Organic VS Chemical Farming: The Stark Reality
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- Опубликовано: 16 окт 2024
- Hi Guys, In this video we look at the challenges facing small farmers who choose to use organic and sustainable techniques rather than the more traditional pesticide and fertiliser approach. I am and always will be pro Organic Farming, but for me this was quite an eye opener. The reality is much tougher than the expectation. I would love to hear your thoughts on Organic Vs Chemical Farming. It is a complex issue and there are arguments both for and against. Please feel free to comment and share your opinion.
My family and I have an extensive vegetable garden here in the pnw. We limit our use of chemical fertilizer, luckily we are avid composter but, we still use some, and we use no artificial pesticides. It is true that growing organic is a challenge, it's a constant battle, even in our location where there are not too many destructive pests. The worst culprits here are slugs, aphids, and the little tiny ants. We are learning to coexist with these guys in a few ways. One, we have no problem doing manual population control, especially for the slugs which are invasive and I believe this helps a bit. Growing food takes constant monitoring and work, so if your going to grow organically be prepared to intervene manually by removing pest. You cannot backseat growing vegetables unless you want artificial methods to do that work. Two, we alternate crop locations and grow a diverse set of flowers plants and vegetables. This i think helps relive large concentrations of pests, especially in our greenhouses where we tend to have pest problems, and we provide a variety of plants so the pest to feed on because you can't remove permanently. Three, we almost only grow non gmo heirloom varieties, which evolved over thousands of years to have rich diverse and well adapted genes and can be saved for seed. Four, we start plants in large quantities anticipating that some plants will inevitably die from pest or poor growth. I like this because gives pest many plants to choose to eat. Again the goal is to limit concentration of pest in one location or one plant. As you say the plants are most vulnerable when they are small and once they get big the can handle have some leaves eaten. Also it's a test of "the fittest survive" and those that live you can be sure that they have strong genes. I will experiment with saving seeds for next season because I have a thought that the plants after time will adapt to your unique climate and conditions. So yeah, that's what we're leaning, and we're still learning every year! Farming and gardening I believe is meant to be that way, lots of trial and error, lots of experimentation and determination. I get the feeling the plants like you to give them careful attention and if you do they will reward you with a bountiful harvest. I commend you for attempting to grow organically. We have a small tree farm in West Central Mexico which we are not able to monitor ourself. The pest there are ruthless as you say, they will leave your tree completely bare. We had to replant many many trees. Unfortunately, fertilizers and pesticides are used heavily there, and so my uncle who helps us take care of them uses these methods. With reason, it's a full time job to take care of the trees organically. But learning to growing organically In the long term I think It will pay off in so many unforseen ways in regard to the health of yourself, family, community and environment. Using pesticides and chemical fertilizer may solve problems in the short term but in the long term makes the problem worse to deal with. They are the equivalent of antibiotics and steroids for humans.. they may make you healthier or look better on the outside, but on the inside not so much. Its all balance! I mean to throw no shade if you use fertilizer and pesticides, but I do not recommend abusing them , I think we all know use of stuff in moderation is just fine! Lol sorry for this chaotic comment but I wanted to share our experiences. Cheers! Happy growing!
Hi Tristan @Miquiztli_tochtli First I have to say that is probably one of the best comments I have ever seen on the whole of youtube on any subject! Thank you so much for taking the time to write such an extensive reply and for sharing such valuable information. So many take aways there from: you cannot backseat grow vegetables, to companion planting and even over planting knowing there will be some losses. I really want to do so much more companion planting (with agroforesty too) but finding information on what works well seems to be so limited or non existent!. Its just not done here as there is so much traditional monoculture farming and use of pesticides/fertilisers.
