From LISTSERV@UKCC.uky.eduSun Feb 11 20:59:56 1996 Date: Sun, 11 Feb 1996 20:53:43 -0500 From: "L-Soft list server at UKCC (1.8b)" Reply to: OGL-Request@UKCC.uky.edu To: "Lawrence F. London, Jr." Subject: Usage guidelines for OGL PLEASE SAVE THIS DOCUMENT FOR FUTURE REFERENCE * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Welcome to the * * ORGANIC GARDENING LIST (OGL) * * ogl@ukcc.uky.edu * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * LISTOWNER: Sheryl Highsmith Address: shighsmith@vines.colostate.edu OGL was set up in Fall 1995 by gardeners who thought an Organic Gardening List would be a useful addition to the range of gardening lists already on the Internet. CONTENTS OF THIS DOCUMENT 1. What is organic gardening? 2. The purpose of OGL 3. Subscribing and unsubscribing 4. Sending messages to OGL 5. Sending commands to the Listserv 6. Some organic gardening organisations 7. Some useful books 8. Some other gardening lists/network contacts * * * * * * * 1. WHAT IS ORGANIC GARDENING? * * * * * * OGL recognises that people think of organic gardening in various ways. In general, organic gardening is good gardening without the use of artificial weedkillers and other chemical pesticides. It may also be thought of as natural gardening or environmentally friendly gardening. However, there is no single, absolute definition of organic gardening: "To me, organic gardening just means sensible gardening, caring for the wider environment in the longer term. Natural systems of pest control use much less energy, do not cause collateral damage and are also more effective - you don't have to keep developing more toxic methods to deal with pesticide-resistant strains. To paraphrase one writer, I have yet to see an aphid that was resistant to being eaten by a ladybird." "I feel the meaning of Organic is that of imitating nature and its methods of decomposition and rebirth. Organic is also a way of thinking holistically about every element in nature that touches the garden. The birds, bees, bats, insects and their synergy." "By encouraging the natural life cycle of all creatures, we in turn encourage the natural life cycle of human beings." * * * * * * * * * 2. THE PURPOSE OF OGL * * * * * * * * * OGL aims to support and encourage gardeners using, or attempting to use, organic gardening methods, and to enable discussion of gardening subjects within an organic framework. Hopefully, OGL will contribute to a move towards 100 per cent organic gardening around the world. Anyone who wants to learn about or discuss organic gardening is welcome to join OGL, whether they consider themselves strict organic gardeners, ordinary gardeners with organic tendencies, nervous dabblers or complete gardening novices: "I am a bit shaky on pure organics and I don't want a bolt of lightning to strike me while sitting here. I have used Roundup on my driveway weeds and liquid Sevin on my Japanese Beetles, but I want to find better, safer methods." "I found that so much of the discussion on other lists was not useful to me, considering my interest in strictly organic methods. In particular, my interest is in vegetable and herb gardening, but I would also welcome information on organic methods to grow flowers. Topics of discussion may include: - starting plants from seeds - harvesting seeds (preservation of heritage seeds) - pest control - weed control - soil quality improvement - companion planting - trouble-shooting for diseased, weak, unproductive plants - harvesting techniques and storage - composting - small scale gardening/ options for decks and small spaces - plants for specific environments ie. sun, shade, wet, dry." OGL subscribers may wish to use this list in various ways: "The main reason I want an OGL is to learn how to reduce the use of chemicals that may be harmful to our environment. I want to learn about less toxic ways to fertilize and control insects and diseases on my plants. There you have it." "What I would like to see in this discussion list is people exchanging ideas about the clean way to garden. There should be no debate about organic or not. It should be understood up front that the people involved are interested in organics and that the list is a way to provide them to talk it over." "A purpose of OGL is to encourage each other and educate each other in ways of best utilizing the God-given resources in and around our gardens." "I see OGL as being less of a "what kind of tree would you recommend for my zone" and more of a "what can I do about my broccoli that's got little green worms all over it?" You won't have to specify that you want organic replies only, nor will you have your mailbox fill with praise for the outstanding qualities of Roundup when a question arises about weed control." It is taken as given that OGL subscribers agree with the general principle of organic gardening. Any debate about the relative merits of organic gardening and mainstream/chemical/non-organic gardening should take place on other mailing lists rather