Topic: ORGANIC GARDENING...?

[RosieMcPosie]

HI all, can anyone tell me if spraying my plants with soapy water means that they're not organic anymore...?
thanks!

[tim]

Not in my book.

Several of the Organic treatments are based on fatty acids.

[antipodes]

yes to me, organic gardening (which i what I have been trying to do too!) means not using any pesticides or herbicides, (although there are some remedies such as Bordeaux mixture that are permitted in commercial organic gardening, so it is confusing...).
Soapy water won't do any harm, it breaks down in the soil, just remember to wash those veg before eating! I have been using soap on my sprouts for aphids, better than spraying them with chemicals!
And anyway, if you aren't selling your veg what difference does it make? you know what you have put into your garden, which is what counts. I know that my veg have been grown with the sweat off my back and the compost I made myself, and not much else, and that is why I am very proud of my modest harvest!!

[RosieMcPosie]

thanks, antipodes, that's really helped. kinda put it into perspective for me!
i'm trying so hard to eat healthily and provide healthy food for my family, i kinda got carried away with the 'organic' idea. and i guess ur right, it is better than using chemicals. i use soap to wash the plates etc anyway so i figure it's not much different.   ;)

Thanks again! Rosie  :-*

[SnooziSuzi]

So if the soap is organic, is there a recommended brand or type that we should be using to zap the aphids?

I have about a zillion of the blighters on my sprouts and it's not on because I want to eat the sprouts - not them!

[Uncle Joshua]

I had to use soap on mine this weekend, the soap was organic  so the sprouts still are.

[kenkew]

Seems to me that sometimes organic and common sense have lost touch with each other. We had a lengthy debate once on here about organic manure...how the heck can you know what the animal has eaten in it's life-time?
 I certainly agree with using, if possible, no manufactured chemical on food stuffs, but some of the best rhubarb grown was fed from the 'night jar.' Natural?...Well, maybe!

[GodfreyRob]

Agree on that last post - organic is an ideal but should not become a means of beating yourself up!
I have had a similar debate in my head with my chickens - I give them organic layers pellets (that cost twice normal feed :() and they scratch around on grass which is never treated with chemicals. However, when they have picked up a disease that organic stuff won't clear up I won't let them suffer for MY principles - I give them whatever it takes to get them better!
Spraying a soap wash is not going to damage the environment or your health - relax!

[RosieMcPosie]

 :) thanks Godfrey, and everyone else! makes me feel loads better  ;D

[Kea]

Talking of damaging the environment. A lot of organic gardeners are happy to use strimmers etc it may be organic but it's not eco-friendly but they haven't thought it out. ( I do have a strimmer myself). I don't class myself as being completely organic because there are things I'm still happy to use that aren't classed as organic. Some people seem to think that organic and eco-friendly are the same thing but they're not. At least if you grow your own you know what you're eating.

[louise stella]

I think the thing is - use as little chemicals as you possible can - but don't beat yourself up over it!

After all - how can we possibly know what residues are in the barrow load of muck that you are digging in?  Without knowing the animals and what they have eaten, what injections/medicine they have been given etc...... you can never be 100 % certain.  But surely the action that muck will have on you plot outweighs the pedantics of knowing every last thing about what is in it?

That's my take on things anyway!

Louise
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