Well first we'd like to start by saying Congratulations! You're well on your way towards becoming organic -- this means your food is clean! But really though, it's slightly unnerving, we understand. I'll never forget the time I was seven years old and the bite of ranch~covered lettuce on my fork --about to enter my mouth-- started moving. Cue panic. My mother casually laughed something about “extra protein” and my horrified child self took years to ever even consider the world of “garden food” again. But here we are in my adult life raising our farm with all sorts of [good and not so good] organisms hanging around everywhere. Of course I don't think I'll ever be as cavalier as my mother was about it. Actually we are extremely meticulous about cleaning our produce because I still don't think I've completely gotten over that memory. But on the flip side, I have fully embraced that many bugs are beneficial and even vital to a biodynamic farm. Really, instead of mass hysteria over a worm in our salad, we should be thinking, “oh god, I almost ate poison!” or fed it to our children/grandma/pets.. that's what insecticides are, right? So even if a bug is not a beneficial one, or you happen to spot where one munched, we need to reprogram our minds to be thankful that there is clean produce under that crawly pal. Biodynamic farming takes years to refine. Eventually we'll get to where pests are fully controlled, but even then, every year brings different weather patterns and different insects. It's a continual learning process. So once you identify who the pest is and what it's doing there, it's time to release a little biodiverse hero called beneficial predators. Cue grandiloquent warfare.
If you would like to know more about beneficial insects, comment below and we'll send you more information.
Amanda Wilson is co~owner of Yarrowhead Farms located in Wellston, OK where she and her husband Mike are taking great efforts to redefine organic. In studying primative and biodiverse farming practices along with modern holistic methods, together they are eager to share their successes and challenges to work towards restoring the planet through agriculture.
Comments