Recently in Organic Gardens Category

The Organic Center has researched a new method to quickly and cost-effectively track changes in soil quality brought about by the transition to organic farming.

Alan Franzluebbers, Ph.D. and Richard Haney, Ph.D., two leading soil scientists working for the Agricultural Research Service, the research arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, wrote The Organic Center's Critical Issue Report (CIR 2006.2), "Assessing Soil Quality in Organic Agriculture." The full report is available for free at: http://www.organic-center.org/science.environment.php.

The report explains why better tools are needed to manage the transition of soils when farming methods change from chemical-based to organic.

"How we manage soil and how the soil responds to this management are critical issues facing the long-term success of our society," says Alan Franzluebbers, ecologist with the USDA-Agricultural Research Service in Watkinsville, Georgia and co-author of the report. The proposed minimum-data-set (MDS) approach for assessing soil quality is composed of routine chemical and biological assays that can be carried out in most soil testing laboratories for a collective cost of less than $100 per sample.

In 2007, The Organic Center plans to begin a national survey of soil quality on conventional, transitional and organic acreage. The Center's project will apply, test and refine the MDS approach, and integrate the measures into an index of soil quality.

"Farmers and scientists have recognized for decades that well-managed organic systems improve soil quality," says Chuck Benbrook, Ph.D., and chief scientist of The Organic Center. "But better tools and solid data are needed to quantify these benefits and identify the best strategies to maximize them."

The degradation of soil quality continues in the United States as a result of erosion, the compaction of soils, leaching of nutrients, and loss of soil structure and biodiversity.

Organic farming methods have great potential to reverse these losses by increasing soil organic matter content, building the pools of nutrients cycling within soils, and enhancing soil microbial communities. The Organic Center's work on soil quality seeks to accomplish two goals.

First, development of practical tools for farmers, crop consultants, extension specialists, and agronomists to use in the field in mapping the course for cost-effective transitions from conventional production to organic management. New tools are needed to determine how quickly a soil can be transitioned, how resilient the soil is likely to be during the transition process, and how soils and crop yields are likely to respond to key organic farming practices and inputs. Soil microbial activity, in particular, can offer a benchmark for transitioning from conventional to organic farming systems.

"There is a need to provide farmers with a soil test tool to guide a cost-effective transition," says Richard Haney, soil chemist with the USDA-Agricultural Research Service in Temple, Texas. "Microorganisms are very sensitive to changes in the soil and we can take advantage of this fact by tracking the impact our management practices have on soil microbes."


The Organic Center's second goal is to develop methods to quantify the benefits to farmers, rural communities, and the nation from improvements in soil quality possible through organic management. Key benefits that will follow expansion of organic production, and which need to be quantified, include: increased efficiency of nitrogen use; less reliance on purchased sources of nutrients; reduced runoff and leaching of nutrients and pesticides, and hence improved water quality; more stable crop yields; and higher returns to farm labor and management.

The Organic Center's next Critical Issue Report focusing on soil quality will be released in the spring, 2007. It will address the potential of organic farming systems to increase the efficiency of nitrogen use in corn production in the Midwest.

The Organic Center is a 501 (c) (3) organization founded in 2002 to present and provide peer-reviewed scientific evidence on how organic products benefit human and environmental health. The Organic Center's research and educational efforts are funded through individuals, foundations, businesses and government programs.

For information about The Organic Center, its current programs and scientific reports visit www.organic-center.org.

The Earthbound Farm Farm Stand in Carmel Valley, California, offers more than unique organic produce and flowers fresh from our fields — there's delicious food from our certified Organic Kitchen, gourmet groceries, and engaging events for the whole family. Come visit us!

Our Farm Stand: The hub of our 30-acre organic R&D farm offers unique fresh produce and flowers, gourmet groceries, plus a Cut-Your-Own Herb Garden and more.

Organic Kitchen: Hungry? Every day our certified Organic Kitchen in the Farm Stand creates organic treats for every taste — from beverages, baked goodies, and entrees to a tempting all-organic salad bar.

What's Happening at the Farm Stand: From April through October, a wide range of engaging events take place each Saturday.

Ask Farmer Mark: What makes organic farming so special? Ask someone with more than 26 years of organic farming experience: "Farmer Mark" Marino, our Carmel Valley farm manager — we sell his premium organic produce at our Farm Stand.

Our Farm Stand is Open Year-Round
Hours: Mon-Sat 8-6:30, Sun 9-6
7250 Carmel Valley Road (just 3.5 miles east of Highway 1), Carmel, CA
831-625-6219

Organic Food, Lawns and Gardening for Homes

"Organic" is a production method of caring for the soil and natural resources such as water, wildlife, and native plant colonies to continually replenish the natural system. This makes so much more common sense than forcing fast growth with petroleum based fertilizers, toxic chemicals and unnatural levels of irrigation.

Organic methods are widely accepted in the marketplace with Farmers Markets providing opportunities for local farmers to sell their freshly picked organic produce to local residents.

But local organic production is one kind of organics -- imported products that claim to be organic are entering the grocery store and other food outlets. Transporting foods thousands of miles doesn't keep with the core benefit of organic methods that have proved to be so wise.

Distance not only uses petroleum fuel...but reduces the freshness of the foods that arrive on your plate. How many miles does your food travel -- does it need a passport?

Local organic production provides families with multiple benefits: fresh healthful food, low transportation and carbon impact, stable local economy for local farmers, and cleaner air, cleaner water and less toxins in the community's soil system.

Food isn't the only organic product -- any crop that benefits from clean water, water conservation, soil conservation, and non-toxic chemicals can be grown organically. Growing crops such as cotton organically can dramatically reduce the number of chemicals that go into the natural resources system. Traditional cotton can consume 7 pounds of chemicals for every pound of cotton that ends up in your t-shirts!

Those seven pounds of toxic chemicals aren't necessary, and they aren't very smart.

Out goal with this growing website it to help you locate the best organic alternatives for a green and sustainable home and lifestyle.

Organic Food, Lawns and Fabrics for Offices

Snack rooms, catered lunches and banquets, and juices in the vending machine COULD all be organic. Finding organic foods and beverages is getting easier.

Organic isn't just about taste and food value, it's about clean air, clean water, and even water consevation as organic, natural resource conservation methods are used to grow everything from trees to tobacco to cotton to hemp and flax. Organic is a growing method. And then comes production -- another stage in the organic supply chain that needs to be made more sustainable with low toxic processing chemicals, low energy methods, and socially responsible labor practices.

We'll help you find services and products that honor organic and sustainable agricultural and production methods.

Organic Product Categories

• Organic Gardening Supplies
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• Organics for Babies and Children
• Organic Food Sources
• Organic Agriculture Specialties
• Organic Production Benefits