What is Organic Gardening?

Organic gardening focuses on creating healthy soil and cultivating a natural balance in our yards and gardens that encourages healthy plants without synthetic chemicals. Healthy soil will feed the plants all by itself and is created by incorporating organic matter on an ongoing basis. Organic matter feeds the microorganisms and fungus that break down the minerals already existing in the soil and making them available to the plants. This is also the beginning of cultivating a healthy balance by allowing the funguses, microorganisms, insects and wildlife to co-exist in the space and naturally combat pests and diseases. Cultural practices are a key factor in a healthy functioning yard or garden, companion planting, crop rotation and mulching are examples of this.

Biodynamic agriculture takes it to the next level by recognizing that humans are not in control of the environment but can function harmoniously within it. This approach looks to traditional methods and promotes well rounding smaller farming operations.

Why is Organic Gardening important in our Community?

Organic gardening has come to the forefront of our consciousness on the current concerns about global-warming. The bright light shone on the issue of global warming has illuminated many issues relating to our miss-use of our environment. We live a lavish lifestyle and are used to having what we want when we want it with out questioning the costs to the health of our environment and all the life it supports including our own. We have been able to separate ourselves from responsibility by blindly accepting without question industrial food production and the endless saturation of synthetic chemicals and compounds into our lifestyles. The fear of running out of fossil fuels, the health of our environment, rising concerns about the quality and safety of industrially produced food and of course the state of the global economy can all be reasons to support organic gardening and landscape practices in your community.

We can reduce the amount of pollution and synthetic chemicals in our community by changing our approach to our landscapes. By design we can increase self-sustainability and lower maintenance time & costs, energy consumption and chemical dependence. We need to throw out conventional landscape design which is based on aesthetics and human needs and seek a new model based on self-sustainability, functionality and ecology.

The amount of fuel used to transport food is second only to the transportation of people and on average each item in the grocery store has travelled 1500 miles. The quality of our food has decreased as fruit and vegetable varieties are chosen for their ability to travel and the way they look, not for the nutritional content or flavor. Local food producers cannot compete with the marketing machines of the large industrial food producers and the government subsidies they receive. Organic or not, food products from other countries are not necessarily subject to the same standards as Canadian food products which makes it even harder for local producers and buying foreign food sends your money into foreign economies. Locally produced food must meet our standards and is more likely to be produced with concern for our local environment. You can find out how your food has been treated when you buy local and you support our local economy in the process.

Heirloom Varieties & Food Biodiversity

Consumers now choose from less than 1% of the vegetable varieties grown a century ago. All over the world thousands of varieties are falling to the industrial machine. We are aware of endangered animals and plants but how many of us have even considered this in relation to food. Biodiversity in food production is insurance against massive crop failure. How can you make changes in your habits? Choosing to use your mighty consumer dollars to support local food producers will highly affect the way our food systems work. Shop at Farmers Markets when possible, tell your local grocery store you want locally produced food and then don't be swayed by lower prices. Remember buying food imported from other countries does not support our local economy or a healthier environment. Inexpensive industrial produced food is probably subsidized in one form or another by your tax dollars so chances are you have already paid for it once.

. In 1995, taxpayers and consumers in western industrialized countries plowed $335 billion U.S. into agriculture in the form of export subsidies, import taxes and intervention prices, subsidies for fertilizers and pesticides, inspection, research and training. This amounted to almost $16,000 per full-time farmer or $290 for each hectare of agricultural land.

. For every $5 of public support, only $1 ends up in farmers' pockets. In the big picture, consumers and taxpayers in western industrialized countries paid $335 billion in 1995 to transfer $66 billion to farmers

. Most subsidies are based on how much is grown and therefor reward rich farmers. In the U.S., one-third of government agriculture payments go to the wealthiest five per cent of farms

. Subsidies encourage farmers to produce more and use more chemicals, soil and water resources are threatened and so subsidies do not protect the family farm.

. Consumers are paying ever-increasing prices for food but farmers are getting about the same income for the food they produce. Who is profiting? The fertilizer, fuel and pesticide companies and the food packers, processors and retailers.

. Some say that we'll never feed the world with organic production but if governments and universities put as much resources into researching organic agriculture as they put into genetically modified foods, then where would we be?

. Most of the advances made in organic farming are those that have been developed by farmers on farms.

Send the message to our government that we need to change how these subsidies are handed out to support local food producers concerned with our environment and providing organic nutritious food.

Locally Produced Organic Food Options

. Backyard Gardens - vegetable patches, container gardening or mixed in perennial beds. Fruit and
   berry producing plants in the landscape.

. Community Gardens & Compost Facilities

. CSA - Community Supported Agriculture (Pay share in spring buys % of Produce all season long)

. Local Farmers Markets - ask about direct farm to customer sales.

. U-pick operations & Roadside fruit stands.

. Slow Food Canada - Shop Talk by Calgary Author Dee Hobsbawn-Smith