Organic vs. Synthetic
By Bruce Lee Deuley - 10/29/03

I recently visited a Texas A&M web sight after reading an article I found in “The Dirt Doctor’s Dirt “magazine. The magazine, published by well-known organic enthusiast Howard Garrett, is a great source of information for those of you interested in organic gardening.

What caught my eye was the name of the A&M article “Understanding Common House & Garden Insecticides”. The article does a fine job of explaining herbicides and pesticides in general and breaks down pesticides in to various categories including a classification of “low impact insecticides”. All this is good general information for the home gardener. However, then came the surprise. The following is a quote from the web sight. “Don’t be misled by sales claims for many so-called ‘natural’ products. Advertising which claims that any insecticide is ‘safe’, ‘pure’, ‘all natural’, ‘EPA approved’, ‘pesticide free’ and ‘chemical free’ are at best misleading; and at worst, false and / or illegal. Many people get great satisfaction from using only substances found in nature in their garden. This is generally a good thing. However, use of synthetics can also be a safe and environmentally sound practice if practiced with care and discretion.”

Sorry folks but this is just not true.

First, there are many currently available pesticides and herbicides on the market that are known to be unsafe around living things. Some are even known carcinogens and are being pulled off the market only to be replaced by substances that may be just as bad for our health. The other misleading idea the article proposes is that true organic products are dangerous.

It is true in the past products like rotenone and nicotine sulfate were promoted as organic pesticides. However, any well-informed organic enthusiast has not recommended products like theses for many years. Once we discovered they were not as safe as originally thought, even though they were of organic origin, they taken off the recommended list. Even pyrethrum, which has been promoted as a safe pesticide in the past, is no longer on my list of safe pesticides because there is suspicion that DDT is used on the plants where they are grown overseas.

The use of products such as cornmeal, corn gluten meal, pepper, garlic, molasses, and plant oils such as Neem or clove oil are indeed safe and provide a healthy alternative to the use of the currently available synthetic herbicides and pesticides.

It is always wise to read and follow instructions on the labels of every product you use in your garden or around you house. However, rest assured the organic products recommended in my articles will always be the safest and most environmentally friendly, you can use to get the job done