In today’s world, a thoughtfully designed organic garden is one of the safest and most productive environments for children to engage and develop the full range of their physical and mental abilities. Without question, this depends upon an adequate level of adult supervision and an awareness of each child’s tendency to absorb both safe and unsafe practices through their capacity for close observation and imitation. Like most learning situations, garden safety requires constant instruction and practical application from individuals who elicit the respect and trust of their charges. By consistently demonstrating a strong commitment to garden and outdoor safety, parents and supervising adults can gradually promote a similar response in...

From a young age, children benefit from gathering the knowledge and skills necessary to raise plants and develop an organic garden. In earlier times, a significant percentage of people depended on their own abilities to provide sufficient food for their families. While subsistence agriculture is still a factor in many regions of poor and developing nations, the emphasis has now shifted toward large scale commercial plantations. Such enterprises are dominated by limited numbers of high demand crops which are largely processed with the assistance of mechanised technologies. For the last century, sociologists have explained the importance of guardianship in relation to food, development, and sustainability. By establishing guardianship over any...

The life sustaining ability of soil is best understood by appreciating the complex cycles of decay and erosion. Its natural formation occurs in a series of layers starting at the surface but gradating down to the deepest bedrock. The surface layer is where active decomposition begins. Exposure to atmospheric elements, surface warmth and moisture helps to break organic matter into loose mulch like material. At the microscopic level, this layer is teeming with a diversity of bacterial, fungal and algal life forms. In combination with larger organisms like beetles and worms they provide the additional recycling activity to enable minerals and nutrients to be retrieved from the decaying organic matter and returned to the soil. Another family of...

In today’s fast paced world, organic gardening provides an opportunity to reconnect with nature and to appreciate simple but intense pleasures. There’s nothing to beat the aroma of garden fresh herbs or the taste of a peach taken directly from a tree that’s never been sprayed with dangerous synthetic chemicals. Organically grown fruit and vegetables taste better and are safer to eat than other produce. Most commercially grown crops are represented by varieties that demonstrate high yield potential. Taste and nutritional value can be sacrificed to other requirements such as uniformity of size, appearance, and resistance to spoilage. With the current standard of presentation for supermarket produce, the appearance of some organically...

Have you ever considered growing your own sprouts? If you’re not already growing sprouts, there’s a good chance someone you know, whether a neighbour, relative or friend, is already benefiting from this wonderful activity. Here are ten reasons why rearing sprouts is becoming an increasingly popular activity for organic consumers and others who take their health seriously: Sprouts are an excellent source of vitamins and minerals - During sprouting, the vitamin content of some seeds increases from 100% to 1000%. Minerals become available to the body in a form capable of being readily assimilated. Sprouts can be grown anywhere and at any time of year - It doesn’t matter where you’re living, whether in Australia, Canada or Ireland, sprouts...