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Is organic gardening viable?
On Mon, 16 Feb 2004 22:32:45 +1100, Terry Collins
wrote: Ivan McDonagh wrote: ....snip..... Unfortunately growing vegies will be actually be of quite some economic importance to me by this time next year and hence my interest in factory fertilisers versus non-factory - If that is the case, work out how much your motor vehicle costs to run, because you will need to factor that into everything you do food wise. snip Otherwise, start looking around for supplies of organic matter; manure and compost. Take a look at those two statements. It's *obviously* going to be cheaper (in terms of auto/truck use) to bring home a few bags of commercial/chemical/non-'organic' fertilizer than chase around for and transport manure and compost. If you work in labor costs, cheaper still. I think the limit in this line was 'organic' advice to keep manure in a bucket on an apt. balcony rather than commit the 'crime' of feeding a potted tomato (or rose -- it's been some time) with a little convenient and readily-available Miracle-Gro. 'Organic' is lovely. Recycling waste of all sorts into useful nourishment for plants. It's just not too practical for all gardeners. I *adore* cow manure because it just *looks* so rich and nourishing...in its plastic 40lb bag which I can bring home in the trunk of my (compact) car. Shoveling and transporting *real* manure for a good-sized garden is just not an option. And there's no guarantee it's 'nature's most perfect food' for plants. At least evil 'chemical' fertilizers can be formulated to supply the necessary ingredients for many plants. Perhaps a local restaurant won't mind you taking vege scraps away. On your bicycle? Or on your back? If a restaurant is separating veg scraps from used napkins, emptied ashtrays, and plate-scrapings, the owner is probably saving for his *own* compost pile. Look at race tracks, they are generally quite happy for people to take the manure away. It's your own fault. You introduced the transportation issue. :-) You're advising the previous poster to spend a couple of days a week chasing around to restaurants and race tracks to find and transport large-volume materials to replace a couple of bags of the chemical nutrients plants require? I don't understand why 'artificial' fertilizers have such vociferous opponents. AFAIK, plants don't care whether their nitrogen and phosphorous comes from cowpats or granules. The previous poster is looking at real-life issues, and doubtless already uses all the 'organic' processes he can manage. *His* cost/benefit analysis appears to have come down on the side of manufactured fertilizer. Makes sense to me. He's not talking about wholesale DDT spraying, or lowering the water table to keep his golfcourse green. |
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