Cindy and Marcel Collard, owners of Quarter Moon Farm, have believed in certified organic foods for decades – for the health of humans and of the planet. Longtime vegetable gardeners, the Collards bought their home and farm 16 years ago and offered the use of a parcel of the land to certified organic farmers in exchange for vegetables.
But if you’re like many of us, you may not know the difference between something being called “organic” and “certified organic.” “Organic” has become something of a catch-all to mean a food product was grown and processed without use of synthetic chemicals. To be “certified,” you have to work with the state in the following ways to ensure that products are grown and produced in adherence to strict purity standards.
Soil Must Be Carefully Inspected
Soil needs to be inspected by the state, including what type of fertilizer is put into the soil and what cover crops are planted. Cindy and Marcel send soil samples to the University of New Hampshire (UNH) for analysis and tell them what they plan to grow in that soil.
UNH does the analysis to inspect for any impurities. They also tell the Collards if any nutrients need to be added to the soil for best growing results, such as nitrogen and potassium.
If the Collards are directed to add nutrients, they purchase them as an organic granulation from Fedco. If a cover crop (also called green manure) is grown to put nutrients back into the soil, the Collards buy organic cover crops like peas or soybeans. They meticulously keep track of every single thing put into or taken out of the soil.
Land Must be Pure
Another other vital part of being “certified” is that a certified organic farm must prove to the state that the land and soil itself is not compromised by chemicals or pesticides from the surrounding area. In other words, the land must be safe from substances seeping into the land from surrounding land, or drifting onto the land through the air.
Fortunately, the Collards own the surrounding land encircling their four acres of cultivated farmland. They live in Hancock, NH, a lovely rural town where fortunately, they are far from the pollutants that threaten our earth in today’s world.
Planting, Harvesting, Processing
Perhaps most obviously, to grow something “certified organic” it must start out that way; the seeds must be certified organic. In the case of garlic, the “seeds” are the individual garlic cloves.
Each certified organic head of garlic is broken apart into individual cloves, which are then planted. The straw which Marcel uses to cover the rows of planted cloves during the winter must be organic straw.
Then in the spring, the “food” that the garlic needs to grow and thrive must be organic fertilizer. Marcel uses Neptune’s Harvest and organic seaweed.
The Collards sent the results of their hard work — their bagged garlic — to the University of Maine for their “certified organic” determination. There they analyzed it, certified it, and designated a one-year shelf life with no refrigeration needed for the black garlic heads.
Land Benefits of Certified Organic
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) cites the following research-based benefits of growing foods with certified organic farming practices on the USDA website:
- Improved water quality
- Energy conservation
- Increased biodiversity
- Contribution to soil health
Quarter Moon Farm black garlic is not only a labor of love that those who eat it get to enjoy and reap optimal health benefits from, but it’s good for the planet. What are you waiting for? Try it!