While on the subject of health it would hardly be fair of us to pass up a matter as closely connected with it, and of as great an importance, as that of organic gardening. We eat the products of the soil, both plant and animal, and therefore, our bodies are greatly affected by the methods by which our foods are raised. Faulty ways of raising foods may turn out to be quite harmful to us.
Indeed, today’s methods of preparing and treating the ground and the growing of plants are far from being ideal. The soil is treated with caustic chemical fertilizers which kill most of the valuable bacteria in the ground while the plants are sprayed with powerful poisons which, while killing the destructive insects, also kill off bees, other valuable insects and birds who happen to feed on the poisoned plants and bugs. When we humans consume these sprayed plants or the meat of animals who have fed on them we slowly poison our systems.
The soil in which all plants grow is not a dead medium. A microscopic examination would reveal it to be full of life. Billions of bacteria are working day and night to build materials in the soil for plant consumption and growth. The more of these God-given bacteria there are in the soil, the better and stronger will be the plants produced.
Insects are by nature scavengers and equalizers. They will attack and feed only on weak, imperfect, or sickly plants; they will also destroy surpluses of vegetation concentrated in one place. Such places of concentration offer to insects large amounts of food which are easily obtained without the necessity of flying far and thus being detected and eaten up by birds. Modern agriculture, with its large one-crop tracts tends to invite destruction by insects.
Sprays work their way from the surface into the inner cells of the plants, and also from the sprayed ground into the roots of the plants. The poisons contained in the sprays enter our blood stream and are retained by our bodies when we consume the sprayed plants. Harmful sprays are also transferred to us through the meat of the animals we eat providing the latter have been raised on sprayed ground. Within a time these poisons affect various organs of our body causing disease and sometimes early death.
To counteract insecticides, all insects develop a resistance to the poisons in their bodies; this resistance is conveyed by them very rapidly from one generation to another. Due to this ability of insects to withstand the poisons the potency of insecticides must be continually increased. There is a danger that eventually strains of insects will develop which will be almost 100% immune to the most powerful poisons, while animals and human beings consuming the sprayed vegetation will be easily destroyed by the same. Thus, we can clearly comprehend that, while crops must be protected against insects, insecticides are not the answer to the problem.
A safe antidote against destructive insects is the employment of other insects which feed upon the former and help preserve our crops. The ladybug, the shield bug, the dragon fly, the praying mantis, the calosoma beetle, the robber fly, the mud dauber wasp, and many other brother insect-killers are the best natural protection for garden and field crops against destruction by insects.
It is not unlikely that a large industry specializing in breeding various protective insects will spring up in the near future; farmers and gardeners will be able to purchase the needed amounts and types of insects or eggs suited to their particular crop or locations. In fact, there are some breeders on the market already. A development of this kind would actually prove to be a lifesaver to humanity. This method of ridding crops of destructive insects would prove especially useful in those places where great stretches of land are planted in one type of crop and provide natural protection for large numbers of insects. It would also protect and preserve our greatest friends of the field and garden—the bees—along with other beneficial insects who help in pollinating the flowers of the plants. Without the aid of these insects some of the flowers remain unfertilized, the plants bear no seed, and consequently the crops shrink. As it is, billions of precious bees are now killed yearly by poisons from insecticides.
Other valuable types of insect-killers are the little garden animals—the harmless snake, the lizard, the mole, the toad, and the bat. All of these are voracious devourers of cutworms, bugs, mosquitoes, mice, rats, grubs, spiders, and ants. Every farmer and gardener should appreciate the value of and protect these friendly animals.
As far as improving the faulty methods of our present-day food-raising the answer is organic gardening. This is the method of giving back to the soil all the organic matter possible to replace the nourishment taken away from it. In nature this is a continuous normal process. A plant, while growing, takes its nourishment from the soil and the air around it. When it dies or sheds leaves the material decays and forms food for other plants. When plants are consumed by animals they are given back to the soil in the form of urine and excrement. Human cultivation gradually deprives the soil of many of its nutrients until finally it becomes so poor that it will not produce anything worth while. The conventional method of enriching the soil is to put into it commercial fertilizers made of chemicals containing caustic materials. Besides killing the favorable bacteria in the ground commercial fertilizers at best contain only a few of the needed elements. To supply an all-around nourishment to the ground we must put back into it balanced fertilizers and also rotate crops from season to season. Ground rock, manure, old leaves, lawn cuttings and kitchen garbage are ideal fertilizers. They should be used by farmers in place of the injurious chemicals employed now. Every homeowner rich or poor should raise at least part of his food in his back yard. Besides being healthy outdoor work, it serves as hobby or recreation, and saves money on food bills. Through it one will be assured of fresh and unpoisoned vegetables and fruit.
Of course, those people who do not own their homes are in a less advantageous position. However, there are many farmers who raise their crops by organic methods nowadays and their number is continually and swiftly growing. There would be many more of them if the public were to demand organically grown foods at the places where they deal. The public should also demand legislation forbidding the use of poisonous sprays and injurious fertilizers.
Those interested in using organically grown foods may obtain through the author of this book a list of farmers all over the United States raising their crops by organic methods and selling various food products by mail or express.
Meanwhile, as an everyday precaution, fruit, vegetables, and even whole grains should be washed in hot and cold water before using, while the skins of fruit should be either scrubbed or peeled. The saying “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” applies very well in this case.
Those who wish to go still further in safeguarding themselves against sprays will do well to dilute one teaspoonful of hydrochloric acid in one quart of water in a large glass bowl, keep this solution for as long as it is usable, dipping all fruits and vegetables into it for a few moments, then washing them off with water thoroughly. The acid will counteract the poisons in the sprays by forming salts which are washed off by the water.
It will pay the layman to take an interest in the matter of organic gardening because much of our health and longevity depend on the methods of growing our foods.
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