Growing Organic: What's the big deal?

Thought since nothing really new is happening in the garden department today (other than perhaps my aunt having talked me into doing 2 more boxes- 8'x1' to grow along the fences), I thought I'd share some thoughts/tips/experiences in regards to the whole Organic movement when it comes to growing things.

First, I'm going to preface this with my "credentials" so to speak. My degree is in Plant Science, which means I have a pretty integrated look at everything from basic plant propagation to orchard management to plant biology to pest control to soil science. My practical experience in the field is of course limited, but the great thing about Cornell is that we got to talk to experts in the field ALL the time. Wonderful stuff.

So, now that I've got that out of the way, I'm going to write today a little bit about Organic pest control. Now, I have some problems with the Organic movement. I think some of the standards are misguided and there's a sort of "all or nothing" thinking when it comes to organic vs. conventional means of pest/weed control and fertilization. A lot of people don't realize that there IS a need in agriculture for chemical means of pest control and fertilization. You can't just throw some compost on a commercial corn-grower's field and choose a variety you hope is resistant to disease, while also hand weeding to avoid using herbicides. To understand why this is, you need to know a few things. On top of this, you need to know that even organic farmers are using pesticides/herbicides/etc. Here's what you need to know to understand:

1. Pesticides/Herbicides =/= chemicals. They are two separate terms, which sometimes include one another, but if you make a Venn diagram, you'll see a chunk of each that are not together (maybe I'll draw one for you. But maybe not)
2. Weeds are a problem, and tilling/mechanical means of weed control are bad for the soil. Hand-weeding takes WAY too long for agricultural production
3. Compost is not a complete soil fertilizer. It helps, but a lot of work has to be put in to ensure you're getting different kinds of organic matter for different kinds of nutrients, i.e. putting rotted manure on isn't going to provide everything a plant needs.
4. Farming on a large scale is WAY different than your home garden. Think of all the work you do- then multiply that by a hundred, or even a thousand. Then take into account that the varieties farmers grow have to be able to handle being shipped across the world, may need to be harvested specially, etc. It's a lot to think about.
5. Insects- again this has to do with scale. A farmer is planting hundreds of acres of one crop (because we have yet to find an economically feasible method of inter-cropping that is convenient when it comes to harvest); all those japanese beetles you've got? Multiply that. Farmer's field full of juicy plants just waiting to be eaten... You can set a trap to drown them, but that farmer can't do the same.

Starting to get the picture? Anyway, I'm a big proponent of "Integrated Pest Management," which I think is a good compromise between fully organic and fully "conventional" (by conventional I mean using pesticides and herbicides freely, preventative spraying, etc) because it really emphasizes only using the chemicals that one absolutely needs. Currently agricultural scientists everywhere are spending a lot of time studying what's called the "threshold" or the amount of abuse any single crop can take from a pest or disease without losing too much yield. Through sampling and regional data, basically a farmer can decide if he actually needs to put down whatever pesticide to control Corn Earworm by seeing if his problem is big enough to warrant it. The great thing about IPM is that it also takes into account things like pesticide resistance, etc- we're trying to minimize it. On top of that, when an "Organic" option is available, you use it. Overall IPM is promoting sustainibility and healthy crops through the use of ALL options available. I think it's pretty great.

At this point you're probably wondering why I've spent so much time talking about farming. It's because I feel very strongly about it. I am not in favor of the fully organic movement, nor do I believe that organic produce is necessarily more nutritious for you- and I don't see the point in spending more money on something like an organic banana when you're going to be peeling the skin (which might have residue on it) off anyway. Anything you're not going to peel should be washed thoroughly before eating anyway- residue should NOT be a problem.

There is one time, though, when I think a fully Organic method should be embraced and attempted, and that is in your home garden. Why? Becuase in your home garden it is easy, and unless you're licensed, I don't think any homeowner should be messing with pesticides or herbicides. Gardeners have a greater variety of choices when it comes to which vegetables to grow, and pest problems are far less likely to be really bad when you are growing 10 different kinds of vegetables as opposed to just one. Composting is a great way to use up kitchen scraps and does in fact enrich your soil. Gardening is a great learning experience, too, and it's a good way to test out which "homegrown" remedies for various problems work. (Does Human Hair realy keep the deer away? Are slugs really fond of beer?) So if you want your home garden to be organic, I say GO FOR IT. Mine will be! And there's one thing that I DO believe; Homegrown produce tastes better than anything you can buy in the store, organic or not.

I should note that there's one exception where Organic is better, if still something I don't spend my money on, and that's in animal products. Growth hormones, antibiotics (you know they feed chickens antibiotics because it makes them gain weight?), poor feed practices.. It's all horrible in my opinion and I don't like it.