Organic gardening in SA

Tamlyn Stewart looks at whether the ‘wholesome’ food you buy is real or rip-off

Food fraudsters are making a quick buck on food passed off as “organic”.

Diana Callear, the managing director of Ecocert-Afrisco, an international organic-food certifying body, said there a number of fraudulent organic food producers in South Africa.

And due to a lack of legislation governing the industry, they can’t be stopped.

The legislation that prescribes the minimum requirements organic food producers must adhere to has still to be passed.

This means producers can pass uncertified food off as organic, and claim “organic” status on their food labels, says Callear.

The law is in draft form and has been sent to the World Trade Organisation for approval, before the bill can be made into law in South Africa, she said.

Until then, consumers will have to be wary of what they buy.

“Most of the big retailers, such as Woolworths and Pick n Pay, are careful. They make sure the products they buy are certified,” Callear said.

“Corner shops are where it’s happening the most, and there’s nothing we can do to stop it.”

Organic food is produced on farms that do not use man-made fertilisers, pesticides, growth regulators or livestock feed additives.

Crispin Jackson, an organic fruit and vegetable farmer near Johannesburg, said many producers claimed organic status on food labels, because it meant they could charge more for their products.

Jackson said: “There must be a certification logo and number on the label. A statement saying ‘Certification Held at Source’ is meaningless.”

Callear suggests consumers ask in stores for “certified organic” food rather than just “organic” food.

One of the reasons behind the false claims is that certification is an expensive process.

“It’s difficult to get certification from a reputable certifier for less than R7000 a year,” Callear said.

Ernest Klokow, general manager of Organics SA, said the organisation cannot penalise producers for false claims until the legislation is passed.

The best it can do is ask the producer to stop the false labelling, and threaten to publicise the fact they are not certified producers.

“When the law is in place we can take legal action,” Klokow said.

“Local certifiers are using European standards, but there are still discrepancies,” he said

 This article appeared in the local newspaper, “The Times“, published 19 March 2008 www.thetimes.co.za

The increase in human population and urbanization has led to food scarcity. To increase food production agriculturalists are tempted to use more amounts of chemical fertilizers and pesticides frequently, which cause several hazards to soil micro flora, which in turn affects fertility. For instance chemical fertilizers like Ammonium sulphate, Ammonium chloride and Urea reduce the soil pH. Chlorides are highly toxic to most of the crop plants. The accumulation of chemicals by bio magnification in plants and their products causes several diseases in human beings. Infant disease such as methanoglobinaemia is caused due to nitrogen containing fertilizers.  The residues of chemical fertilizer cause concern over the safety of food and sustainable production. Hence, it becomes imperative for the researchers and planners to develop an alternative viable strategy to counteract the problem.

Organic farming, usage of eco-friendly manures such as green manures, urban waste, rural wastes, etc. can bring sustainability to agriculture. Vermicomposting is an eco-friendly, economical, efficient novel technology that can be applied to utilize agricultural and other organic wastes. This technology also provides opportunities for self-employment for rural people, by utilizing the available agricultural resources. The technology had begun in Ontario, Canada in 1970 and now is practised in countries such as USA, Japan and Philippines. In India, vermicomposting technology is getting familiarized in this decade. A number of agro-industrial organic wastes discarded as unusable, which contain essential nutrients can be exploited to improve the physical, chemical and biological properties of soil. The digested product of earthworm known as castings, which is rich in nutrients such as phosphorous, potassium, calcium and magnesium, increases the soil fertility.

For more details on vermiculture visit www.worms.blat.co.za or email info@magicworms.co.za.

Worm castings will supply your organic garden will all the needed nutrients, organic growth hormones, and all those good bacterias.  Furthermore wormcomposting is 4 x faster then normal composting, is a good way of reducing the amount of organic waste that lands up in landfills, reduces greenhouse gases, and is completely odourless!

Earthworm Composting Bins with Worms:

• The ever popular Magic Supreme Wormery at R675.  Supplied stocked with around 500 worms with eggs and bedding.  Brilliant for large families, restuaranteurs, etc.  And ….. upgradeable with a further 2 bins!  Current system around 150L. 

• Recommended starter bin should the Magic Supreme seems to be to big, the all new Magic Deluxe Midi Wormery at R600-00 with around 500 worms and eggs.  Fully upgradeable to 7 bins.  Current system around 100L.

