THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 23, 1995 TAG: 9504240223
SECTION: HOME PAGE: G1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ROBERT STIFFLER, GARDENING COLUMNIST
LENGTH: Long : 298 lines
ORGANIC GARDENING advocates had reason to celebrate Earth Day on Saturday, because a swelling number of home gardeners have joined the move toward more natural methods of caring for their yards.
``There are now more gardeners using primarily organic gardening techniques than primarily chemical techniques,'' according to results of a recent survey conducted for ``Organic Gardening'' magazine by National Family Opinion Research.
Five years ago, on the 20th anniversary of Earth Day, experts in the lawn and garden industry predicted a tidal wave would sweep gardeners toward the use of organic products.
That wave never hit, but gradually the chemical fervor of the '50s, '60s and '70s ebbed. Now, with the 25th anniversary, a rising environmental awareness seems finally to have turned the tide toward more organic gardening methods.
``Concern among homeowners for the environment has caused them to seek more effective, ecologically safer products for gardening and landscaping needs,'' said Gregory Gill, president of Harmony Products Inc. in Chesapeake. ``Demand for natural organic products continues to grow, and the organic philosophy is being embraced by a whole new generation of gardeners.
``We feel there are two significant occurrences: One, the country and the world are awash in organic wastes; and two, these wastes, properly refined into granular, easy-to-handle, organic and organic-base fertilizer are better for the soil, the plant and the environment.''
Organic gardening, as defined by ``Taylor's Master Guide to Gardening,'' is ``a natural approach to gardening, recognizing the connection between the garden and the surrounding environment.''
The first step toward successful organic gardening is getting the soil right, most experts agree.
``Always emphasize enriching your soil,'' says Jeff Restuccio, a Memphis-based organic gardener and writer. ``The main goal is creating an environment where the soil is very healthy - rich, porous soil.''
The best enrichment comes from your own compost heap made from wastes such as chopped leaves, grass cuttings, vegetable matter and manure. But first-timers who haven't gotten around to developing a compost heap yet have more commercial options than ever before.
Soil blends, peat, manures, organic fertilizers and even organic pesticides are widely available at gardening dealers today. Some cities also sell compost, wood chips and treated sewage sludge for garden use.
The organic movement has been around a long time, led by J.I. Rodale, who founded ``Organic Farming and Gardening'' magazine in 1942 from his Emmaus, Pa., headquarters. That publication soon changed its name to ``Organic Gardening'' and remains the communications backbone of the organic movement.
Through the years, the magazine has pushed the importance of enriching the soil without chemicals and using natural controls for weeds and pests. Both of those goals require planning, starting with careful plant selection, and time, but they do not sacrifice results.
``If you want lettuce that tastes like ice, put chemical fertilizer around it. But if you want lettuce that tastes like lettuce, use only an organic fertilizer,'' said Andre Viette, nurseryman and perennial expert who appeared at the recent Mid-Atlantic Home & Garden Show in Virginia Beach.
In years past, however, homeowners who tried to go organic sometimes found it hard to give up the chemical cure-alls when they realized that natural products cost more, were slower to act and required more work. And some of the companies that geared up to meet the anticipated demand struggled.
``Some bottom-liners still use the insecticide or herbicide with the biggest bang and care little about side-effects or after-effects, so long as they kill the weeds or the bugs,'' said Stanton Gill of the University of Maryland Cooperative Extension Service, which began recommending less toxic chemicals in the late '70s. ``Some people apply chemicals automatically in the hope of hitting something that's bothering them.''
But that attitude is disappearing. Many gardeners now realize the importance of nurturing soil and monitoring weeds and insects. They recognize when damage is significant and when it is tolerable, and many know the difference between beneficial and harmful insects. They apply counter-measures only as a last resort. BETTER PRODUCTS AND PRICES
In addition, the plant food and pest control manufacturers have found ways to make organic products work faster and to price them more competitively.
Harmony Products and Necessary Organics of New Castle, Va., are two of the major players in the organic products industry. Necessary Organics was founded by Bill Wolf more than 18 years ago, near Roanoke. The company grew slowly, selling organic pest controls, beneficial insects and natural fertilizers primarily to farmers and commercial growers of organic vegetables.
Demand for organically grown vegetables sky-rocketed in the last two years, and organic growers were required to meet specific standards to sell their vegetables as ``organically grown.'' Wolf's company helped growers meet those requirements.
``More and more gardeners today want to work gently with nature, not only in a global sense, but right in their own backyards,'' Wolf said.
With significant movement toward organics in the home gardening market, Miracle-Gro, the large manufacturer of water-soluble chemical fertilizers, recently bought a sizeable interest in Necessary Products.
