The wonderful world of organic gardening
When some people hear the term organic gardening they think of bright, vibrant fruits, vegetables and flowers, completely free of pesticide residues and artificial fertilizers. When others think about organic gardening they may picture unprotected plants with ragged holes in the leaves where insects have enjoyed a feast.
The truth, of course, is neither extreme. As a matter of fact what we know today as organic gardening is hardly a new invention. Organic gardening is most likely the oldest way of gardening, getting its thousands of years ago. The history of organic gardening in the United States dates back to the 1940s and in recent years it has been making great strides as gardeners try to get more in tune with the earth their plants call home.
Most gardeners have used some of the concepts of organic gardening, whether they know it or not. Adding compost, peat moss, leaf mold, ground bark or bone meal to the soil is a form of organic gardening.
The value of adding this organic material to the soil is well established among organic and non-organic gardeners alike. Both types of gardeners understand that organic material in the soil makes it easy to work with, increases the nutrient value for the plants, improves water retention and adds nutrients to the soil.
The difference between organic and non-organic methods of gardening involves the supplying of nutrients and fertilizer to the plant. While the organic gardener will use only organic materials in the soil, such as manure, bone meal, blood meal and wood ashes, the conventional gardener may use inorganic materials, such as commercial fertilizer, as well.
Organic fertilizers tend to release their nutrients quite slowly, meaning that there is less chance of fertilizer burn harming the plants. However, the nutrients contained in organic fertilizers is far less than those found in commercial preparations, meaning that larger quantities of organic fertilizer will be needed to produce the same effect as smaller quantities of commercial fertilizer. Whether the gardener uses organic or inorganic fertilizer makes no difference to the plants, since their roots will absorb the nutrients in the same elemental form.
More info you can find at: Flowers