Organic Gardening Vs. Traditional Gardening

Americans are changing their ways to save our planet to make it more Eco-Friendly. I watched The View this morning and learned some interesting things from it.

It takes one pound of pesticides to make one pair of jeans! Therefore, many concerned business owners are helping us change as consumers. (I did research online and I was surprised at just how many businesses are getting into making our planet Eco-Friendly. Type in Eco-Friendly and watch the products pop up!)

The following is taken from The View television show:
Dresses are now being made from bamboo. Bamboo is a grass that grows three feet a day without pesticides.

The View showed pretty dresses and infant clothes made from bamboo. They look the same as any other article of clothing! The cost is comparable to other materials stated on the show. You can find the infant clothing on summerinfant.com.

A gorgeous wedding dress made with recycled lace and beads was flaunted.

Other displayed Eco-friendly clothes were made of organic hemp and cotton fabrics.

Cute purses made out of weaved gum wrappers were shown. It reminded me of high school when we would fold gum wrappers and make chains out of them.

Cruelty-free and blood-free diamonds were gorgeously shown.

You can buy items that are recycled silver and leather. One gray summer bamboo dress had a leather strap on the front that was pretty. The leather strap was detachable so you could wash the dress. Trendy and gorgeous recycled silver jewelry was worn on the models.

Actress Natalie Portman has an exclusive animal-free shoe line. Another online shoe seller at simpleshoes.com has shoes that include being made out of recycled tires!

You are now able to buy chlorine free diapers, soaps, and wipes. Chlorine is very bad for our environment. Buy these products at seventhgeneration.com.

Need a baby bouncer for your baby or for a gift? Try buying a cotton-made baby bouncer that is Eco-friendly and vibrates from summerinfant.com.

Try californiababy.com to buy baby shampoo, bubble bath with wands for blowing bubbles, etc., that are all natural.

You can also buy strollers that represent endangered species. A lovely monarch butterfly pattern was shown. I had no idea monarch butterflies were an endangered species! Did you? This way people will become more aware of which animals and living things are on the endangered species list. Each stroller bought $5.00 goes to funds for the endangered species. How wonderful! To get your stroller go to baby-planet.com.

Plantoystore.com uses rubber trees that are normally cut down and burnt and that is the end of them. Now these trees are being used to make toys. Drums were shown that were not that noisy! I think a lot of parents would consider buying them just for that reason!

Fact from The View: Did you know that washing your clothes in cold water will save you 5oo pounds a year of carbon dioxide?

Get your all natural certified organic foods & snacks at homegrownnaturals.com. Anything from macaroni & cheese with fun shapes to cookies. You will feel better serving your children these food items.

The website fleurville.com sells backpacks and bags, and lunch totes. PVC's can be toxic this doesn't have any. When you wipe down the backpacks, bags, and lunch totes you are exposed to dangerous PVC's.

To have a "green home" you may buy Eco-friendly paint - It doesn't smell, is the same price as other paints, and is fairly new on the market.

Countertops that are comparable to granite by Vetrazzo made from Sky Blue Vodka bottles and Heineken beer bottles! The price is comparable to granite which is quite costly, but granite is not recyclable.

Gorgeous bamboo cabinets were shown. The grass that is a sustainable material.

Marmoleum® for floors takes the place of linoleum which is antibacterial.

Need furniture? How about a recycled string chair? Or a rug made out of bamboo? To go with that some old barn wood for tables. More furniture made out of recycled tarps which you would never know looking at it.

Need a new bed? You can buy a cotton bed that comes in a much smaller box when it is shipped straight to your house. The company specially packs it.

Target has a line of 230 count organic cotton sheets. The sheets have a soft satin feel. A little more pricey. No chemicals are used to grow cottons. That sounds better as we lay our heads right on the sheets!

And lets not forget to buy a duel flush toilet. You would save about $90.00 a year due to the choice of a big flush or a little flush. Two separate buttons: 1.5 gallons to flush or .08 gallons of water to flush.

Want to save money and/or reduce your environmental impact? Take the online test. They will give you two to three tips. You save your profile and can calculate how far you've come to improve in the future.

http://www.lowimpactliving.com/pages/impact-calculator/impact-calculator

If you'd like to do further research on the television show that aired today please go to abc.com/the view. Also, HGTV has a show premiering on Sunday, March 23^rd, regarding this subject. Please see your local listing for time.

Now that you have an Eco-Friendly home you may ask yourself, should my garden be the traditional garden or an organic garden? Here is some information for you to make your choice.

"Organic" means to not use any pesticides. A farmer can change to an organic farmer after three years of cultivating his/her soil without pesticides.

A Certified Organic farmer means they followed very strict rules to grow their crops.

"In the United States, populations of honeybees, essential for pollinating commercial crops, have shrunk precipitously, while frogs with extra legs and missing eyes have been found in northern states. Pesticides are a leading suspect behind both aberrations." (Lester Brown et al., "Building a Sustainable Society," The State of the World 1999. New York: Norton/Worldwatch Books, 1999, pp. 169-170.)http://www.ota.com/organic/environment/environmental.html.

Pesticide sprays "encourage life-threatening bacteria to grow on crops," according to Canadian researcher Greg Blank in the New Scientist (October 7, 2000). Research at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg found that bacteria thrived in some formulations of synthetic pesticides diluted with water.

Toxic chemicals are contaminating groundwater on every inhabited continent, endangering the world's most valuable supplies of freshwater, according to a Worldwatch paper, Deep Trouble: The Hidden Threat of Groundwater Pollution. Calling for a systematic overhaul of manufacturing and industrial agriculture, the paper notes that several water utilities in Germany now pay farmers to switch to organic operations because this conversion costs less than removing farm chemicals from water supplies.

An epidemiological study by Paul Lichtenstein, Karolinska Institutat in Stockholm, Sweden, indicates that environmental factors, such as chemical pollutants and unhealthy lifestyles, have a greater impact on the likelihood of contracting cancer than hereditary genetic factors. The study, entitled "Environmental and Heritable Factors in the Causation of Cancer," was published in the July 13, 2000, New England Journal of Medicine.

The list goes on and on at the website:

Those few paragraphs right there are scary enough!

Why have an organic garden?
The food tastes delicious for one. The soil is free of cancer causing agents. We will keep the pesticides out of our air, soil, water supply, and bodies. For me, those reasons are enough!

By using organic soil, our plants will become healthier and able to fight off diseases and pests.

MiracleGro offers an organic soil. Information: "Delivers nearly double the yields of topsoil naturally! Fertilizer provides both starting and slow-release feeding for up to 3 months." Source: The Scott's MiracleGro Company. document.write('')

I am buying some organic soil this spring to grow my flowers, string beans, swiss chard, and tomato plants! Online 112 people recommended MiracleGro Organic Soil.

Traditional Gardening:
"The soil found in a typical yard will be about 90% mineral residue and only about 10% decayed organic matter. The reason for adding additional organic matter to your soil is to provide food for the beneficial microorganisms that release nutrients into the soil as they decompose the organic matter.

Pesticides sprayed on the plants will make its way into the soil and can kill the insects and microorganisms living there. Synthetic fertilizers contain salt, which can also kill the soil's residents as well as build up in the soil and cause harm to the plants you are feeding. And synthetic fertilizers add nothing to the soil's fertility."

Source: http://gardening.about.com/od/soil/a/GardenSoil.htm

To me it sounds easier to use organic soil because you know your soil is healthy and your plants will flourish. A huge factor: For peace of mind.