With additional capital and marketing skills, Wolf's company introduced an abbreviated line of organic pest controls in 1995, at half the cost from previous years. The products were renamed ``Concern'' and are on garden center shelves now.
The line includes Insect Killing Soap, pyrethin-based Multi-Purpose Insect Killer, Diatomaceous Earth Crawling Insect Killer, Vitalize granular plant food, Vitalize liquid plant food and Compost BioActivator.
Former executives from Royster, another major chemical fertilizer company, helped found Harmony Products in Chesapeake in 1989.
``They believed that future growth in the fertilizer market would be in efficient, slow-release organic and organic-base products, because of environmental concerns,'' said Harmony's Gill. ``We at Harmony believe that movement is here now, and that in the future, the consumer will recognize the value, performance and environmental benefits of organic and organic-base fertilizers.
``The use of synthetic fertilizer is like feeding your family 100 percent synthetic food. Organic and organic-base fertilizers provide a balanced, wholesome diet to the turf and garden.
``Synthetic fertilizers really only provide nutrients for the plants, often creating application-dependent plants and virtually a sterile soil environment. It is our view that organic and organic-base fertilizers feed the soil first, creating a healthy environment and providing nutrients to the plants.''
Harmony uses poultry wastes and other organic wastes to produce fertilizer. They are licensing that process to producers in this country and abroad.
Domestically, they primarily produce ``bridge products,'' which are organically based but have some fast-acting minerals to produce quicker results for impatient homeowners.
Harmony produces turf food, flower food, tomato food, vegetable food and other organic plant foods for home and garden. They are priced competitively with chemical fertilizers.
The premise of organic fertilizer is that you feed the soil, instead of the plant, Gill explained. Natural ingredients break down more slowly than man-made chemicals, which, manufacturers say, parallels plant growth, so that nutrients are available to plants as they need them. Continuous feeding takes place and loss of nutrients by leaching, runoff and volatilization is lessened. NATURAL ALTERNATIVES
The growing list of alternative plant foods include green manures (also called cover crops), seaweed, fish emulsion, bat guano, cow and horse manure, bone meal, blood meal, dolomitic limestone, granite dust and green sand.
Conditions must be right for the breakdown of natural plant foods, including proper soil temperature, soil moisture and microbial activity. Advocates say that organic products make for a healthier soil environment by increasing activity of soil beneficial microbes and earthworms, reducing thatch build-up, preventing and reversing fungus diseases and improving the physical structure of the soil.
In addition to soil enrichment, there are natural products and approaches to combat harmful pests. The place to start is with plant selection, choosing hardy, appropriate plants for the site, often using plants native to the area. Healthy plants are more resistant to harmful insects and diseases, because weak plants are attacked first.
Natural approaches to insect and disease control sometimes are not as effective as chemical means, so organic suppliers remind gardeners to check their gardens frequently and learn when sprays and products are needed. Many visible pests can be picked off and destroyed by hand by the vigilant gardener. Mechanical controls for pests include traps, barriers, cages, row covers and other devices that capture or exclude pests. Strong water sprays also can dislodge some insects, according to ``Taylor's Master Guide to Gardening.''
Biological pest controls, also known as natural enemies or beneficial organisms, include: predators, which feed on other organisms; parasitoids, which kill the hosts they live on; and pathogens, which are microorganisms that release toxins into insects that ingest them.
Encouraging natural predators, such as certain birds and bugs, aids pest control. In addition, predators such as the larvae of the green lacewing are available commercially for release in the garden.
Wolf, of Necessary Organics, recommends providing food and water for the birds to encourage cardinals, hummingbirds and swallows to stick around your garden and eat bugs. He suggests a T-perch on a pole to give birds a place to sit and search for bugs.
Organic substitutes for pesticides include rotenone, pyrethrum and bacillus thuringiensis (usually referred to as BT), a toxin-producing bacteria that kills caterpillars and insect larvae. All are derived from plants and break down quickly in the soil.
Many organic gardening books also recommend a wide range of naturally occurring or naturally derived materials or organisms that can be sprayed of dusted on plants to control pests and diseases. These include insecticidal soaps, horticultural oils, sulfur dusts and other minerals and pesticidal compounds derived from plants (``botanicals'').
Gardeners may have to spray organic products more often but only after determining whether the pest - be it insect or disease - is prevalent enough to require treatment. Insecticidal soap, for example, is effective against most soft-bodied indoor and outdoor insect pests, including aphids, squash bugs, flea beetles, leafhoppers, mites, mealy bugs, scale and whiteflies, but will need to be used more often than a chemical spray.
Before buying a chemical fertilizer or pesticide, beginners should ask for advice on an organic alternative.
``What you are striving for in organic gardening is getting to where your soil is healthy and you don't kill your beneficial insects,'' says Memphis expert Restuccio. ``Your good bugs kill your bad bugs, and you try to use any pesticides only as a last resort.
