

4. Do Some Research

Contact your state agriculture department or local extension service for referrals to organic growers in your area. Contact the farmers and ask how they grow their produce and where they sell it.

5. Meet Your Greengrocer

Talk with your health food store or supermarket produce manager. Ask for organic produce.

6. Buy Your Produce By Mail

It is easier than you think. Pick those nearest to you for the freshest items and lowest shipping costs. Root vegetables – carrots, turnips and rutabagas – are excellent mail-order choices. They ship well, and when conventionally grown, root vegetables tend to accumulate higher levels of pesticides than other vegetables.

7. Exercise A Little Skepticism

Unless you trust the vendor, do not place too much faith in handwritten signs. Look for certification label. Labels include “Farm-Verified Organics.” “Organic Crop Improvement Association,” “Organic Growers and Buyers Association” and “California Certified Organic Farmers.” Only California has a government-regulated organic certification program. The other certification labels are granted to members of voluntary associations who pledge to uphold certain voluntary standards. But any label is more trustworthy than a handwritten sign.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/nutrition-articles/top-7-tips-to-go-organic-320571.html

About the Author: Raymond Lee is one of the foremost experts in the health and fitness industry and is the Founder of Bodyfixes Group specializing in body health, muscle development and dieting. He is currently the author of the latest edition of "Neck Exercises and Workouts." Visit http://www.bodyfixes.com/ for more information.