Fleur-de-lis Farms Produce & Flowers Application

Application Date:

City: Henrico, VA

Please briefly tell us why you are applying to be part of the Certified Naturally Grown (CNG) program:
We have always focused on an organic approach to farm management; organic as in 'living', not as in big "O" certified organic. We like to take a natural approach to pest management, disease mitigation, and plant nutrition because we believe it is the best way ensure a sustainable food system for the future. Organic certification doesn't particularly fit with our farms scale, and after learning about Certified Naturally Grown at the Virginia Biological Farmers conference, we knew we had found the certification for us!

Are you currently third-party-certified for your produce operation by any other organization (Organic, Biodynamic, etc.)?
No
If yes, please note which certification and agency:

Have you held any certification/s in the past that you don't currently hold?  No
Note which agencies and dates:

Have you ever been denied certification? No
If yes, please note which agencies, and reasons for denial:

How long have you been growing and selling your products?
We have been raising chickens for meat and eggs for 5 years and are in the thick of our first season growing and selling vegetables. Our vegetable farmer has 5 years experience market gardening using natural practices.
How did you learn to farm? What has prepared you to farm successfully according to CNG standards?
I grew up in the garden and have always felt called to it. After high school, I went to Virginia Tech and got my degree in Environmental Horticulture. I ran my own farm for about 4 years primarily for CSA shares and never sprayed anything because the cultural (crop rotation, exclusion with row cover, etc.) and biological (using flowers to attract beneficial insects) proved efficient enough. My scale was small and my customers were understanding to my growing practices and the insect related reductions in yields. Every year, I strive to strengthen my IPM practices. I also am a huge proponent of maintaining a living soil with compost, broad forking, and no till strategies. Year after year I have noticed that a healthy, living soil creates a healthy plant which is capable of warding off insect and disease pressure.
Total number of acres you want listed as CNG: 1
Do you have other acreage in "Conventional" Agricultural Systems? No
How many acres are in conventional agriculture?
List what you are growing conventionally and explain why these crops are excluded from certification.

General Listed Acreage Breakdown

Of the acreage that you want listed as CNG, list the number of acres you have in each crop category.

Vegetables: 0.95
Fruit:
Cut Flowers: 0.05
Hay:
Grains:
Dry Beans:
Sugarbush:
Other Acreage:

Specify other items:

Specify other primary crop:
Specify any other items you'd like listed as CNG: We may like to add things in the future but this is a good place to start
List any crops you grow that will not be listed as CNG, and explain why you’re not seeking to certify them.

Specify other markets:

Farmland Management & Practices

Describe how you prepare your ground for planting.
We mow the existing vegetation, and cover with a silage tarp for a few weeks to kickstart the breakdown of the organic material. We will then come back and, depending on the crop, spread compost and/or broadfork the beds before the final step of running our BCS power harrow through the bed. We use landscape fabric for most transplanted crops and stale-seed bed techniques for direct sown crops.
Do you use Cover Crops? Yes
List the cover crop species you use:
Usually a blend of oats, clover, and vetch.
Do you use Compost? Yes

Describe your on-farm composting process.

