{"id":5830,"date":"2024-04-23T16:26:33","date_gmt":"2024-04-23T20:26:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ottawa.cog.ca\/?page_id=5830"},"modified":"2024-04-23T16:26:33","modified_gmt":"2024-04-23T20:26:33","slug":"why-bother-with-organics","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ottawa.cog.ca\/seasonal-resources\/why-bother-with-organics\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Bother With Organics?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"5830\" class=\"elementor elementor-5830\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-6b12324 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"6b12324\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-ca9f93c\" data-id=\"ca9f93c\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-95b3f06 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"95b3f06\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>The DTE Notebook for the Urban Organic Vegetable and Herb Gardener. <\/strong><\/p><p><strong>Why bother with Organics? <\/strong><\/p><p><em>Article and photos by Rob Danforth <\/em><\/p><p>Organic gardening is an attitude and a methodology applied to food and flower gardens, and even to your lawn.\u00a0 The word \u201cOrganic\u201d in and of itself does not mean safe food or safe environment, &#8212; many \u201corganic plants\u201d like poison ivy can hurt and even kill a person &#8212; but organic gardeners strive to work with nature rather than against nature without the intervention of synthetic chemicals so that nature can be sustained and kept healthy and we can all share in the benefits. \u00a0<strong>I stress that the following views are my understanding of organics and open to discussion \u2013 I do not speak for any organization, nor do I speak to or for farmers<\/strong>.<\/p><p>In the past, mankind\u2019s attitude to nature was that it was wild and needed to be tamed and even subjugated for our pleasures, conveniences, and food.\u00a0 Nature was seen as a force that needed to be brought to heel and a commodity to be marketed.\u00a0 In the 70\u2019s I used so many Chemicals.<\/p><p>Today we see that eliminating aspects of nature can have a cascading effect on a whole host of organisms as well as on us \u2013 <strong>what goes around comes around!<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 At the end of the day, Nature is a fabric with all things interwoven. \u00a0Pull one thread, and many others are disrupted, often where we least expect.\u00a0 We affect that fabric and we are greatly affected by it.\u00a0 It is best to live in and with nature \u2013 nature is very good at rapping our knuckles when we take it for granted or refuse to listen to nature\u2019s feedback.\u00a0 Sadly, in our heyday to control or to ignore nature, we have caused serious problems with the atmosphere, water resources, soils, flora, and fauna.<\/p><p>If you wish to embrace organics whole or in part, here is some information that might help:<\/p><p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-5832 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/ottawa.cog.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/our-garden.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"812\" height=\"508\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ottawa.cog.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/our-garden.jpg 812w, https:\/\/ottawa.cog.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/our-garden-300x188.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ottawa.cog.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/our-garden-768x480.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 812px) 100vw, 812px\" \/><\/p><p><strong>Be as organic as you can be<\/strong>!\u00a0 Organic practices offer<\/p><ul><li><strong>chemical free foods <\/strong>&amp; <strong>working environments. <\/strong><\/li><li><strong>fewer allergic reactions. <\/strong><\/li><li><strong>no dedicated equipment<\/strong> reserved for oils, chemicals, and poisons.<\/li><li><strong>no hazmat suit, facemask, or eye protection.<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>no environmental pollution or<\/strong> <strong>adverse effects on nature.<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>no controversial GMO\/GEO (Genetically Engineered Organisms). <\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-5833 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/ottawa.cog.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/organic-compromise.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"875\" height=\"688\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ottawa.cog.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/organic-compromise.jpg 875w, https:\/\/ottawa.cog.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/organic-compromise-300x236.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ottawa.cog.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/organic-compromise-768x604.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 875px) 100vw, 875px\" \/><\/p><p>The interlocking gyres above illustrate the extremes of the pendulum swing.\u00a0 My brother-in-law\u2019s vegetables are hiding in those flowers and weeds are few due to high density and diverse planting.\u00a0 The next field is weed free because of GEO and chemical herbicides.\u00a0 The only weeds are in the roadside ditch.\u00a0 As gardeners, we can choose to be <strong>1<\/strong> organic, <strong>2<\/strong> mostly organic, <strong>3<\/strong> somewhat organic, <strong>4<\/strong> a little organic, or <strong>5<\/strong> not organic at all.\u00a0 I deliberately chose the centers of the circles to illustrate that there may be a little organic in the non-organic as well as a little non-organic in the organic for all non-certified, urban, organic gardeners. \u00a0It is difficult to be 100% pure either way.<\/p><p><strong>Urban Organic Garden Guidelines: \u00a0observe, listen to, and imitate nature. <\/strong><\/p><ul><li><strong>Take care of the soil, the foundation of all successful gardening <\/strong>\u2013 it changes over time and will become exhausted as plants consume nutrients.<\/li><li><strong>Encourage the helpful <\/strong>critters and insects which can work on your behalf to manage the harmful insects, assist in your composting, and pollinate your flowers.<\/li><li><strong>Manage, do not eliminate <\/strong>the harmful insects, diseases, weeds, and critters to preserve nature\u2019s cycle: in nature\u2019s fabric, one\u2019s irritation is another\u2019s food (e.g., mosquitos pollinate, annoy people, and feed the dragonflies).<\/li><li><strong>Reuse &amp; recycle<\/strong> as much as possible, avoiding single use material (e.g., plastics, wrappings, bindings, containers, \u2026).<\/li><li><strong>Do not use chemicals <\/strong>(herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, anti-bacterial solutions, synthetic fertilizers, treated seeds, treated wood),<strong> GMO\u2019s\/GEO\u2019s, or sewage sludge.<\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>To purchase or to check for certified organic products, look for the following symbols on the packaging:<\/p><p><strong> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-5834 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/ottawa.cog.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/organic-symbols.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"886\" height=\"593\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ottawa.cog.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/organic-symbols.jpg 886w, https:\/\/ottawa.cog.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/organic-symbols-300x201.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ottawa.cog.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/organic-symbols-768x514.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 886px) 100vw, 886px\" \/><\/strong><\/p><p>For a more advanced search (and more complicated), you can check the Canadian government web site or see the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI).\u00a0 However, please note that the American OMRI is a little different from the Canadian one \u2013 we are good friends, but we do not agree on all things.<\/p><p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-5835 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/ottawa.cog.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/common-gardening-practices.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"908\" height=\"662\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ottawa.cog.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/common-gardening-practices.jpg 908w, https:\/\/ottawa.cog.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/common-gardening-practices-300x219.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ottawa.cog.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/common-gardening-practices-768x560.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 908px) 100vw, 908px\" \/><\/p><p><strong>Happy Gardening, however organic you choose to be. <\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The DTE Notebook for the Urban Organic Vegetable and Herb Gardener. Why bother with Organics? Article and photos by Rob Danforth Organic gardening is an attitude and a methodology applied to food and flower gardens, and even to your lawn.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":2606,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Why Bother With Organics? - Ottawa-St. Lawrence-Outaouais Chapter \/ Section d&#039;Ottawa-Saint-Laurent-Outaouais<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ottawa.cog.ca\/seasonal-resources\/why-bother-with-organics\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why Bother With Organics? - Ottawa-St. Lawrence-Outaouais Chapter \/ Section d&#039;Ottawa-Saint-Laurent-Outaouais\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The DTE Notebook for the Urban Organic Vegetable and Herb Gardener. 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