Ecological Growers

SweetSong Groves is not a certified organic grower (see why), but our methods are similar to organic horticulture and in some ways more restrictive. Our approach, which we call ecological horticulture— relies on two fundamental principles:

1. Our practices must be beneficial, or at least neutral, for the ecology of our land.
2. We avoid toxic agents as much as possible. They can spread through the entire ecology, pushing it out of balance and often leading to effects worse than the original problem. And we don’t want to expose our consumers or ourselves to additional toxic burden. Our modern world already provides plenty.

In practice, we strive to enrich the ecology at every level.

Most of the fertility needed by our fruiting plants is provided by wood-chip mulch, a waste product for local tree pruners, slowly breaking down and moving through the soil food web to reach plant roots. In general, we prefer organic fertilizers, fungicides, and soil amendments, but we are willing to use “chemicals” provided that they are used in such as way as not to disrupt the ecology. Here is our current list of SweetSong Groves Applied Substances . Soil quality is enhanced using biochar. We irrigate with tested contaminant-free well water.

We incorporate some ideas from permaculture: Our heavy wall-to-wall mulching turns the problem of tree pruners’ waste into the solution to many horticultural problems: soil fertility, weed control, moisture and temperature stabilization, and erosion prevention. Dead wood and waste piles become habitat for predator insects, lizards, and non-venomous snakes that help keep pest wildlife in balance. Native plants support pollinators and provide beauty.

We give our trees a good start by proper planting technique, and providing the right levels of fertility and moisture in living soil. We prune aggressively to control tree size, improve branch architecture, and increase wind tolerance.

Our integrated pest management starts with selection of well-adapted, disease-resistant species and varieties. First and foremost, keep trees healthy. We interrupt pest and disease cycles by collecting fallen fruit, heavy mulching, and proper pruning. For infestations, we start by doing nothing and watching to see whether the ecology will solve the problem. Manual removal of pests is the next step, and finally, especially for fungal problems, minimally-toxic sprays. If these aren’t enough, we often just pull out the tree and grow something different.

All of our fruit distributed for consumption is grown using no toxic anything. The only seriously toxic substance we use is imidacloprid–in minimal amounts as a soil drench– on juvenile citrus trees, to enable them to reach a size where only non-toxic help is needed.

As a non-commercial grower, we have the luxury of using more humane– if generally less effective– methods to protect our fruit from hungry raccoons, possums, squirrels, and birds. We accept a bearable amount of loss., and we encourage animals to consume already-fallen fruit (and redistribute it for free). When necessary, we protect our fruit with barriers, bagging, and so forth.