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Organically Grown Vegetables Really Are More Nutritious

Updated: Sep 20

The evidence just keeps mounting that organic gardening and farming practices result in more nutritious foods that also taste better when they are free of toxic pesticides.

It’s widely known that organic practices have a positive effect on the environment by increasing soil biodiversity and fertility while reducing erosion and toxic runoff. And several recent studies back up the notion that organically produced food is also more nutritious.


One such study showed that organic strawberry farms produced higher quality fruit than their competitors. The report, by John P. Reganold, Preston K. Andrews, Jennifer R. Reeve, Lynne Carpenter-Boggs, Christopher W. Schadt, J. Richard Alldredge, Carolyn F. Ross, Neal M. Davies, and Jizhong Zhou, was published in 2010 in PLOS|One.



The group analyzed strawberry leaves and fruit to measure plant nutrients, fruit quality, nutritional value, and organoleptic properties. They found that Leaf P (phosphate) and fruit P and K (potassium) concentrations were significantly higher in conventionally grown strawberry plants than in organically grown plants. Other nutrients were also notably higher than in conventionally grown strawberry plants.


Similar results were reported from a 2012 study on organic oranges. According to research at Truman State University in Missouri, organically grown oranges contained up to 30% more vitamin C than those grown conventionally. And the University of California, Davis found that organic tomatoes contained averages of 79% and 97% more quercetin and kaempferol aglycones (beneficial flavonoids) than conventionally grown tomatoes.


Our mission at Marshall Grain is to show you how you can achieve the benefits of living the organic lifestyle by growing your own healthy, organic food, and by using organic gardening practices on your lawn and landscape. Visit us today to learn more about how to garden the organic way.


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