Organic gardening is a divisive subject. There are those who think that organic methods of cultivation are the only remaining way to save the planet and, at the other extreme, those who think that organic gardening is only carried out by rabid, environmentally obsessed loonies. I believe neither. Fortunately, many millions of gardeners all over the world are now beginning to consider organic gardening methods and to evaluate them rationally.
Even the long-skeptical scientists are having second thoughts as the public demand for chemical-free food and a safer environment increases. I have to admit that, up to 10 years ago, I too was skeptical about organic gardening. Of course, it’s hard to argue with the developments resulting from modern research: agricultural and horticultural science has increased yields dramatically, which has kept food prices stable for years and increased the general well-being of the population of the Western world a thousandfold.
Indeed it would be foolish to deny that science has made, and is still making, a tremendous contribution to the art of growing both productive and ornamental plants. However perfect nature’s methods may be, it was never intended that the land should be as productive as we now demand. While nature may have intended one scraggy little wild carrot in every yard, we demand a big fat juicy carrot every few inches. So we have needed all our ingenuity to improve on nature’s methods.
Research has helped in a variety of ways that are more than acceptable to the organic gardener: varieties of both productive and ornamental plants have been improved almost beyond recognition; quality has been enhanced by finding ways of protecting our plants against the worst of weather; yields have been improved by extending harvesting periods using glass and plastic. And, as a result of research into plants and the way in which they grow, cultivation techniques have been developed to such an extent that the Western world’s pantry is full to overflowing.
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