Taste, Is organic gardening viable?
 

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.