Natural Choices — Health Food, Organic Produce, Gluten Free, Vitamins, Supplements — Columbus, Bartholomew County, Indiana

Posts Tagged ‘food supply’

The longer days and warmer temperatures here in central Indiana signal the arrival of spring. For those of you who are gardeners like me, you can hardly wait for the soil to warm enough to be able to turn it and start planting.

Organic seeds ready for your garden.

I learned something new from Carolyn Behrman the other day when I was in Natural Choices. She showed me a display of organic seeds to grow my own garden. At the time I figured all seeds available around town would be “natural” and therefore, organic, but then I did a little research.

From the Purdue Extension of Purdue University website, I read an article about organic seeds by John Navazio, Organic Seed Alliance and Washington State University. He explains why the seeds I considered “natural” are not organic. He says,

The most immediate effect of using organically grown seeds is the potential to minimize the amount of upstream pollution in the seed production process. Conventionally produced vegetable seed crops rely on petroleum based synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. These seed crops frequently receive heavier applications of insecticides and fungicides than the same crops when grown as vegetables. There are two prominent reasons for this. First, vegetable seed crops are produced over a much longer season than the same crop when it is grown to be harvested in the vegetative stage, hence the need for an increased number of applications of crop protection chemicals to continue to ward off insect and disease pests. Secondly, the regulations controlling the amount and types of pesticides that are allowed for seed crops is much more lenient, which often leads to a “more is better” approach with many growers.

That information was enough to make me decide to drive back to natural Choices in Columbus, for the seeds for my garden this year.

Now I know not everyone is a gardener, or has the time or space for a garden. If that is your situation, don’t fret. You will find a selection of fresh, organic produce in Columbus at Natural Choices ready for you to take home without getting any dirt under your nails!

Either way, just the thought of fresh onions, juicy cucumbers  and tomatoes, tasty green beans, carrots and herbs make my mouth water and I just can’t wait!

–Ellie of the Natural Choices Blog Team

Natural Choices in Columbus is not a health food store, it is a real food store.