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Organic Gardening—August 2008

by Mary Collins | Email me if you questions or comments | Back to List of Articles

Getting Started With Organic Gardening: Gardening is Hot!

August gardening is hot.  I consider this our most “difficult” month for gardeners in NC because we must expect it will be humid, bugs are about, and rainfall is variable.  This is a perfect time to be a ripe hot pepper, a juicy tomato, or a prolific zucchini plant at peak summer production.   Sometimes plants will take a rest in response to the “stress” of August and this is nature’s way of practicing self-care.   When temperatures moderate or we get a cooling rain they will be bounce back.  

Yes, we humans too must be sensible about the intensity of the heat from the sun and avoid overexposing ourselves to potential health risks.  The conscious gardener who has been gradually acclimatized by building up muscles and stamina will respond with more ease to August conditions and has the seasoning to avoid the midday hours in the sun.

Herbs picked first thing in the day are more aromatic and flavorful.  Most professional organic farmers harvest early in the morning or when the sun is setting for the best taste.   Rutgers University has done many scientific studies proving that organically grown vegetables are more nutrient dense than counterparts grown with chemicals.   Even if you don’t have an organic garden now, you can support your local organic growers and the delicious fruits of their labor.

Go within (where there’s air conditioning) and reflect on gardens current and past.   Seek out the cooler outdoor opportunities now to read and conceive future garden plans. Remember that the gloriously long NC autumn is but a month away.  Mature trees provide for a shady reflective stroll and demonstrate that what began as a seed or sapling is now providing us with refreshing, oxygenated air.  Glistening flowers covered in early morning dew or late evening fragrance from a nearly glowing white flower in near darkness are just some of the rewards to be found in late summer.

As an avid gardener I came to North Carolina from the Midwest in 1989 for mild winters and a longer growing season.   My childhood in small town Iowa was inspired by helping my energetic and dedicated grandparents in their 70s and 80s practicing their passion as avid ornithologists and gardeners on a nearly two acre lot.  Their home had been designed in the 1920s with viewing the birds in mind.  Including his final spring at age 93, my grandfather annually double dug, by hand, a large bed for seasonal annuals.  Throughout winter he kept the birdbath free of ice and stocked the feeders.  Shrubs, trees, and perennials were planted to provide shelter and nesting materials.  Soon after my move to NC I discovered a home turned public garden in Charlotte similarly for the birds and aptly named “Wing Haven”.  Such gardeners would never use pesticides or fertilizers that could harm the beloved creatures.  Silent Spring, Rachel Carson’s 1962 landmark book alerted many to the dangers of chemicals being used.  Today Silent Spring Institute continues her work and activism.

Agriculture and gardening became daily necessities when man decided to settle down and give up a nomadic and hunter/gatherer lifestyle.   Yields were often not good and the work was difficult.   The industrial revolution increased mechanization thus more could be planted and harvested.  As early as the 1920’s chemical fertilizers, weed and insect killers resulted in what seemed to be a huge benefit until the unseen dangers resulted in some direct and wide-ranging consequences.   Organizations such as Demeter International in Germany and JI Rodale Press in the US sought to find improved and scientific methods to garden organically and to educate farmers and gardeners to alternative and organic methods. Philosophers such as Rudolf Steiner led movements based on sustainability.

Today our concept of lawns has evolved from idealizations of places such as Versailles near Paris.  Modern lawns frequently use high nitrogen fertilizers or toxic weed killers that result in algae bloom and toxic water conditions that starves fish of oxygen or poison or kill them. The fuel required to mow turf grasses is substantial, not to mention the noise and the air pollution of blowers and weed whackers.  

Apropos Louis and Marie Antoinette’s opulent gardens was in 1972 the venue for the formation of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), which is dedicated to providing information on the principles and practices of organic agriculture across national and linguistic boundaries.

The quiet revolution to organic best practices could aptly adopt the French motto of
“liberty, equality, and fraternity” freeing us to join with nature in a joyous dance.  It is quite possible to have structure and order while including beneficial insects, natural predators and controls, and making better choices about what to plant where and with what companions.

Hardscapes such as mulched paths, rock and gravel walk ways and raised beds, once in place make gardening easier.  Permaculture, a relatively new movement within organic gardening, is based on design that can be self-sustaining by considering above all the site and the climate when gardening and landscaping.   Mere months after replacing a hillside of lawn with perennials, shrubs, and flowering bushes at our own 1/3 acre suburban lot most of the rain soaked to be absorbed and filtered by the earth rather than flowing into the sewage system. 

An august gardening avocation arises from a passion for something sublime and harmonious.  For some it is the taste of a tomato right off the vine, for others it is to create a wildlife haven, and many seek to work in harmony with nature for the beauty and stewardship.  When you love the whole experience of gardening you want to work with this energy and not fight against things.  This is not about domination, rather about cultivation.

by Mary Collins | Email me if you questions or comments | Back to List of Articles