Describe how you verify with your supplier that their compost is properly composted and does not contain prohibited ingredients like biosolids. We check the Compost Data Sheet and make sure nothing sticks out to us, however we need to find a better compost product that we can get delivered to our area.
Describe your "other" source of compost.
List your compost application rates. Give a specific amount or range. We applied roughly 18 cubic yards to our one acre field this year. Most beds received roughly 2.5 wheelbarrows filled (bed = 150 square feet)
Do you use Manure? No
List your general manure sources:
Please list application rates. Give a specific amount or range.
What time of year do you apply the manure?
Do you apply any manure within 120 days of edible crop harvesting?
Please list any other brought in fertility sources that you use (rock powders, lime, alfalfa meal, fertilizer mixes, etc.) For each product, list the full name, manufacturer, and OMRI status. Ultra - AgriGro - OMRI listed AgriCal- AgriGro - not OMRI listed Dr. Earth Home Grown Organic Natural Vegetable Food - OMRI listed Neptunes Harvest Fish Fertilizer - OMRI listed We also applied dolomitic limestone from Tractor Supply in February in accordance with our soil test but I do not recall the manufacturer or OMRI certification.
How do you decide which inputs (fertilizers, pest/disease control products, etc.) to use on your farm? How will you determine if an input is allowed for use in CNG production? Fertilizers: Number one most important thing is the ingredient list. If they are all from a living or once living source, I am generally happy with it. If the product has OMRI certification, then it instils a greater confidence in the quality of the product. We use compost as our primary source of fertility but will supplement with fish fertilizer and compost tea. Pest and Disease: We use both cultural and biological controls before considering bringing in any sort of organic sprays or soaps. For insect control, we use row covers, scouting and squishing, and crop rotation as part of our cultural controls. We also do our best to attract beneficial insects to the garden by surrounding the vegetable crops with flowers and herbs. This year, the only insects who broke the economic threshold were the cucurbit pests: squash bugs, and cucumber beetles. I tried setting pheromone sticky traps for the cucumber beetles but it was to late. Next year, we intend to have a better IPM strategy in place to use a combination of our usual cultural and biological controls as well as planting an extra row of squash uncovered by row cover and used as a trap crop for these insects early in the season. For diseases, we have only used cultural practices such as choosing resistant varieties, crop rotation, and regular pruning for increased airflow.
Have any chemical fertilizers been applied to the fields you are seeking Certification for in the last three years (36 months)? No
According to CNG guidelines, it is acceptable to apply OMRI-listed, chelated synthetic fertilizers to correct specific micronutrient imbalances only if micronutrient deficiency is documented in a recent soil or tissue test. Does the application of this fertilizer meet those requirements?
Specify types, amounts and application dates:
Have any non-acceptable pesticides and/or herbicides been applied to these fields in the last three years?No
If yes, then please specify type and most recent application date:
Do you use Professional Soil Testing services? Yes
In detail, describe your primary weed problems AND methods of control. Do not answer "none". You MUST indicate either actual weed challenges and/or LIKELY challenges, and you must ALSO indicate how you manage (or would manage) them. If you indicate a product, also specify how often it's used.
Our primary weed problems are summer annuals in our directly sown beds. We use stale seed bed techniques to try and give our carrots, beets, and greens a head start over the weeds. Our stale seed bed techniques starts with preparing the seed bed and covering with a silage tarp for about a week or so; we then remove the tarp, plant the desired crop, and recover the area with the tarp for a length of time that is determined by the seed that is planted; we remove the tarp for the final time before the cultivated seed germinates and run a flame weeder over the bed to kill any germinated weed seeds. We use landscape fabric for our transplanted crops which greatly reduces the area weeds can emerge. In addition, we know that in a properly managed no-till system weed pressure should decrease year after year. We use colinear hoes, hand pulling, and flame weeders to manage weeds we didnt prevent.
In detail, describe your primary insect challenges AND methods of control. Do not answer "none". You MUST indicate either actual pest challenges and/or LIKELY challenges, and you must ALSO indicate how you manage (or would manage) them. If you indicate a product, also specify how often it's used.
Our main insect problems have been pests for the cucurbit family: squash bugs, squash vine borers, and cucumber beetles. We have also had pest pressure on our brassica crops and solanaceous crops. Our first method of control providing a good habitat for attracting beneficial insects. On one side of our vegetable beds is our herb garden and on the other side is our flower garden. Many of the insects that feed on the nectar of these plants, are natural parasites or predators of our common garden pests. Examples of this we noticed on the farm this year are braconid wasps laying eggs in tomato hornworms, tachinid flies that is a parasite to the squash bugs, as well as several species of beneficial predatory insects. We practice a crop rotation so that each garden bed has at least 3 years before the same crop family is planted there again. This helps to interrupt certain pests life cycles (e.g. the cabbage root maggot). Next line of defense is row covers - they simply exclude the pest from getting to the plant. We use these to exclude cabbage loopers and squash bugs primarily. We are constantly vigilante to the presence of pests and will squash and them as much as we can. The squash bugs certainly got away from us this year and they starting to completely drain our summer squash. When this happened, we burnt the squash plants in place and killed an absurd amount of the insect along with it. Then we started squash transplants in the greenhouse and planted them under row cover and have had less pressure since. Next year, we intend to plant a row of squash not under row cover at the same time as the other squash and use it as a trap crop. When there are lots of squash bugs on the trap crops but before there are flowers, we will either flame the crop or spray it with an organic insecticide. We have not sprayed anything this year but its likely we will be using some organic insecticide or insecticidal soaps next year in conjunction with our existing cultural and biological controls.
In detail, describe your primary disease challenges AND methods of control. Do not answer "none". You MUST indicate either actual disease challenges and/or LIKELY challenges, and you must ALSO indicate how you manage (or would manage) them. If you indicate a product, also specify how often it's used.
Our primary disease mitigation strategy is our plant varieties selection. We choose resistant varieties primarily from Johnnys selected seeds. For our indeterminate tomatoes, we prune the bottom leaves to increase airflow and reduce disease pressure. We also remove any diseased fruits or leaves, and avoid working in the plants when they are wet. The main disease problem we have had has been cucumber mosaic virus which is transmitted by the cucumber beetles. Not all the varieties we planted were resistant to this disease and the beetles could tell. We will try and be more proactive with the scouting and control of these insects next year to reduce the pressure from this disease. We have good airflow through the farm so that likely reduces disease pressure overall.
Please list any weed, pest, or disease products that you use (insecticidal soap, horticultural vinegar, copper, etc.). For each product, list the full name, manufacturer, and OMRI status. For weeds and pests we have used propane torches.
Please list the water source you use for crop irrigation. If source is public river, pond or lake, please note the name: We pump water out of Four Mile Creek in Henrico Virginia.
Are there any known contaminants in the irrigation water? No
If yes, please explain:

Microgreens & Sprouts

Please fill this out for your indoor operation only.

Provide a brief description of your operation. (square footage? in a greenhouse or other indoor setting? etc.)

