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(Editor's Note: This is one of ■ series on home horticulture by VVesley p. Judkins, Virginia Tech professor of horticulture and extension horticuitist.)
Organic gardening would seem to be a desirable way to raise crops. In its ideal form, organic farming would eliminate the use of chemicals as fertilizer, or their use to control the disease and bisect pests of our crops and livestock. ' The situation is not that simple. The residues which remain in the field after crops are harvested, have low fertilizer value, and are inadequate as a source of nutrients for future crops. Organic fertilizers such as manure and sewage sludge have relatively low analysis and are not available in sufficient quantities to maintain crop yields and feed our present population. Organic materials such as cottonseed meal and tankage are sometimes used as fertilizer. They are much too expensive for this purpose however, because they have greater value as feed for poultry and livestock. Thus, chemical fertilizers are necessary if we are to feed the present and future world populations. Similar conclusions must be reached relative to the need for using toxic chemicals in crop production. The specialized crops we cultivate for food are grown in concentrated plantings. These are much more susceptible to attack by diseases' and insects than mixtures of several species growing under natural conditions. Although many plant diseases are now controlled by using resistant varieties, and biological methods are effective against a limited number of insects, the use of chemical pesticides is still a necessity in the production of most food crops.
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