On Sat, 21 Jul 2007 06:25:31 -0600, Kristina K. Carlton  
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:


> I often wonder how many of the supposed organic fruits and veggies are  
> truly
> organic. I would hate to spend almost twice as much on veggies just to  
> find
> out that they were sprayed as well.
I'm not sure about imported organic foods, but the certified domestic
foods are exhaustively tested.  Certainly in this country, organic farmers
are dedicated to what they do, FMY. It's the only way a small farmer can
make money; conventionally grown vegetables and fruits are commodities and
bring a rock-bottom price for the farmer.  One screw-up in a certified
organic farm and those good prices go away for three years.  So there is a  
lot
of incentive to keep doing it right.

> On a side note, I just found out that the couple who owned the property
> before us DID spray it. There go my plans for an organic garden. It was
> untouched land, they had trees cut down off of part of it to build a  
> house
> and put down fertilizer to grow grass. Before we bought the property I  
> had
> our RE agent ask them if they had sprayed and they said no. I wish I had
> gotten that in writing.
Call it "transitional organic".  That's what a new organic farmer does.
Don't use the artificial fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, etc. Start
making compost.  Your soil will recover.  Most of what they would use on
a lawn disperses really quickly.  Even the first season, your vegetables
will be remarkably better and less polluted than what you buy in the store  
"conventionally grown".  Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

	Lynnet