Produce Application
Quarter Branch Farm
Owner: Kevin GroveFarm Address:
40327 Quarter Branch Road
Lovettsville, VA 20180
Loudoun County
United States
daytime phone: 540-822-0123
evening phone: 540-822-0123
Web site: http://www.quarterbranchfarm.com
Application Date: 2009-12-07
Applicant Details
| Please briefly tell us why you are applying to be part of the Certified Naturally Grown program: | To quickly communicate to customers that our produce was grown naturally. |
| 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? | The book, "Market Farming Success", by Lynn Byczynski. |
General Farm Information
| Farm Acreage you want listed as Certified Naturally GrownTM: | |
| Total Farm Acreage you actually GROW on: | 7 |
| Number of above acreage that you own: | 2 |
| Number of above acreage that you lease: | 5 |
| Do you have other acreage in "Conventional" Agricultural Systems? | no |
| General Listed Acreage Breakdown | |
| Veg Crops: | 1.5 |
| Fruit Crops: | .5 |
| Hay: | 5 |
| Grains/Beans: | 0 |
| Sugarbush: | 0 |
| Other Acreage: | 0 |
| 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 just broke the ground this summer using a moldboard plow and a disk. It had been grass field since 1995, so the sod was very well-established. After breaking the ground, I used a BCS tiller to prepare the 30" x 25' beds. Now that the beds have been prepared, I will use shallow surface cultivation with the BCS tiller to kill the weeds and implement soil amendments and compost. |
| Do you use Cover Crops? | yes |
| If yes, please list: | Currently using rye, hairy vetch, crimson clover. |
| Do you use Compost? | yes |
| If yes, please note general sources (on farm, purchased complete, local grass clippings, local dairy, etc.): | I've been using Soilmate by Loudoun Composting, a local composter. Their compost is made entirely of leaves, grass, and brush. I am currently growing green manure so I can make my own compost next year. Am also composting the crop residues from this summer's harvest. |
| 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". | 15 gallons per 62.5 square feet |
| Do you use Manure? | yes |
| If yes, please note general sources (local dairy, horse farm, etc.): | Have been using some manure from local horse farms. I only get the manure that has aged for several years. It typically contains sawdust or straw from bedding. I won't use it if it hasn't been composted. I am doing a trial with manure in some areas and compost in other areas. So the application rates are not concurrent. |
| 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". | 15 gallons per 62.5 square feet |
| What time of year do you apply the manure? | The composted manure is applied throughout the growing season since I do succession plantings |
| 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. | Dolomite lime, organic alfalfa meal, greensand, crab meal, Tennessee brown rock phosphate. Purchased it all from Countryside Natural Products in Fishersville, Virginia. |
| 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 hand-pick most weeds. Biggest problem with weeds is grass growing in my beds. This has been an open field since 1995 until I plowed it up in July 2009. My plan to is to use shallow surface tilling (<2") to eliminate the weeds before re-planting the beds. Also would like to try using plastic to pre-germinate and kill the weeds before planting. I have never used any herbicides. |
| 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. | I have never used any pesticides. I hand-pick bugs when I see them. Haven't had too much trouble with bugs. Would try using row covers if they got to be a problem. |
| 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. | No problems with disease yet. |
| Please list the water source you use for crop irrigation. If source is public river, pond or lake, please note the name: | Well water. I think it's 200'-300' deep. Excellent drinking water - we've been drinking it since it was installed in 1995 and continue to drink it. |
| 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") | n/a |
| 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? | yes |
| If yes, please state the source (conventional farm field, golf course, etc.)and any details you can provide (type of pesticide, fertilizer, herbicide used, and/or what used for.) | There is a small vineyard (200 grapevines) just north of my field. He sprays the grapevines a couple times during the summer. |
| 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. | There only conventionally grown crop on the adjoining lands is a small (<1 acre) grape vineyard to the north. There is a buffer of about 50 feet of distance between the northern edge of the garden and the vineyard. I am allowing the natural vegetation and wild trees to continue to grow as a buffer. To the north-east is a hayfield (for growing green manure). The south-eastern edge of the garden is buffered from a small dirt road by 30 feet of distance, grown trees and thick natural vegetation, and a cow pasture across the road. To the south-west is my driveway, grown trees, fruit trees, natural vegetation, and a hayfield across the driveway. To the west is my driveway, fruit trees, blueberries, and a hayfield across the driveway (for growing green manure). To the north-west is a wild lawn and fruit trees. |
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: | This is my first year farming. My field has been open grassland since 1995, when my parents bought the property. Before that it had been a corn field. I am trying to learn all I can about growing organically. I have read all of Eliot Coleman's books, the Permaculture Designers' Manual, Gaia's Garden, One Straw, and many other books on natural ways of farming. I am 100% committed to growing using sustainable, natural, ecologically-friendly methods. |
