Would this be 'organic'??

[Richard]

We've got two rows, about 40' each, of blueberry bushes. I went to the grocery the other day (Freshmarket where things seem to be more expensive) and saw some organic blueberries. They were charging about $5.00 for 4.4 ounces as I recall I can pick that many in about 13 seconds.

anyways, that got me thinking... are OUR blueberries "organic"??

They sit out in the field. Mother nature feeds them rain. When Mother nature dries out for a while, I've got a hose buried to them so we can water them using our well.

We do not use anyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy kind of insectecide on them AT ALL. Heck, we hardly prune them back... The only thing that has been done to them over the years is, my wifes Uncle, sprinkles some sulphur on the ground near them, to help acidify the soil.

My understanding is, he takes a 4lb box and uses it to cover both rows.

Aside from this sprinkling of sulphur (and to be honest, I'm not 100% sure that's the right item but it is what I think I was told)

anyways, aside from this sulphur being sprinkled around twice a year, virtually NOTHING is done to them. Nothing, nada, kaput, zilcho.

Would these qualify as "organic"??

 

[Duffster]

We've got two rows, about 40' each, of blueberry bushes. I went to the grocery the other day (Freshmarket where things seem to be more expensive) and saw some organic blueberries. They were charging about $5.00 for 4.4 ounces as I recall I can pick that many in about 13 seconds.

anyways, that got me thinking... are OUR blueberries "organic"??

They sit out in the field. Mother nature feeds them rain. When Mother nature dries out for a while, I've got a hose buried to them so we can water them using our well.

We do not use anyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy kind of insectecide on them AT ALL. Heck, we hardly prune them back... The only thing that has been done to them over the years is, my wifes Uncle, sprinkles some sulphur on the ground near them, to help acidify the soil.

My understanding is, he takes a 4lb box and uses it to cover both rows.

Aside from this sprinkling of sulphur (and to be honest, I'm not 100% sure that's the right item but it is what I think I was told)

anyways, aside from this sulphur being sprinkled around twice a year, virtually NOTHING is done to them. Nothing, nada, kaput, zilcho.

Would these qualify as "organic"??

NO

To be labeled "Organic" they need to be USDA certified, to sell them that way anyway

 

[forgeblast]

With the certification some times you need to start with organically certified rootstock, or seed also.
Btw a good organic fertalize that a upick place turned me on to is double ground hardwood mulch, add in spring and fall and you wont need to fertalize.

 

[Bird]

For the 8 years, we lived in Navarro County, I put no chemical fertilizer, herbicide, or insecticide on my garden at all. I just wanted to see how it would do with nothing but cow and rabbit manure for fertilizer, and lots of wood (limbs, leaves, even some roots of various types of trees) run through the chipper/shredder. And I planted plenty for me and the bugs. So I think I was pretty much eating organic vegetables, but as has been said, I was not USDA certified (if I remember right, it takes 3 years after you apply), so I couldn't sell anything as "organic".

 

[Stimw]

In my opinion, "Organic" is right behind global warming. People who are **** retentive finding another way to charge more for less.
A guy up the road is growing organic and selling it. I watched one of his dogs take a healthy dump in one of his garden rows between the crops. I wonder if he uses that in his advertising?
For blueberries the best fertilizer is regular azalea fertilizer. It has the right balance for them. Fertilize early spring, prune after crop is finished. Dig sprouts with roots attached and replant for more bushes.

 

[Duffster]

In my opinion, "Organic" is right behind global warming. People who are **** retentive finding another way to charge more for less.

I kinda agree

but

I would call it supplying a demand

 

[WarrenF]

In my opinion, "Organic" is right behind global warming. People who are **** retentive finding another way to charge more for less.
A guy up the road is growing organic and selling it. I watched one of his dogs take a healthy dump in one of his garden rows between the crops. I wonder if he uses that in his advertising?
For blueberries the best fertilizer is regular azalea fertilizer. It has the right balance for them. Fertilize early spring, prune after crop is finished. Dig sprouts with roots attached and replant for more bushes.

Standing and applauding after that post.

 

[Stimw]

I saw a show about corn. They said if it was just left to grow on it's own it would be useless in one or two generations because the seeds being so close together would just starve for nutrients and produce ears with little or no seeds. Like it was before native americans re-engineered it.(spread the seeds out and fertilized) They showed a before corn ear, it had few seeds. IIRC corn is a grass.
As long as the non-organic food looks good and dosen't glow in the dark it's OK with me!

 

[Bird]

I didn't use chemicals on my garden, just to see how well it would do, and because I was raising far more stuff than I needed, but I sure do not pay extra for so called "organic" stuff at the grocery store.

 

[MossRoad]

I recall seeing a segment on 20/20 a few years back where they looked at organic VS chemical foods. They found the chemical foods to be of better quality and cleaner, as far as dirt goes.

However, I have also read studies on all the stuff they find in our water, the unknown long term effects, etc...

So, given the choice, I try no to use pesticides, chemicals, etc... as often as possible. My current dilemma is my fruit tress, for example. Last year was the first year for many of them to bloom, so I let them go with no sprays and got very little surviving fruit. So, I want fruit this year. For the home gardener, there is a fruit tree spray that has both pesticide and fungicide incorporated and is pretty much guaranteed to get you a decent result if you spray every 14 to 21 days (more often if it rains) from petal drop until harvest. However, why use a pesticide when only a fungicide is needed and vice versa? I'll tell you why. Because by the time you see the problem, the fruit is almost surely damaged. Grrr!!

There are some organic alternatives I am reading about, like copper and soap for fungus and pests, so I may go that route and see what I get.