Chemical-Free Living
Chemicals made life a lot easier. They make all the dirt magically disappear, while chemical pesticides and artificial fertilizers dramatically increased crop yields. But they have a high price. Most of the chemicals that are used both indoors and outdoors are extremely toxic to both human health and the environment. For example, the chemicals which are used by farmers and conventional gardeners to fight pests are not lethal for the harmful insects alone but are also decimating other insects including pollinators which play the key role in crop production. Some pesticides are even toxic enough to kill birds and small mammals. There is also strong evidence that these chemicals are posing a serious threat to people who are exposed to them directly and indirectly as the wind can easily carry them to the nearby villages, while the rain washes them into the soil and eventually into the groundwater. And considering that groundwater is the main source of drinking water in most parts of the world, there is a great chance that your tap water contains residues of pesticides even if you do not live in a rural area.
The chemicals that are used indoors, typically for cleaning are not much better. They do the cleaning job less unpleasant and deodorize your home at the same time. However, that pleasant smell after freshly cleaned home is everything but pleasant. What you are smelling and inhaling are various airway irritating fumes some of which have even been identified as cancerous. And they are not only causing harm to your health but the environment too.
Chemical-free living might be hard to imagine but when you give up a cleaning product for this and a cleaning product for that and stop using those hazardous pesticides in your garden, only then you will realize that you did not need them in the first place. You can easily keep your home clean with organic cleaning products made of ingredients such as white vinegar, baking soda, lemon, etc. And yes, they do the job just as good as those pricey cleaning agents you keep under your kitchen sink. But how you are supposed to protect your garden plants from pests and diseases? It is not that difficult really if you understand how plants and pests work.
Plants have an immune system just like humans and as long as their immune system is strong they are less likely to be affected by pests and diseases. And even if they are, they often fight them off by themselves. Pest control should therefore start way before you notice pest infestation because plants will develop a strong immune system only if they are provided the right amounts of nutrients, water and sunlight exposure. In addition to providing your garden plants ideal conditions for growth, you can also take advantage of wildlife species and the so-called companion plants. Many bugs that visit your garden such as ladybirds for example love to eat the pests and help you prevent them from causing damage to your plants. Companion plants, on the other hand, assist your plants in nutrient uptake, provide them shade from the intense UV light during the summer heat, or repeal pests or attract the bugs that feed on the pests. These simple and all natural pest control measures typically eliminate the need for chemical pesticides completely. But if your plants get infested anyway, you can fight the pests with organic pesticides which kill the pests but do not harm the environment.