Farming Practices

The farmers at White Barn Farm use absolutely no pesticides, herbicides, or chemical fertilizers.

We use cultural methods, field sanitation, and encouragement of soil/plant health to promote pest resistance.  We will rotate the location of crop families to avoid disease transmission.  We will sometimes use spun fabric (remay) to cover plants that may otherwise be exposed to pests.  We aim to provide diverse habitat (lots of flowers, for example) for a healthy balance of pest and predator insects and to attract pollinators. 

We believe in improving soil with the use of composted vegetable matter and animal manure.  We will use lime to amend soil pH.  In some cases it is appropriate to add a certified organic granulated fertilizer (derived from a variety of organic materials).  We aim to use green manuring, addition of compost, and cover cropping to maintain and improve soil fertility.

We are not enthusiastic about the use of plastic mulch in organic farming.  Its ability to warm soil does make it tempting to use for growing melons here in New England.  We will struggle with the pros and cons and hopefully eliminate plastic from our regular production methods.

We hope to adhere to the adage, "cultivate don't weed" when it comes to weed management.  We will use stale seedbedding to give our plants and seeds an advantage in the field and then follow up with tractor or hand hoe cultivation.  Mulch will be used where appropriate.  Carrots will probably be flame-weeded before they emerge. We hope to minimize hand weeding.