Greener Grass In Newtown—

Growing A Local

Organic Interest

By Kendra Bobowick

A gentler natural approach to the outdoors is spreading like a secret many have begun to share.

Organic living.

Gardens, landscapes, and dinner tables are all showing increasing amounts of organic evidence. Dan Holmes of Holmes Fine Gardens LLC in Newtown is among those to notice organic interests rise. Residents can find organic products for sale at his center, for example.

“It’s a time when people think of the healthy environment; it’s becoming very important,” he said.

Current interests clash with what Sue Shortt of Shortts’s Farm & Garden Center in Sandy Hook saw as recently as several years ago.

“Five years ago we didn’t even write ‘organic produce,’ and now we make sure we do,” she said. In past years consumers were not interested in the all-natural approach to produce, among other products.

“People didn’t care,” Ms Shortt said. She remembers trying to describe the organic goods. “When I told people [the produce] is organic they didn’t care. A lot of people didn’t even know what it meant, but now they are looking for it.” And finding it. Farmers’ markets are meeting the demand, including the Sandy Hook Organic Farmers’ Market, which includes booths for Shortts’s.

In the past she had heard complaints about price.

“They would say, ‘This fruit is expensive.’” Organic produce prices are a bit higher for a reason.

She explained, “We’re not spraying with insecticide and herbicides.” Growing and nurturing the plants also requires more time and attention. “It’s more labor intensive; we’re constantly weeding where, if you spray once, it knocks [weeds] out.” Any products used per organic guidelines are also more expensive, she said.

Northeast Organic Farmers Association (NOFA) Executive Director Bill Duesing notes that “a lot of people in Connecticut understand the value of farmers’ markets and every year another ten or so communities want farmers’ markets.”

He said, “Food is the most basic connection to this planet.” Possibly, people are starting to consider the benefit of growing their own supply. Mr Duesing said, “It might make sense to invest in the productive capacity of our communities so we won’t be totally dependent on distant sources of our most basic needs.”

He envisions a stronger community that feeds itself, and recycles waste into a beautiful landscape, he said.

Local landscaper Carlos Kowarick with Hands of Nature said, “This is a big movement and it’s coming down this way.” He believes that regulations will tighten in nature’s favor against the harsher chemicals landing in the soil.

Referring to Fairfield County is the “hot bed” for organic landscaping, Mr Duesing connected a few pieces to the organic equation, saying, “A lot of intelligent people realize [organic] importance, and have the money to do it.”

The nonorganic pesticides, etc applied to crops, lawns, trees, and more create a precarious scenario, as Mr Duesing describes. He said, “The ecosystem is on a knife-edge held up on chemicals.” With the right plants in the right place, they are more stable and less likely to “fall apart,” he said, making one of several arguments in favor of organic gardening.

Education and organic awareness are “up,” said Ms Shortt. “It’s a simple step to ensuring good health.”

The growing desire to choose organics is refreshing, Mr Holmes said. “The organics is falling into so many areas, it’s not just produce, but now people are demanding not only the produce and plants, but the knowledge.” He sees more interest than ever before in the organic field, he said.

He considers the reasons behind the raised awareness. “People see themselves as not above the greater [good], but they see themselves as trying to do the right things for the environment.” Doing “the right thing” can start in the backyard, he said.

Why Go Organic?

Common sense is part of the approach propelling Mr Kowarick’s point of view.

“Everything here is introduced or it would be all woods or trees, so…you have got to take care of it.”

To many, taking care of the land and growing farm foods organically is part of a larger health-conscious decision. Mr Kowarick continued, “It’s in synergy with nature, not against it.”

Organic is more than the foods produced or the products enhancing the lawn.

“It’s a way of life, a mentality,” he said. Offering his philosophy, he continued, “If you don’t recycle but buy organic fertilizer you are covering one side while uncovering the other.” Organic living is a mind-set, he said.

Living organically is also healthy, according to garden designer Nancy Gould. “The best result is you can feel more secure about yourself, your family, the planet. When we reduce our impact it’s better for your health.”

