Going organic is well known as a way to grow healthier produce, and decrease the impact that growing food has on our planet. Home gardeners have always been at the forefront of championing healthier produce, and finding sustainable ways to support their plants’ health. When you’re an active part of growing your own produce, you want the food you create to be the best it can be! Using organic and biologically-focused inputs allows gardeners to grow more nutritious and colorful produce, build healthier soil, and create a better world.
It's no secret that organic produce is colorful and delicious, but what’s the real difference when you grow organically? Plants need the diverse selection of macro and micronutrients that are present in healthy soil. Most conventional fertilizers focus on Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium, which are what plants consume in the highest concentration. However, plants need a broad range of other minerals, such as calcium and magnesium, in order to get the full spectrum of nutrients that are essential to plant health. Growing with organic inputs, such as Purple Cow Organics products, offers a diverse range of minerals and nutrients that plants need. Providing these nutrients supports healthier plants, which grow more nutritious produce. Not only do organically grown foods taste better, but they’re better for you!
Growing organically means that you grow with the soil, not just in it. You’re promoting natural processes and adding what the plant needs. Much of what gets left behind in conventional gardening is biology. Without life in the soil, life on the surface wouldn’t exist. Though nutrients are added back to the soil when using conventional fertilizer, beneficial bacteria and fungi aren’t being replenished and renewed. Over time, soil can become stripped of microbiology, leading to a smaller yield and a limited supply of available nutrients. Supporting the biology in your soil is a natural way of helping your plants develop stronger root systems, increasing their vitality and allowing you to use less fertilizer for the same great results.
Comprehensive nutrients and beneficial biology are great, especially for growing premium produce, but how does going organic create a better world? On a large scale, healthy soil with a rich population of microbial life can hold up to 18-20 times it’s weight in water! Microbes churn and aerate the soil, breaking up areas of compaction and allowing soil to become like a sponge. Absorbing excess water from rain or snowmelt not only helps to prevent flooding and erosion, but it provides a reservoir of water that plants can rely on in the dry season or in times of drought. Healthy soil also supports healthy plants, which can pull large amounts of carbon out of the atmosphere and sequester it in the soil. On a smaller scale, using natural inputs decreases the number of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides that can end up in waterways, helping to support fresh, clean water in your local ecosystem.
There’s so much that goes into growing organic, but it’s easy to get started when you have the right inputs! Adding an organic, plant-based compost like our Activated Compost, is an easy way to return a broad spectrum of essential nutrients, alongside organic matter and diverse microbiology. Don’t have the space in your garden bed or container for compost? Try a combination of our BioActive Supercharger and CX-1 for a boost of biology and nutrients without the bulk!