Re: [asa] Organic farming article

Some soaps reputedly damage plant leaves. Insecticidal soaps are supposed to be formulated so as not to do so. In reality a dilute mixture of ordinary liquid dish soap and vegetable oil is very effective for killing several insect pests, but it does not discourage future infestation. Sometimes pests will be back the next day. Synthetic pesticides like Malathion (not approved for organic farming) can prevent future infestation until the effects wear off.

Pyrethrins are potent poisons often not recommend as an initial application, because they kill beneficials as well as pests. They are approved for organic farming because they break down rapidly in heat and light and so do no lasting damage to the environment.

The organic movement has an element of religious fervor: Some things you don't do not because they damage the environment but simply because they're not "natural." What follows is a pertinent article I as president of the Orange County Organic Gardening Club wrote for a couple of local publications for nonscientists:

Organic gardening
and nature

Cursed is the ground for thy sake; .thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground.. Genesis 3:17-19

Organic gardeners often make reference to their love for nature and their desire to live in harmony with it. Scott Meyer, editor of Organic Gardening magazine, wrote in the August-September issue last year that ".Organic gardeners try to tune in to and collaborate with nature, not battle it." He's right, of course; we love the intimate contact with nature that we get through our organic gardening.

But no matter how romantic our close ties to nature might seem, Genesis has a point, too: Nature can be cruel, even vicious, and often is no friend to man. We as hobbyists can put up with setbacks and disappointments without losing our equanimity, but farmers and others who must make their living from the soil can hurt badly when nature gets mean and they're forced to battle it.

So what's the appropriate attitude towards nature for organic gardeners? The overriding concern of organic gardeners is that we do the environment no lasting harm. When we garden, we modify the environment, forcing it to depart from its natural state; but at the same time we strive to modify it in such a way that it will be possible for humans and nature to coexist in harmony indefinitely. Our attitude towards nature is thus one of profound respect.

This respect leads us to seek deep understanding of how nature works, how plants are related to soil, seasons, weather, and other living organisms. Without understanding we don't know how to coexist harmoniously, but with understanding we can put respect into practice. Exercising respect for nature creates an aura of beauty and purity in our gardening that must forever elude those who garden with brute force by means of synthetic chemicals.

Studies indicate that homeowners who apply synthetic pesticides typically do so at rates that far exceed rates used by commercial farmers. Apart from the damage such pesticides do to beneficial insects, such excessive applications wind up contaminating the garden. When such gardeners go to prepare fruits or veggies from their gardens, can they ever properly clean them? How much residue remains? A certain inescapable contamination persists, if only in the mind.

How is use of synthetic pesticides disrespectful of nature? It's disrespectful because nature already has ways of controlling pest infestations, and pesticides disrupt those ways. Insecticides kill beneficial insects along with pests and thereby create imbalance.

The organic gardener's goal is not to get rid of insects but to encourage balance. Scott Meyer, when asked how many bugs are acceptable, replied, "All of them. .A garden without a wide variety of bugs and lots of them is not a healthy organic garden." Example: If we were to get rid of all aphids, the lady beetles and lacewings that prey on them would leave as well, and our garden would then become especially vulnerable to future infestations.

One practice organic gardeners use to maintain a favorable insect balance is to grow plants attractive to beneficial insects. Another practice is to intersperse several different kinds of plants. Massive plantings of a single variety can encourage insect population explosions. A third practice is to use physical barriers such as row covers. Gardeners also physically remove harmful insects and infested plant material.

Despite such practices, however, nature on its own sometimes gets farther out of balance than we are willing to tolerate. If a favorite plant comes down with an infestation that threatens its very life, we often decide to take action. Fortunately there are several insecticides that are approved for use in organic farming and gardening. BT bacteria, insecticidal oils and insecticidal soaps are among them.

            Organic gardeners often set their own limits on how much damage they're willing to tolerate before fighting back against nature's imbalances. While we love nature and are willing to do our best to put up with its whims, nature doesn't always return our love. Sometimes we must fight back. In future articles I'll discuss other examples of how organic gardeners often take their cues from nature but equally often take liberties to respectfully enhance nature's ways. The respect is the important thing for organic gardeners.

  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Michael Roberts
  To: Loren Haarsma ; _American Sci Affil
  Sent: Tuesday, September 18, 2007 9:42 AM
  Subject: Re: [asa] Organic farming article

  There is a middle way looking for more friendly pesticides.

  In Wales the National Trust use a substance banned by the EU for pest
  control as it is cheap effective and harmless. it is dilute washing up
  liquid and is effective at killing aphids . But it is illegal.

  Pyrethrum based pesticides are better and we can go on.

  How do you control caterpillars on cabbages?

  The logic of the "leave it to the Lord" approach , is not to practice good
  husbandry which is the essence of all farming etc. Do we keep pigs in
  squalid conditions and rely on the Lord to prevent diseases. There are
  enough hints in the OT to counteract that

  Michael

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Received on Wed Sep 19 04:12:13 2007