While you may have no idea what goes onto – or into – the food you purchase at the grocery store, your local farmer can tell you exactly how she or he raises the food you feed to your family and friends. 

Reverence Gardens is unique in that we absolutely never use pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides - even those that are approved under the National Organic Program.   And, we absolutely never use any animal products or animal byproducts.  This means we farm without the use of slaughter byproducts such as blood, feather, hoof, or bone meals, or poultry litter, and we never use animal manures. We do not use any artificial fertilizers though we do use fertility amendments such as organic alfalfa meal and plant based fertilizers. 

The vast majority of our inputs have been listed by OMRI as allowable in organic agriculture.  Those that are not OMRI listed are,  however, also allowed under the rules of the National Organic Program.   Our inputs are listed below: 

Fertilizers 

• Organic alfalfa meal
• Bio-Grow Liquid Fertilzer – derived from molasses - OMRI Listed and certified organic by GHBB
• Nature’s Nectar Nitrogen – derived from plant proteins – OMRI Listed
• Nature’s Nectar Potassium – derived from kelp – OMRI Listed
• Comfrey Extract - Comfrey leaves grown in my yard and steeped in water, comfrey leaf extract provides a nutrient rich foliar feed for plants
• Organic Blackstrap Molasses - another source of nutrients, used both as a foliar feed and a root soak

 Fertility Enhancers 

These are non-plant food sources of fertility – think of them as similar to essential vitamins and minerals for plants. 

• Maxicrop Liquid Seaweed – liquefied Norwegian seaweed
• Bio-Genesis Mineral Matrix – derived from Langbenite and other mined minerals – OMRI Listed
• Bio-Genesis Synergy – derived from seaweed and other plant extracts – OMRI Listed
• Ruby Fulvic – derived from Leonardite shale and fermented seaweed
• Calcium-25 - mined calcium and natural plant waxes, OMRI Listed for foliar feeding of plants grown in soils with low calcium; calcium levels tested in the low range on the last soil test taken and magnesium tested very high which interferes with the uptake of other minerals, including calcium
• Mined Epsom Salts - a source of Magnesium said to enhance fruiting when sprayed on pepper plants when they flower.

 Soil Amendments or Seedling Media 

• Sphagnum Peat
• Perlite
• Nutrasoft - gypsum, used to bind the excess magnesium in the soil and replace it with calcium, helps loosen the soil and allow greater mineral uptake by plants

 Insect Repellants

There are a number of "folk recipes" for insect repellants out there - I have tried the following:

• Garlic and Hot Pepper tea - an extract of garlic and hot pepper said to deter Japanese beetles - many different recipes are out there and the one I used didn't deter many beetles!
• Olive Oil - Olive oil mixed with water and sprayed onto the edamame leaves does seem to prevent the Japanese beetles from feeding - at least until it wears off!