Monday, July 27, 2015
The (Organic) Struggle is Real
In the beginning of spring, I asked the local organic friendly garden store for some apple tree spray. They handed me two products and didn't ask me any questions about if I wanted organic or not. It wasn't until I was spraying the tree the second time that I looked closer at the bottle, I was using some non organic spray!!! For reason, I didn't think they would sell me a chemical without telling me it wasn't organic. And I also have this assumption, if I am growing something in my backyard, of course it's organic.
After doing a bit of research, I learned what the sales person probably already knew: it's pretty tough to grow organic apples. I sprayed them once more after that, starting off with the attitude of "this is the only way" and ending with feeling horrible about the whole thing. When I was nearly done, I noticed a birds nest in the tree, OMG! Did I kill those precious bird babies?! And then I could smell it when we were outside playing and I was cursing the wind for blowing, fearful that it would affect my kids.
So, I stopped spraying them. It wasn't really an intentional decision. I actually wanted to use up the spray until I found an organic option, but I physically couldn't keep spraying them. I mean, baby birds and my precious kids were looking me right in the eye. (While visions of apple pies danced in my head, ha ha. )
The apples will be ready to eat in a week or two! They are looking delicious (probably from the few times I did spray them.) But now I feel like we can't eat them right off the tree.:(
Which is kind of the purpose of our yard: playing, eating and being intimate with all it's deliciousness. I'm gonna wash the heck out of them and make a ton of applesauce.
But I am gonna really have to get it together next year.
Meanwhile, the chickens have moved from starter food to layer food (anxiously awaiting that first glorious egg!) Again, organic farming didn't really hit me until I went to buy their new food.
It is about 4 times more expensive for organic feed. Of course I had to say out loud in the store, "If I don't feed my chickens organic feed, the eggs wont be organic?" Yep, that's right blondie. Despite raising them in our backyard since two days old the eggs won't be organic. You can guess which feed I chose. When it comes down to it, I am cheap and this is supposed be a bit of an economic process, saving money on eggs. Again, I am going to do my research and see if there is a better middle ground. And the chickens do eat quite a bit of organic veggies from our yard.
I guess that makes my eggs non-organic too, no wonder we have such crazy little kids.
Just Joking!
After doing a bit of research, I learned what the sales person probably already knew: it's pretty tough to grow organic apples. I sprayed them once more after that, starting off with the attitude of "this is the only way" and ending with feeling horrible about the whole thing. When I was nearly done, I noticed a birds nest in the tree, OMG! Did I kill those precious bird babies?! And then I could smell it when we were outside playing and I was cursing the wind for blowing, fearful that it would affect my kids.
So, I stopped spraying them. It wasn't really an intentional decision. I actually wanted to use up the spray until I found an organic option, but I physically couldn't keep spraying them. I mean, baby birds and my precious kids were looking me right in the eye. (While visions of apple pies danced in my head, ha ha. )
The apples will be ready to eat in a week or two! They are looking delicious (probably from the few times I did spray them.) But now I feel like we can't eat them right off the tree.:(
Which is kind of the purpose of our yard: playing, eating and being intimate with all it's deliciousness. I'm gonna wash the heck out of them and make a ton of applesauce.
But I am gonna really have to get it together next year.
Meanwhile, the chickens have moved from starter food to layer food (anxiously awaiting that first glorious egg!) Again, organic farming didn't really hit me until I went to buy their new food.
It is about 4 times more expensive for organic feed. Of course I had to say out loud in the store, "If I don't feed my chickens organic feed, the eggs wont be organic?" Yep, that's right blondie. Despite raising them in our backyard since two days old the eggs won't be organic. You can guess which feed I chose. When it comes down to it, I am cheap and this is supposed be a bit of an economic process, saving money on eggs. Again, I am going to do my research and see if there is a better middle ground. And the chickens do eat quite a bit of organic veggies from our yard.
I guess that makes my eggs non-organic too, no wonder we have such crazy little kids.
Just Joking!
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