Organic horticulture

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An organic garden on the school grounds

Organic horticulture is the science and art of growing fruit, vegetables, flowers or ornamental plants according to the essential principles of organic agriculture in soil formation and conservation, pest control and the preservation of old plant varieties.

The Latin words hortus (garden) and cultura (culture) together form horticulture (horticulture) , classically defined as the culture or cultivation of garden plants. "Horticulture" is sometimes defined simply as "farming without a plow". Instead of the plow , horticulture uses human labor and the gardener's hand tools, although some small machine tools such as the tillers are widely used today.

General

Mulch , cover crop , compost , slurry , vermicompost and mineral additives are the cornerstones of the soil that distinguish this type of agriculture from its commercial counterpart. By paying attention to good, healthy soil conditions, it is expected that insect, fungal or other problems that sometimes plague plants can be minimized. However, pheromone traps , insecticide soap sprays and other pest control methods that are available to organic farmers are also used by organic gardeners.

Horticulture comprises five specialist areas. These areas are ornamental plant cultivation (includes production and marketing of flower crops), landscaping (includes production, marketing and care of landscaped plants), vegetable growing (includes production and marketing of vegetables), pomology (includes production and marketing of fruits) and tree care (includes the Maintaining the quality and avoiding spoilage of horticultural crops). All of this can and is done according to the principles of organic farming.

Organic horticulture (or organic gardening) is based on knowledge and techniques gathered over millennia. In general, organic horticulture involves natural processes that often take place over a long period of time and a sustainable, holistic approach - while chemistry-based horticulture relies on immediate, isolated effects and reductionist strategies.

Biological garden systems

There are a number of forms of organic gardening and growing systems that dictate specific techniques. They are usually more specific than the general organic standards and match them. Forest nursery , a fully organic food production system that dates back to prehistory, is believed to be the oldest and most resilient agro-ecosystem in the world.

Biodynamic agriculture is an approach based on the esoteric teachings of Rudolf Steiner . The Japanese farmer and writer Masanobu Fukuoka invented a no-till system for small-scale grain production, which he called Natural Farming. French intensive horticulture and bio-intensive cultivation methods and SPIN farming ( S ' mall P lot IN' tensive) are all small gardening techniques. These techniques were brought to the United States by Alan Chadwick in the 1930s. A garden is more than just a means of providing food, it is a model of what is possible in a community - anyone could have a garden of any kind (container, grow box, loft bed) and produce healthy, nutritious organic food, one Farmers market, a place to share gardening experience, and a bounty exchange promoting a more sustainable way of life that would benefit your local economy. A simple 4 '× 8' (32 square foot) raised bed garden based on the principles of bio-intensive planting and square foot gardening uses less nutrients and less water, and could provide a family or community with an abundance of healthy, nutritious things Supplying organic vegetables while promoting a more sustainable lifestyle.

Organic horticulture is designed to work with the ecosystems and minimally disrupt the natural balance of the earth. For this reason, the organic farmers were interested in methods of reduced tillage. Conventional agriculture uses mechanical tillage, which is what plowing or sowing is which harms the environment. The effects of tillage in organic farming are much less of a problem. Plowing accelerates erosion, as the soil remains uncovered by plants for a longer period of time, and if the organic matter content is low, the structural stability of the soil decreases. Organic farmers use techniques like mulching, planting cover crops and catch crops to maintain soil cover for most of the year. The use of compost, manure mulch and other organic fertilizers leads to a higher organic content of soils in organic farms and helps to limit soil degradation and erosion.

Other methods such as composting or worm composting can also be used to complement an existing garden. These practices are ways to recycle organics into some of the best organic fertilizers and soil conditioners. Vermicompost is particularly easy. The by-product is also an excellent source of nutrients for an organic garden.

Pest control concepts

Different approaches to pest control are also noteworthy. In chemical horticulture, a specific insecticide can be used to quickly kill a specific insect pest. Chemical controls can drastically reduce pest populations in the short term, but through the inevitable killing (or starvation) of natural control insects and animals, they increase the pest population in the long term, creating an ever increasing problem. The repeated use of insecticides and herbicides also promotes the rapid natural selection of resistant insects, plants and other organisms, requiring increased use or new, more effective controls.

