Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

I appreciate John Cloud’s dilemma, but there are some misconceptions that need correcting. Growing organic foods in humid climates is not necessarily expensive or difficult, but requires a new kind of expertise one might call ‘Beyond Organic.’ When soil fertility issues are addressed skillfully, based on knowledge that is not widely know, the taste and nutritional quality of the produce is superior. Pests, which are nature’s garbage crew, doing away with inferior plants, are not attracted to these superior plants, so pesticide are not needed. But in humid areas, such as Eastern U.S., minerals in the soil are depleted by production and washed away by rain, so the soil must be carefully re-mineralized to attain superior fertility. When local organic farmers learn these new techniques, they will produce excellent produce that will command a premium price, and our local organic producers will flourish.