Until recently organic gardening was viewed as part of a counter culture   something that  new age people did just to be different.With a growing awareness of the dangers of chemical fertilizers and pesticides and the effect they have on the human body, this perception has undergone a rapid change over the last few years.This is ironic since prior to the mid 18th century there were no factory produced insecticides and fertilizers and everything grown was organic.Prior to that time the only materials a gardener had to help him in his efforts to grow and maintain a garden where those that were available to him from nature.

To know about organic gardening it is essential to understand what the word  organic means in the modern contexts, as we use it today.Organic as used today, means applying modern science to find new ways for using natural materials and elements to protect plant growth and enhance the health and productivity of the crop.Beyond this, understanding all about organic gardening means appreciating the philosophy of working to increase the natural health of the soils, planting only those crops which will flourish in the natural surroundings and climate and using nature’s own tools to develop beautiful and productive gardens.

If you compare this understanding about organic gardening with the  modern one of firstly killing off everything that can be killed of (both plant and animal) and then using factory created chemicals to create an artificial balance once again, the reason behind the organic gardening becomes clear.There are two specific aspects to organic gardening and they both must work in tandem to be successful.The use of chemical pesticides does not just kill of insects, many of which help the garden grown, but introduces the chemicals into our food supply to the detriment of our health.And then there is the matter of using organic materials to protect the plant from natural predators and disease without in any way adding anything artificial to these plants.

Sadly, the use of artificial plant enhancement methods has created unreasonable expectation among us as to what we expect from our gardening efforts.Organically grown fruits and vegetables not only taste better but are more nutritious that those supported by fertilizers and insecticides, although they may not have the artificial near perfect that chemicals may provide to the garden’s appearance.The other problem is that with artificial chemical we are able to produce much faster plant growth and yield which is unnatural since those who know about organic gardening know that all this does is deplete the soil for future use, leading to more chemical fertilizers being used.