We’ve gotten some flack in the past over the fact that we aren’t “purist” organic gardeners. We heavily use synthetic fertilizers, like them, recommend them and unabashedly stick up for them.
That doesn’t mean we don’t practice a lot of organic techniques and other practices deeply focused on benefitting our environment. For example, here we are spending hours upon hours practicing permaculture in a very “subarctic” way.
We are trying to restore a meadow on our property that’s been overrun by tree growth, cutting down hundreds of small trees that have popped up over the years. We could just pile up our branches and have a giant slash burn in the fall! That would quickly solve our brush problems, but would also nullify the immense amount of nutrition these trees have to offer!
Instead, we’re working hard at making a valuable secondary product (wood chips) that will keep the nutrients from these trees right here on our property! These chips will be applied to the bases of our perennials, allowing the eventual decomposition and rich nutrition to return into our soils to benefit our plants.
Whatever chips are left will go towards producing compost from our property. Wood is our most plentiful carbon source, so having a commercial chipper shredder is a valuable tool for us to capture that carbon and turn it into a usable form that will rapidly produce compost.
Organic vs. non-organic doesn’t have to be an all or nothing thing. You can use one where it makes sense and go the complete other way when that makes sense! We often live in this “black and white” world, but things aren’t at all like that in reality!
