My Mother Was Right! (About Organic Gardening)

My mother used to always tell us about the benefits of organic produce and how much better it was than the store bought (back then the grocery stores were mostly conventional) produce. This was why we always had a garden and often times fruit trees or grape vines. I never really thought that much about it. Gardening was just what you did. The tomatoes tasted better, the carrots were sweeter and what kid doesn't think that a 12 foot tall sunflower isn't awesome? Even after becoming an adult I would often still have a small garden or try to grow things in pots wherever I was. And then something happened that changed my mind about the tiny, simple seeds we use to grow giant plants with.

I currently live in one of those horrid, HOA-ruled, deserty, everything is tan sort of housing areas. As such, my only option for growing more than a few herbs was the large pots you see in the pictures. I started my seeds indoors first and then carefully transplanted them outside in a few weeks into some organic potting soil/mulch combo. Since my backyard is regularly invaded by cottontails, a variety of birds and most recently an entire family of quail, I placed a tomato cage in each pot and snugly placed a tough netting called bird block over each pot and secured it with bunny-proof twist-ties. About 2 weeks later, half of what I planted had died. So I pulled out my seed packets and replaced the seeds. This time, about half of the seeds grew, but I noticed they were growing very slowly compared to some of the other plants.

When I took a look back at the conditions each pot was growing under, I realized that they were the same. They all stood in a row with the same amount of sunlight. They all were the same pot, purchased at the same time, and filled with the same Organic Potting Soil/Mulch. They all got the same amount of water every day. In going back to look at which plants had not survived the transplanting outdoors and which plants had to be re-seeded and which still did not grow, I realized the one difference. Looking at the seed packets, the plants that were doing the best were all from Organic seeds! When I recently started planting new Organic seeds in places where the other plants had died, they thrived! I guess my mother was right after all, but you don't have to tell her. I'm sure she already knows...

In just a couple of months, I know have a tomato plant that is about 3 feet high and starting to grow it's first tomatoes. I regularly harvest handfuls of basil a couple times a week for recipes and the Thyme is just about ready to start harvesting as well. After all the regular zucchini plants died and my husband still had his heart set on a dinner of stuffed zucchini (I'll have to show you later), I went out and specifically bought Organic zucchini seeds. I did nothing other than push them about an inch or so into the soil and kept watering everything like normal. These little plants are less than 2 weeks from seed, so I'm expecting some pretty rapid growth too. I'll keep you posted and hope to have recipes to share soon.

If you are forced to grow your plants in pots, as I am, make sure that they have holes in the bottom before you fill them. Even if you don't over-water, a rainstorm may provide not just more than needed for the day, but more than needed for the month. I forgot once and had a pot with an inch of rainwater sitting above the dirt because it had rained so hard.