5/14/2015

What Is Organic Farming, Really?

What Is Organic
Farming, Really?
Clean Eating | May 14, 2015

Ever wondered what makes your produce organic?

Our resident farmer, Mary Milsap Brower of Bluestem
Farm, explains all.
By Clean Eating
Organic farming is defined in large part by what organic
farmers dont do. Organic farmers dont use synthetic
fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides. Organic farmers dont
use hormones, antibiotics, or genetically modified organisms
(GMOs). These substances are 20th century innovations
meant to resolve specific agricultural problems, but each one
has its own negative long-term impact on health or the
environment.
Beyond what organic farmers dont do, the term organic is
also a legal description. Organic farmers submit to outside
review and annual inspection to ensure their practices,
records of seeds and soil amendments and fields align with
the definitions set forth by the National Organic Program
(NOP).
Not everyone understands, however, that the protocol
governing organic farming also sets forth a group of positive,
holistic practices that promote ecological balance, soil
conservation, and biodiversity. By valuing these processes,
organic farmers help advance the values of healthy soil,
healthy plants, and healthy human beings. But just how does
one go about enhancing ecological balance? Or promoting
healthy soil? This time of year, farmers all over North

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5/14/2015

What Is Organic Farming, Really?

Anerica are planning the 2015 growing season. Here are a few
considerations we are weighing at my own organic farm.

Building Fertility and Biodiversity in the Soil

In addition to sunlight and water, all plants need minerals to
grow. Healthy soil has good mineral balance and contains a
diverse population of friendly microbes. Plants grown in
healthy soil are more vigorous and better able to ward off
disease and pests.
Atmyorganicfarm,wesupportsoilfertilityand
biodiversityby:
Reducing the amount we till, or disturb, the soil. This
serves to protect the natural structure of the soil as well
as the microbial communities present in distinct soil
horizons.
Testing the soil each year. When theres a mineral
deficiency, we add specific types of compost, rock
powders, and micro-nutrients to make up for it.
Rotating animals through resting garden areas. The
extra organic matter in well-composted manure helps
retain moisture in the soil, makes it more fertile, and
creates a stable home for microorganisms.
Avoiding pesticides. By using physical barriers, delayed
or early plantings, and crop rotation, we throw off pests
without the use of poisons.
Avoiding herbicides. Instead we manage weeds through
cover cropping, shallow cultivation, and hand-weeding.
Not using synthetic fertilizers, which disturb soil
microbes, and easily leach out to other areas.

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5/14/2015

What Is Organic Farming, Really?

Cover Crops
Cover crops are often planted in late fall, after the main
harvest. Usually not intended for human consumption, they
hold the soil in place so that bare ground is not eroded by
rain and wind. Theyre often cut and left where they are in
the field so organic matter and important nutrients feed the
soil.
Thebenefitsofcovercrops:
If bare soil is left unplanted after a harvest, minerals like
calcium and boron, nitrogen and sulfur leach away every
time it rains.
By out-competing unwanted weeds, cover crops help us
reduce the need for hand-weeding or chemical weed
suppression.
Cover crops maintain the structure of the soil and
provide habitat for a diverse community of microbes
that are beneficial to food plants.

Crop Rotation
When a single crop is grown in the same spot year after year,
pests and disease easily establish themselves. To avoid this
invitation, we constantly move diverse plantings of unrelated
vegetables around within the garden.

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5/14/2015

What Is Organic Farming, Really?

Croprotationisimportantbecause:
The simple act of moving a crop to a different area helps
us outwit some insect pests, and naturally reduces
pressure from many plant diseases.
Different types of plants require different diets of
minerals. By rotating crops to new locations each
season, the soil gets a chance to recover from the
demands of each specific crop.
Even soil needs to rest sometimes. We systematically
allow different parcels of land to lie dormant, or fallow,
each year.

Why Buy Local?

Putting all these systems in place takes an abundance of
planning and practice. At my organic farm, we feel that
submitting to the rigors of certification makes us better at
what we do. It also ensures that we support an entire organic
supply chain whenever we buy organic seeds, planting stock,
or farm inputs such as fertilizer, compost and hay. These
choices keep additional pollutants out of the environment as
a whole, not just our own farm.
Organic food is becoming more widely available in most of
the country, and today even box stores carry lines of organic
products. But when you choose to shop at a local farmers
market, or join a small farms Community Supported
Agriculture (CSA) membership program, you support the
work of environmental conservation, food security, and
public health, along with your own local economy. Even
better, when you have a relationship with the person growing
your vegetables, you can ask direct questions about the
specific practices he or she uses to grow safe, nutritious food.
MaryBrowerownsBluestemFarm,asmallorganicfarmin
northernMichigan.Learnmoreatwww.bluestemfarm.net.
SeealsoDEEPENYOURYOGAPRACTICEWITH4
GODDESSYOGACLASSES

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