ORGANIC GARDENING OFFERS MANY HEALTH BENEFITS AND IS GREAT FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
For anyone wanting to live healthy and reduce the risk of chronic disease, eating organic food whenever possible is a must and more and more people today are choosing to raise their own by planting an organic vegetable garden. Organic gardening will provide those and their families with safe, wholesome food that’s free of toxins, chemicals, and the other harmful residues found in most of the conventionally grown and highly processed foods of today. It’s Earth friendly and steers clear of genetically modified plants in which the health risks are still unclear.

BETTER TASTE AND MORE NUTRIENTS
The first thing you’ll notice when you eat organic food, especially when it’s fresh out the garden, is how much better it tastes than it’s conventionally grown counterparts. But more importantly, along with being toxin free, organic food is higher in nutrient content.

A four year study funded by the European Union (EU) on the health benefits of organically grown food found that organic food has a higher nutrient density than that of non-organically grown food. The multi-million dollar study, the largest of it’s kind, also found that organically grown food has higher levels of antioxidants which are beneficial in fighting cancer and heart disease.

Several other studies have also been conducted that show a steady decline in the nutrient content of conventionally raised fruits and vegetables over the past 70 years.

While scientists aren’t sure why organically grown food is more nutritious, they do have a couple of theories.

One is that the soluble nitrogen fertilizers used in non-organic farms and gardens forces rapid but weak plant growth and that these plants contain fewer of the antioxidants needed to protect the health of the plant. These are the same antioxidants that protect our health.

The second is that the food grown organically comes from healthier soil. Studies have found that after years of using synthetic, nitrogen and petroleum based fertilizers, industrial agriculture has depleted the soil of the much needed vitamins and minerals. On the other hand, organic growers don’t use synthetic fertilizers but instead rely on techniques that builds the quality of the soil used to grow the food.

GREAT FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, MINIMIZING WATER CONTAMINATION AND PROTECTING WILDLIFE
Each year Americans use about 1 billion pounds of synthetic pesticides in yards, gardens, homes, farms, and industry. In 2006, the U.S. Geological Survey published the results of a 10 year long study of pesticides in our nation’s surface water and groundwater. The study found that at least one pesticide was detected in every surface water sample and one third to one half of all groundwater samples. When it comes to health and safety, pesticides pose the greatest risks in agriculture and gardening.

However organic gardeners and farmers employ nontoxic methods of pest control such a row covers and repellents and by doing so not only keeps water contamination at a minimum, but also works to maintain a balanced ecosystem where all creatures play a role, even garden pests. By choosing not to exterminate pests with synthetic pesticides encourages the pests’ natural predators, such as birds and other wildlife, to take up residence in a balanced, toxic free ecosystem.

As a last resort, organic gardeners must sometimes choose to use pesticides only when control methods have failed. But when they do, they use only organic alternatives that break down quickly into harmless substances once they’re exposed to air, sunlight, and water. The ingredients in synthetic pesticides are on the other hand formulated to keep working by leaving residues in plants and the soil. Not only do they continue killing small pests and insects, their residues also accumulate in birds and other animals. Each year, tens of millions of birds are killed as a result of pesticide use.

But pesticides aren’t the only source of water contamination. Surface waters become polluted from runoff, when water flows over the ground, carrying not only pesticides with it but also synthetic herbicides and fertilizers. These chemicals then end up in rivers, creeks, and streams and even at very low concentrations can cause substantial harm to fish and other aquatic life.

While your own little organic garden plot may seem insignificant when compared to what commercial and conventional farmers spray on their crops, we can make choices that do as little harm to our local environment as possible and support those farmers who grow their crops using environmentally sound methods.

MORE PRODUCTIVE AND SAVES MONEY
Because organic gardening depends on techniques and methods designed to build rich soil, organic gardens are more productive and require less space than conventional gardens. This is perfect for families with smaller backyards or that have a very limited area to plant their organic garden. Even people with no yard at all, such as those living in apartments, can benefit from organic gardening by utilizing planters in and around their living space and balconies.

Of course, if you have the space you can plant enough food to last the entire year by freezing or canning your food which can significantly reduce your grocery bill while enjoying healthy, nutritious organic fruits and vegetables even through the winter months.

ORGANIC GARDENING IS GREAT EXERCISE
Gardening, or any type of yard work for that matter, is a great way to get your body moving. All daily activities such as raking leaves, mowing the lawn, and even gardening count to keeping fit and healthy. And both exercise and eating organic, chemical free food are two of the best ways to naturally detoxify and rid yourself of the dangerous toxins that cause chronic disease.

Click here to see how easy it is to grow an organic vegetable garden right in your own backyard!

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Image Courtesy Of: meganpru @ flicker.com