Organic gardening: A growing trend

Katie Stallcup
Staff writer
Published: July 6, 2008

Gardening organically might be a harder row to hoe, but it can be done, say those in the field.

Organic growing isn’t new to Frank Randle’s family. They’ve been doing it since 1975 at Randle Farms just outside Opelika.

“We’ve been through the hippie times, where everyone wanted to get back to the earth,” Randle said. “Then, we went through a time where they weren’t (coming). Now, we’re back full circle.”

Over the last three or four years, business has really picked up, he said.

“This year is amazing,” he said.

Randle said he thinks news about contaminated and disease-carrying foods has contributed to the surge in popularity.

“Also, people want to know where their food comes from,” he said. “They want to know the source and the farmer.”

As far as smaller-scale organic growing, Randle said it could be done.

“There’s nothing to it — it’s just a lot of work,” he said, smiling.

Lee County Extension Agent Chuck Browne said he has recently had an increasing number of questions about organic gardening.

“It’s a challenge, more so in some areas than others,” Browne said. “Because of our long growing season, it’s a great opportunity for insects … It can be done. You can’t just plant it and say it’ll be wonderful. You’ve got to be out there every day monitoring it.”

The Alabama Cooperative Extension Service is researching organic gardening more and more, he said.

“We’ve got people on the state staff and regionally working on developing some guidelines and methods on how people can grow things organically,” he said.

Small-scale organic growing is generally more feasible than large-scale farming, he said.

The majority of organic gardening is just good gardening habits, said Stan Roark, a regional extension agent based in Randolph County.

“I think what people have to realize is we all used to be organic gardeners, and yet we still gardened,” Roark said. “I think probably 90 percent of organic gardening is good gardening practices anybody should be doing.”

Organic gardens are more work because without pesticides and other aids, gardeners have to be more vigilant to catch fungus and pests early, he said. Composts and hardy varieties can help.

Education is key to starting an organic garden, Roark said. Attending master gardener workshops is a good start, he said.

On the Web:

- Find out what the USDA considers organic at http://www.usda.gov.

- Learn more about gardening and sign up for classes at http://www.aces.edu.