If you want to start growing organic produce either for your family or to sell at a produce stand or farmers' market, you need to make sure that you know what the guidelines you have to follow are. Not following those guidelines means you won't be able to market your produce as organic. So, what are the guidelines you need to follow?

No Chemical Insecticides

While you can't use any kind of synthesized or manmade insecticides on your organic crop, there are things that you can use. You can use things that occur naturally, like pyrethrum, which is a compound made by chrysanthemum plants, and neem, which comes from a tree. Both are organic insecticides. However, you will want to check before you use anything labeled as organic to make sure that it is actually organic and that it won't hurt the environment around you. You can also use various techniques to naturally reduce insects. That can include cultivating or buying beneficial insects that can help get rid of harmful ones. For example, ladybugs are natural predators to a lot of harmful insects, and they are something that you can purchase and let loose near your produce. You could also plant companion crops. These crops get planted together because they can help attract helpful insects to each other or can even help with enriching the soil. 

No Chemical Fertilizers

Another thing that you are going to have to avoid is chemical or commercial fertilizers. As with insecticides, if they are synthesized or manmade, then you can't use them on an organic crop. However, there are things that you can use. For example, if you are just starting out and wanting to start small, you may want to use a greenhouse at first, which could be the perfect size to use compost in. Compost is composed of waste matter, generally vegetative in nature, that has decayed until it is a nutrient-rich soil. It isn't necessarily practical for you to be able to amend an entire field with compost, especially at the beginning, but putting the compost to use in a greenhouse lets you get your foot in the door, lets you start selling your produce, and lets you start to grow your compost production.

If you are interested in selling organic produce, you need to make sure that you are doing things the right way, otherwise you run the risk of ending up selling food that isn't organic. For more help with your organic greenhouse production, speak with a local organic fertilizer and insecticide supplier. 

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