North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[road's end farm <organic101@linkny.com>]

On May 11, 2005, at 11:30 PM, kieran or donna wrote:

> A few years ago there was some discussion
> of organic orchards here, and someone referred to an observation that 
> most
> organic orchards that were doing well were pretty heavily stocked with
> poultry.

Recent restrictions about timing of fresh manure applications on 
certified fields have put some crimp in this; unfortunately, in my 
opinion, though I agree some reasonable caution is necessary. If you're 
not trying to get certified, either don't use drops or wash them well 
first. If you are interested in certification, check with your 
certifier about what times of year you can allow the birds in.

--Rivka
Finger Lakes NY; zone 5 mostly