than OGL. Similarly, OGL is not the forum for discussing or seeking advice on artificial weedkillers or other pesticides. * * * * * * 3. SUBSCRIBING AND UNSUBSCRIBING * * * * * * If you are reading this document you have probably already subscribed to OGL. If not, and you wish to subscribe, send the message: SUBSCRIBE OGL to the Listserv at LISTSERV@UKCC.UKY.EDU The command should be in the body of your message. Once subscribed, you will receive all the messages sent by subscribers to OGL. You may prefer to receive only one message a day from OGL consisting of a compilation (or Digest) of that day's messages. To do this, set your subscription to Digest (see Section 5. Sending Commands to the Listserv) To unsubscribe, send the command: UNSUBSCRIBE OGL or SIGNOFF OGL to the Listserv. If you need any help with subscribing or unsubscribing, please contact shighsmith@vines.colostate.edu * * * * * * * 4. SENDING MESSAGES TO OGL * * * * * * * Address: ogl@ukcc.uky.edu Once you are subscribed you can send messages to OGL at the address above. Your message will be distributed to all subscribers, including you. It is helpful to other subscribers if, when sending a message, you: * make sure the subject line reflects the subject of your message; and * put your name, location and email address at the end of your message. If you reply automatically to a message distributed by OGL, your reply will also go via OGL and be distributed to all subscribers. If you prefer your reply to go only to the sender of the original message, address it to the sender personally instead of replying automatically. Please refrain from personal attacks or criticism on the list. If you encounter problems or have any questions about sending messages to OGL, please contact shighsmith@vines.colostate.edu directly. * * * * * 5. SENDING COMMANDS TO THE LISTSERV * * * * * Address: listserv@ukcc.uky.edu The Listserv manages OGL as well as other mailing lists. You can get information about OGL or change the way you receive messages by sending specific commands to the Listserv. address above. The commands SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE AND SIGNOFF have already been described. Other commands you may find useful are: SET OGL DIGEST (to receive Digests from OGL) SET OGL MAIL (to receive individual messages from OGL) SET OGL NOMAIL (to receive no mail from OGL) REVIEW OGL (to get a list of OGL subscribers) Send the command to the listserv address above with the command in the body of your message. For a list of all Listserv commands, send the command: INFO REFCARD to the Listserv. If you encounter problems or have questions about using the Listserv, please contact shighsmith@vines.colostate.edu directly. * * * * * 6. SOME ORGANIC GARDENING ORGANISATIONS * * * * * Rodale Institute Research Center 611 Siegfriedale Road Kutztown Pennsylvania 19530 USA Tel: (215) 683 6383 Henry Doubleday Research Association National Centre for Organic Gardening Ryton-on-Dunsmore Coventry CV8 3LG England Tel: (01203) 303517 Henry Doubleday Research Association of Australia Box 61 Post Office Australia Square NSW 20000 Australia Terre Vivante Domaine de Raud BP 20 38711 MENS France Tel: (33) 76 34 80 80 International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements (IFOAM) HQ c/o Okozentrum Imsbach O-6695 Tholey-Theley West Germany Irish Organic Farmer and Growers Association 56 Blessington Street Dublin 7 Ireland Tel: 01 30 7996 * * * * * * * * * 7. SOME USEFUL BOOKS * * * * * * * * * *Highly recommended Bartholomew, Mel (1981) 'Square Foot Gardening', Rodale Press. *Bradley, F.M. and Ellis, B.W. (Eds) 'Rodale's All-New Encyclopaedia of Organic Gardening', Rodale Press. Ellis, B.W. and Bradley, F.M. (Eds) (1990) 'The Organic Gardener's Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control', Rodale Press. Flowerdew, Bob (1993) 'Bob Flowerdew's Complete Book of Companion Planting', Kyle Cathie. Lacey, Roy (1990) 'The Green Gardener: How to make your garden environmentally friendly', David and Charles. Jeavons, John (1982) 'How to Grow More Vegetables than you Ever Thought Possible on Less Land than You Can Imagine', Tenspeed Press. Stickland, Sue (1989) 'The Organic Garden: How to grow flowers, fruits and vegetables the natural way', Hamlyn. Yepsen, Roger (1984) 'The Encyclopaedia of Natural Insect and Disease Control', Rodale Press. * * * 8. SOME OTHER GARDENING LISTS/NETWORK CONTACTS * * * ALPINE GARDENING Send SUBSCRIBE ALPINE-L YOURNAME comma CITY ZONE to Listserv@nic.surfnet.NL COMPOST Send SUBSCRIBE COMPOST to listproc@listproc.wsu.edu GARDENS AND GARDENING Send SUBSCRIBE GARDENS to listserv@ukcc.uky.edu GAY MEN IN HORTICULTURE Contact: randbear@nets.com HERBS Send SUBSCRIBE HERB to listserv@vm.ege.edu.tr INTEGRATED PEST CONTROL Contact: djackson@pps1-po.phyp.uiowa.edu MASTER GARDENERS Send SUB MGARDEN to listproc@listproc.wsu.edu ORGANIC FARMING Send SUBSCRIBE AGENVIR-L to majordomo@pentagon.io.com SEED SWAP Contact: pstryjew@colsun.central.sun.com