Plants, growing in the containers, will develop two types of the roots: the upper one, which will uptake plant nutrients from the upper part of the medium; and the lower roots, which will reach the lava rock part of the growing medium.

The upper root system is primary; it includes web-like thin roots that look similar to those that develop in the plants grown in the standard soil. They absorb multiple nutrients, thus ensuring the flourishing of a plant and its normal growth. The lower roots that are secondary will grow in the lower part of the medium (which can be lava rock, sand, gravel, perlite or pumice). These look typically to the hydroponically grown plants: long, rope-like, and stringy. These roots mainly absorb water; in addition, they receive much oxygen between watering cycles, which leads to the improved nutrients metabolism and faster growth.

These days hydroponics gardening gains more and more popularity in different parts of the world. More and more people become fascinated with this way of plants growing. Due to the constantly increasing interest in hydroponics, new methods and techniques of this gardening type appear. They are all aimed at the easing of the process of plants growing, improving the fruits, vegetables, and greens quality and taste, as well as at the making the whole process as eco-friendly as possible. Indeed, the new techniques try to solve the problem of hard-to-dispose used materials (as rockwool) and chemically-laden water and other wastes. Moreover, the primary goal of today hydroponics is to use exclusively organic materials, which offer the benefits in the crops quality and work of a gardener. 

Not so long time ago gardeners were amazed by such hydroponics methods as Nutrient Film/Flow Technique, Ebb and Flow, Aeroponics, and even Semi-Organic Hydroponics. These days the leader of this gardening is Totally Organic Hydroponics, which major benefit is the possibility to grow 100% pure organic garden plants.

Gardening with organic methods is a healthy way to grow crops and to be kind to the environment. Nature has it own way to keep soils rich in nutrients and to control diseases naturally. With a little planning and watching the way that nature works in your area, you can have the same eco-friendly results in your own gardens.

Testing your gardens soil is the first step in creating this natural environment. Once you know what you are working with you can either amend the soil organically or choose plants that will grow and thrive in the existing soil conditions you have.

When amending the soil with the uses of organic methods, you want to create an environment that is full of life. Living organisms, microorganisms, bacteria and fungi all are apart of this vast community that lives in a good healthy organic soil. All you have to do is to keep them feed and they will work for you in creating the quality of soil you want and need.

All this may seam complex, it is but isn’t that difficult to do. Once you get a system in place, it isn’t much work at all to maintain.

Having a healthy garden soil not only will have your plants thriving, it will also help grow healthy plants that will work on purifying the air we breath and the water we drink. It all works together and nature has the most economic way of doing it.

Go Green in your gardening practices and help the environment.

Related Organic Gardening Articles

Using Organic Garden Pesticides makes our vegetables safer and also protects our environment. By using only Organic Garden Pesticides you are not putting dangerous toxic chemicals into your plants and are not putting these toxic chemicals into your garden.

You can easily make natural garden pesticides in your home without adding any of the injurious chemical in it. They are inexpensive and simple to prepare and are eco friendly as well.I hope I can give you some tips and tricks to make your garden, insect free and healthy.

When I first started my garden, my neighbor’s cat loved it too, as a litter box. Not a great thing! I used a mixture of cayenne pepper, pepper, garlic anything smelly in my home with water and sprayed my garden. The cat didn’t like it. My first experience with home made organic garden pesticides worked.

Here are a few more tips for getting rid of pests in your garden.

1. Eggshells and salt natural garden pesticide, I learned this one from my mom. Crush the eggshells and add to the soil. It prevents the plants from snails and slugs. The eggshells act like the broken pieces of glass for these insects. You can add a little salt and that will work if the eggshells don’t.

2. Alliums natural garden pesticide – the alliums is a bulbous plant, bulbous plants are onion, garlic, the smelly ones. Mix equal parts of crushed garlic cloves as gallons of water. You can also use vegetable oil or tea for better results. Spray on the plants, this would help in killing the soft body insects and can even paralyze the flying insects.

