Now how are they going to grow organic vegetables

When I was very little my parents decided to start their own compost pile. It was in this green barrel thing and they were supposed to turn it every day. I think the concept of saving all of our food trash and using it to fertilize our garden was a good one in theory, but the end result was that we still have a green barrel in our backyard and not one load of compost ever was put in the garden from what I can remember.

A gardener in Stamford,CT found out this week that her attempts to grow organic produce with the city's compost pile might have contaminated her food. It turns out that the city compost pile sits on top of a landfill. The park next to the landfill was shut down last month, because there were toxic chemicals found in the soil from the landfill. Now there are concerns that the compost, which has been used by many in the city for the city garden and for individual gardens, is contaminated by the same materials that leached from the landfill into the park.

Organic farming is a wonderful option to all of the pesticides that are prevalent in so much of the produce we buy from the store. Unfortunately there are still a few kinks in the system. One of the kinks comes in the preparation of the soil. Compost piles have to be carefully turned and managed. If you prefer to put manure on your soil it should not smell like manure when you put it on or it is too ripe for the soil. Diseases like ecoli live in that manure and a careless farmer could make his or her produce deadly if they are not careful about what is put on the soil.

Another kink comes from the labeling process and most people's misunderstanding of this process. Certified Organic is a hard label to come by in the produce business. It is a long and expensive process, that most local farmers don't have the time or money to obtain. This means that when you buy certified organic it is most likely from some large corporate farm miles and miles away. The smarter choice is to buy local. Unfortunately many people do not understand this and they assume that, that stamp of organic is just some magical stamp that means the produce is smartest choice. Often it is not.

I live in a farming community. When I was little I remember going over to the farmers and watching them milk the cows. Every year we would buy 100 ears of corn from the farmers and shuck it and my mom would cut off the kernels and freeze it for the winter. She would also make a giant corn pie. Watch for that recipe once the corn is at its freshest in June and July.

Obviously not everyone has been fortunate enough to live within walking distance of a farm with fresh produce, but a little drive to your nearest farm or farmers market would be a much smarter (and healthier) choice for your produce. Yes your local farmers might use some pesticides, but that produce was picked that morning not 5 weeks ago and that produce did not sit on a gas guzzling truck for miles and miles.

As the summer produce starts to come in start to think local and fresh. Also start thinking relationships. If you want to have a garden of your own, who is better equipped to answer your questions and tell you whether you can still put tomatoes in in June than your local farmer. Small scale organic is easy. My mom has never once used pesticides in our summer garden. For the things that you have trouble growing, buy local from a farm or farmers market. Skip the organic section of the store, save some money, and support the local farms in your community.

Happy Eating!!!

Emily