I have been asked ‘Why does my organic food last longer?’ So, let’s take a look into this and I’ll even give you tips to make your food last longer.

Organic food and conventional foods are not grown the same way. Organic farming is regulated and is more in line with the traditional methods. Here no synthetic chemical pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers are used. Sewage sludge is not permitted, nor are irradiation and genetically modified foods used.

Instead, the organic farmer works in unison with the land and the soil. He recognizes that the soil is alive. He knows that healthy soil is full of nutrients and that plants grown in this soil then are healthy and full of nutrients.

And it is this thinking that represents a major difference between the two methods of farming. Conventional methods often leave the soil severely depleted of nutrients, making the plants unhealthy and susceptible to pests and disease.

Organic produce does not miraculously defy the life cycle and defeat decay. No, it just has a better start. To accurately determine which growing method would produce plants that lasted longer, you would need to pick straight from each field – the organic and the non-organic. Take them both home and then see which lasts longer.

But, before you go ahead and do that consider that the most nutrient content from your produce would be from fresh produce. This is true for both growing methods. So ideally you would be eating your fruits and vegetables well before the point of decay.

To maintain the life of your tomatoes longer, buy ‘tomatoes on the vine’. The vine is able to maintain the tomato longer so you will get to keep them longer. This works for organic and non-organic alike.

When buying bananas, don’t choose the green ones. Chances are that they were picked so yearly in their life cycle that they may well never get ‘ripe’. Instead select bananas well on the way to being ripe or with very little green left on the peeling.

Buy the healthiest looking vegetables for these would be the most alive and with the most nutrients. And ideally, select organic whenever you can.

There are more reasons than ever why anybody with access to a few square feet of the outdoors should grow their own organic vegetables.

You may be shocked at how much of the produce at your local supermarket has been genetically modified. Some estimates now put this at over 50%. While there is no strong evidence that genetically modified foods are immediately harmful to your health, there are no long term studies either. Do you want to take that risk?

Let’s take a look at pesticides and fertilizers. Farmers no longer use crop rotation or natural manures to improve soil fertility, so they are forced to use ever increasing amounts of chemicals to improve yields and multiple pesticides to protect the weakened plants. Pesticides penetrate deeply into the leaves of plants and pestiside residues remain even after you have scrubbed them.

To quote from The Environmental Protection Agency – “Pesticides are designed to kill pests. Many pesticides can also pose risks to people. The health effects of pesticides depend on the type of pesticide. Some, such as the organophosphates and carbamates, affect the nervous system. Others may irritate the skin or eyes. Some pesticides may be carcinogens. Others may affect the hormone or endocrine system in the body.”

Sure you can, and should, buy organic fruit and vegetables but have you seen the prices? Anybody with even a modest vegetable garden can grow healthy organic vegetables at much lower cost than those at the local supermarket. Not only can you grow them at much lower cost, but you can grow them one hundred percent better.

Even the long-keeping vegetables such as potatoes, onions and squash are noticeably tastier picked straight from the home vegetable garden; but when it comes to peas and corn and salad vegetables- well , there is absolutely nothing to compare with the home garden ones, gathered fresh, in the early slanting sunlight, still gemmed with dew, still crisp and tender and juicy, ready to carry every atom of savory quality and taste, without loss, to the dining table.

It is not in price or health alone that home gardening pays. There is another point. Agribusiness has to grow the things that give the biggest yield. They have to sacrifice quality and taste for quantity and long shelf life. You do not. The strawberries on the supermarket shelves may look bright and red and uniform but you will soon find they taste more like the cardboard of their containers when compared to a home grown variety picked straight from the vine.

And this brings us to what may be the most important reason you should garden. It is the cheapest, healthiest pleasure there is. Give me a sunny garden patch in the springtime, give me seeds to watch as they find the light, plants to tend as they take hold in the fine, loose, rich soil, give me succulent and tasty springtime salads. And when you have grown tired of the springtime, come back in summer to even the smallest garden, and you will find in it, every day, a new vista, new pleasures and, yes, new challenges.

Better food, better health, better living — all these the home vegetable garden offers you in abundance. So, turn off that computer, pull out some old clothes and find a spot to dig.

It is a fact that an increasing number of people are moving towards natural and organic products every year. That means people are becoming more aware of what types of food are offered in the market and what kind of effects they are producing on the general health of the population.

We, as Americans, are among the most sensible and logical people on the planet when it comes to production and manpower. However we had not put too much importance on the quality of food we consumed, till now. That is very exciting and means we are now becoming even sensible about our food consumption.

Organic food usually means food that has been grown with natural untreated fertilizers, and is pesticide free. What the earth intended to begin with.

When we look around us, abundance of nature is quite visible. We actually live in abundance of natural creation. However when man decided, due to the false impression, that he needs to produce more, using every means at his disposal to feed people and make more money, even if it goes against the rules of nature, the number of diseases became more frequent. We are what we eat.
When we act on a competitive plane rather than a creative plane, we loose sight of the unlimited natural resources that are at our disposal.

So, it is quit thrilling to see that more people are becoming health conscious and desire to live naturally. This is why we see that more organic food products, and organic food stores are becoming available in our neighborhoods.

To your health and well being,

David Nelson, Jr

Carlos Montenegro asked:




In the US, farming is $6 billion industry. To keep it that way and with the health and welfare of the public in mind, the Department of Agriculture has taken steps so farmers can shift to organic farming. This does not only save money but also has some health benefits.

But first, we have to know what organic farming is. This is a technique that has been practiced by ancient civilizations that simply relied on the land they worked on, the sun and the water to make the harvests grow.

It was only when scientists invented fertilizers and pesticides that we moved away from this technique because it was thought that this will make the crops bigger and harvesting faster.

Unfortunately, the use of fertilizers and pesticides has done more harm than good. The chemicals used are harmful but never in small dosages. But imagine what if somebody consumes this in excessive amounts and unknowingly develops an illness or their baby has birth defects.

Such threats are real which is why we have to do something before it happens. Before the Department of Agriculture wanted everyone to go into organic farming, tests were conducted.

The results show that organically grown vegetables have more nutrients and vitamins compared to conventional farming. The same goes for its taste.

Organic vegetables do not have hydrogenated fats, artificial flavor or coloring, sweeteners, additives, preservatives or residual antibiotics. This means that what you get is all natural. But don’t forget to wash these first before it is cooked to remove any residue from the compost used in helping it grow.

The government or the Department of Agriculture is not the only one who should push farmers to shift towards organic farming. You can do your share by talking to the farmers themselves as they are the ones who plant them. You can also start planting organically grown vegetables yourself because they cost a bit more in the supermarket.

Before you start planting, check how big is the area so you have an idea what kind of vegetables can be planted given your limited space. You then need to buy the necessary tools and make some of them yourself. This information can be found online, in books and from the gardening store.

If you don’t want to start making an organic vegetable garden using seeds, you can get starter plants instead but be aware that they cost a bit more and this takes the thrill out of gardening. v

But if money is no object to you, by all means get this from the store. Just make sure that there is a stamp which certifies that this has been approved by the Department of Health, Quality Assurance International, California Certified Organic Farmers or the Oregon Tilth Farm Verified Organic.

If everyone does their share, no one will use chemicals and fertilizers anymore. Everyone can live healthy and eat healthy. At the same time, we are able to protect the environment so future generations will be able to use the land we have used to plant their crops in the future.

Organic vegetable gardening is truly the way to go. If you noticed, some restaurants have done their share as well by making people know that whatever they use is organic.

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