3. Dishwashing soaps natural garden pesticides – mix a few drops of dishwashing liquid soap into the water and mix it well by shaking well and then you need to apply on the effected plants. By applying this solution on the plants it will paralyze the insects attacking them.

4. Natural garden pesticides made of Neem – Neem is the one of the main ingredient that is used for making several natural pesticides. The extract of azadirachtin from the neem tree is very low toxic insecticide. They are used for destroying the soft body insects and in addition they help in increasing the capability of reproduction of the plants. By using organic and natural garden pesticides you are not only saving your children and pets from diseases but also helping our environment by not putting toxic chemicals in our soil.

Yes, Ladybugs. Every time I see a ladybug, I have to make a wish and count the dots on their backs! Ladybugs are most common of all beneficial insects, these voracious predators feed on aphids, chinch bugs, asparagus beetle larvae, thrips, alfalfa weevils, bean thrips, grape root worms, Colorado potato beetle larvae, whitefly, and mites, as well as many other soft-bodied insects and eggs. Extremely cost effective, too!

Ann Cohen is an organic garden who loves to share her tips and tricks about organic gardening. Don’t miss more tips and techniques on organic gardening…go Here!

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The concept of organic meats is pretty confusing for lots of users, despite the fact that organic farming presently enjoys broad acceptance and support. Not all the products sold as ‘natural’ or ‘organic’ are indeed organic meats, but consumers don’t know this. Unfortunately, there is total chaos in this field of labeling and certifying organic products, and the confusion only affects the credibility of organic farming in general.

Unlike vegetables, organic meats are more difficult to produce and provide because of the fact that there is more room for contamination. The highest danger with the meats grown in certain parts of the country is the use of the growth hormones. ‘Natural’ meats may be free of growth hormones, but they still may not be organic. There is a ‘certified organic’ sign that distinguishes really organic meats from the rest.

The food on which the animals are grown makes the meat organic or non-organic. In most cases, the producers who want to feed their livestock on organic food, will produce it on their own. This usually requires a huge investment in equipment from tractors and haying machines to grain combines, tillage and planting gear. Certified organic food can also be purchased from other farms.

Such farming challenges explain why the feed is such a hurdle and why the costs of producing organic meats is higher. There are also the challenges of keeping the animals healthy and treat parasites and disease naturally. Pasture management for instance becomes an efficient tool in the fight against worms.

We could say that the process of producing organic meats is not at all easy, and many farmers have to take shortcuts in order to avoid financial ruin for their family business. They will thus grow for the less restrictive regulations and guidelines that save them a lot of trouble. It has become a reality for many farmers that planting organic crops is more advantageous than raising livestock on organic farms.

Therefore, next time you go to an organic store to buy organic meats, you may not be that keen on what you get, because you can’t be 100% sure of any product despite certification. Yet, you are the one to experience the benefits of a product that at least contains fewer chemicals, if is not completely chemicals-free.

By the way, you might also be interested with the following articles on organic foods…

What Many People Don’t Know About Organic Vegetable Garden
Organic Restaurants – Cheaper or Expensive?
What Many People Don’t Know About Organic Meats
Diversity of Organic Foods Online!
What Many People Don’t Know About Organic Food Recipes
What Many People Don’t Know About Organic Baby Foods
Online Organic Food Orders?
What’s Special About Natural Organic Products?
What Many People Don’t Know About Organic Dog Food
Natural Organic Foods – Know It!
Great Benefits of Organic Foods!
What Many People Don’t Know About Organic Bread

Hope that the above articles will be helpful to you.
Cheers!
Patrick

More Organic Farming Articles

As promised, here is Part II of Monday’s article on organic foods. I examined an episode of Penn & Teller’s: Bulls**t in which they called “BS!” on the whole organic food craze based on these five factors:

Environment

Pesticides

Nutrition

Taste

Small Business Farmers

Today I will be discussing nutrition, taste, benefits for the small farmer and conclude with the absolute best option when purchasing raw produce.

*Better Nutrition*

One reason people cite for choosing organically grown food is because it has a higher level of nutrition than conventionally grown produce.