Should you require some one to maintain and look after your bin, then call us.  

Note all our products are proudly made in South Africa!

For more information, see www.worms.blat.co.za and  for orders, email info@magicworms.co.za or phone

Vernon on 082 887 4717 (between 08:00 & 19:00 Monday to Sunday

Organic gardening, however, is not just about adding organic fertilizers and pesticides. If you want to see good results in your home garden, you should look at the different aspects of organic gardening, which include the following:

• Maintaining a healthy soil: Most of us mistaken soil as small inorganic particles which are formed by weathering of rocks. However, apart from these inorganic particles, soil constitutes organic matter, both living and dead. There are numerous microorganisms present in soil, the absence or dearth of which makes the soil unhealthy for plant growth.
• Testing the quality of soil: In order to maintain a healthy soil, you should first test the quality of soil present in your home garden. Search for soil testing laboratories in your vicinity, call them, and find out the procedure for testing soil there. Take a sample and get a soil quality report from the laboratory.
• Adding nutrients: The next step is adding appropriate nutrients in the soil. The way you require good food, your home garden also requires excellent nutrients. Compost and organic fertilizers should be added as advised by the soil testing laboratory. Inorganic nutrients such as lava sand, basalt, etc., can also be added. You should also add organic matter such as molasses or dried grass as this helps in maintaining moisture in the soil and favors growth of the microorganisms.
• Tilling: We have been accustomed to machine tilling since the past few decades. But experts of organic gardening suggest that the best tool for tilling is the hand spade. Why you ask? Because hand tilling retains the soil structure which is essential for a healthy soil.
• Sowing: You should use organic seeds for sowing. Nowadays you can easily get these seeds in the market. Numerous online organic stores also sell organic seeds.
• Controlling the pests and diseases: In organic gardening, pests and diseases are controlled by using organic fungicides, insecticides, and pesticides. You can also make use of certain beneficial insects and birds which feed on the pests and control them naturally. Pests can be controlled with the help of certain trap crops, and companion planting as well. Bugs can be controlled with the help of frogs, toads, etc.
• Controlling the weeds: Organic gardening experts often recommend organic herbicides for controlling weeds. Weeds can also be controlled by employing a process called mulching, which is piling up organic matter such as dry grass and leaves on the soil surface. Mulching does not allow any space for the weeds to grow.

• Organic food is produced by farmers who emphasize the use of renewable resources and the conservation of soil and water to enhance environmental quality for future generations. Organic meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products come from animals that are given no antibiotics or growth hormones. Organic food is produced without using most conventional pesticides; fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge; bioengineering; or ionizing radiation. Before a product can be labeled “organic,” a Government-approved certifier inspects the farm where the food is grown to make sure the farmer is following all the rules necessary to meet USDA organic standards. Companies that handle or process organic food before it gets to your local supermarket or restaurant must be certified, too.

• Organic refers to the way agricultural foods and fibers are produced and processed. It is a commitment to agricultural practices that strive for a balance with nature, using methods and materials that are of low impact to the environment. And the primary goal is to optimize the health and productivity of interdependent communities of soil life, plants, animals and people. of or relating to

• or derived from living organisms; “organic soil”

• simple and healthful and close to nature; “an organic lifestyle”

• of or relating to foodstuff grown or raised without synthetic fertilizers or pesticides or hormones; “organic eggs”; “organic vegetables”; “organic chicken”

• a fertilizer that is derived from animal or vegetable matter

• A term designating any chemical compound which contains carbon and hydrogen

• producing food without the employment of chemically formulated fertilizers, growth stimulants, antibiotics, or pesticides

• A material (eg pesticide) whose molecules contain carbon and hydrogen atoms. Also may refer to plants or animals which are grown without the use of synthetic fertilizers or pesticides.

For more definitions, should these not be enough, then click on the following link:  http://www.google.co.za/search?hl=en&defl=en&q=define:organic&sa=X&oi=glossary_definition&ct=title

Welcome to this new site which we would like to become an interactive site.  Should you wish to participate, write and submit an article to be published here, create some debate around the organic topic, etc, then why not sent me an email at info@magicworms.co.za, and also visit www.worms.blat.co.za to get some background about me. 

Please let me know if you have a related website, and if I judge it to be of interest, then I’ll gladly list it here, in exchange for listing this site on your site.