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  • From: bcluton AT aol.com
  • To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Squash bug control
  • Date: Sat, 31 Oct 2009 22:11:30 -0400

On some level I have to disagree with these types of sentiments.  I totally feel that something about industrial organic and industrial agriculture in general is flawed.  But at the same time as a small grower with a few acres under production and a 75+ member CSA I think it's imperative that commercial growers at any scale make food safety and security a matter of utmost importance.  If you want chickens wandering around your backyard garden thats one thing but as soon as you plan to sell anything to the public I really feel the "rules" need to change.  Integrating animals in our production strategies can be functional and sustainable but we need to ultimately be vigilant about protecting the integrity of our products and the image of quality and safety that small farms maintain.  Rotating animals into vegetable fields after production or incorporating manure / grazing / insect foraging animals into fallow periods holds a lot of merit.  Running animals directly in or alongside commercial production scares the s--t out of me.(no pun intended)

Just my two cents...

Brian

-----Original Message-----
From: maury sheets <maurysheets AT verizon.net>
To: 'Market Farming' <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Sat, Oct 31, 2009 9:33 pm
Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Squash bug control

Ben,

You are absolutely right, if we need to keep a an absolute dead zone around
every place vegetables are grown just because large corperate farms can't
keep their act clean, the whole planet is doomed.  No small farmer has ever
caused a recall of fresh vegetables because of E. Coli or any other
bacterial disease.  The government needs the new food safety regulations for
the factory farms, not for the farmer who is out tending his crops every
day.  Organic gets confused one from the other because of government
regulation.

Maury Sheets
Woodland Produce
South jersey



-----Original Message-----
From: market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Wiener,
Benjamin L CPT NG NG FORSCOM
Sent: Saturday, October 31, 2009 1:38 PM
To: Market Farming
Cc: Market Farming
Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Squash bug control

One of the reasons I will never be certified organic is the sheer stupidity
of some of the rules.  If guinea fowl cannot be used because of the tiny
ammount of droppings they would leave, then what do organic growers do to
exclude wild birds that already deposit droppings in the field?  There is a
huge difference in quantity between applying manure for fertility and using
a natural method of bug control.  You can't even use manure from animals
that recieve adequate veterinary care.  What a bunch of BS (pun intended).


Ben Wiener

> (Guinea fowl actually probably wouldn't meet current organic 
> standards: 
> they'd be depositing fresh manure in the field, and to do the job 
> they'd probably have to be in there within the 120 days before 
> harvest 
> -- fresh manure can't be applied within 120 days of harvest of a 
> crop 
> for human consumption if the part of the plant for consumption can 
> touch the ground. You could put them in the field after harvest to 
> clean up, of course; that might reduce next year's pest pressure 
> significantly.)
> 
> -- Rivka; Finger Lakes NY, Zone 5 mostly
> Fresh-market organic produce, small scale
> 
> 
> On Oct 31, 2009, at 9:27 AM, Diane Kunkel wrote:
> 
> 
> <Hi, Do any of you use Guinea Fowl for squash bug control?
> I've almost 
> 
> given up on squash & pumpkins. Or are there any organic controls for 
> 
> these little devils? Thanks,  Andy   zone 5-6  Wenatchee, WA
> 
> 
> <
> 
> I've found a lot of varietal difference in susceptibility to squash
> bugs -- in particular, I've found buttercups and kabocha types (of
> various varieties) to be much more susceptible to them than acorn,
> delicata/sweet dumpling, and butternut types. I haven't researched
> other organic controls -- I think there are some -- because I rarely
> have significant problems with the resistant types.
> 
> 
> On the other hand, I've never had much problem with squash bugs in
> pumpkins; so it's possible our squash bugs don't have the same tastes
> as yours.
> 
> 
> (Guinea fowl actually probably wouldn't meet current organic
> standards: they'd be depositing fresh manure in the field, and to do
> the job they'd probably have to be in there within the 120 days before
> harvest -- fresh manure can't be applied within 120 days of harvest of
> a crop for human consumption if the part of the plant for consumption
> can touch the ground. You could put them in the field after harvest to
> clean up, of course; that might reduce next year's pest pressure
> significantly.)
> 
> 
> <-- Rivka; Finger Lakes NY, Zone 5 mostly
> 
> Fresh-market organic produce, small scale<
> _______________________________________________
> Market-farming mailing list
> Market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/market-farming
> 
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