Penn and Teller

The show quotes a 2009 LA Times’ article quoting (I know, a lot of quotes) a study conducted by researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in which they concluded that there was no significant difference in nutritional quality between organic and conventional food.

From the LA Times article:

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Surveying 50,000 studies conducted over 50 years, the authors focused on 55 that met their standards of scientific rigor. The studies that led to the group’s controversial conclusions covered a wide range of crops and livestock that are raised and marketed under organic standards.

For 10 out of 13 food crops studied, the researchers found no significant differences. Where they did find differences, those were attributed to differences in fertilizer use (say, the use of nitrogen vs. phosphorus) and the ripeness level at which the crops were harvested. The authors judged the differences observed “unlikely” to “provide any health benefit” to consumers.

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My Comments

While the study draws an interesting conclusion, the results really depend upon the farm and the farming methods, whether organic or not (e.g. the soil quality, when the fruit is picked, etc.)

That’s why I highlighted the portion of the quote regarding ripeness; I believe the ripeness level of the food to be the real key. The closer the food is to being allowed to tree-ripen, the more nutritious it will be.

This is especially important for fruits that do not continue to ripen after being picked.  It’s also one reason your best option is to eat locally sourced produce, but we’ll get to that a bit later.

For now, let’s take a look at the fourth criterion.

*Better Taste*

I’m sure you know this one!  How many times have you been told (or maybe told others) how AMAZING organic produce tastes compared to conventional?

Penn and Teller

For this portion, the show conducted a blind taste test for which they had multiple people tasting two different unlabeled plates of food (conventional and organic apples, tomatoes, and bananas) and then asking them which one was organic.

In each test, the majority of the people chose the conventional fruit because it was tastier and so they figured it was organic!

My Comments

The last test was my favorite part of the show. A girl (a raw vegan, actually!) was given half of an organic banana and half of a non-organic banana and asked which one tasted better.

She was very enthusiastic about the organic half, exclaiming that it tasted more like a banana than the conventional banana. In actuality, both halves came from the same conventionally grown banana! It was just one banana!!!

I know, pretty mean, but she was a good sport.

When it comes to fruit, I have to agree with the taste testers.  Organic fruit is typically less tasty than conventional.  And while the quality has definitely been improving over the years and I’ve had some tasty organic fruit, it still isn’t miles and away better than any conventionally grown fruits I’ve ever had.

Greens, on the other hand, are another story. Organic greens are almost always tastier than their conventional counterparts. I’ve also had bitter organic greens – in that case I throw them out – but usually the quality is very good.

*Benefits for the Small Business Farmer*

Lastly, many people interested in eating organic do so because they believe that they are lining the pockets of small business farmers.

Penn and Teller

According to Penn and Teller, this is BS. Now that the organic food movement is such a profitable industry, most (if not all) of the organic farms are owned by large companies.

My Comments

While it is definitely true that the organic foods you find in your local grocery store mostly come from corporations, you can still support small businesses by purchasing produce from local farms at farmers markets (or from the farms directly) in your area.

Which brings me to…

*The Best Option*

By far the best choice for fresh, tasty, nutritious, environmentally friendly produce is to buy locally.

Why?

The closer the produce is to where you live, the less distance it will have to travel to get to you (environment). Also, the fresher and higher-quality it will be because the farmer will not have to worry about the food decomposing on the way and will be able to pick as close to ripe as possible (nutrition).

As far as pesticides go, each farm is different. However, it has been my experience that while many of the farms at the farmers markets are not USDA certified organic, they practice many sustainable methods (i.e. no sewage sludge, no genetically modified seeds, and no irradiation) and use as little harmful pesticides (or even none!) as possible.

There actually IS a certified organic farm at one of my markets, but the prices are ridiculous and the fruit tastes no different than what is offered at the other farms.

Oh, and taste! Fresh, ripe fruit is always tastier than fruit that was picked early to ship, wait in a warehouse, sit on the store shelves, and finally find its way into your kitchen.

The absolute BEST tomatoes, peaches, cantaloupes, watermelons, and blueberries I have ever tasted were not certified organic, but were grown just a few miles (in many cases, less than 30) from where I live.

