We’ve just decided to stay where we are, and to put in a reasonably-sized garden for our produce needs. After reading up on what pesticides do to one’s body, and how incredibly not nutritious non-organic foods are, I’m looking into organic seeds, companion planting, and plants to attract beneficial insects like ladybugs and parasitic wasps. Just to give you an idea, non-organic spinach not only has pesticides and herbicides and synthetic fertilizers, but it contains less than ten grams of iron per serving, while organic spinach is free of all those immune-system damaging chemicals and has over two hundred grams of iron per serving. So . . . it’s not just that organic is chemical free, it’s full of the minerals and other nutrients that our Father in Heaven put there for us to fuel our bodies.
Traditionally (non-organically) farmed crops are grown on soil which is used in a rather hydroponic manner. It’s a place for the plants to anchor themselves, and take up water. Other than that, and possibly an annual plowing in of stubble from that year’s crop, not much attention is paid to it. Organically grown crops are grown in soil that is tended, amended, and fed. Organic matter is added in large amounts to ensure bountiful crops, which in turn assures high nutritive content foods.
I had an interesting experience last Saturday. I went to a church meeting for the women in my congregation, which included a lunch provided by the church. The meetings were wonderful, with a tremendous speaker who shared his expertise and experience as a Christian family counselor who works with LDS Family Services. I was ravenous by the time the meetings were over, having had little breakfast. I had the forethought to bring my supplements with me, and dutifully took them with my meal. It was a well-balanced and reasonably healthy meal, by American standards. (Roast beef, a white rice casserole with mushrooms, dinner rolls and green salad.) I managed to get a good helping of a beautiful green salad with mixed lettuces and dried friut and nuts, topped with poppy seed dressing. The strange thing was, even after I had eaten to the point that my stomach was feeling quite full, my hunger wasn’t abated. When I reached home, with my stomach still reasonably full, all I wanted was a tall green drink . . . or maybe six. I knew I had eaten plenty of calories, but the nutrition just wasn’t there. We occasionally eat meat from a local butcher shop who raises their own grass-fed chemical-free herd, but I haven’t had write rice in months . . . and I buy organic salad greens whenever I can.
Now I’ll be sure to buy even more organics . . . I’ll end up buying less, and eating less, that way!
Oh, but back to gardening–it’s much cheaper than buying organic, and I can’t wait to see what I can coax out of the two dumptruck loads of beautiful black soil that we had delivered late last summer.
And now, I’m off to check on dinner.
Grow on!
