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black thumb

The dirt on organic gardening

BY JON VANZILE | SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
July 18, 2008

Maybe a "green thumb" is a misnomer.

Those who keep environmentally sound gardens should call it a "black thumb." After all, they're probably more worried about their dirt than their plants.

"Green gardening" doesn't start with fertilizers labeled "organic," herbicides made from kitchen products or pesticides that smell suspiciously like last week's fish. Green gardening begins with cleverly disguised manure, mulches and other organic things that are designed to improve soil.

Rose Koenig, owner of Rosie's Organic Farm in Gainesville and an adjunct professor in the University of Florida's organic-agriculture program, has simple advice for anyone who wants to go green: "Get a soil test."