The best part about buying local produce? You actually get to communicate with the people growing your food and buy directly from them! You can ask them all about what produce they grow, their prices, their farming methods, etc.

To find farms and farmers markets in your area, check out http://www.pickyourown.org and http://www.localharvest.org

*Final Words*

Bruce Ames, famous biochemist and creator of the Ames Test (a test that screens chemicals to see if they cause cancer) quoted in this NY Times article:

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Everything you eat in the supermarket is absolutely chock full of carcinogens…But most cancers are not due to parts per billion of pesticides. They’re due to causes like smoking, bad diets and, obesity.

>

And here again in a Reason Magazine interview:

>

I just think all this business of organic food is nonsense basically. We should be eating more fruits and vegetables, so the main way to do that is to make them cheaper. Anything that makes fruits and vegetables more expensive may increase cancer.

>

In other words…

Stop obsessing over organic and EAT MORE FRUIT!!!

UPDATE: Judy brought up an excellent point on my blog: home growing!  Growing your food yourself is even better than sourcing locally grown produce, for obvious reasons: you have complete control over the seeds you buy, the composting you use, the soil, pesticide management, etc.

Thanks, Judy!

Go raw and be fit,

Swayze

Boggy Creek Farm shows us how to farm organic

The world we live is getting increasingly polluted every passing day. Agricultural pesticides and chemical fertilizers also play a great role in this deterioration. These chemical additives are harmful for our body, mind and the environment. It has been proved that produce from inorganic farming tactics can interfere with the normal functioning of our internal organs adversely and can even cause brain cancer. Organic farming is the only solution to escape from this crisis.

Growing organic foods without resorting to use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers has many advantages. Our forefathers were a lot healthier than us only because they had access to pure food and water, which we are devoid of. Apostles for chemical fertilizers and pesticides argue that mass production of food cannot be done without these because of the influx of pests and diseases.

But environmentalists point out to the fact that loss of revenue to diseases caused by chemicals is getting out of hand and human race would cease to exist if things go on like this. Mass production of organic foods is also possible if everyone pitch in with their efforts.

The merits of organic farming are multifarious. Food produced through organic farming is healthier and tastier. Organic foods can be stored for longer periods. Organic pesticides are easy and cheaper to make and use. They are bio degradable too.

In a nutshell, organic farming is the only solution to our food security and health problems. It does not harm the soil, air and water. Organic farms support diverse ecosystems and most importantly, the overall cost of farming per unit area is much lesser. So let us pledge better lives for ourselves as well as a good future for the coming generations too.

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An important segment of the prepared baby food market, organic baby foods have become a popular choice for many parents worldwide. People tend to pay more attention to the benefits of organic food when it comes to babies, toddlers and young children. Many brands sell very well in the United States and they enjoy a great reputation. Even if they do not make a total replacement for homemade natural foods, organic baby foods could be a great choice when traveling or when you are short of other options to feed the baby.

Although most organic baby foods are frozen or refrigerated, there are still canned items that sell well. Both the natural flavor and the nutrients remain in the food when it is refrigerated or frozen. The diversity of the items available corresponds to the various age groups, and the taste development of young children. Just one or two ingredients are used in super-smooth purees for very small babies. There is an intermediary category of products that contains more ingredients and complex flavors even if they are still smooth.

The third type of organic baby foods in terms of texture is the rich-in-protein group that is a bit chunkier. The list of ingredients and the age recommendations are written on every food package. You can compare the offer at the local supermarket with the products available on the Internet, and then decide where to shop.

Now, the drawback! Despite the fact that the food processes are carefully tracked down and all the ingredients are organic, ready made food is not always the best choice for your baby. Lack of time and pressing daily activities often leaves little time to cook, yet, you should be able to prepare organic baby foods at home, with minimum of ingredients. Why not make a vegetable puree at home yourself? It is so simple and convenient for your child, not to mention money saving!