In contrast, organic horticulture tolerates some pest populations when viewed over the long term. Organic pest control requires a thorough understanding of the life cycles and interactions of pests and involves the cumulative effects of many techniques including:

  • Allows for an acceptable level of pest infestation
  • Encouraging beneficial predatory insects to develop and eat pests
  • Promote beneficial microorganisms
  • Careful selection of plants, selection of disease-resistant varieties
  • Plant accompanying crops that will deter or distract pests
  • Use of row covers to protect crops during pest migration periods
  • Rotating crops in different places from year to year to break the reproductive cycles of pests
  • Use of insect traps to monitor and control insect populations

Each of these techniques also offers other benefits, such as soil protection and improvement, fertilization, pollination, water protection and season extension. These benefits are both complementary and cumulative in the overall effect on the health of the site. Organic pest control and integrated pest control can be used as part of integrated pest management. However, integrated pest management may involve the use of chemical pesticides that are not part of organic or biological techniques.

Impact on global food supply

One of the controversies surrounding organic food production is the amount of food produced per hectare. Even with good organic practices, organic farming can be five to twenty-five percent less productive than conventional farming, depending on the crop.

Much of the productivity benefit of conventional agriculture is associated with the use of nitrogen fertilizers. However, the use and especially the overuse of nitrogen fertilizers has negative effects such as nitrogen runoff, which damages the natural water supply and increases global warming.

Biological methods have other advantages, such as: For example, healthier soils, which can make organic farming more resilient and therefore more reliable in the production of food, in view of challenges such as climate change.

World hunger is not primarily a question of agricultural yields, but rather their distribution and waste.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service on healthy soils.Retrieved March 8, 2009.
  2. ^ Organic pest control strategies. Retrieved March 8, 2009.
  3. ^ Douglas John McConnell: The Forest Farms of Kandy: And Other Gardens of Complete Design 2003, p. 1.
  4. ^ Travis Beck and Martin F. Quigley, Intensive Organic Gardening , Ohio State University Extension Factsheet
  5. ↑ Organic Gardening .
  6. ^ Benefits of Organic Gardening . Retrieved May 25, 2011. [1]
  7. ↑ Build a Vermicompost Bin . Archived from the original on April 12, 2009. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved February 3, 2009. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.vcompost.com
  8. ^ Organic Pest Control . The Powered by the People Pest Control team. April 11, 2012.
  9. ^ Organic Pest and Disease Management Guide, Cornell Univ.Retrieved March 8, 2009.
  10. ^ Organic Materials Review Institute on Allowed Substances. Accessed March 8, 2009.
  11. ↑ a b c d David Biello: Will Organic Food Fail to Feed the World? . Scientific American. April 25, 2012.
  12. ↑ a b Elizabeth Harball: Copious Fertilizer Down on the Farm Means More Global Warming Pollution up in the sky . Scientific American. June 11, 2014.

literature

  • Eliot Coleman. The New Organic Grower: A Master's Manual of Tools and Techniques for the Home and Market Gardener. Chelsea Green, 1995. ISBN 0-87596-753-1
  • Karan Davis Cutler, Barbara W. Ellis, and David Cavagnaro. The Complete Vegetable & Herb Gardener: A Guide to Growing Your Garden Organically. Wiley, 1997. ISBN 0-02-862005-4
  • Tanya LK Denckla. The Gardener's AZ Guide to Growing Organic Food. Storey, 2004. ISBN 1-58017-370-5
  • Barbara W. Ellis and Fern Marshall Bradley, eds. The Organic Gardener's Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control: A Complete Problem-Solving Guide to Keeping Your Garden and Yard Healthy Without Chemicals. Rodale, 1996. ISBN 0-87596-753-1
  • Anna Kruger, ed. Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening. DK, 2005. ISBN 0-7566-0932-1
  • Edward C. Smith. The Vegetable Gardener's Bible. Storey, 2006. ISBN 1-58017-212-1
  • Steve Solomon. Gardening When It Counts: Growing Food in Hard Times. New Society, 2006. ISBN 0-86571-553-X
  • Paul Stamets. Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World. Ten Speed, 2005. ISBN 1-58008-579-2
  • HRH The Prince of Wales and Stephanie Donaldson. The Elements of Organic Gardening. Kales, 2007. ISBN 0-9670076-9-0