``When you grow things organically, it may take a little more work your first year. But after the third or fourth year, your soil will be so rich and porous you will have a much better garden with less work. Your neighbors will be in awe. . . .'' MEMO: Scripps Howard News Service also contributed to this report.
ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
JOHN CORBITT/Staff
[For complete graphic, please see microfilm]
Graphics
WHAT'S NEW
More organic products are introduced each year. A new one worth
noting is A-maizing Lawn, a corn-based crabgrass control. For
10,000-square-foot coverage, cost is $19.95 plus shipping and
handling, from Gardens Alive, 5100 Schenley Place, Lawrenceburg,
Ind. 47025. Call (812) 537-8650 for a free catalog.
Dormant oil, also known as horticultural oil, kills mites but is
safe around pets. Such oils suffocate insects. Another control is
insect lures, which are available in many forms and trap insects and
hold them until they die.
Nematodes that do not eat plants but eat insects also are a new
organic control, but they are very expensive.
Two other major suppliers of organic products are Safer, which
markets organic pest controls, and Espoma with its Holly-tone
fertilizers. Milorganite, an organic fertilizer, has recently been
approved for use on vegetables. All are available in garden
centers.
To obtain sources for organic materials, buy the April issue of
``Organic Gardening'' magazine. With a circulation of 800,000 it is
the world's largest gardening magazine. The April issue contains a
once-a-year supplement with addresses for suppliers of seeds and
accessories you need for organic gardening. Cost is $2.95. If you
can't find the magazine, call (800) OG GROWN.
Many organic products are available only by mail. For the first
time, Gardener's Supply Co., a leading mail-order garden supply
house, includes both Concern and Harmony products in its 1995
catalog. For a free copy, call (802) 863-1700.
WANT TO LEARN MORE?
There are many organic books on the market, most from Rodale
Press and Storey Communications. Here are some to start with:
``The Gardener's Guide to Plant Diseases,'' by Barbara Pleasant
(Storey Communications, $12.95, paperback). Call (800) 441-5700
for this or other organic books from Storey.
``Rodale's All-New Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening,'' (Rodale,
hardback)
``Chemical Free Yard & Garden,'' (Rodale, $18.95, hardback).
``Let's Get Growing: A Definitive Guide to Growing Vegetables,
Fruits and Herbs Organically,'' by Crow Miller (Rodale, $23.95
hardback).
``The Green Thumb Garden Handbook,'' by Doc and Katy Abraham
(Lyons and Burford, $16.95 paperback).
``Shepherd's Purse: Organic Pest Control Handbook for Home and
Garden,'' (The Book Publishing Co., $9.95, paperback).
To subscribe to Organic Gardening magazine, call (800) 666-2206.
JOIN THE CLUB
WHAT: The Organic Gardening Club of Hampton Roads
WHEN: The first Wednesday of each month from 7 to 9 p.m.
WHERE: Meetings are at Fire Station No. 3, International Parkway
and Central Drive, Virginia Beach
HOW MUCH: Dues are $12 per year
INFORMATION: Call 548-2602 or 486-0230.
RECIPES YOU CAN USE
Fermented Compost Tea From ``The Gardener's Guide to Plant
Diseases''
Botrytis mold is one of several diseases that can be overpowered
by the benficial bacteria in fermented compost tea.
Mix one part mature compost that includes some rotted manure
(horse, cow or chicken) with five parts water. A plastic milk jug
works well. Allow mixture to sit and ferment in a shady place for
10 days to two weeks. The effectiveness of the tea is highest when
the tea ferments for a full two weeks. Filter the mixture through
cheese cloth to remove large particles. Do not attempt to remove
all residue, for some residue gives the tea extra disease-fighting
punch.
Warning: This stuff can smell terrrible - do your straining
outdoors. The odor does vary from batch to batch. If needed, you
can dilute the tea with more water but keep the mixture at half
strength, minimum. Either spray on leaves with a pump-up pressure
sprayer or dribble it on with a watering can. Coat both sides of
leaves. Reapply after two to three weeks. The residue left after
the tea is strained may be poured out on the ground below plants.
Organic Weed and Grass Killer From Green Thumb Extra P.O. Box
176143, Denver, Colo. 80217 ($15 per year)
Ingredients:
1 gallon 5 percent acidic acid (the same as used for making
pickles)
1 pound table salt
1 teaspoon liquid hand soap
Mix ingredients, dissolve and spray. Use on cracks in driveways
and sidewalks. Keep away from trees and shrubs. This is a soil
sterilant.
ROBERT STIFFLER/Photo
Mark Nuzum spreads Harmony Lawn Food, an organic product, on his
Virginia Beach lawn.
by CNB