We may have changed the paradigm and we now prefer to save time on anything, but no prepared food you buy can compare with what you make for the baby. Jarred, frozen or refrigerated organic baby foods remain a good choice only when traveling, but not as a replacement of a natural home diet. If you can’t cook all your baby’s meals, at least make sure that at least two of them are homemade with organic ingredients. For the others, you can use ready-made organic baby foods.

By the way, you might also be interested with the following articles on organic foods…

What Many People Don’t Know About Organic Vegetable Garden
Organic Restaurants – Cheaper or Expensive?
What Many People Don’t Know About Organic Meats
Diversity of Organic Foods Online!
What Many People Don’t Know About Organic Food Recipes
What Many People Don’t Know About Organic Baby Foods
Online Organic Food Orders?
What’s Special About Natural Organic Products?
What Many People Don’t Know About Organic Dog Food
Natural Organic Foods – Know It!
Great Benefits of Organic Foods!
What Many People Don’t Know About Organic Bread

Hope that the above articles will be helpful to you.
Cheers!
Patrick

Is Organic Food really better? I believe it to be so. By buying organic fruits and vegetables will cut the amount of pesticides in your body by an unbelievable 90%.

In Canada, it has been said in Chatelaine September 2007 that: ‘no dairy product produced in Canada – organic or not – contain growth hormones.’ This is a good thing and thanks to a federal decision to ban bovine growth hormone. Some experts link high amounts of rbST to breast and prostate cancer. In Canada milk is so highly regulated that if even a trace of antibiotic is found the entire load is destroyed. But there is a possibility of pesticide residue that can still exist in conventional milk. So what would your choice be?

Organic Milk would be mine. Especially considering that milk is used in a lot of recipes.

Fruits and vegetables grown organically, certainly would be a positive choice and used in organic food recipes, it feels much safer knowing they are not covered in pesticides.

Did you know that the following veggies and fruits are in the top five produce that when you eat them, the contaminants show up in your body:peaches, apples, bell peppers, celery and nectarines. Onions and avocados score the lowest. More offenders of pesticide carriers are strawberries, cherries, pears, imported grapes, spinach, lettuce and potatoes. If you use organic, once again, you will have reduced approximately 90% of pesticides.

Even in Beef, the director of McGill Office for Science Society and department of chemistry admitted that there are trace amounts of hormones in conventional meat. Beef cattle is raised in a strictly controlled environment that is designed to produce the most meat at the least cost. We can’t blame the cattle rancher as it is simply a smart business decision to stimulate the growth of the rancher’s product. He’s not growing cows for fun. The regulation has to start at the top and the only way to influence the industry is to insist on organic food products. Would you believe that beer and eggs contain even more estrogenic compounds?

I believe that the more often you use a food, you should consider buying organic, especially knowing that eggs have estrogenic compounds in them and we use eggs to cook with frequently.

Organic Food Recipes are definitely the way to go to be healthy.

Consumers can now select from a huge diversity of organic foods online. he Internet has seriously increased the popularity of organic products in general, and with the alarming growth of nutrition-related ailments, more consumers now change their food choices. Besides the total absence of chemicals, organic food is richer in nutrients and so much tastier. The promotion of organic foods online has actually led to an unprecedented increase in sales over the last decade.

People prefer to read informative nutrition guides, e-books and articles on websites and in magazines before ordering organic foods online. And they are right to do so. Organic food alters more quickly, and it requires special packaging and quick transportation. You can only order organic food from a supplier that can deliver the products within 24 hours, or you won’t get the same quality for your money. You can use the online search tools to find the supplier closest to your home, that can deliver within a minimum period of time.

Organic foods online may be pricier. As compared to conventional food, organic products are more expensive. Some people can’t afford to place online orders because of the supplementary costs of transportation. This is one of the reasons why the purchase of organic foods online may not be that advantageous after all. Create a collective shopping list with friends and neighbors and order in bulk quantities. The advantage here is that you  get discounts for larger orders and even free delivery.

