Why Not to Use Chemicals in Your Garden

Posted on Oct 25 2011 - 2:36am by Mike Lieberman

We already know some of the effects of chemical gardening and why organic gardening makes sense, but I posed an open-ended sentence on the Urban Organic Gardener Facebook page that said, “I don’t use chemicals in my garden because ___.”

Over 70 comments were left by people giving their reasons why. All of which were simple and to the point. Most of the responses mentioned not wanting to eat the chemicals and respecting wildlife and the environment.

Here are some of the comments that were left:

Carolyn Madison said…“because I do not want to eat chemicals – Chemicals create toxic food!”

Missy Gullickson said…“if a bug won’t eat it, I won’t either…”

Randy Smith said…“I don’t like to eat stuff that has skull and crossbones on the package.”

Roberta Clay said…“I don’t use chemicals in my garden or on my farm, because it can harm or kill my bees, the wildlife, the earth and anything the land produces!!!”

Matthew Lee said…“‎…they harm my family and ultimately impede the sustainability of my farm.”

Michael Van Varenberg said…“‎ i like pulling weeds.”

Pam Howe said…“…cancer sucks.”

Michele Dangelo said…“My kids eat the food.”

Lynn Johnson said…” i already have more than enough unwanted chemicals in my life–in the air i breathe, the water i drink, the food i eat…”

Urban Hillbilly said…“Really I don’t use chemicals because I almost lost my 2 1/2 yr old baby to appendicitis. Not one doctor could tell me why someone so young got so sick….I fed her good food but it was NOT organic… SO this is how I became the Urban Hillbilly.”

Robin Gwen said…“I like to squish bugs.”

Deanna Rolfe Dunn said…” I don’t want to eat chemicals – there’s enough stress to our bodies without adding to it!”

What are some other reasons not to use chemicals in your garden?

Photo courtesy of andypowe11

9 Comments so far. Feel free to join this conversation.

  1. Sue October 25, 2011 at 4:52 pm -

    Because they are poisonous!

  2. Mike Lieberman October 25, 2011 at 6:41 pm -

    True indeed.

  3. MaryssaGC October 25, 2011 at 1:56 pm -

    These are all terrific points.  Are there any organic ideas to ward away creepy crawlers?

  4. Mike Lieberman October 25, 2011 at 7:39 pm -

    Which ones specifically?

  5. Terri Black Hamilton October 27, 2011 at 7:52 pm -

    Cancer, asthma, endometriosis, birth defects, etc. are the negative reasons; the positive reasons are my cats & dog running around in the yard.

  6. Mike Lieberman October 28, 2011 at 6:30 pm -

    Those are some great reasons!

  7. Caitlin December 10, 2011 at 7:42 pm -

    I can’t eat any veggies or fruits that come from stores, or farms that use it cause I can’t breathe and my heart starts to shut down.. I’ve barely had any fruits or veggies in the past 2 years unless its in a can, or fried ): which is why im starting my own organic garden. 

  8. Mike Lieberman December 11, 2011 at 7:44 pm -

    Nice. Keep me updated.

  9. pondering May 17, 2013 at 9:14 pm -

    my sister’s husband took out his anger on her by dumping wiper fluid on her garden. Is it safe for her to still use the garden? Any way to redeem her garden?

Leave A Response

You must be logged in to post a comment.