Terry Collins wrote in message ...
Ivan McDonagh wrote:

....snip.....

Also, are there any peer-reviewed studies regarding the "taste" of
organic vs. non-organic produce (presumably these would be double blind
trials) and the bio-availability of nutrients in organic vs. non-organic
produce.

Why would these exist?
It almost impossible to do anyway, because everything (soil, slope,
aspect, ph, watering, handling, storage, cooking) affects taste and it
would be impossible to produce the amount of raw material that could be
considered to be identical to generate statistically valid results.


Anyway, I grew tomatoes this year "organically" and they tasted shite,
like cardboard. These were the Roma seedlings our neighbour gave us. In
the same plot, self seeded, grew one cherry tomato plant that tasted
beautiful.

Similar story with the potatoes. a neighbour gave us a butter plate size
potato they had they had sprouted, so it was split and planted along
with our usual range of potatoes. Again, it was bland compared to the
Keflers, Desire, etc that we also planted.

The problem of taste is largely a result of modern agriculture selecting
varieties that are quick growing, handle easily and store easily. Taste
is the last thing they care about.

For the home gardener, if you want taste, look at heritage seeds and
varieties.

I largely concur. Taste is improved by organic method only on average,
and taste depends on many more variables. I am pretty sure a chemical
brandywine will taste a lot better than an organic Roma. Likewise, we
love our homegrown lettuce because looseleaf lettuce (best tasting,
perfect for cut-and-come again, but very perishable) is just a
superior green than any heading lettuce (can travel, no taste).
Nothing to do with organic.

One of the advantages of organic cultivation is that the balanced soil
will reflect, on average, in a better tasting veggie through better
health and metabolism of the plant, and better micronutrient profile.
This said, I found lettuce or chard grown on straight manure to be
worse than lettuce or chard grown in leaf mold with just a bit of
manure. I found that wood ash improved the taste of many vegetables in
my acid soil. I am sure that lime would work almost as well.