Produce Application
In Town Organics
Owner: Jessica WilsonFarm Address:
197 8th St.
Monteagle, TN 37356
Grundy County
United States
daytime phone: 931-924-4539
evening phone: 931-924-4539
Web site: http://sewanee.locallygrown.net/growers/show/15
Application Date: 2008-09-23
Applicant Details
| Please briefly tell us why you are applying to be part of the Certified Naturally Grown program: | I have been growing in accordance with the USDA NOP and selling produce for 3 years. This seemed like the logical next step. |
| Are you currently third party Certified for your produce operation by any other organization (Organic, Biodynamic, etc)? | no |
| Have you ever been certified in the past? | no |
| Have you ever been denied certification? | no |
| How did you hear about Certified Naturally Grown? | Through an on-line farmer's market" sewanee.locallygrown.net |
General Farm Information
| Farm Acreage you want listed as Certified Naturally GrownTM: | |
| Total Farm Acreage you actually GROW on: | 1 |
| Number of above acreage that you own: | 3 |
| Number of above acreage that you lease: | .5 |
| Do you have other acreage in "Conventional" Agricultural Systems? | no |
| General Listed Acreage Breakdown | |
| Veg Crops: | .5 |
| Fruit Crops: | .05 |
| Hay: | .05 |
| Grains/Beans: | .05 |
| Sugarbush: | 0 |
| Other Acreage: | |
| Please check all items you grow and will market as Certified Naturally GrownTM |
Vegetables Herbs Berries Tree Fruits Grapes Grains Beans Hay Flowers Greenhouse Plants Other (please specify below) |
| Please Specify Any Other Items: | |
| Please check all markets you grow for (this will be displayed on your farm profile to help potential buyers find you). |
Farmer's Market Farm Stand Local Restaurants CSA's Coops Health Food Stores Groceries Regional Wholesalers www.LocalHarvest.org Commodities Other (please specify below) |
| Please Specify Other Markets: | |
Farmland Management and Practices
| Primary Tillage System: | I use a rototiller on a tractor as well as a push tiller and I also use mulches, rotations, and mowing to try to reduce the amount of tilling. |
| Do you use Cover Crops? | yes |
| If yes, please list: | crimson clover, winter rye, wheat, oats, buckwheat, cow peas, soybeans, oilseed radish, turnip greens, alfalfa, sweet clover |
| Do you use Compost? | yes |
| If yes, please note general sources (on farm, purchased complete, local grass clippings, local dairy, etc.): | On farm chicken and rabbit manure mixed with food scraps, leaves from the city, and occasionally planer shavings from untreated wood. |
| Please list application rates. Give a specific amount or range (for example: one to two tons per acre, ten wheelbarrow loads per 1,000 square feet, or 1-2 inches deep). Do not answer "varies". | 2-3 wheelbarrow loads per 250 sq. ft. on most crops |
| Do you use Manure? | yes |
| If yes, please note general sources (local dairy, horse farm, etc.): | On farm sources plus a local farm: Mix of goat, chicken and rabbit. |
| Please list application rates. Give a specific amount or range (for example: one to two tons per acre, ten wheelbarrow loads per 1,000 square feet, or 1-2 inches deep). Do not answer "varies". | 10 wheelbarrow loads per 1000 sq. ft. |
| What time of year do you apply the manure? | This varies depending on when the crop will be planted. It is almost always a season ahead of time and before a cover crop or a mulch rotation. It is always applied over 120 ahead of an estimated mature crop. |
| Do you apply any non-composted Manure within 120 days of veg-crop harvesting? | no |
| Please list any other brought in fertility sources that you use (specific rock powders, lime, soybean / alfalfa meal, specific purchased pre-mixes, etc)and how often it's used. If you indicate a name brand product, please also specify the ingredient/s. | Dolomitic limestone when needed as indicated by a home soil ph test, bone meal when needed as indicated by a home phosphorous test, blood meal in my soil blocks in the greenhouse, greensand in soil blocks in the greenhouse. |
| Have any chemical fertilizers been applied to the fields you are seeking Certification for in the last three years (36 months)? | no |
| Have any non-acceptable pesticides and/or herbicides been applied to these fields in the last 3 years? | no |
| Do you use Professional Soil Testing services? | yes |
| Describe your primary weed problems and methods of control. If you indicate a name brand product, please also specify the ingredient(s), what kind of product it is (a soap, microbial, oil, a botanical...), and how often it's used. | I have lots of weeds. I hoe between rows and hand pick. I also try to not let weeds go to seed. I try to keep unplanted areas in mulch or a cover crop that will smother weeds. I mulch my pathways with cardboard and leaves and I'm experimenting with more smother types of cover crops. |
