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You're a what? An Organic Gardener? Part 3

© Deborah Turton

Here's the last installment of my series on common questions that non-organic gardeners have for the organic gardener.

Organic Gardeners use manure on their crops. I think that's disgusting

All types of farmers, including farmers who rely on synthetic chemicals, use manure on their crops. The difference is organic gardeners can't use the manure until it has been thoroughly composted. Synthetic farmers can use manure without waiting for it to compost.

Many organic farmers and gardeners don't use animal manure, but instead use green manures: plants that take nitrogen (called ‘fixing nitrogen') from the air and add it to the soil. Peas, beans, clover, and hairy vetch are common green manures used by gardeners. These plants can be sown in the fall with special innoculants that fix nitrogen. When you till these plants in or add them to your compost pile, you're adding the extra nitrogen to your garden.

Finally, simply because something sounds disgusting, doesn't mean it isn't highly effective. People have been using manure for thousands for years, and it has been found to be very beneficial to gardens and fields.

Organic gardens look sloppy - weeds growing in the lawn and garden, rocks and logs laying around, and flowers needing dead-heading.

Lets tackle these complaints one at a time.

A weed is a plant growing where it's not supposed to be growing. Some of those ‘weeds' can be beneficial to your lawn and garden. The small flowers produced by some weeds can support beneficial insects. Small weedy areas on the edge of your garden are good hiding places for toads, snakes and beneficial insects. All of these eat the pest insects in your garden.

Weeds in your lawn can not only be aesthetically pleasing, but beneficial at the same time. Clover can provide up to 30% of the nitrogen your lawn needs. Dandelions have deep roots that pull nutrients up for your grass to use. Crabgrass, well, crabgrass has no redeeming qualities other than it's tough. I think we need an attitude adjustment. Nature rarely supports large areas of a single plant. It's very difficult, and we should start to accept the different and interesting plants that grow in our lawns.

Rocks and logs laying around serve two purposes. The first is aesthetic. The different textures and shapes that inanimate objects have can make your garden more interesting. They also provide hiding places for some helpful critters - just like the weedy patch does. If placed out in the open, a rock or pole can provide a nice place for a predator insect or bird to keep watch for prey.

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