Why Organic Materials Are Best For Gardens

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Why Organic Materials Are Best For Gardens
Why Organic Materials Are Best For Gardens

Organic materials For gardening include manure and plant residue as well as compost made from leftover foods and kitchen waste. If you’re already using those for your own garden, you’re doing an excellent job of promoting soil health and keeping the plants you’re growing in great condition. In using organic materials, the idea is to boost the soil’s ability to provide plants with the nutrition they require.

Without the right nutrients in the soil, your plants will fail to reach their full growth potential. Organic materials help eliminate a wide range of soil problems when adequately and properly applied. This article looks at some of the reasons they’re perfect for gardens. But first, you have to learn what organic materials are all about. 

What Is An Organic Material?

By definition, organic material is something that used to be alive and is now on or in the soil. To turn into organic matter that can help with the development of plants, it has to decompose and become humus. Humus is a substance that holds moisture and stores plant nutrients, improving the soil structure. It’s broken down to humic acid to help plants take in nutrients and water.

The organic matter at this stage is resistant to decomposition, having been changed by microorganisms.

The primary sources of organic material in your garden are leftover plants after harvesting, shed leaves, and weeds. You can also make compost from kitchen waste. However, if you don’t have time to do so from scratch, you can get some from companies such as Missouri Organic Recycling. A quick online search can help you find an organic recycler in your area that offers quality gardening products and takes in yard and food waste to be turned into compost.

Why Should You Use Organic Materials For Your Garden?

Although there are plenty of synthetic fertilizers on the market today, they’re not the most ideal choice for your plants. Here are the top reasons that organic materials are superior for gardening:

  1. For Healthier Plants And Produce

When you cultivate your plants organically, the produce is considered much healthier than that grown with chemical treatments. Plants that grow without herbicides or pesticides are said to have richer color and taste and are generally healthier. This is because they get the full benefits of the soil that’s rich in nutrients and microorganisms brought about by organic materials.

In addition, by growing crops without spraying or adding chemicals to the soil, you allow them to mature at their own pace, letting them fully develop. This is why fruits and vegetables grown with organic materials may taste better and have an improved nutrient profile. And when you eat “that sort of produce, you’ll have better health as well.

On the other hand, chemically grown plants may mature faster than usual, inhibiting proper absorption of nutrients and overall development.

  1. It Is An Environmentally Friendly Practice

Using organic material allows you to grow your crops without interfering with the environment’s natural state but enriching it instead. You won’t be using any fungicides, pesticides, or herbicides, which are poisonous and pollute waterways and the soil.

Apart from that, if you consume your own produce or sell it locally, you’ll reduce the carbon footprint in the crop’s cycle. Transportation of produce from one place to another uses significant amounts of energy that harm the environment. This issue can be averted when produce is organically grown and sold locally.

  1. Retention Of Soil Health

Chemicals such as herbicides and pesticides don’t and can’t differentiate between the good and the bad in the environment they’re used in. They’ll destroy pests and unwanted weeds but also the beneficial components of the soil, negatively impacting the biodiversity in it. Interfering with the soil’s natural composition that way may cause your garden’s produce to become weak and therefore more prone to diseases.

However, when you don’t use chemicals and go for organic materials and compost instead, the soil remains rich with nutrients because its biodiversity remains intact. Organic materials put back all the nutrients into the soil, so it’s healthier and can better address your gardening needs.

  1. Plants Become More Disease-Resistant

While you may be afraid that growing your crops organically may make them prone to diseases and pests, that’s not the case. Surprisingly, organically grown crops are more resistant to such problems. The fact is, you’re growing plants as intended by nature, which makes them develop natural resistance to most diseases. Besides that, growing plants in soil rich with nutrients increases their chances of surviving an infestation than growing them in weaker soil.

  1. It Is The Cheaper Option

Using organic material for your gardening needs is a cost-effective way of growing your crops. Understandably, you’ll put more time and effort into growing plants naturally, but the cost of gardening this way is significantly lower. You’ll eliminate the need to purchase fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides by making your own compost.

You can also earn some money from selling small amounts of compost to other growers in your area. After you’ve set up your garden, you won’t need a lot of compost to run it. It’s even better if you can save and grow seeds. This way, you can have everything you need without spending on anything.

  1. It Is Good For Your Mental Health

Surprised? Well, besides producing healthier crops, spending time working with plants and soil can be therapeutic. It’s a good practice for your well-being. Organic farming has been recognized by mental health experts and is utilized in horticultural therapy. This is the practice of using horticulture to help people improve one’s mind, body, and spirit. With better wellness, you’ll be able to tend to your plants every day and ensure their healthy growth.

Final Thoughts

Using organic material has numerous benefits for you and your garden, as seen in the points discussed above. What’s more, when you make and use compost, you play a significant role in reducing waste that goes to your local landfill. Notably, organic waste from kitchens and yards takes up a third of the space in landfills. As the population increases, finding space for new dumping grounds is also becoming a huge challenge.

If more people went with compost for gardening, a lot of landfill space would be spared and utilized for other needs in the community. By making compost, you’ll be recycling food waste, plant leftovers, and grass and returning them to the earth to create a beneficial outcome.

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