Chert Hollow Farm - Growing Information

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	Growing Information Our philosophy Our approach to farming is guided by the principles of economic independence, ecological integration, and the bedrock value of sustainability. We seek to minimize use of inputs and materials from off the farm in order to keep our costs down, to maintain independence, and to give us peace of mind regarding the quality, integrity, and safety of our produce. We also seek to farm in ways that effectively use the principles of ecology for our benefit. Sustainability means planning everything we do (economically, agriculturally, and ecologically) for the long term. For example, we have taken years to expand our growing areas in order to give us time to improve the soil and to plan our infrastructure and work patterns to be most effective for decades to come. In the short term, this approach has cost us production and income, but over time it will pay off in a higher-quality, more efficient farm.
	Organic certification We achieved Organic certification for produce through MOSA in April 2009 (view our organic certificate). Certified farmers must demonstrate a whole-farm approach to organic production and demonstrate their ability to manage the farm properly. All inputs, whether purchased off-farm or produced on-farm must meet National Organic Program (NOP) standards. Our personal standards are even stricter, rejecting many of the products that are allowable by NOP standards. Certification requires us to record almost everything we do on the farm, and we are expected to be able to track and describe the history of any given product from seed to sale. Tracking 200+ plant varieties is a more substantial burden for us than for larger, less diverse farms, and the recordkeeping does increase the costs associated with growing and selling produce. We value customers who ask questions about our methods and who gain first hand knowledge of our farming approach; this is one reason we welcome visits to the farm.
	Produce quality and food safety We strive to offer safe, high quality food. Quality produce begins with healthy, biologically active soil. Diverse soil organisms, from microscopic to macroscopic, enhance nutrient cycling and create an environment in which cultivated plants can thrive. We monitor soil macro- and micronutrients and manage fertility amendments accordingly. At times, we use aged and composted manure from very select sources (never factory farms) as a fertility amendment. We incorporate the manure into the soil well in advance of harvest, as required by National Organic Program standards. Our harvesting and handling protocols ensure that produce is cooled quickly and stored near the optimum temperature to maximize quality and freshness. Produce is rinsed, if appropriate, and sorted to cull items with visible defects. Though we take reasonable steps to ensure our products are clean, we do advise customers to wash all produce prior to consumption. We greatly appreciate customer feedback, especially regarding unsatisfactory items .
	Soil management methods We seek to minimize the use of tillage and heavy equipment to avoid the inevitable soil compaction and ecological disturbance such methods create. Permanent beds (and associated permanent aisles) also help us focus our time and inputs, restricting fertilizers, mulch, and irrigation to active soil while restricting foot traffic, tires, and mowing to non-production areas. Soil fertility and quality is maintained and improved sustainably through active crop rotations, cover crops, mulches, targeted manure applications, and other natural methods without the need for artificial inputs or regular mechanization. We have observed a substantial improvement in soil texture, along with a decrease in overall weed load, over time while using these methods. Though our mostly non-mechanized methods are labor-intensive, they are more reliable than an equipment-based approach, and allow us far more flexibility to work under varying weather and soil conditions. A good indicator of the success of our soil management techniques to date is that each shovelful of garden soil contains great biologic diversity, from earthworms and arthropods to far smaller and less familiar creatures.
	Intensive vegetable production We grow around 200 different varieties of plants on the farm, though not all for sale. Intensive management means growing multiple crops in the same bed over the year, maximizing yield from each area. We often interplant multiple varieties in the same bed, allowing different features to complement each other. For example, sprawling squash plants can use the empty ground beneath tall, narrow corn plants, while fast-growing radishes combined with slow-growing carrots can use space more efficiently than separate beds. We also strive to keep as many beds in production for as long as possible, minimizing fallow down-time during the growing season. This is economically practical while allowing us to be more space- and labor-efficient than growing all these products in individual beds. Crop rotation is an important part of effective intensive management, allowing us to break the reproductive cycles of pests while drawing upon different nutritional aspects of the soil each year.
	Vegetable varieties and seed saving We regularly trial new vegetable varieties on a small scale in search of those with the best quality, flavor, and productivity. Generally, we prefer open-pollinated varieties, including heirlooms. We grow a number of heirlooms that Slow Food USA recognizes on its Ark of Taste listing of “delicious foods in danger of extinction.” We do grow some commercial, organic hybrid varieties for biologically informed reasons; for example, some outbreeding plant types, such as broccoli, display considerable hybrid vigor, producing higher yields without compromising flavor compared to open-pollinated equivalents. Each year, we save seed where practical for open pollinated varieties. Seed saving takes extra planning and attention, but has advantages as well. Saving our own seed buffers us from commercial shortages & price increases, and seed quality control is in our own hands. More importantly, saving seed allows us to select for the genetics that succeed under the actual methods and conditions at Chert Hollow Farm. We are members of Seed Savers Exchange, and we offer seeds for the rare Mercuri Winter Keeping Tomato to other members.
	Pest and weed management We take a proactive approach to these problems, focusing on maintaining a healthy and diversified farm in which pests and weeds are considered inevitable parts of the system to be kept in check by educated management practices. This contrasts with the attempt by many conventional (and some organic) farms to eradicate such problems with chemicals or other purchased applications (an approach that often backfires through development of resistant weeds and pests). Diversified plantings, crop rotation, soil health, managed natural areas, observation and attention to the timing of insect appearances, use of row cover, a considerable amount of weeding, and other natural methods generally keep problems within manageable bounds. We accept that a certain percentage of products may be damaged or lost, but this is worth the net gain of a clean, safe farm that is free from purchased pesticides, herbicides, or other any other -cides.
	Diversity & integration Though produce is the heart of our business, the farm as a whole integrates livestock, poultry, fruits, grains, timber, pasture, and more into a functioning system. The animals utilize land unsuited for vegetable production while converting that nutrition into food for us and useable fertilizer for the produce. Timber management provides us with on-farm heat and building material, while opening new land to cultivation and pasturing. Fruits and grains also allow us to grow food for ourselves and animals on land not used for vegetables while closing loops to save us money.

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