The specificity of the delivery influences the shipment costs. You can also get products from local farms that are sold at the market place, and this is the more convenient alternative to ordering organic foods online. Don’t judge organic foods by their looks because they are less aesthetic than non-organic merchandise, yet, they offer so much in terms of quality. Make sure that you pay a fair price, and that the products are fresh and in good quality.

For loyal customers, both local farmers and retailers will offer discounts or bonuses. You can strike really good deals in many cases and you can enjoy foods specific to every season in the healthiest way possible. Compare the offer of organic foods online with that of the local farmers and see where you gain more. Don’t forget to take into account the costs of transportation too.

By the way, you might also be interested with the following articles on organic foods…

What Many People Don’t Know About Organic Vegetable Garden
Organic Restaurants – Cheaper or Expensive?
What Many People Don’t Know About Organic Meats
Diversity of Organic Foods Online!
What Many People Don’t Know About Organic Food Recipes
What Many People Don’t Know About Organic Baby Foods
Online Organic Food Orders?
What’s Special About Natural Organic Products?
What Many People Don’t Know About Organic Dog Food
Natural Organic Foods – Know It!
Great Benefits of Organic Foods!
What Many People Don’t Know About Organic Bread

Hope that the above articles will be helpful to you.
Cheers!
Patrick

When we go to the grocery store or supermarket to get fruits or vegetables, perform we pick just any develop or are you specific around getting organic foods? There will be a difference in between the 2 as well as, soon after our discussion, you may decide that organic foods are the way to go.
Let’s consume the appearance at the advantages of buying organic produce.
While both kinds of make might search the same, organic foods need to be capable to get together specific standards of production, which includes particular growing and processing conditions which are unique to foods that can be labeled “organic”. For crop foods, the organic foods can’t be grown utilizing any chemical pesticides, non-organic fertilizer, individual’s waste fertilizer or sludge from sewage.
They also cannot be processed making use of ionizing radiation-a procedure which kills bacteria but which many people today think is actually unsafe. Finally, the foods can’t be genetically altered.
At one point, organic foods were grown on little farms, particularly those which had been family-owned and operated. Within today’s time, yet, organic foods are grown on bigger farms and are more readily out there in most supermarkets, co-ops and well being food stores.
Within the US, components of Europe as well as Japan, the production of organic foods will be currently federally regulated and in other countries, particular organic certification will be required prior to these foods may be sold.
Organic foods could contain fresh vegetables as well as fruits, which are not processed as well as arrive directly from the growers via farmer’s markets, supermarkets as well as roadside stands. Lots of of these products are merely on the market during certain occasions of the year. One particular may also get organic eggs, dairy products and meat in the clean as well as unprocessed forms.
Organic eggs are generally provided by free-range chickens as well as not from those kept in cages within large, egg factories.
Organic meats should not come from animals which own been treated with any growth hormones, steroids or antibiotics.
Processed organic foods can be discovered within the organic food section of the supermarket but often are much more costly than the conventional food counterparts. Processed organic foods can include canned products, frozen make, prepared items as well as even snack foods.
Within truth, processed organic foods need only contain a certain percentage of organic ingredients. Within Australia, for illustration, a food could be labeled “organic” if it contains at least 95% organic ingredients. Within other countries, then again, the percentage can be less than which.
Even so, those non-organic ingredients should be absolutely free of artificial food additives and no aspect of the foods can be processed using chemical ripening techniques, genetic modification or irradiation. Within some cases, the organic food must be made utilizing energy-saving techniques as well as packaged in recyclable or biodegradable materials.
It’s not constantly simple to identify whether or not your foods is actually truly organic. Sometimes, we need to get directly from an organic grower in order to be particular the food is organic. Even more recently, on the other hand, foods which are organic may be identified by governmental labeling, stating which the food is “certified organic”.
Simply because of the safety as well as wholesomeness of organic foods, we may wish to perform you as well as your own household the favor by purchasing only organic products. The food tastes excellent and you may be assured you’re getting the product that won’t be dangerous to you.

Not long ago in a supermarket not so far away. Help fight the dark side of the farm. Rate the film, favorite the film, comment the film and subscribe to our channel for the freshest Free Range films.