We are not certified but we NEVER EVER use any chemicals or synthetic fertilizer. We maintain our mineral rich, alluvial soil fertility through custom blended cover crops, animal impact and compost. I can’t emphasize this enough: we never spray anything on our crops, even if the chemical is organic approved. The sheer size of our farm puts us in the unique position to focus almost entirely on quality and quickly adapt to changing field conditions. Our tractors are smaller so they don’t compact soil as much and our human-scale, fragmented fields bordered by trees and shrubbery keep our farm’s ecology robust.

Which pesticides are organic and commonly used on “organic” farms? Spinosad, Azamax, BT, Pyganic, etc are all organic approved but we don’t use them ever! It doesn’t matter if the chemical is naturally derived from chrysanthemums or tobacco- it can still be extremely toxic. Like neonicotinoids, derived from tobacco leaves, used for years but now banned. We think it’s totally unacceptable to spray any biocides on your crops! I don’t want to expose myself, my workers or any of the tiny reptiles and beneficial insects that live on our farm to pesticides. If pests get way out of hand, it is usually on 1 or 2 crops at a time so we lay off picking those crops and substitute in other crops. In my experience, time can be the best strategy. Wait a couple weeks, the pests will move on, those crops could recover and yield impressively, or sometimes you just lose a crop, that’s life. Some old time farmers around here will grow crops like winter squash only every other year, and use diatomaceous earth to cover the young vulnerable plants in an unappetizing clay dust. I may trial this method since we had a bad winter squash year 2022. Feel free to inquire more about our practices. Guided tours available for a fee.