There are about 50 farms in the South Valley currently certified by California Certified Organic Farmers. Most consumers have some idea that foods labeled "organically grown" or "certified organic" in the supermarket were grown without pesticides, but they may not know the difference or exactly what the terms mean.

What's Organic?

"With organic fields, you don't use synthetic pesticides with chemicals; you use sprays that are naturally based," said Tim Chiala, one of the owners of Chiala Farms in Morgan Hill, which has both organic and conventional fields. "Plants need the same stuff, but the way you give it to the plants is different."

Plants can be grown using organic methods but may not be certified organic. This is because of rules and regulations put in place by inspectors such as California Certified Organic Farmers. One thing that stops many organically grown products from being certified are the rules about fields the crops are grown in.

"They're very strict in their requirements," said Dick Swank, owner of Swank Farms in Hollister, who started growing certified organic for the first time about a year ago. "There's a lot of paperwork, and the field you grow in can't have been exposed to pesticides for three years. You can grow things in the field organically, but you can't call it certified organic until the three years is up. ... You have to show the inspectors what's been sprayed on a field. You have to use certified sprays, which are more expensive. You have to clean your tractors off if they've been in the conventional field before you can put them in the organic field. It's a lot of work."

Compost used in organically certified fields must also meet rigorous regulations and is also more expensive than compost for conventional fields.

"You use different fertilizers (in organic fields)," Chiala said. "You use cow blood and turkey (droppings), bones, the leftover stuff from fish fillets, like the fish heads and stuff. It's all good for getting nitrogen in the soil. We have a mushroom farm, and we can't use some of the compost from the mushroom farm because it may have been exposed to pesticides. If there's even a chance something's been exposed to chemicals, you can't use it."

Along with organically certified biological sprays and good compost, integrated pest management is another method organic farmers use, said Betty Van Dyke, whose family has been organically farming cherries and other foods in the Gilroy area since the 1920s.

"You release ladybugs and preying mantis into the orchards, and they'll eat the aphids," she said. "And you plant native grasses to attract native predators, which will eat the bad bugs. It's very effective."

Inspectors visit organically certified fields about once a year to make sure all the rules and regulations are followed, Swank and Chiala said.

Taking the Risk

Not only are organic farming methods more expensive for farmers, they are extremely risky. Disease, for example, can be prevented using certain kinds of chemical sprays. But if disease strikes an organic crop, there's not much a farmer can do.

"My father never liked chemicals, and he always used to say you should never spray anything in the orchard that makes it so you can't go out and eat it the next day," said Van Dyke, whose family grows mostly organic products but has 25 acres of conventionally grown foods to rely on in case something happens to the organic crops. "But there's a bigger risk with fruit trees than with vegetables when you're growing organically. For example, after the trees bloom, the fruit inside the flowers starts to grow. The petals fall off the flowers and that's called the jacket stage. If you get rain during that time, and then a period of warm weather, you have a really good chance of getting jacket rot, which will ruin the fruit. There are chemicals out there that can help you avoid jacket rot, but there's not a lot you can do with the organic trees."

If warm weather comes too early and fruit trees get ready to bloom, there are chemical sprays that can keep the trees dormant and prevent them from blooming prematurely, which can potentially ruin a crop, Chiala said. This year is a good example, because in early February the South Valley had unseasonably warm weather followed by a cold snap that brought freezing temperatures in recent weeks. This kind of weather would have killed any fruit on early-blooming trees, he explained.

Swank said he is hesitant to try growing his trees organically because of the risk involved. He also said he has no plans to grow his corn organically because too many kinds of worms like to eat corn, and he can't risk losing the crops to such prevalent pests.

Final Product

Different farmers have different reasons for growing organic. Some do it because it builds up the quality of the soil, while others are more concerned with what consumers are after.

"Organic farming is a good thing, and we use a lot of (the methods) in the conventional fields," Chiala said. "A lot of growing organic is about the marketing. We know the public is concerned about pesticides, so we are concerned, too. But people should know that we don't just spray for the sake of spraying in the conventional fields. And, if farmers are doing it right, there shouldn't be residue left on the produce when it gets to the store. It's all safe to eat."

Marketing is also part of the reason Pat Herbert, owner of Herbert Family Organic Farm in Hollister, has been growing organically exclusively for the last nine years or so. But, he also grows organically because he's happy with his final product.

"It's about the high-quality compost," he said. "It eliminates a lot of problems. If you build your soil correctly, you won't have as much trouble with organic farming. I used to spend $40 to $50 an acre on trying to fix insect problems in our soil. But the people who taught me about composting told me that as I built the microbes in the soil, those insect problems would go away, and that's exactly what I saw."

The idea that organic foods don't look as nice and are, therefore, less appealing to consumers is a myth, Herbert said.

"All organic isn't the same, but if the soil is built up properly, your product is not only going to look really good, it's going to taste really good, too."

Swank Farms did so well with the early attempts at growing organically, Swank said, that he plans to continue growing tomatoes, garlic, bell peppers and onions organically, and slowly branch out even more.

"It shouldn't really be about organic farmers versus conventional farmers," Chiala said. "We're all farmers, and we're all on the same team."

National Agriculture Week

This week is National Agriculture Week as designated by the Agriculture Council of America. The week is designed to raise awareness of U.S. agricultural significance on a national and global scale. Agriculture is California's biggest industry.

Take advantage of our local farms and visit one of these farmers markets. Call for details, including start dates.

Morgan Hill

- 9am-1pm Saturdays at the downtown train station, Third and Depot

- Info: (800) 806-FARM (3276)

Hollister

- 3-7pm Wednesdays, 400 San Benito St.

- Info: (831) 636-8406

Watsonville

- 3-7pm Fridays, Peck and Main

- Info: (831) 234-9511

Felton

- 2:30-6:30pm Tuesdays, St. John's Church (Highway 9)

- Info: (831) 566-7159

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