About Organics
Want to learn more about organics or how to grow organically? Download our booklets:
Organic Overview
Organic Growing Basics
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What is Organic Farming?
Organic farming is a method of sustainable agriculture based on long-term ecologically and environmentally sound practices. Its general principles are based on protecting the environment and its practices in minimizing soil degradation and erosion, decreasing pollution and optimizing biological diversity and productivity. Organic farming strives to optimize the health and productivity of the interdependent communities of soil, plant and animal life.
Management practices are carefully selected with an intent to restore and then maintain ecological harmony on the farm and in the environment. In Canada we now have national standards that define organic agriculture and the food produced under this system. The question ‘Can it be done?’ is no longer relevant today. It is being done. Today, the appropriate question is ‘How can I do it?’ What Is Organic? - And - What Is Organic ‘Not’?
When discussing what organic is, most people focus on what it is not. In some ways, yes, it is accurate to say what organic is ‘not’ since, to a great extent, it entails, ‘not’ utilizing many inputs that conventional farming practices use on a regular basis. In brief, organic farming does not, for example, use synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, irradiation to preserve food, intensive feedlots for livestock or genetically modified organisms or genetically engineered seed/stock. But organic is far more than this. In order for an organic farm to be certified and to function properly, organic farmers ‘must’ employ conscientious management techniques, such as well-designed crop rotations, replenishment of organic matter, use of green manures and composting. These techniques are designed to help build the soil, enhance organic matter and encourage optimum soil heath.
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