To protect our people, wildlife, and pollinators, we refrain from using chemicals to control bugs and blights. Instead, we rely on good old-fashioned organic practices as well as newer scientific innovations.

Barrier Controls - Row covers are placed over susceptible crops. This keeps voracious insects off the plants and adds much-needed early season heat. Warm loving plants like tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and eggplants are protected with a thicker cover until early July. Cool loving varieties are protected with a fine mesh, which keeps bugs out without the added heat.

Companion Planting – A diversity of owering plants are planted all around the garden to bring in garden heros like predatory insects to control garden pests.

Crop Rotation – Each bed is on a multi-season planting cycle so that different plant families inhabit the beds to maximize nutrient usage and reduce disease and pest transmission. Soil Health – The beds are soil tested every few years to make sure the nutrient levels and pH levels are appropriate for the crops we are growing. If needed, organic amendments are added. We use our own homemade compost to increase organic matter and feed the plants. A happy, healthy plant has a much better chance of fighting off insects and diseases.

Disease Resistant Varieties – Plant breeders have made huge strides in developing varieties that have natural defense systems against diseases, and are able to outlast standard varieties. Succession Planting – Some highly productive varieties like summer squash produce heavily but then succumb to disease relatively early in the season. We add later plantings to ensure a continuous supply until frost.

Trap Cropping – We plant varieties that are very delectable to insects around the perimeter to draw pests away from the crops growing in the garden beds.