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Growing Practices
We are not certified organic but we do grow our crops using organic methods. Before the public began to look for the “organic” label, we had already been researching the safest and most effective products that would need fewer and lighter applications. Through prevention, observation and intervention, an ecological approach is used to manage pest populations. We are committed to providing the community with healthy and nutritious food using practices that are environmentally sustainable. So many families in our community trust us to provide them with healthy produce and we certainly won’t use methods that we believe are harmful to our family or yours. It is also extremely important that we avoid exposure to harmful chemicals while we work in the fields. We need to protect our farmland by keeping the soil healthy and as chemical free as possible, additionally we need the vegetables we consume as a family to be safe.
Although we use organic sprays on a majority of our crops, sweet corn is an exception because it isn't feasible to grow corn organically. Organic sprays do not deter the European corn borer, which is prevalent year round, even in winter. Another pest is the earworm, a moth that comes from the South every July to lay their eggs on the silk of the ear which then hatches and falls into the ear. Very few people view these worms as extra protein, so we use an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach to manage them in an environmentally sustainable fashion. We apply well-timed applications of the safest pesticides possible, protect beneficial insects that will help by eating the larvae and we welcome barn swallows each July to swarm the earworm larvae in the evenings.
An extensive drip irrigation system helps to provide a strong, well-watered plant and keeps irrigation water off the foliage reducing the growth of disease and pests. We are always experimenting to incorporate new organic practices. We have found the best approach is to talk with farmers to learn what has worked for them. In 2010 we incorporated the use of a hoop house, a greenhouse-like structure, to our tomato production. Tomatoes are the crop most prone to disease and the hoop house helps to protect the plants from airborne diseases. The modified climate inside the hoop house reduces the need for pesticide use, keeps vital nutrients in the soil, extends the growing season and increases yields.
Locally grown by a farmer you trust is always the best option. |
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