Food for Thought

Drive down a country road in the summer and every other field will be planted in soybeans. The farmer’s ‘beans’ will almost certainly be transgenic, genetically modified to withstand multiple doses of a herbicide soup designed to try to kill the pesticide-resistant weeds that Nature continually creates. So why aren’t these soybeans grown organically? The short answer is that it is much more demanding – it is not a ‘plant, spray and walk away’ type of crop. But why don’t we let the author of this month’s article explain right here how he does it.

They were laughed at when they said they were going to grow organic apples. Much too difficult, they were told. Being young and determined they went ahead anyway. Now, 13 years after buying their 48-acre farm near Hudson, QC, Eric and Anick are growing 20 different varieties of certified organic apples, along with other tree fruits.

Want something different to offer to your CSA or farmers’ market customers? If you like a challenge, try growing ginger. A few farmers in our region are experimenting with this tropical crop and at Long Road Ecological Farm, Xiaobing Shen has been growing it successfully since 2020. But it does take some planning. Because of its long growing season, planting starts in early January and harvest continues into November. In this month’s article, Xiaobing tells us about all the steps in between.