Going Organic

Jul 6th, 2008 by tommy

In my last post I discussed how I have started to see the value in heirloom and open pollinated vegetables. I’ve purchased some dry bean varieties and I am also going to grow Black Seeded Simpson lettuce and Cherry Belle Radish. I plan to put the lettuce and radishes in this week. The beans may have to wait until next spring. I don’t think there is enough time to grow them to maturity in our climate. Our average first frost here in southeastern Idaho is September 20 and our elevation is 5000′.

I’ve always been a proponent of chemical fertilizers. However, I am now seeing the long term benefits of using compost and other organic material to improve the structure of the soil while providing the needed nutrients. Maybe it’s my age (33) or maybe it’s a desire to teach our two young sons the best ways to be more self sufficient through sustainability. Either way, I have decided to go “organic” beginning with my seed saving efforts.

We are breaking ground on an additional garden spot soon. I am going to use this area for my seed saving as well as to provide additional space for rotating our crops each year. We always seem to have trouble with solanaceous crops in rotation. We grow a lot of tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and potatoes each year so this should benefit that as well.

This new plot will be completely organic. I am excited to be able to say and know that everything produced in that area (and on our entire place in the future) has been grown organically. I’ll let you know how this project progresses.

Happy Gardening to you.

-Thomas