Grow

CONNELL, Franklin County — Organic farmer Brad Bailie is a believer in bugs.

Strips of blooming plants in a maze of colors — from blue bachelor buttons to white yarrow — dot his 600-acre farm north of Connell. They border fields of potatoes, onions, shallots, primitive heritage wheat varieties spelt and einkorn, and camelina.

In each strip, insects from wasps to flies and lady bugs search for plant-damaging insects or larvae to eat.

Cornell University researchers have received two federal grants to be used to study cover crops in organic farming and how organic practices affect yields.

An $894,000 four-year grant will study how summer cover crops such as buckwheat, sorghum-sudangrass and mustard can improve the biological processes in organic agriculture and how to transfer such knowledge to farmers, according to the Cornell Chronicle. The grants are from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Organic Research and Extension Initiative.

One of the biggest benefits of going organic is that you will no longer be using toxic pesticides. For a family with pets or especially children, this can be extremely important, as you will no longer have to worry that children or pets will ingest these poisons by eating fruit or vegetables off the vine, bush or plant. Another benefit occurs during food preparation. If you use inorganic or toxic pesticides and fertilizers, you will have to very carefully wash your fruits and vegetables before preparation and eating. Cumulatively, this will also mean a savings in water consumption.

The Green Youth Farm, now in its eighth season, is a program for Chicago-area high school students. The program provides summer jobs for the students and teaches them the value of locally grown organic food and eating healthy.  This is especially important because the farms are located in areas known as food deserts, where fresh produce and grocery stores in general are not easily accessed by community residents.

Town of Delafield - To Kathy Bero, healthy eating goes way beyond the food pyramid.

She believes she's survived three bouts of different cancers since 2005 not only because of her conventional medical treatments, but also by incorporating food as medicine into her recovery.

She's become a passionate advocate for a daily regimen of specific foods commonly found on "anti-cancer" lists - asparagus and apples, watercress and walnuts, and dozens of others in the alphabet soup.

EAST GREENBUSH — As produce pops out of the ground this summer, farmer’s markets pop up to offer freshly grown vegetables to shoppers. One of those markets sells items cultivated by a unique group: students at Goff Middle School in East Greenbush.

David Bell, John Borski and Julie Clifford don't look or act like celebrities. They rise early, toil in the blistering sun and have a perpetual bit of dirt under their fingernails. Yet these dedicated farmers are the rock stars of Utah's summer growing season. They even have rabid fans: People who have joined their Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs or who seek them out at Salt Lake City's Downtown Farmers Market, which kicks off this Saturday, June 12. Find out what makes them stars, and get the skinny on Utah's other farmers markets.

ALBANY -- The state is creating its own seal to help consumers sort out organic lawn care companies from those that use potentially dangerous chemicals to keep out weeds and pests.

And the state label could help stimulate creation of such businesses in the Capital Region, which currently has no solely organic lawn care firm.
"It's an incredible opportunity for someone here," said Carrie Mendez, a Ballston Spa expert on organic flower and garden care who gives more than 100 consultations a year around the area.

Don't just throw out those lawn clippings or that organic kitchen trash! By composting the organic refuse from your garden and lawn, you can create natural lawn fertilizer that costs almost nothing and is great for the environment.

Composting your own organic lawn fertilizer begins with a bin of some sort. The bin can be a ready-made composting bin with all the bells and whistles, or you can make your own with fencing wire, plywood, or even an old garbage can that has been cut down to suit your needs.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - The state Department of Environmental Conservation is launching a new program to promote training and licensing of organic lawn care providers.

Homeowners will be able to find "green" lawn care companies to by looking for the Be Green logo. A searchable list of local Be Green qualified yard care and landscaping companies will be available on DEC's website.

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