So much great information here! I love your comments on collecting seeds and choosing resilient genes. Here in Thailand many of the local resilient varieties have been lost due to seed companies selling seeds (with higher yields of course) that don't produce seeds, so you get more crop (and hence more money) but have to go back to them to buy seed the next season. Thank you again for taking the time to reply and sharing so much wonderful knowledge. It really made my day. Matt
@@TheSmartGardenRomYenHouse Thailand! That's so cool! Here in the pnw we get somewhat cold winters , shorten days and prolonged periods of cloudy weather . In the late fall and winter I get so antsy for the sun the come back so we can get to growing.. sometimes I wish I lived in a tropical climate haha but each climate has their challenges. We are lucky to not have so many pests, insects love tropical climates! Thank you so much for the kind words! Let me emphasize that I and my family are not experts, we are intermediates at best! We learned through lots of experimentation and experience but we started off just like everyone else. We grow just for ourselves and give away veggies when we have too much. We are blessed to have a close family, so we all participate. It's a collective effort and that helps much because it's lots of work for one person. Take what I say as you will! I realize tree growing is a whole different beast from vegetable growing but there are paralles. I encourage everyone to experiment with their own climate and environment and to try what you feel works best. We all have it within us! In regard to companion farming I share a couple more things. The flowers so important to attract pollinators. Even with the large amount of flowers we have, this season we have been having problems getting the male flowers of the zucchini plant to pollinate the female flowers of the zucchini which have the fruit. Without the polin from the male being introduced to the female, the fruit begins to rot from the tip of the fruit where the flower grows. We've had to manually pollinate them by rubbing the flowers together or using a small paint brush. Many plants rely onto his mechanism to bear fruit. Anyway, Imagine how much worse this would be if we did not have any flowers! And our neighbor has bees, so we lucky..if you have problem attracted pollinators, flowers will help. Second, companion plant corn, beans and squash. This was passed on from our ancestors in Mexico, so this is legit! I don't know all the details so you'll need to research it for that but I can tell you it works! We do it every year, it's such an efficient use of space and soil nutrients. I'll be curious to follow your organic tree farm, i want to learn more about agroforestry! We want to replant many native trees back on our land in Mexico because much around us gets clear cut to grow agave and corn. It's so bad for animal habitas, biodiversity, ground water retention, shortened rainy and erosion. Climate where we have the tress in Mexico is somewhat similar to yours except drier because we're not near the coast. But we have a hot season and a rainy season. Thanks for sharing your experience on RUclips! Keep up the hard work!
Hello friend, citrus trees are quite demanding in soil fertility. When it's planted in an environment that doesn't provides for its needs, correction agents such as caterpillars will act to correct the environment. The caterpillars actions are actually based on information that the tree itself provides them. The path to have any production using natural means is to include your food system as part of the natural systems. Organic matter of any sort, but specially young wood cuttings is the best way to improve soil heath and fertility. Cheers from Brazil
@AndreBatistaSilva thank you Andre for your words of advice and support from Brazil. I completely agree with your advice. We add a lot of compost we make ourselves and also straw mulch we add when we can get it! Sending kind regards from Thailand! Matt
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"Only when the last tree has been cut down, the last fish been caught, and the last stream poisoned, will we realize we cannot eat money."
Cree Indian Prophecy
There's a Japanese legend that says, "if you feel like you're losing everything, remember, trees lose their leaves every year, yet they still stand tall and wait for better days to come.”
Your best bet is to use predator insects. You could also consider growing a different crop due to the pest pressure, or plant a quadrant just for the caterpillars. Companion planting to attract predators works very well, too. In my experience, if your plants are hungry, the insects will target them easier. Plants at peak health have a high resistance to pests and mold. Outdoor fruiting plants take as much calcium as they do nitrogen.
Hi @MysticalGardens This is great advice. It would not surprise me if the plants are lacking in some areas - our soil quality is pretty poor and its something we are doing a lot of work on - rebuilding soil using composting, mulchs etc. The fact that we are also not using artificial fertilizer too! I like the idea of predator pest control but will have to do more research as to what would be suitable - we do have a lot of really gorgeous and large praying mantis for example so that could be an option. Thank you so much for taking the time to reply and supporting the channel with such great advice. It is really appreciated! Matt
@TheSmartGardenRomYenHouse I have the same issue with poor soil here too. I have added good soil on top as well as mixed in various organic dry ammendments.
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Great topic. What was the mix ratio you used for the vinegar and oil mix please?
Hi @EighthSphere1, Great question and I should have added that info in the video. Normally I use: 10ml Neem oil per litre of water, up to 20ml of vinegar per litre of water and a few drops of organic dishwashing liquid to help mix the neem oil and water.
I would not go much higher than 10ml for the neem oil as I believe that can burn the leaves if it gets too hot in the sun. The vinegar is less sensitive so don't worry if you go over the 20ml a little. You can use more organic dishwasher but it just ends up to frothy I find so it really only needs a few drops!
Hope that helps.