ORGANIC PEST MANAGEMENT

This is part 3 of a series reprinted with permission from the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. In an ongoing effort to become the best educated consumers possible, we felt it important to share what the US Department of Agriculture has to say about what certified organic is and is not, and also the practices they approve.

Pest Management for Certified Organic: For disease, weed, and insect pest problems on the farm, management practices are chosen to reduce negative environmental impacts. The NOP standards emphasize a three-tiered, integrated approach, with particular emphasis on practices of level 1 and level 2. Farmers must also consult with their certifying agency to ensure that approved methods are used in the overall pest management plan.
The first line of defense, level 1, is using cultural practices, such as crop rotation, cover crops, resistant plant varieties, and trap crops. Level 2 consists of adding mechanical and physical control methods, such as mulching, row covers, mowing, and others. The last resort, or level 3, is to use (OMRI) approved pesticides.**

• What is the Organic Materials Review Institute? (OMRI) The Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) is an organization that tests and catalogs soil improvement and pesticide products for approved use in certified organic production. Organic-approved chemicals range from mild chemistries, such as soap sprays, to target-specific biopesticides, such as Bt, to more harsh chemistries, such as copper sulfate, spinosad, and pyrethrum that require EPA registration. As with any pesticide, always read and follow the label directions for safe use and environmental protection. Spinosad and pyrethrum are examples of highly toxic OMRI-approved pesticides. These are safe when applied correctly but can be lethal to pollinators and other organisms when misapplied.

More on this next week!

MARKET CHITCHAT

A hearty THANK YOU to everyone who picked up early on Friday. Try as we do to keep the temperatures under control in the Market Shed it still helps your orders stay fresh longer to get them home as soon as possible. We appreciate the cooperation, plus it gets us out of the heat sooner!

Ever wonder why some text is green in our newsletter? Those are links to more other websites with more information. If you click on them be sure to come back and finish the newsletter!

If you’ve been with the Market any length of time you’ve probably seen this note on the bottom of an invoice:

New & Relisted Products – Woo-Hoo!

• Banana Bread from Laura’s Confections
• Chocolate Chip & Walnut Cookies from Laura’s Confections
• New York Style Cheesecake & Fresh Strawberry Sauce from Laura’s Confections
• Granda Rhea’s Chocolate Cake from Laura’s Confections
• Oatmeal Raisin Cookies from Laura’s Confections
• Pecan Squares from Laura’s Confections
• BLUEBERRIES from 2 Growers! Avalon Farms & Casablanca Ranch
• Garlic from Avalon Farms

THIS WEEK’S GROWER NOTES

We have the best Growers in the Wiregrass! Please learn more about them on our Grower Page.

GRIER ACRES So sorry for our absence but the Hurricane Michael put us back.  We are so excited we are getting cucumbers, squash, and okra. Our tomatoes and peppers are growing.  We also have some basil growing. Our garlic is being dried out. We have a few bulbs we started drying last week and about 5 yesterday.  Our olive trees are growing nicely. We have 4 varieties, Arbequina, Picual, Koreneiki, and Arbosana. We have 20 trees but lost 1 this week.  Another didn’t look so good but otherwise they are thriving. Harry obtained some bees with a bee club member Friday but we are almost certain the queen is absent.  We have several blueberry plants with fruit. We also have some volunteer Pawpaws that came up from the rootstock of a tree which was destroyed by the hurricane. They are thriving but will not fruit for a few more years.  

We also have native PawPaws which are setting fruit right now. If we can keep the possums away from them, we should have some for the market around the end of July. We have a mayhaw pond that had fruit but due to hurricane recovery work we did not harvest it.  We plan to check and see if any of the fruit is still there. Jeannie is terrified of snakes and has not been eager to help with this project. Rumor has it that water moccasins love this area. If anyone is interested in the harvest of this fruit we might be willing to work a “deal” for Jeannie to avoid this task of harvesting.  We also seem to have an abundance of mullein since the hurricane.  It appears when it is cut it comes back 10 fold!!! We also have catnip growing prolifically under a hickory tree.  This is our cat’s favorite tree. She rolls in it at times and just loves it. I can’t imagine a cat who doesn’t enjoy catnip.  Cammie is always “stoned” after a roll in it. Our chickens are doing well. We’ve seen a racoon in the daytime near the coop and we also have a hawk nesting nearby.   Since we are free ranging them in the afternoons we may sustain some losses due to predators. Time will tell.

AVALON FARMS: Many of you know that I, Avalon Farms, participate in other markets over the Summer months. I just want to assure you that you are my favorites. My friends at the Market at Dothan will always get first pick of everything I have.

Love to all and thank you for your support. I couldn’t do this without you.

Wendy

PS – Please keep the heat and drought in your prayers. We need relief on both fronts.