Review by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
The Truth About Organic Gardening: Benefits, Drawbacks, and the Bottom Line
By Jeff Gillman
208 pages, paperback, 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
Published by Timber Press, February 1, 2008
ISBN-13: 978-0881928624
Price: $12.95
Gardeners and farmers tend to assume that any product or practice labeled as organic is automatically safe for humans and beneficial to the environment; and in many cases this is indeed true, but not always.
The problem, as Jeff Gillman points out in this fascinating, well-researched book, is that it is not universally true, and the exceptions can pose a significant threat to human health. To cite just two examples: animal manures are widely viewed as prime soil amendments. When properly treated, they are; but if they are insufficiently composted, they can be a source of harmful E. coli contamination. Even more dangerous, potentially, are organic insecticides like rotenone, which is every bit as toxic as the synthetic compounds it is meant to replace.
Gillman's contention is that all gardening products and practices — organic and synthetic — need to be examined on a case-by-case basis to determine both whether they are safe and whether they accomplish the task for which they are intended. When gardeners are well informed about the precise nature and consequences of what they use and do in the garden, they are in a much better position to make responsible, effective choices.
If you've ever wondered about the merits of a specific insecticide, herbicide, or fungicide, or debated whether practices such as planting cover crops or companion plants are worth the trouble, you'll find the answers you've sought in these pages, along with a clear, careful, and good-humored analysis of benefits and drawbacks.
Ultimately, Gillman concludes, organic methods are preferable in most situations that gardeners are likely to encounter. After reading this eye-opening book, you will understand why, and why knowledge is the gardener's most important tool.
Here is, finally, an author who is not biased at either extreme of the organic vs. chemical garden debate and weighs in with an even-handed, fact-based approach.
Few fields are more rife with half-truths and old wives' tales than gardening, especially when it comes to the so-called “organic” gardening (and farming) practices. It is, therefore, really refreshing to see someone look past the claims to what research really tells us, without standing in either this or that camp.
The Truth About Organic Gardening is a book that could be called a reference text masquerading as a beach read. It is full with hands-on knowledge that is just plain useful. The book gives the reader the facts about synthetic and organic techniques and encourages you to do further research, then make educated decisions about your own garden and how you want to use either organic or synthetic or combined.
The author's approach to the subject is calm and even and his bottom line is that we all need to be more mindful about how we garden, and he encourages us to work towards a safer, healthier, and better world, by using what is available, from either camp.
This is the first book on organic gardening (and farming) that I have read where the author is not outright ranting and raving against synthetic chemicals and fertilizers and this make a real nice change.
The author also so nicely points out that there is a common misconception about synthetic fertilizers in that most people believe them to contain and be made of and with petrochemicals. This is, however, rarely the case, but still it is something that we are so often told by the proponents of ONLY organic.
In order for us to grow our own food for our families to be a little more self-sufficient we must be able to make use of all the aids that we can get.
While organic matter is the best fertilizer, per se, and soil needs it and lots of it, slow release synthetic fertilizers too have their place, in the same way as organic and non-organic practices of pest control must go hand-in-hand to some extent in thjis food growing endeavor.
This book is a read fresh breath in the stifled discussion as to organic vs conventional and should be read by all.
© 2009
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