((PKG)) ORGANIC FARMING
((Banner: Fresh))
((Reporter: Mariia Prus))
((Camera: Dmitriy Savchuk))
((Adapted by: Zdenko Novacki))
((Map: St. Mary's County, Maryland))
((Banner: Even’ Star is a certified organic farm, making minimal use of organic pesticides and fertilizers))
((BRETT GROHSGAL, FARMER))
Since we’re here, you can tell we’re very certified organic, because a conventional grower would have sprayed this with Roundup. This edge would be brown with an herbicide, and instead, weeds show better than anything that we’re very certified organic, as well as some other indicators of insect activity that aren’t good, the right kind of insects.
((NATS))
((BRETT GROHSGAL, FARMER))
This is tobacco hornworm. It also consumes tomatoes, peppers, eggplant. This caterpillar will take all the leaves off. Now, if we left all these caterpillars on here and didn’t kill them, this whole plant would eventually be destroyed, or not destroyed but defoliated. All the leaves would come off, and this will actually, in the end, start even eating the fruit. These we kill by just ripping them in half and throwing them away.
((NATS))
((BRETT GROHSGAL, FARMER))
This was all harvested yesterday, and actually, you can see, we had crows or deer visit overnight. And deer, we have some fencing around here, but not enough. That could be crows, and crows love our watermelon. And it’s a real problem, and no matter whether you’re conventional or organic, crows are going to hit your watermelon. They’ll ruin about 40 to 60 pounds a day.
((NATS))
((BRETT GROHSGAL, FARMER))
So, this is cantaloupe, little, teeny (tiny) patch of cantaloupe. This is planted in May. It should have already been produced and be done by now. None of these are. Oh, this one’s ready, it was missed. Ok, yep, that one’s probably a number 2. This one is ugly. It is such an ugly cantaloupe. This one’s called Edisto. That’s typical for Edisto. Edisto was bred for the coastal plain, actually the coastal islands of South Carolina. It is delicious. It’s so sweet and aromatic. We’ll open one at lunch so you can taste. So, even though this tastes much better than any of that cardboard-y junk in the stores, I’m one of the only growers I know that still grows this because I don’t care about how it looks. I care about flavor, and I want my customers to eat and go, ‘Wow.’” When they do, ‘Wow,’ that’s good, they’re loyal. After that, they’re loyal.
((NATS))
