Yah, I certainly don't have anything against organic growing. I was actually an organic grower for roughly a decade. And I actually followed a similar path: attempting to solve my problems with soil. In the end, I spread a grand total of around 1,000 cubic yards of tree trimmer mulch over about 12,000 sq feet of land through a 10 year time span. If you do the math, that's roughly 4 feet of mulch across a quarter acre of land -- a lot! After decomp, it turned into maybe 8 inches of beautiful black, wormy compost whose microorganisms thrive when kept moist.
Today, I grow about 80 fruit trees on a little over 1/2 acre of land on an urban double lot, and it's been a 14 year journey of experimentation with a decent bit of success thanks to the smart folks on this forum and the help of Har M, who guided me through the process of discovering what works best for my particular area.
You have raised a good point regarding the personalities involved in what amounts to a religious battle between proselytists on both sides of the debate. But sometimes I feel as if the organic proponents convert it into some sort of moral judgment, which doesn't make a whole lot of sense given the context.
A number of posters point to the argument of nature being able to take care of itself. But we forget a key point: we're not dealing with what nature gave us. For one, we've selected fruit trees based upon characteristics that nature doesn't care about: flavor, texture, brix, color, production, etc. Secondly, we've removed the trees from their native environment. Though our Floridian climate loosely resembles that of native mango regions, there are still myriad differences: humidity, soil, etc.
Moreover, just because organisms survive in a particular unmodified environment doesn't necessarily mean that we can't apply technology to make things better. For example, humans have adapted quite well to extreme heat, and I'm sure that humans have lived in hot and humid conditions for millenia. However, I'm hard pressed to find even the most staunch organic advocate who doesn't use air conditioning in their home during the Florida summer. And I don't believe organic growing really precludes supplemental irrigation during times of drought (haven't farmers used this for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years?).
Today, I follow a modified regimen that uses organic practices where it makes sense and conventional when not. For example, I use a mix of OMRI listed and EPA Reduced Risk fungicides. For pest control, I exclusively use OMRI listed products, as they are sufficient to control insect problems and have least environmental impact. Given that organic fertilizer is hard to obtain here (and that organic micronutrient products often come from ancient sea beds -- a limited resource), I favor conventional fertilizer. And I provide supplemental irrigation in times of drought. I suggest doing whatever makes the most sense for one's particular needs and growing environment, within the bounds of EPA regs of course.
I get where Frog's frustration probably stems from... us natural guys constantly getting the "you can't grow anything without the use of poisons, due to so and so..." speeches from those who aren't willing to go the extra mile to maintain the ultimate integrity of food and acting like you doing so is impossible because they can't manage it is tired and condescending.
Just because "Mr. Conventional" has to spray a 55 Gallon drum of Roundup a week on every individual vegetable or tree they grow doesn't mean they need to puff their chests up and tell you that you better learn to enjoy poisonous taste of Glyphosate because it's so good for you and you need it while taking in your chemical free collection telling you that it cannot be done in that manner...
Nobody enjoys getting pissed on like that and those kind of people always are the rudest most stubborn people when you mention it can be done naturally like nature has for millions of years before the industrialization of the world happened. They try to shut your truth down immediately and I take joy in watching them writhe in the light of truth when their brains start comprehending they may be ousted.
That rant being ranted, I don't see Jeff as trying to pee on anyone's rainbow, just stating what has worked best and most optimally in his experiences.
Point being, we all can learn a lot from others experiences no matter what methods are used as long as we can just listen and keep an open mind to what others are saying. Agree or disagree, everybody should have a platform to express their thoughts!
Looking forward to scarfing down as many varieties of mangoes as possible this year! I want to be so lucky as to taste the M-4 this time