When you stroll into the produce section of the grocery store, you usually have two choices for your fruits and vegetables: organic or non-organic. To the untrained person, the sometimes smaller, and most times more expensive organic produce doesn’t seem worth the extra pennies.

After getting the full story on organic, you might change your mind. And when you learn that there’s actually a free way to get organic produce, you might even change where you get your food from.

What classifies vegetables as organic?

Organic food has different classifications regionally. In general, organic produce is produced without “man-made” fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides, using only ingredients sourced naturally from the Earth.

In Canada, any plants that have 70% organic ingredients or more can be classified as organic and obtain the official CFIA seal. The USDA has similar requirements for American veggies, though Canadian restrictions are a little stricter.

What’s the big whoop about organic?

This fact sheet has a terrific and accessible scientific breakdown of some of organic’s benefits. Many studies have confirmed these advantages of naturally-grown food:

• Natural ingredients do less harm to the soil and local ecosystems
• Many organic fruits and vegetables contain more nutrients than chemically-grown counterparts
• Studies show people prefer the taste of organic food (which makes sense if it’s more nutritious)

Is it worth the cost?

Because there are less organic farmers, and production isn’t as large scale as conventional veggies, organic can be anywhere from 10-30% more expensive.

People who prioritize a healthy lifestyle and support the environment generally are the ones most inclined to see organic produce as “worth it.” About 60% of consumers buy at least some organic products and 5% buy ONLY organic. It seems a lot of people realize that there’s an upside to organic.

Does organic have a downside?

While better for the environment, natural fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides have weaker potency and are more expensive than man-made chemicals.

This can generally lead to lower and less predictable yields for farmers, especially in their first 3 to 5 years of transitioning. And in backyards, someone who isn’t a green thumb, might find growing organic produce challenging.

But what if organic food wasn’t so costly? What if it wasn’t even hard to GROW?

More people will eat organic as long as we think outside the garden. You don’t need a big bed of dirt in your backyard to produce your own organic produce. The tinyFarm provides other options for keeping costs down without sacrificing the evocative taste of real food, quality of nutrition, or the environment.

The best part? The tinyFarm is built for plant killers. Watering, feeding and growing is automatic and those cost-producing pests are kept at bay. Your veggies don’t need an organic seal when you’re 100% sure they came from your dining room.

Want to learn more about growing organic the cheap and easy way? Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on the tinyFarm launch. 

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