| Describe your primary insect problems and methods of control. If you indicate a name brand product, please also specify the ingredient/s, what kind of product it is (a soap, microbial, oil, a botanical...), and how often it's used. | Some years I have lepidoptera in the brassicas for which I have used Bt. In 2008 I had harlequin bugs which I trapped in my brocolli and burned, and bean beetles which I tried to squish and then sprayed with surround WP and Neem oil. I am currently experimenting with using Surround. I only use the Neem oil in the case of an infestation. I also have thrips in my greenhouse. I have not found a good method for controlling them though they do not seem to do too much damage to my transplants. This year (2010) I will be planting my squash, melon, and bean plants on a newly leased piece of property across town. Hopefully this will break the bean beetle and squash bug life cycles on my farm. |
| Describe your primary disease problems and methods of control. If you indicate a name brand product, please also specify the ingredient/s, what kind of product it is (a soap, microbial, oil, a botanical...), and how often it's used. | This winter and last winter I had a fungus in my lettuce which caused it to wilt - lettuce drop. Last year I treated this by including wheat in my rotation and trying to limit the brassica plants in this rotation. This year a lettuce grower told me to plant mustard (so much for the avoiding brassicas idea) I'm also planning to install drip irrigation tape under my lettuce beds this spring to decrease wet leaves. |
| Please list the water source you use for crop irrigation. If source is public river, pond or lake, please note the name: | We irrigate primarily with rainwater. Some is collected from our home roof which is a metal roof. We also use pond water. The pond is spring fed and collects rainwater from a small watershed which includes mostly my own property. |
| Are there any known contaminants in the irrigation water? | no |
| Are you a maple producer who seeks to certify your sugarbush? | no |
Seeds, Transplants and Buffers
| Do you purchase or grow using any Genetically Modified seeds? | no |
| Do you use any chemically treated seeds in your operation? | no |
| Do you grow your own transplants? | yes |
| Are they grown using Naturally Grown/Organic methods? | yes |
| If they're not grown according to CNG methods, please list them here. This produce may not be sold as Certified Naturally Grown. (If they are, put "N/A") | All are grown according to CNG methods. |
| Do you purchase any transplants from outside sources? | no |
| Chemical/Spray Drift and Buffers: | |
| Is there any likelihood of Chemical/Spray drift contamination of your fields? | no |
| Do you have an adequate buffer to protect yourself from potential contamination? | yes |
| Please describe your buffer. Be as specific as possible. On all sides, how far is it from your crops to the next closest use (road, conventional crop, residential yard)? Be sure to specify what is grown on neighboring land that is in agricultural use. For example: To the north and east, a wooded area of at least 100 yards separates us from the neighbor's corn fields, to the south is a fallow field at least 100 yards deep separating us from the road, and to the west about 60 feet separates our crops from a field where conventional corn and soybeans are grown. | Right now we are separated from on two sides from at least 50 ft. of forest which we own. We are separated on one side by a neighbor's abandoned field. If he started using this field it could be a source of contamination but currently is not. We are separated from the road but our yard and the house - around 50 ft. at the closest spot. My husband has a home mechanic shop and biodeisel refinery on the property which could be a source of contamination. We are about to move these operations further from actively planted lands. He also uses herbicides in his work as a forester not on our property. He has separate spray equipment which is stored away from the gardens. We are aware of the potential for contamination and are being careful. We are also adding on to my husband's work area so that his equipment may be stored inside thereby minimizing the possibility of contamination. |
Agreements
| Please indicate your agreement with the following statements by checking the boxes. | |
| I will not label, or in any way lead consumers to believe that produce not raised in accord with CNG standards is Certified Naturally GrownTM. | |
| I understand that I have to complete at least one (and hopefully more) Certification Inspection(s) of another farm in my area each year, and that the inspection will NOT be of the same farmer that inspected me. | |
| I have reviewed the Certified Naturally Grown certification standards, I understand them, and I will abide by them. I understand that if I have any questions I may contact CNG for clarification. | |
| You may use this space to tell us anything else you think we should know about your farm: | |
