Participants in the Kumquat can not only look forward to a valuable chance for connection with their peers, but an opportunity to get involved in their community. Â For students who are new to St. Louis, this can be especially rewarding.
“We sell [the produce] at the Old North Farmer’s market in the summer, and we also sell it to Bon Appetit if we get it in large volumes … We also sell it in the courtyard [in Washington University] to the students or whoever walks by, and then we take some of it home ourselves,†Mohr said.
According to ers.usda.com, the prices of fertilizers have been increasing dramatically over the past ten years. Â Ammonium nitrate, for example, went from $194 per ton in 2000 to $506 per ton in 2012.
Organic farmers who don’t use fertilizers avoid these costs and the health concerns that come with them.  This economic benefit has helped organic farming become more fiscally achievable within the last few years.
The often detrimental effects of fertilizers on a farm’s environment can also be eliminated when farmers chose to grow crops without chemicals.
Ground runoff can carry fertilizers into natural waterways such as rivers and lakes as well as wells and reservoirs. Â Not only can the chemicals hurt people who drink the infected water, but nitrogen fertilizers can cause algae blooms in bodies of water, which often destroys marine life.
