This is a fancy way of saying that we're Organic, but we're not certified Organic. The certification process is time consuming and expensive and to be honest I moved out of a professional job to get away from paperwork.

 

But this doesn't mean that were not committed to following Organic methods and standards. Organic farming basically means farming in a way which cares for the environment, without relying upon synthetic chemicals and other unnatural interventionist approaches.

 

In our case this means;

 

• No artificial pesticides are used - Rather than using synthetic pesticides, pests are controlled by planting a diverse range of crops, by rotating crops, using natural biological and environmentally friendly inputs, and conserving natural ecosystems.

• No synthetic herbicides are used - In our case we use a combination of mechanical methods to deal with weeds. It takes time but it's worth it.

• No synthetic fertilisers or amendments are used - We prefer to produce our fertilisers and amendments on site in the way of green manure crops, animal manures and compost. If we need to bring in materials from off-site we either use certified organic or make sure the source is well known.

• Total focus on soil health - By focusing on soil health first, the health of the plant follows.

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The organic certification is perhaps useful for larger producers that sell their produce out of a local area as it gives the customer assurance that certain standards have been met without needing to verify it for themselves. In our case, were only selling locally and anyone is welcome to drop in to see how we do things. In fact we will be encouraging our customers to come and see how we operate. There's also our integrity and local reputation to keep things in check.