Gardeners are wonderful people and, as such, deserve all the help they can get in raising beautiful vegetables and fruit. Yet I know gardeners who will not take advantage of modern science because they feel that Nature’s way is best.
I do not quarrel with them, but since Nature is undependable, sometimes working with us and sometimes against us, I believe we should at least investigate the results of scientific research in agriculture.
In my opinion, a disservice is done to today’s gardeners if they are advised not to take advantage of the great mass of scientific data dealing with using fertilizers and other chemicals in gardening.
After all, highly trained scientists have carried out, analyzed, and interpreted the research.
Also, it is a disservice to all agriculture and the public when doubt is cast on our food supply’s purity and nutritional value, produced, as it necessarily must be, with chemical fertilizers.
Use Of Chemical Fertilizers
With our present population, it would be impossible to feed our people, except at a starvation level, without the use of chemical fertilizers, of which some 7,000,000 tons are used each year in this country alone.
The increase in the use of chemicals in agriculture has been a positive factor in developing our high standard of living.
The report of the Science and Advisory Committee, appointed by President Eisenhower, indicated that Americans are better fed and in better health than at any time in our history.
Although the commercial farmer, in most cases, could not find enough organic matter to supply nutrients for his plants, the home gardener probably could, but usually with the expenditure of considerable effort, if not cash.
However, in some areas, the soils are generally deficient in some element, and organic matter collected in the area, unless from chemically fertilized fields, would also be deficient in the same element.
Organic Matter is Useful But Not Essential
This has been proved time and again when good growth and nutrient values have been produced by plants in sand or solution culture, without benefit either of soil or organic matter.
Still, agricultural scientists recognize the very considerable benefits of organic matter in improving tilth, holding moisture, and providing better aeration in the soil.
Scientists have long known that plants take in their nutrients, not in the form of organic matter, but in very simple chemical forms, such as nitrate, ammonium, sulfate, and phosphate ions.
These are taken into the plants as ions from decaying organic matter or as identical ions from chemicals such as nitrate of soda or superphosphate. Plant tissues built up by ions from organic sources are no different from those built up from inorganic sources.
The decision, therefore, comes down to a matter of convenience, price, and personal preference.
Most gardeners will find it most satisfactory to use organic matter when available at a reasonable cost, supplementing it with commercial fertilizers or special salts, if their soil is deficient in specific elements.
Chemicals Are Unnecessary
Statements I have read indicate that some organic gardeners believe chemicals are unnecessary. Others seem to believe that chemicals are unnecessary, undesirable, and possibly harmful.
A vociferous few have planted the seed of doubt in some consumers’ minds regarding the safety of our food supply.
However, the United States Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration, responsible for protecting the consumer, frequently emphasize that the safety and purity of our foods are assured and that agricultural chemicals, including pesticides, can and are being used to ensure a wholesome food.
Occur Naturally In Plants
Many kinds of chemicals occur naturally in plants. The minute quantities taken into plant tissues from chemicals applied (according to directions) to the soil, to foliage, or to the outside of fruit constitute no known threat to health.
Without pesticides, we would buy wormy apples at two or three times higher than we now pay for top-quality fruit.
Living primarily on foods produced with the aid of chemical fertilizers, we are healthier, live longer, and have the highest standard of living.
In addition, we are enjoying the benefits of scientific advances in other fields—why not in gardening?
44659 by J. Harold Clarke