Are any of your crops sprouted and/or grown without soil or substrate? Use the link below to view our guidance on sprouts vs. microgreens.
For sprouts, we require that all seeds are organic or CNG. If you grow or decide to grow sprouts, will you purchase only organic and/or CNG seed for your sprout crop?
What media are you using to grow your microgreens and/or sprouts? 

If you purchase potting mix or soilless media, list the product name, manufacturer, and OMRI status. If you make your own, list the ingredients.

Describe the mats or other substrate you are using. Provide product names.

What type of trays are you using in your operation?
What is your general irrigation set-up? Does water recirculate? What is the source of the water?

Although pests and disease are certainly less common for microgreens operations, there are still issues such as fungal gnats and damping off. What measures do you use to prevent pest and disease pressures?

How do you dispose of spent soil? Do you compost?

Is your operation fully indoors?
Are you growing any crops outside in the soil?

Maple

Are you a maple producer who seeks to certify your sugarbush?
Maple sap is considered a wild crop. CNG's Wild Crop Harvesting Standard states that wild crop must be harvested in a manner that ensures that such harvesting or gathering will not be destructive to the environment and will sustain the growth and production of the wild crop. Please briefly describe any steps you take to protect and ensure the sustainability of your sugarbush.

Do you use an organic de-foamer? custom_field:pf_dump_nearby$$
Over-tapping trees can stunt their growth. Do you (or will you) adhere to the Cornell Sugar Maple Research & Extension Program guidelines which state "trees 10-17 inches in diameter (31-53 inch circumference) should have no more than one tap. A tree 18-24 inches in diameter (57-75 inch circumference) should have no more than two taps. A tree larger than 25 inches in diameter (79-inch circumference) should have no more than three taps."
To maximize tree health and sap production, CNG supports Cornell's recommendation that all taps are 5/16" in diameter or smaller. Is this your practice, and if not, would you be willing to transition to 5/16" (or smaller) taps within the next three years? Please elaborate.

Seeds & Transplants

CNG certification requires the use of certified organic or CNG seeds whenever available. Please indicate the suppliers from which you source (or will source) your seeds. The CNG seed standard also applies to sweet potato slips, seed potatoes, day-neutral strawberry slips, and flower bulbs, corms, and tubers.
We have bought from Johnnys Seeds and Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. We have not been purchasing organic seeds but we will start purchasing them now.
Please indicate, by typing your initials, that you will as a general rule purchase organically grown seeds, AND that you will only purchase conventional seed when the variety you wish to grow is not available in certified organic or CNG form. For each variety purchased in conventional form, you will identify (and keep records of) at least three commercial organic seed suppliers who do not carry that variety. SHM
Do you purchase or grow using any Genetically Modified seeds? No
Do you use any chemically treated seeds in your operation? No
If yes, please list types:
Please note reason for purchasing treated seed:

Do you grow your own transplants? Yes
Do you purchase potting soil, or do you mix your own on the farm? We purchase organic potting soil and will occasionally enrich it with compost and/or organic fertilizer. We create our own mix for our small soil blocks though.
What ingredients does your potting mix contain? If you purchase a mix, please also indicate which product.
Coast of Maine Bar Harbor Blend - made with sphagnum peat moss, compost, perlite, lobster and crab shell meal and kelp meal. Coast of Maine Sprout Island Blend - blended sphagnum peat moss, compost, aged bark, perlite, kelp meal, lobster and crab shell meal, worm castings and mycorrhizae I will generally mix the two of them together for my transplants.
Are all of your transplants grown according to CNG standards, without synthetic fertilizers or wetting agents? Yes
If any transplants are not grown according to CNG standards, please list them here. These products may not be marketed as CNG.

Do you source any transplants from off your farm? No
From which suppliers do you source transplants?

How have you confirmed with your supplier that the transplants are grown without synthetic fertilizers or wetting agents?
Please list any bought-in transplants not grown according to CNG standards. This produce may not be sold as Certified Naturally Grown (except, in the case of perennials, after twelve months of CNG cultivation).

Chemical/Spray Drift and Buffers:

Is there any likelihood of Chemical/Spray drift contamination of your fields? No
If yes, please state the source (conventional farm field, golf course, neighbor's lawn, etc.) and any details you can provide (type of pesticide, fertilizer, herbicide used and/or what used for).

Do you have an adequate buffer to protect yourself from potential contamination? Yes
Please refer to the CNG Buffer FAQ below and explain why your buffers are not adequate.
Please describe your buffer. Be as specific as possible and include buffer widths. 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.
The vegetable plot is in the Northeast corner of the property. To the north, there is Four Mile Creek and a large acreage of forest, some of which is in a conservation easement. The closest neighbors to the west are separated from us by roughly 200 feet of woods. To the south, the vegetable plot is roughly 400 feet from the road and has about a 10 foot wooded buffer. To the east exists the rest of the farms property which includes the house, barn, greenhouse, chickens, etc. Roughly 500 feet from the vegetable plot, the farm joins back to the woods where it is about 200 feet to the nearest neighbor.

Agreements