Raised Garden Question From Gloria:

My gardener built a raised garden and put non organic plants in. I informed him about this and obviously he doesn’t understand. Should I remove the herbs and lettuce and replace with organic plants or just wash the leaves carefully and replant later?

Answer From Pat:

Your question regarding “organic plants” was a little difficult to understand. “Organic” can be a confusing term since of course all plants are technically organic. Perhaps you mean plants that have been fed with “organic” fertilizers such as fish emulsion. Since stronger fertilizers might burn young plants, most young seedlings or plants in pony packs or 4-inch size would never have been fed anything other than fish emulsion. If you mean that the plants had not been sprayed with chemicals, this too is not likely to have happened because any chemical spray might kill a young plant and why would it need to be sprayed? Also, in my many years of purchasing transplants of herbs and other vegetables I have never bought anything labeled “organic”. Additionally it is totally unnecessary to purchase seeds that have been grown organically, and I am not aware of any that are labeled as grown organically. Why would it matter?

In an organic garden, what counts is how you are going to grow your own plants in your own garden. My belief system is that home gardeners are better off using organic fertilizers and never spraying with pesticides. If you follow these rules your vegetables and herbs will always be totally safe to eat, no matter how they were raised in their first few weeks of life.

Photo by Ed Bierman

Photo by Derek Bridges