Our Practices

Cindy has been a certified organic farmer since 1991 when her children were small, and thought these practices especially important when farming along a river. California Certified Organic Farmers, or CCOF, is one of the first certifying organizations in the United States and was created in 1973 by dedicated organic farmers, to set standards and “police” themselves. In 2001, we helped in the creation of the USDA Organic Program, to help legitimize our whole industry.

We fertilize with compost, legume cover crops, seaweed and fish extracts, and mined natural minerals. We work to recycle all of our prunings and food waste into compost or mulch for the farm.

Pest management strategies include the release of beneficial insects, planting hedgerows and cover crops that provide food and shelter to bees, other pollinators, and insectivorous birds. We installed nesting boxes for Barn Owls (gopher eaters), bats (feed on mosquitoes and night flying moths, which begat fruit and nut-eating caterpillars), American Kestrels (frighten away fruit-eating birds), and wood ducks (will eat snails, slugs, bugs, berries, and weed seeds, but mostly because they need more shelter for their eggs and babies along the river corridor).

If monitoring shows sprays are needed, which is seldom with all of nature’s helpers, we use pesticides made from natural minerals, plant extracts, essential oils, or fermentation products. There are organically-approved formulations that help control insects, plant diseases, and even weeds.