Hi all~
This will be my first attempt at growing fruit trees and planting a large garden.
However, my search for organic fruit trees online has been futile.
I have found some sites that offer seedlings or very small trees, but I am looking for mature trees.
My question is this:
Some places claim anyone can grow fruit organically even though they have raised their trees using chemical sprays as per state laws, nd the trees are mature and at fruit bearing age. Do fruit trees such as this fit into the "organic" tree category if I raise them without chemical fertilizers and sprays?
Thank you for your insights and suggestions. Any tips on this and even where to find organic trees will be appreciated.
pleasant days to all.
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IndorBonsai
- Senior Member
- Posts: 268
- Joined: Sat May 02, 2009 5:15 pm
- Location: Seattle area WA
To answer your question even partially, a responder would need to know:
1) where you are gardening
2) what kind of fruit
3) whether you mean USDA or state-certified "organic"
4) whether the "organic" refers only to how the tree was raised, how you will tend it, or both
In general, I would say that dealing with a reputable nursery is your best protection with regard to cultivation practices of both edible annuals and fruit trees. Although I don't know whether they practice organic cultivation of young trees, I have had Trees of Antiquity recommended to me by an arborist I trust as a potential source of fruit trees.
One specific answer I can give you is that the California organic certification is more stringent than USDA (federal) organic certification, so if you have a reputable California nursery telling you that its trees were raised "organically," that probably fulfills anyone's criteria for organic standards.
Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9
1) where you are gardening
2) what kind of fruit
3) whether you mean USDA or state-certified "organic"
4) whether the "organic" refers only to how the tree was raised, how you will tend it, or both
In general, I would say that dealing with a reputable nursery is your best protection with regard to cultivation practices of both edible annuals and fruit trees. Although I don't know whether they practice organic cultivation of young trees, I have had Trees of Antiquity recommended to me by an arborist I trust as a potential source of fruit trees.
One specific answer I can give you is that the California organic certification is more stringent than USDA (federal) organic certification, so if you have a reputable California nursery telling you that its trees were raised "organically," that probably fulfills anyone's criteria for organic standards.
Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9
Thank you for your structured reply. It is helpful in my quest for raising organic fruit trees and shrubs.
I have been to Trees of Antiquity's web site but they have been sold out of just about everything for a bit now.
Good day, all~
In addition to my previous post on this matter:
It simply makes no sense to me how a nursery can claim that trees and shrubs bought from them can be raised organically, when, being mature plants already, they have been sprayed throughout their growing period. It seems to me the chemicals sprayed on the plants will inevitably end up in the ground from rain and watering, thus going to the plant via the root system rendering the plant non-organic.
Am I alone in this thought pattern :?: or does anyone out there feel the same way and has anymore information on this issue?
Thank you and happy gardening!
A
I have been to Trees of Antiquity's web site but they have been sold out of just about everything for a bit now.
Good day, all~
In addition to my previous post on this matter:
It simply makes no sense to me how a nursery can claim that trees and shrubs bought from them can be raised organically, when, being mature plants already, they have been sprayed throughout their growing period. It seems to me the chemicals sprayed on the plants will inevitably end up in the ground from rain and watering, thus going to the plant via the root system rendering the plant non-organic.
Am I alone in this thought pattern :?: or does anyone out there feel the same way and has anymore information on this issue?
Thank you and happy gardening!
A
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The Helpful Gardener
- Mod
- Posts: 7491
- Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2004 9:17 pm
- Location: Colchester, CT
We can't assume that the plant uptakes everything that is used or that their cultivation techniques use non-organic chemicals (although both premises do bear watching). I think you have to decide how fine you want to split hairs; was the seed for the plant organic? All of it's juvenile years? Did the grower purchase starts, and how were they treated before?
You can make yourself crazy or you can grow right yourself, adding to your plants and your soil and deriving nutrition from there. It would be nice if we could get organic plant starts, but I know few people doing it, and a lot of people won't pay the extra it takes to do it right. I think the majority of benefit would come from immediate practice far more than any trace elements left in older growth, but that's just a gut check...
HG
You can make yourself crazy or you can grow right yourself, adding to your plants and your soil and deriving nutrition from there. It would be nice if we could get organic plant starts, but I know few people doing it, and a lot of people won't pay the extra it takes to do it right. I think the majority of benefit would come from immediate practice far more than any trace elements left in older growth, but that's just a gut check...
HG
Hello there! And thank you for your thoughts.
I have come to basically the same conclusion. Having searched all over the internet for information and at plant sites, it is as you say and finding plants that were started organically, is not so easy.
The few places that I did find ship only for a few weeks and, being a beginning gardener, I missed the boat in purchasing plants such as blackberry and raspberry. I assumed I could plant those in the spring after our last frost but several of the nurseries stopped shipping as early as the start of May.
Should I decide to purchase any fruit plants that are still within the correct planting periods, I will simply raise them organically myself from whatever size I purchase.
I have come to basically the same conclusion. Having searched all over the internet for information and at plant sites, it is as you say and finding plants that were started organically, is not so easy.
The few places that I did find ship only for a few weeks and, being a beginning gardener, I missed the boat in purchasing plants such as blackberry and raspberry. I assumed I could plant those in the spring after our last frost but several of the nurseries stopped shipping as early as the start of May.
Should I decide to purchase any fruit plants that are still within the correct planting periods, I will simply raise them organically myself from whatever size I purchase.
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The Helpful Gardener
- Mod
- Posts: 7491
- Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2004 9:17 pm
- Location: Colchester, CT
Better off than not doing anything, right? We can set the bar REALLY high and then just not jump, and that does no one any good...
I had some Amish customers back in the day, and as they say, done is better than good...but then they say a job worth doing is worth doing well. I think they may be conflicted; hardly surprising seeing they are trying to live primitive in an increasingly modern world...
At leasty I know they won't see this; nobody tell...
HG
I had some Amish customers back in the day, and as they say, done is better than good...but then they say a job worth doing is worth doing well. I think they may be conflicted; hardly surprising seeing they are trying to live primitive in an increasingly modern world...
At leasty I know they won't see this; nobody tell...
HG