Many times I get asked questions about how the signs at our stand differentiate Naturally Grown from Certified Organic and I would like to help clear this up!

When the government decided to start regulating the use of the word ORGANIC, in order to say the word, growers and processors have to be certified by an outside agency.  This process is extremely involved and costs money that many small growers don't have.  Additionally, the regulations became more relaxed in order to allow big Agriculture to become certified organic as well.  

Naturally Grown, on the other hand, is my definition of what consumers believe is truly Organic.  Our version of Naturally Grown uses our diversity on the farm to our advantage.  We grow one row of cabbage, one of Swiss chard, one beets etc.  This means that if the cabbage crop gets ruined, life can still go on because we have other crops to balance it.  And if the cabbage starts coming under heavy pressure from aphids, we allow it to keep growing and designate it a "trap crop".  The  spring brings beneficial bugs as well you cannot have a healthy balance of beneficial bugs without a food source, like aphids.  We also use row covers, which help keep the flea beetles off and induces growth, and keep the crops from suffering freeze damage.  Crop rotation is another tactic, keeping things moving is beneficial to the environment by maintaining balance.  We have no need to spray pesticides because I feel it is better to allow the crop to be eaten in order to maintain the nature's balance.  This is what nature does, and we should be happy to learn from it and let nature show us the way. This is what I feel Organic should be.  Unfortunately, as a grower, I still cannot say I am an ORGANIC farm unless I conform to the governmental regulations and pay  money to do it.

Conversely, a large Organic 40 acre plot of cabbage is always going to be threatened by bugs, in a way that a small row of cabbage will not be.  A large agricultural producer will have so much invested in the growth of a product that to allow bugs to ruin their crop is not practical.  The use of trap crops and rotation is not as easy, and row covers that smaller growers might use is impractical.   Thus, big Ag has convinced us that Organic Pesticides are natural and beneficial to us.  What most people do not know is that Organic DOES allow pesticides on their produce, just certain ones that are considered to be from more natural sources.  It is funny that this is exactly what most people think they are avoiding when they buy organic.  But you need to be aware that under USDA Organic standards, there is a huge list of approved products that IS allowed and the Chrysanthemum based pesticides are still killers.  Remember, if it kills bugs, it is a pesticide. 

In my opinion, it is balance that needs to be maintained, not a bug free, weed free, unnatural environment.  Click this link to see an article on Organic Pesticides and their impact on the environment. Do your own research by gathering information on Rotenone and Pyrethrin as two of the most common Organic pesticides. This is not to say that being from a natural source makes a pesticide completely safe or even harmless. Consider where naturally occurring arsenic comes from and ask if that is something you want sprinkled on your food! Everything has a trade off and sometimes the origins are a little more difficult to understand until you consider the perspective that Agriculture is a heavily subsidized and lobbied industry. 

Conversely, (and you can call me a fence sitter if you would like) I do not believe that GMO crops are always the evil demons that you may think.  For example, corn is almost always attacked by Corn Earworms, making the end result somewhat ugly and if you have ever opened a corn husk to find a worm, you know what I am talking about.  But increasingly, customers want a worm free ear every time.  So the AG industry introduced GMO corn, some of which is engineered with BT (Bacillus thuringiensis)a naturally occurring bacteria which kills the worms when eaten and is completely harmless to humans. This allows for less arial spraying of pesticides, Organic or conventional, and remember, the organic pesticides usually are somewhat less effective, and require more applications and more run off into the soil and water table.  Again, we do not use any pesticides or GMO seeds on my farm, but instead prefer to educate the consumer about the benefits of not so perfect produce, and my purpose for including this information is to help prepare the consumer with information so they can come to their own conclusions independent of some of the hype.

Also, do not make the assumption that ALL organically certified farms use pesticides, just because they can. The smaller the farm, the less likely that the farm will need to use pesticides. And the consumer's tolerance for not so perfect produce will make a difference in the grower's response to bugs in their fields. If the consumers are educated enough to know that the most perfect heads of cabbage are usually only grown with pesticides, maybe they will be more understanding and even start to look for the small little holes that cabbage loopers bring. Because the cabbage loopers are also pretty butterflies and feed the birds, which are beneficial and sing for us everyday!