When we garden with chemicals we kill most life forms residing in our soils. These microscopic life forms are called microbes Microbes are the power house workers that are involved with decomposition and processing organic matter into nutrients that a plant can utilize and turn into food. Without these microbes plants suffer more from disease and pest susceptibility.
Most of the general public believes what they are reading and seeing on advertisements. The labels on the lawn and garden products isle at home improvement centers have beautiful and colorful pictures of blooming flowers and vibrant vegetables and fruit. They advertise miracle cures from blue powdered chemical nutrients. Have you ever seen blue manure or compost or wormcasting or bat guano? Microbes cannot feed off chemicals, they need organic matter to feed from. By using chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and disease control we kill off the very organisms that feed our plants. that's their whole purpose on the planet, processing decomposing organic matter into elements plants can feed from and thrive.
When a chemical user kills off all the beneficial soil life he has to use more and more chemicals to keep up the appearance of plant health and vigor. It's in a way like crack for plants. Chemical fertilizers give plants energy but no beneficial nutrients for the extended life of the plant and it's surrounding media home.
What can we do to reverse this unhealthy garden practice?
1) Add compost, Back to Earth, humus, humic acid, quality brewed compost tea, worm castings, kelp, fish emulsions, bat guanos, bone meal, blood meal, cottonseed meal, Strapped molassess, coco fiber, glacial rock dust, used grodan.
2) Add live miccorhizzae and nematodes. These little babies fight the bad guys in the soil world. Mykos feed off the dead root tissues keeping them bright and white and full of fight...fight for more nutrients and water that is. Mykos help with nutrient uptake by keeping plant root tissues open and flowing productively.
3) Stop tilling your soil. Soil tilling releases all the good carbon we need to stay put in the soil. Every time we till the soil carbon is released into the air generating greenhouse gasses. There are some really great books out there available on No-Till Gardening, Ruth Stout Hay Method is another.
4)Plant cover crops during winter months in areas to be planted with food crops in the spring.
5) Rotate crops and incorporate companion planting
Do these simple steps to witness better garden health from the ground and on up. Stop using all chemicals in the garden. It's not good for you, your family, or the earth.
http://www.networkedblogs.com/blog/kims-organic-blog?parent_page_name=source
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