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