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This one will cause arguments, insults and possibly even blood to run but I'm going to (deliberately) put the proverbial cat amongst the proverbial pigeons. If I should get expelled from GYO's site...well it should be fun.
Will some organic gardener please explain why chemicals delivered by a so called organic process should make vegetables taste better, or be better for you, than chemicals delivered by a manufacturing process? Loads of tests have shown that if you feed people a plate of organic potatoes and a plate of potatoes grown using commercial fertilisers, nobody can tell the difference. And analysis shows that there is no difference in nutritional value.
If I deliver a milligram of, say, potassium to a plant using, again say, comfrey, why should that milligram of potassium be any better than a milligram delivered by sulphate of potash? Chemically it is the same. The plant can't tell the difference between the two. But we are obliged to pay a lot more for supermarket 'organically grown' or work a lot harder for home 'organically grown' vegetables.
Now before you come round here and plant a bomb under our bed
let me say that I can argue the organic case as well. But I think on a proper gardening forum that the members, both organic, and I hope that there are enough people who just think it is a load of twaddle, and inorganic can have a serious debate on this. (Preferably without killing anybody - like me).
By the way. I once got half the members on a forum to not talk to me for trying to get them to discuss who was the best TV gardener. Anybody got a LARGEwooden spoon?
P.S. Keep your attacks scientific, not emotional.
Will some organic gardener please explain why chemicals delivered by a so called organic process should make vegetables taste better, or be better for you, than chemicals delivered by a manufacturing process? Loads of tests have shown that if you feed people a plate of organic potatoes and a plate of potatoes grown using commercial fertilisers, nobody can tell the difference. And analysis shows that there is no difference in nutritional value.
If I deliver a milligram of, say, potassium to a plant using, again say, comfrey, why should that milligram of potassium be any better than a milligram delivered by sulphate of potash? Chemically it is the same. The plant can't tell the difference between the two. But we are obliged to pay a lot more for supermarket 'organically grown' or work a lot harder for home 'organically grown' vegetables.
Now before you come round here and plant a bomb under our bed
let me say that I can argue the organic case as well. But I think on a proper gardening forum that the members, both organic, and I hope that there are enough people who just think it is a load of twaddle, and inorganic can have a serious debate on this. (Preferably without killing anybody - like me).By the way. I once got half the members on a forum to not talk to me for trying to get them to discuss who was the best TV gardener. Anybody got a LARGEwooden spoon?
P.S. Keep your attacks scientific, not emotional.
), I do believe that the soil does. If the only thing going into it is artificial/soluble fertilizer, soil condition deteriorates. It does need organic matter adding, both for hummus, and for soil microbes etc. I can see that on my plot that I took over from an old gent who never did anything but add Growmore for years. The only part of the plot that has soil better than dust is the bed that gets leaf fall every autumn from an adjacent tree.
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