Mr Duesing offered his strong views of organic practices, saying, “Organic is a respect for nature’s methods, there is biodiversity, healthy soil. It results in healthy people, healthy plants, and in the long run it’s the only way to go.”

Nature is a perfect role model. Mr Duesing said, “Organic, it’s using nature’s methods and modeling ourselves on the ecosystem process, using compost as nutrients, encouraging biodiversity. The benefits are cleaner water and cleaner air and a healthier ecosystem.”

Moving his mental image away from the dwindling farm life in New England, he summarizes his observations. “Nature, left alone, creates biodiversity, and fertilizers and chemicals eat up organic matter and diminish biodiversity,” he said.

Luckily, Mother Nature endures, explained Mr Kowarick.

“Nature always wins,” he said. Offering examples, he said, “You’re not fighting the deer or putting shade plants in the sun — disease, insects, infestation, they eventually die.”

Rather than trying to beat her at her own game, he suggests essentially joining Mother Nature. He said, “What’s important is to pay attention to nature, live it, go outside.”

Birds, especially, hold Mr Kowarick’s attention. He said, “I have four to five feeders and I feed the chickadees, they eat the insects, and that’s one way of preventing having to apply pesticides.”

Ms Shortt prefers organic choices for what she called obvious reasons — it is healthier and better for the environment, she said.

The land also benefits from an organic green thumb. Mr Holmes said, “Nature and wildlife rely directly on fruits and seeds for sustenance.” He sees a direct relationship between the birds, bacteria, insects, and plants.

Part of his solution from a landscaper’s perspective to supporting a “green” approach is found in native plant species.

“We have to think about sustainability; it’s not just organics, it’s looking at each and every home and landscape as a little ecosystem and the larger picture is the neighborhood. Look at the abutting properties, where are the opportunities to develop the little ecosystems?”

The payoff is a healthier local habitat — to plant buffer areas, create a welcoming spot for song-birds where they can forage and nest, he said. He poses an alternative to those who may be wary of welcoming the wildlife, and describes a scenario of reciprocation.

A door has opened to give back to nature, he said, people can see the cause and effect of what they are planting. “It’s creating an opportunity to give back to the natural habitat and give back to the wildlife in the area.

“A lot of people may feel the native garden is too wild, a weed patch, but it can be beautiful,” he said. “We need to start emulating well-designed spaces.”

The results are a healthier environment around our homes, a healthier living space, and something easier to maintain, he said. Native plantings require fewer pesticides, for example, are well adapted to cold winters and hot summers, Mr Holmes said.

Stressing the importance of well-designed areas, he said, “So often, people try to shield the wetlands or woodland; you need to embellish and add to it and incorporate it.” With a few of the right plantings, the area can be brought to life, he said.

Deer ticks and animal life also create concerns among residents, he said, and the presence of birds, deer, and mice is undeniable, but can be minimized. “A lot of rodents stay out in the woodland rather than in the cultivated landscape.” He addresses concerns of Lyme disease by saying, “The best protection is to check yourself.”

Environmental Aches

And Pains

Picturing a fast-paced consumer world where the community is not mindful of the environment, Mr Duesing said, “This generation has been throwing away our farms and losing knowledge. If we don’t have an example of how it might be, we’re stuck with drive-throughs; it’s disastrous.” Farmland is precious, he explained.

“It is open space habitat to wildlife and helps recharge the aquifers,” he said.

Ms Gould notes a seasonal occurrence that she views as a problem.

“Everyone is concerned especially in the spring. They think about their lawns and how they want it to look,” she said. Organically speaking, their preferences lead to trouble.

“They run out an buy something,” she said. They may think organically for a moment, but that approach is not easy for them, said Ms Gould. Consumers need to place a greater demand on gardening suppliers to offer organic fertilizing and insecticide choices, for example. She considers not only the lawn, but what it leads to.

“Everything you put on your lawn runs into the streets, into the drains, and into the stream, so I always try to reuse and recycle, it’s all part of that,” she said. With a broader perspective, Ms Gould concluded, “I just think that there is such overuse of our resources and it’s taxing our streams and lakes and oceans.”