by Dasa Suciu

Created on: May 27, 2009

In these times when nature has been assaulted by many types of polluting chemicals, everyone wants to find the best ways to be protected from being poisoned by dangerous substances to health. The most important way we can use ourselves is to eat healthy organic fruits and vegetables. To be sure they are organic, they must be grown organically in our own garden. This is not easy!

First of all, everything that participates in the growing of the fruits and vegetables in a garden must be obtained ecologically in order to achieve this goal. And this means that not only the soil must be friendly, but also the air and the water, because they influence the quality of soil.

And I would start with the air. Yes, plants breathe through their leaves. That's why a true organic garden must be placed far from polluted areas. When the air is polluted from factories the rain water is also polluted.

Not only such rains bring down on the ground the toxic elements found in the air, but they may destroy altogether the plants and trees sometimes - the acid rains. Bringing down such elements like lead or cadmium, the soil gets contaminated and then the plants and trees. Where there is good air, there is good rain water, which is essential for plant growing. Not the running water from your house, it has water treatment chemicals. Nothing compares with fresh unpolluted rain water! But when we don't have it from nature, leave the running water to stay at least 24 h to get rid of its chemicals and only after that it can be used.

In order to have a friendly soil in your garden, keep it away from chemicals. There are so many natural ways to keep it in a healthy condition. Nature is offering so many repellent plants against insects, protecting this way the other plants we grow in the garden. The following is a tip offered by nature itself.

A lovely repellent plant with golden yellow button-like little flowers, that many consider to be a weed because of its toxicity, is the common tansy (Tanacetum vulgare). It may be used as an infusion or decoction. 300 g of fresh plant in 10 l water or 30 g dried plant in 10 l water. The liquid obtained by filtration is sprayed on the plants after dilution with half water. Another way to prepare this marvelous insecticide is a water extract. Leave the fresh plant in water for 24 hours then filter and dilute. It has a very strong effect. It's a real biopesticide acting against many insects such as white large cabbage butterfly, Colorado potato beetle and greenhouse white-fly.

And this is only one example from so many other tips from nature. Many would say it's simpler to buy some chemical spray. Yes, it's a little work to do for preparing such pest control solutions, but it's worth doing it both for our health and the health of the planet we are blessed to live on.

Learn more about this author, Dasa Suciu.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.