So, Ok old guy, where did this Organic Gardening come from anyhow?

Some very good and noble people dedicated their lives to the organic cause. We are following in their foot steps, along the paths they laid out. We should know who they were and what they thought.

Not just a lot of the techniques, but much of the philosophy as well, of what we now call Organic Gardening and Farming have been practiced for centuries. Practice of good husbandry of the land was of significant importance to ancient writers such as Cato, Virgil, Pliny and Columella. The rotation of crops was recommended by Thomas Tusser in his classic and often reprinted work of 1580, "Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry". In this country “green manuring and manures” was discussed in depth by John Wolfinger in the 1864, "Report of the U.S. Commissioner of Agriculture", two years after President Abraham Lincoln established the Department of Agriculture.

But the term “organic gardening” is of fairly recent origin. J.I. Rodale is credited with first using the word “organic” (in this country, anyway) in 1940. Rodale coined it in an article for the publication Fact Digest to describe the “natural method of gardening and farming”. In the article, Rodale said that the use of "chemical" fertilizers and pesticides was destructive of the environment. The article advocated the return to the use of natural materials such as composts and manures as a better way to feed the garden and the return to the traditional cultural practices such as crop rotation as a better way to prevent and control garden pests. Shortly thereafter, he launched Organic Farming and Gardening (OFG) magazine — for many years the flagship publication of Rodale Press. Along with the magazine, Rodale Press published, and continues to publish, a large number of books and booklets on organic agriculture. For a long time the publishing house was the most highly visible and accessible source of information about "non-synthetic chemical" farming and gardening in the U.S. As such, it was probably the single greatest influence on the shape and underlying philosophy of mainstream organics. He also should be remembered for founding The Rodale Institute which gives organic gardening and farming supportive data.

J.I. Rodale drew his concept of organic agriculture from a number of sources, including Louis Bromfield (the author of Malabar Farm and other books on conservation farming), Dr. William Albrecht (from the Department of Soils at the University of Missouri), and the Biodynamic movement. However, his key ideas about farming came from the British agronomist Sir Albert Howard. J.I. Rodale called Sir Albert Howard of England the “father of the movement.” Sustainability issues were at the top of the list for this man, now considered by many to be the "father of organic agriculture." Howard worked in the foreign service in India during the first quarter of the 20th century, and much of what he preached about agriculture came from his observations and experiences in that part of the world.

In his landmark books, "An Agricultural Testament" and "The Soil and Health", Sir Howard pointed to emerging problems of animal and plant disease, soil erosion, and similar conditions. He laid the blame for these on mismanagement of soil. Howard specifically cited the failure of modern civilizations to properly return wastes from cities and industries to the farms. Sir Howard did not believe that reliance on chemical fertilization could address these concerns. He thought it a misguided approach —the likely product of reductionist reasoning by what he called "laboratory hermits" who paid no attention to how nature worked.

Howard promoted a natural approach to building soil and fertility. He wrote in great detail about the use of deep-rooting crops to draw nutrients from the subsoil, about managing crop residues, and about green manuring. However, Howard gave the lion's share of his attention to composting. The Indore Process, which he was responsible for popularizing, is the basic layered, bin composting system that today is the standard in organic gardening.

In America, Rodale expanded on Howard's ideas. In his seminal book on organic agriculture, "Pay Dirt", he identifies a number of other "good farming practices" — like crop rotation and mulching — that gave further definition and clarification to what have become accepted organic practices and inputs. This is important because organic farming embodies the elements of a sound agriculture — traditional practices that have been proven over time. In fact, a good, working definition for organic agriculture is good farming practice without using synthetic chemicals. This working definition distinguishes organic practice from the general milieu of agriculture that existed in the pre-chemical era, much of which was exploitative and unsustainable. Organic farming was never intended to be a "throwback" or regressive form of agriculture.

By the way, as best I can tell, the synthetic chemical era started when in 1918 a German scientist named Fritz Haber was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for synthesizing ammonia. Herr Haber’s work was more focused on munitions (you know, bombs), but the process eventually led to producing nitrogen based fertilizers. How ironic that trying to make more & bigger explosives led to synthetic chemical based farming and gardening.

A truly significant event that ignited the public's passion for organic gardening was Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring", published in 1962. "Silent Spring" is a strong and dramatic statement about the impact of pesticides on the environment. It was one of the key documents that gave birth to environmental consciousness in the 1960s and 1970s. Carson painted an emotional picture of the environmental damage caused by the use of "chemical" fertilizers and pesticides. Rachel Carson became the voice against the use of "toxic chemicals" and against the chemical companies. "Silent Spring" presented the idea that materials that were derived from nature were safe or "non-toxic" and that materials derived from synthetic sources were environmentally destructive and "toxic". Rachel Carson set the stage for a lot of arguments and helped get a lot of us old (then young) hippies into the street, protesting.

Of course, there have been very, very many others. Too many for me to go into here and now. But some have been who have infulenced me are Scott & Helen Nearing[ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_and_Scott_Nearing and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Nearing] and Ruth Stout [ http://www.homestead.org/Gardening/Ruth Stout - The No-Dig Duchess.htm ]

These pioneers of organic practices in the United States have acknowledged their debt to the men and women whose written works continue to influence us. Here's a list of suggested reading:

NOTE: IF YOU NEVER READ ANYTHING ELSE, READ THESE THREE BOOKS.

An Agricultural Testament - by Sir Albert Howard, C.I.E., M.A., Oxford University Press, 1940.
This is the book that started the organic farming and gardening revolution, the result of Howard's 25 years of research at Indore in India. The essence of organics is brilliantly encapsulated in the Introduction, which begins: "The maintenance of the fertility of the soil is the first condition of any permanent system of agriculture." Full explanation of the Indore composting process and its application. Excellent on the relationship between soil, food and health. Full text online. http://journeytoforever.org/farm_library/howardAT/ATtoc.html

Farming and Gardening for Health or Disease (The Soil and Health) by Sir Albert Howard, Faber and Faber, London, 1945, Devin-Adair 1947, Schocken 1972
This is Howard's follow-up to An Agricultural Testament, extending its themes and serving as a guide to the new organic farming movement as it unfolded -- and encountered opposition from the chemical farming lobby and the type of agricultural scientists Howard referred to as "laboratory hermits". Together, the two books provide a clear understanding of what health is and how it works. Full text online. http://journeytoforever.org/farm_library/howardSH/SHtoc.html

Pay Dirt -- Farming & Gardening with Composts by J.I. Rodale, with an introduction by Sir Albert Howard, Devin-Adair, 1946
Inspired by the work of Albert Howard, J.I. Rodale bought a farm, founded Organic Gardening Magazine, as well as Rodale Publishing, worked tirelessly to introduce organic farming to the US, and wrote this book. A good wrap-up of the subject. Full text online. http://journeytoforever.org/farm_library/paydirt/paydirt_ToC.html

Who have influenced you?

Peace
poor_old_dad

 

i was probably most influenced by the publications of the Rodales, including Organic Gardening magazine. i was also very influenced by Rachel Carson having read Silent Spring when i was young.

 

i would have to say that the most influential being on myself was ,what i considered as a kid, to be a very weird aunt She was influenced through rodales publications and work that she did at cornell university.

 

I am dedicated to grow my own garden after reading Kevin Trudeau

 

Wendel Barry from Kentucky. He was friends with a famous monk in Kentucky. Brother Merton maybe? Learned alot about them at Uof L. Both are naturalists and praise the benefits of organic and ones environment. To much to list.