Hope you all had an enjoyable Xmas. One present I got was book called Four-Season Harvest by Eliot Coleman. He’s an organic farmer from Maine who I’ve heard of especially regarding his ability to grow veggies throughout the winter. I’ve wanted to get one of his books for some time and now I have one. I’ve already enjoyed a lot of what I’ve read and I’ll be sharing various excerpts as I come across them.

This first excerpt concerns why to garden organically and contains a philosophy that I completely agree with.

“Let’s take a moment to discuss the benefits of organic gardening. No fearful tales are involved. I have no moral sermon. I have no plan to drown you in pages of factual data. Our home garden is organic, as it has been for thirty years, for a practical reason. Organic methods are simpler and work better. That’s right, they work better. Chemical agriculture is one of the great myths of the 20th century. The chemical salespeople swear that chemical fertilizers and pesticides are indispensable. In our experience, they are totally superfIuous. They are necessary only as a crutch for the weaknesses of industrial food production.

Basically, organic gardening means a partnership with nature. Nature’s gardeners are numerous and eager to help. Millions of beneficial organisms (everything from bacteria to earthworms to ground beetles) thrive in a fertile soil, and make things go right if the gardener encourages them. The gardener does that by understanding the natural processes of the soil and aiding them with compost. The inherent stability and resilience of natural systems can be on your side if you work with them. Organic gardening is a adventure, an expedition into a deeper and more satisfying understanding of vegetable production. You are now a participant rather than a spectator. You share creation.”