anotherkindofdrew blog

I have not told anyone yet until now. So, my dearest blog readers (all 2 or 3 of you) I am pleased to announce that I was contacted by the Managing Editor of The Farmer’s Almanac (yes, that is THE Almanac) to write a piece for the 2011 version. Of course I said “yes, yes, yes…” I can’t really say more than that and really I am only saying this to further advance the point I am about to make.

I have been asked/told/instructed/encouraged 7 times this week to write a book on some gardening topic or another. The most recent request coming from a friend of Pan’s whom I have never met but have found myself having at length conversations with on manure and composting. And the conversations have gotten me thinking, “maybe I should write a book.” I mean, I am just as entertaining as the next guy. I know a fair amount of what it takes to transition from the city to the country and can tell some pretty funny stories about life along the way. But I digress until I have thought about it more. In the meantime, I want to just share my feelings on organic fertilizer as I really concreted my thoughts on the subject tonight.

So my new friend says to me, “I can tell you this, I need simple yet effective. My husband is a firm believer is chemical filled pesticides and is totally opposed to trying anything new…swears nothing will grow without chemicals.”

I gasp. Seriously. I gasp. NOTHING? Nothing will grow without chemicals? Before I can even get my thoughts together my fingers start flying across the keyboard. I responded, “It’s perfectly okay in that neither fertilizer is right for every situation. Allow me to briefly give you my take on the situation.

A chemical fertilizer is a compound that has been chemically processed or refined to increase its potency and thereby increase the food production an individual farmer can produce.

The main problem is the result of applying too much or an over application of this class of fertilizers. Any plant can only use so much food during its growth cycle. What’s left over tends to travel into groundwater, streams, lakes and the ocean, due to rain or irrigation. This pollutes the natural environment and causes a great number of problems. … See More

The organic class of fertilizers tends to be less refined and involve little or no chemical processing. Also, the natural environment tends to have an easier time of breaking down and absorbing them. Using such ferts allow for an increase in the biological activities of the plants giving yield to a more natural, organic, sensitive crop.

The issue with this class though comes when manure is involved. Because of the nitrogen levels, too much can be detrimental to your crop.

For us it boils down to an issue of stewardship. As a holistic Christian I am hugely concerned with the way I treat the planet; God’s environmental gift to us. I don’t feel good at all about using lab tested chemical compounds on the earth I will eventually put in my mouth.

Oh, and for what it is worth, I don’t think the Garden of Eden had Miracle-Gro.”

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 at 9:22 pm and is filed under Farm, Garden, Rural Life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.