Organic Farming The Way of the Future

organic farming

heard of it if you go to grocery stores

a lot then you probably know what i’m

talking about

organically grown products are taking

the world by storm

and are finally making their comeback

against conventional farming

they are leaving the pesticides in the

dust and becoming a new favorite

all around the world if you don’t go to

grocery stores that much

then here’s organic farming in a

nutshell organic farming is using

factors found in nature

to grow and cultivate crops if you want

the official

definition here it is i’m not going to

bother reading it because

it’s a lot of words so if you understood

that definition

that’s great but if you didn’t let’s dig

a little deeper

into what organic farming actually is

organic farming is the process of using

natural factors to grow crops

including using natural fertilizers

using predators to control pests

and increasing biodiversity if you’ve

been to places like brentwood here in

california

then you might have seen an organic farm

they might not look that different

but they stand out because of a few

reasons one reason

is because of well all the billboards

saying

organic farm in bold letters but the

more scientific reason

is because they likely contain more

types of crops have much better soil

quality

and have better irrigation

so how does it work well the first step

is to plant some seeds

that’s it okay not entirely but you’re

already almost 50

of the way there the rest is just

maintenance

you need to add quality soil with lots

of nutrients for your plants to grow

well

make sure you add proper compost to your

plants

mulch and even banana peels are a good

source of compost

also research about your particular

plants to know how much water you should

give them

remember too little water is harmful but

too much water

can be just as devastating keep doing

this and you’ll be pretty close to done

but there’s one important step you need

to make sure you rotate your crops

every year or so this is a time tested

method

and it is necessary to prevent harmful

pests and diseases

from accumulating in your soil then

comes the final step

it may perhaps be the most important of

them all

harvest your plants and enjoy them

that’s all there is to organic farming

anybody can do it with even just a

little bit of space

or a small pot and lots of people do it

let’s take a look at one country

how about india india provides the

highest amount of organic products in

the world

and it’s all thanks to its 835 000

organic farmers one main reason why

india and the rest of the world

have so many organic farmers is because

of the recent research

done into the negatives of pesticides

research conducted into the properties

of pesticides showed that they contain

chemicals known to cause cancer

these chemicals include glyphosate

chlordane and some others

these cause damage to the respiratory

digestive and nervous systems

also according to the agency for toxic

substances

and disease registry pesticides carry

diseases like malaria

and typhus let’s take an example how

about

mount hood oregon mount hood

is known for its beautiful flower

orchards that you can run through and

feel like a movie star

but it’s also known for another reason

it’s toxic

mountain hood has the highest cancer

rate in the state

and pesticides are the main reason

pesticides

also run off into groundwater streams

making them toxic

and undrinkable so pesticides are

obviously not healthy is it just in

mountain hood

no it’s everywhere according to the

daily meal

the number of reported deaths as a

result of pesticide usage around the

world

is 18 000 annually 18

000 and those are only the reported ones

in contrast organic farming is very

healthy

with so many benefits organic foods are

very nutrient dense

if we backtrack towards a step to

planting your own organic garden you

might remember that i said

to plant your seed in nutrient-dense

soil well

here’s why spending time in

nutrient-rich soil

leads to absorption of certain things

that we need such as vitamins and

minerals

on the contrary spending time in

pesticide rich soil

will lead to foods that absorb

pesticides another reason to switch to

organic foods

another another benefit is that organic

farming reduces the rate

of soil erosion soil erosion

is a process where topsoil gets removed

from the rest of it

this strips the soil of its nutrients

and prevents an area of land

from being used for farming ever again

while using pesticides greatly speeds up

this process

while using natural fertilizers greatly

slows down this process

so that’s that organic farming is much

better than conventional farming

in many aspects so get planting

but wait you might be saying easier said

than done

and i agree that’s a valid point anyone

can talk about doing extra work

but it takes a little more to actually

go out and do it

but i’m choosing to talk about organic

farming because i’ve gone in my backyard

and done some planting of my own

also i’m lucky to have someone in my

house who loves organic farming as much

as i do

my dad my family and i moved here to san

ramon

about six years ago within a few weeks

of getting settled in

my dad had already planted some seeds

fruits and vegetables

really anything he could find one month

passed two months

and then boom we got our first taste of

tomatoes from our own backyard

ever since then i’ve been trying to help

him wherever i could

back when we lived in dublin the same

thing happened

but back then i was still a kid i like

to think that i was a crucial part of my

dad’s expedition

to turn our backyard into a garden if

you ask him today

he’ll probably say that i was very

helpful and that it would have been much

harder without me

but to be honest i think i just kicked a

ball outside and told myself i was

helping

but in sixth grade i planted my first

seed

it was a small carrot and i’m proud to

say that i took good care of it

in a few months i got to witness my

first harvest

i could never forget that feeling of joy

and accomplishment

after that i was involved in planting

seeds watering them

and finally the best part picking and

enjoying them

this is my backyard today it is a

perfect illustration of how much of an

impact

even one person can have towards a fully

organic garden

so start planting and pretty soon your

actions can benefit the environment

and everything around it grab that

shovel

plant that seed and watch as it grows

into a healthy

nutritious and beautiful plant thank you