The Truth about Organic Gardening: Benefits, Drawnbacks, and the Bottom Line

by Jeff Gillman

Gardeners tend to assume that any organic product is automatically safe for humans and beneficial to the environment--and in most cases this is true. The problem, as Jeff Gillman points out in this fascinating, well-researched book, is that it is not always true, and the exceptions to the rule can pose a significant threat to human health. To cite just one example, animal manures in compost can be a source of harmful E. coli contamination if imporperly...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0881928623
• ISBN13: 9780881928624
• Release Date: February 2008
• Publisher: Timber Press (OR)
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Exactly what you want

For all of the new organic growers and consumers out there, this book is exactly what you want. The author has created a well written book based on scientific facts and very little (if any) bias. The creation of a well balanced book about a topic that is becoming quite confusing and contradictory speaks mountains about the author's talent and perseverance for the truth of home and commercial organic gardening. As for the contents of the book, it covers: fertilization, weed control, pest control, disease control, and animal control. Each sections has many entries that are common to the home grower (this is the very valuable part of the book) and commercial grower that each end with the overall benefits, drawback, and the bottom line use. If you're thinking about going (or growing) organic this is a great book to have and I keep going back to it every week while I grow my garden.

Every Organic Gardener Should Read This First

Excellent information about organic gardening, and does a great job of dispelling various myths. It also debunks people like Jerry Baker, who would have you fertilizing your garden with ammonia -- gak. Highly recommend this book.

Balanced and well written

A surprisingly easy read, Jeff Gillman presents the pros and cons of organic and synthetic techniques for gardening, including soil management and pest control of all kinds (bugs, weeds, fungus, etc.). A good reference book and one I want to give my friend who covers everything in pesticide dust! Will not help with identification of gardening problems, but provides an understanding of the impact of all applications.

Growing Our Own Food Safely--For Us and the Environment

This book is timely as increasingly large numbers of us react to health, environmental and market conditions by growing more of our own food but wonder about the trade-offs of natural versus synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. The information offered here will be useful whether you are a neophyte or seasoned gardener. I've been gardening for most of my 72 years and have nearly100 gardening books in my library. I learned many new things here. For instance, regarding companion planting, I have long thought that fragrances were the most important condition to repel unwanted insects. Not so--color seems to be the best indicator of whether a plant would be an effective companion. In fact, an aroma may make things worse. Author Jeff Gillman is a knowledgeable referee on the sometimes near-hysterical fight between organic enthusiasts and those who favor synthetic garden inputs. He gained his doctorate at the University of Georgia and is currently an associate professor of horticulture at the University of Minnesota where in addition to teaching courses on nursery production and pesticide use he also runs the experimental nurseries and orchards there. Gillman is an organic advocate but recognizes that many gardeners want the fast response of commercial products such as pesticides, so he goes through the list of both organic and synthetic choices. Effectiveness, environmental impact quotients, and toxicological effects are all covered. Here you will learn the trade-offs between natural and synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and much more. Subjects covered are fertilization, weed control, insect control, disease control, and the control of birds, deer, rodents, and mollusks. Throughout the book, after discussing each subject, the author synopsizes with bulleted Benefits, Drawbacks, and The Bottom Line, which is the subtitle of the book. For those who want the fewest possible words, this may be all you need to read to get the information you desire. In the chapter on fertilization are discussed the well-known benefits of organic matter in the soil, compost and manure. Less well known, but covered here is the issue of pathogens in manure and compost, especially compost tea and manure tea. The section on natural versus synthetic fertilizers provided the news to me that while most of us believe that synthetic fertilizers contain petrochemicals, "that's rarely the case." It turns out the nitrogen is in fact drawn from the air by a process invented by Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch, both of whom received Nobel prizes. Those of us concerned about energy depletion and costs, however, will note that both coal and natural gas are used in the process. Phosphorous and potassium are obtained from mines in several states, an energy-intensive extraction and delivery process. In The Bottom Line, the author states his preference for organic fertilizers but notes that he uses synthetic fertilizers "for certain applications because they're cheap

Not all organics are good; not all synthetics are bad.

Don't assume that organic practices are always good and synthetic products are always bad -- get the facts. Gillman points out that plant-derived Rotenone, an organic pesticide, is highly toxic to aquatic life and causes tremors in rats. Other organics, such as Neem Oil, are often overused despite links to reproductive problems in rats and potential carcinogens. Conversely, not all synthetics are bad. Using a synthetic fertilizer in appropriate amounts once or twice a year is not harmful (if you generally attend to soil development by adding organic materials like compost and mulch). And a foliar spray made from (organic) liquified seaweed may be easier and just as helpful as making compost tea to spray on your plants. So make your gardening decisions based on knowledge, not on a bias for or against organics.