Saving Green in More Ways Than One
Earth Day is coming up, and there’s nothing more important to a farmer than our earth. We consider ourselves very lucky to be able to breathe fresh air and work outdoors as often as we do. To ensure we can continue enjoying this lifestyle, we make sure to take care of our environment. We all work many hours each day to care for our trees, harvest crops, mow grass, pick up stray litter, and work with mother nature in all her glory.
Here at Orr’s Farm Market, we like to do our part to go green with our farming practices.
We Practice Integrated Pest Management
…or IPM, for short. Though it’s hard to organically grow tree fruits in the moist, hot West Virginia climate, using IPM methods reduces pests while spraying less pesticides and working with nature’s naturally beneficial insects. There are a few IPM methods that we employ, including:
- Pheromone traps – these traps hang in our trees, and scientists stop by every week to read the numbers. These studies assist the federal government in research of invasive insect species—such as the stink bug—so we may then prevent these harmful insects from overpopulating our country. Once the pheromone trap numbers reach a certain, dangerous threshold, we spray our crops. We are determined to only spray as needed to keep our produce as safe and organic as possible.
- Carefully choosing our products – we don’t want to harm insects that will help our plants. Over half of the pesticides we use are labeled for organic use.
- Taking soil samples – we regularly check our soil to ensure that we don’t overuse the fertilizer or pollute groundwater.
We realize that going completely organic may not be an ideal reality for our farm, but we are proud to dedicate our farm and our lives to creating better, more natural produce, away from the overuse of pesticides and fertilizer. We know that taking care of our farm now means better produce for generations to come!
Our Crops Are Non-GMO
…or Non-Genetically Modified Organisms. GMOs are typically unnatural, human-modified hybrid products. Some scientists have found how to crossbreed produce—like an apple—so that the skin grows thicker, making it harder for bugs to penetrate the produce and eat it.
However, what happens when those beneficial insects can’t help the produce anymore? Or what happens when livestock or even people eat these GMO products? At Orr’s Farm Market, we promise that all of our homegrown crops are non-GMO.
Working so closely with mother nature has taught us the importance of being “green” and following practices that will help the environment for future generations—so you can eat guilt-free! For us, going green means more than just saving green!
Speaking of crops, our Pick Your Own season is just around the corner! Be sure to check out our harvest dates and prices by clicking here.
