Organic gardening is good for biodiversity

Let’s reflect for a moment on what organic gardening is , organic growing and where this fits into the grand scheme of things, as a new movement in organic gardening has been going on since the 1920’s and actually, It is about remembering how our ancestors did it, at that time when everything that was eaten was free of chemicals, fertilizers, pesticides and preservatives.

But today, how can we solve soil degradation through an organic garden or orchard? Private gardens may not be thought of as wildlife refuges , but growing scientific evidence suggests that these habitats can support a wide variety of species and act as stepping stones through landscapes that are dominated by human structures.

To increase the effectiveness of gardens as refuges for wildlife, many researchers have promoted a management technique also known as “ecological gardening” and “naturalistic gardening.”

Index

What is organic gardening?

This method involves avoiding pesticides and chemicals , using organic manures instead of industrial fertilizers, providing habitat structures , such as ponds or woodpiles, that provide food, water, and places where animals can shelter.

It has been recently researched that gardeners or gardeners try to avoid eco-management techniques because they don’t like the resulting look or even because they are worried that their neighbors might frown at a messy lawn, this being the main problem. which we face when it comes to having an organic garden or orchard , since it is not as colorful or as beautiful as if we arranged it normally.

The researchers conducted their study in a set of 36 focus gardens spread across the canton of Zurich, where they asked garden owners questions such as the frequency of mowing and weeding , the use of artificial fertilizers and pesticides, and the presence/absence of Beneficial “features” such as ponds, nesting structures, woodpiles, etc.

They were also asked how green they considered themselves and if they cared what others thought of the appearance of their garden or orchard.

People do not know how to create an ecological garden

The result was quite curious, because only 9 of the 36 owners cared about not using chemicals and protecting the environment, but something good came out of these results, since many people felt that organic gardening was actually easier and It took less time than conventional gardening, even though they would have liked more information about this practice.

These people also indicated that they would not mind the presence of a “wild” garden in their neighborhood, these results being encouraging given that the scientists found significantly more species of wildlife in gardens that scored higher on the ecological management index and in the presence of beneficial characteristics.

People who saw photographs of ecological gardens had a fairly positive response about their aesthetics, since there is a significant positive relationship between the degree of ecological management and appreciation in general aesthetics and the gardens that received the highest scores were described as gardens « rich in species and natural color”.

Maintenance of an ecological garden

Friendly beneficial insects for your garden

Although there are plenty of insects, like aphids, that can be harmful to plants, there are also very beneficial insects that can help reduce the population of harmful insects, such as ladybugs and ground beetles , as they feed on aphids such as black fly.

So, if you have an aphid infestation in your garden or orchard, consider planting sunflowers and marigolds to attract these beneficial insects to your garden.

Birds to kill caterpillars and other pests

As for the snails, slugs, caterpillars, worms and other pests that can destroy your garden, birds can serve as exceptional and natural protectors . So you can install bird feeders and nests to encourage birds to stay in your garden, in this way we will also be eliminating the need for synthetic insecticides, fungicides and herbicides that are toxic to the environment.

Organic gardening is good for biodiversity

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