I am reading Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. Anyone else read it? It is a nicely succinct overview of our national food system, how farmers Got Big, how that is not good, and the implied meanings of the word organic.
Although the word organic has two very specific definitions (one by the dictionary, one by the USDA—read below), it implies much more. Organic agriculture at its best implies “small farming” and “local” and “energy-efficient” and “nutritious” and “sustainable.” In other words, Quality over Quantity. Below is something I wrote up last year:
What is this mysterious word “organic?”
Organic in the dictionary means a lot of different things:
- Chemically, it is of or designating carbon compounds.
- It is of or relating to or derived from living organisms.
- Relating to, yielding, dealing in, or involving the use of food produced with the use of fertilizer of plant or animal origin without employment of chemically formulated fertilizers or pesticides. Whew!
Some may say organic is natural. But that is another label.
In the United States if a farm claims that they are organic, then they are either very small and are not making much money, OR they have undergone third-party organic certification and have filed this with the USDA. To qualify for the organic label, the farm must prove with documentation that the land and inputs to the soil have been free of synthetic chemicals for at least three years. The actual vegetables cannot be sprayed with pesticides created in a lab. Everything has to be of or relating to something alive.
Peasants’ Plot is hoping to begin the certification process once we have accumulated the three years worth of paperwork necessary and once we have the capital to spare. It can be a relatively expensive endeavor.
Be assured for now that we are farming with methods in accordance with organic certifying agencies. We care about the health of our soil and our customers in all ways “organic.”
Today is Wednesday. Todd is working with a couple of worker shareholders out in the field. Looks like they are …weeding.
WEEDING
We are doing the best we can to resist weed takeover. Cover cropping is the first strategy. These are crops that might suppress certain weeds and/or that build the soil in some way. The latter fall into the category of green manure.
Researchers have all kinds of theories about weed control with cover crops. This year, as part of a grant through the U of I, we will add sudan grass to our cover crop menu. It is being studied as an antidote to Canadian thistle, which has a ridiculous root structure and is one of the scarier epidemics. To rattle off some others: ground cherry, dandelion, lambsquarter, quack grass, Johnny grass, burdock, bindweed, creeping charley, pennycress, horseweed, prickley lettuce, purslane, wild carrot, milkweed. Later in the summer I’m sure I’ll remember more.
BAGS
While everyone is outside toiling in the sun, I’m typing and awaiting arrival of our tote bags, which we will print and sell for cost at market. I cannot guarantee the sustainability practices that went into the production of this bag, but I feel better about these bags than the plastic ones. They ARE made in the United States. They are cotton.
Todd is overwhelmed tonight. Yesterday less so because he had our new (and only!) wonderful employee Johanna working with him. Two worker shareholders arrived later in the day (hello Megan and Alex). It was a beautiful day.
Today he is trying to muddle through crop rotation plans and other things on the list. Did you know that green manure crops also need rotation? And then there’s weed management and a chicken coop to build and carrots and seedlings to thin and fertilize and skateboarders coming over tonight.
As far as the chicks are concerned, they might as well be sorority sisters. Passing out at the watering hole, running around squealing when we try to pick them up, etc, etc. They can completely trash their box in minutes. Thankfully no one has “poopy pasty butt” or any other signs of despair. Todd plays heavy metal for them all day (Danzig?) and they appear to be thriving.
Don’t worry about us; we are thriving, too.
