Re: non gmo organic vegetable plants

[Guest guest]

I would recommend Kedem Nursery and Garden. www.kedemroses.com/

It's worth the drive and have CSA options as well. I connect their CSA with

members in Roseville every other week. Very good response! Alvin

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> Does anyone know where to buy organic non genetically modified vegetable

plants locally?

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[Guest guest]

Sam Kedem's is a fun place. Definitely check their website or call ahead for

their availability before making the drive though. Their real plant specialty

is to grow organic roses (which they have hundreds of varieties of) and they may

or may not have your veggie needs covered.

For total diversity in veggies and herbs and other plants, come see the Friends'

Plant Sale at the State Fair this weekend only! It starts Friday AM, you can

download the catalog online, and I am volunteering there on Saturday in Rare

Plants and I'd love to say hi to anyone from the Trad Food Group. If you really

want great selection, get there early on Fri. This is a huge sale, tens of

thousands of folks turn out, and it is nonprofit which benefits the Quaker

School in SP. Sunday whatever is left over is about half off. Certified

organic plants are not common here, but most things are pesticide free (and I'd

be very surprised if anything was GMO) and Henry in Rare Plants can answer

almost any question about plant origins. Prices are wholesale.

The Wedge is also having a big GOE sale soon, maybe this weekend? I think

that's certified organic.

Faith

[Guest guest]

I start my veggies at home from heirloom-variety seeds. I just wanted to say

though, that while it may be difficult to find organic vegetable starts, so far

the only GMO veggies in commerce are some zucchinis and crookneck squash. So

even if you can't find all organic veggie starts you should be ok. Also, since

veggie plants grow so quickly from seeds, most small growers don't use any

chemicals. It's generally not until the plants are more mature and the weather

is warmer that veggie insects and diseases start becoming a problem.

If you can't find everything you want in organically-started veggies, it's still

pretty safe to buy conventionally grown starts. Generally conventional potting

soil is used, and that stuff is mostly shredded bark, peat moss, and perlite.

Perlite is just super-heated rock that kind of pops like popcorn and turns very

lightweight. It's added for drainage. There are a few nutrients added as well,

but overall, even conventional veggie starts are fine to add to an organic

garden without compromising the health of your soil, or your veggies.

For the future you may want to consider ordering seeds online and buying organic

potting soil to start them. There are several online sources for organic seeds.

It's pretty easy to start veggie seeds at home. The only equipment you really

need is a $30 or so florescent shop light, some chain or rope to hang it with,

and a flat surface to put the pots. I save cell packs and small nursery pots

and flats for starting veggies. You hang the shop light just three or four

inches above your pots, and as the veggies grow, just keep raising the light

higher. Once the weather's warm enough, you gradually introduce them to outdoor

sun and wind, starting with a couple of hours a day and gradually increasing

until you're ready to put them in the ground or in pots outdoors. A small fan

on low speed is also good to help them develop sturdier stems. You can also

brush the palm of your hand across the tops of them a few times a day to help

them grow sturdier.

So of course, organic is best, but if you can't find everything you want in

organic starts, it's really ok to buy some non-organic. Generally you won't

even find GMO seeds or veggies available for sale for small-scale gardening.

They are really just sold to farmers. There's a whole process including signing

contracts agreeing to the GMO producers' terms, since GMOs are patented, and the

Monsantos of the world want records on who's growing them to protect their

patents.