Horticulture comes from the Latin words ‘hortus’ which means plants and ‘cultura’ that means culture. Horticulture is classically defined as the method or culture of growing plants. In horticulture the use of plough has been minimized and substituted with human labor and gardener’s cultivation tools or simple machines like rotary tillers.
Organic horticulturists believe that through proper care and good soil condition problems faced by plants can be avoided. The organic horticulturists use various pheromone traps, insecticidal soap sprays, and other pest-control methods available to enhance the growth of the plants.
Horticulture involves five areas of study; floriculture that is production and marketing of floral crops. Landscape horticulture includes production, marketing and maintenance of landscape plants. Olericulture is the method of production and marketing of vegetables and pomology deals with the production and marketing of fruits. Post-harvest physiology deals with the maintenance of quality and prevention of spoilage of horticultural crops. All these are pursued according to the principles of organic cultivation.
Organic horticulture or organic gardening based on knowledge and techniques gathered over thousands of years involves natural processes of cultivation. Organic horticulture is a holistic approach which is different from chemical-based horticulture which focuses on immediate and reductionism.
Formal organic gardening and farming systems are conducted according to prescribed specific techniques. They tend to be more specific than, general organic standards. Example: Biodynamic farming based on the teachings of Rudolf Steiner. The no-till system invented by Japanese farmer and writer Masanobu Fukuoka for small-scale grain production that he called Natural Farming. Some examples of small scale gardening involves French intensive and bio-intensive methods and SPIN Farming (Small Plot INtensive).
Organic horticulture depends on the natural breakdown of organic matter. Organic horticulturists use techniques like green manure, the application of rotted animal manures and compost to replace nutrients taken from the soil by previous crops. This process helps in regaining the soil fertility allowing the natural production of nutrients in the soil.
Majority of organic gardeners produce their own compost. This is a basic soil amendment used in the organic horticulture. Certain other amendments like rock powders providing phosphorus, potassium, calcium, and other minerals are also used for organic horticulture. In addition to compost, mulches, and rock powders, organic gardeners also use prepared or naturally derived amendments like fish-waste emulsion and seaweed emulsion. The fish-waste emulsion is a byproduct of the fish-processing industry and seaweed emulsion contains high percentage of nitrogen and minerals. These are mixed with water and sprayed or sprinkled on plants and soil as a booster.
Items required for organic horticulture like insecticidal soap, bagged rotted manure, fish emulsion, etc. are always available in the retail outlets. Many products of this sort were developed for use at the horticultural, or garden, in North America before they were developed for distribution for field-scale agricultural use.
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