GardenersCardiff answers:

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FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR ORGANIC FOOD
If you would like to start your own business growing organic food, there are certain federal requirements that need to be met in the growing, processing, marketing and labeling of the food.

In 1990, the U.S. Congress passed the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) which mandated that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) would regulate organic foods. Also, the National Organic Program (NOP) has regulations regarding labeling and certification of organic foods.

“Any farm, wild crop harvesting, or handling operation that wants to sell an agricultural product as organically produced must adhere to the national organic standards.” There are penalties of up to $11,000 for selling food as organic that isn’t up to their standards.

It also requires that “Land will have no prohibited substances applied to it for at least 3 years before the harvest of an organic crop.” So it’s not just what you do from now on — but what someone else may have done to the land before then.

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NATIONAL ORGANIC PROGRAM
Here are links to the National Organic Program:

Fact Sheets / Background Information:
http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop/FactSheets/Backgrounder.html

Consumer Information:
http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop/Consumers/Consumerhome.html

General Index of Information on their site:
http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop/indexNet.htm

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SMALL GROWER EXCEPTION
There is an exception to the requirement of being certified, which applies to small growers (less than $5,000 worth of organic product). Here is the link to the Questions and Answers about it:
http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop/Q&A.html

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YOUR OWN STATE LAWS
There may also be laws and regulations imposed by the particular state where you are located.

Most (if not all) states have a state “Extension Service” which provides free information to their citizens on various questions and issues regarding growing plants, trees, crops of all types. You may want to contact them to get more specific information and help. Here is the link to your state’s service:

http://www.csrees.usda.gov/qlinks/partners/state_partners.html

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ORGANIC GROWING ORGANIZATION

One more suggestion: CCOF is an organization which promotes and supports organic food production. You may find their site helpful also. Here is the link:

http://www.ccof.org/about.php

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JUST FOR YOU
Of course, if you are growing organic food for yourself and not selling it, you don’t have to comply with their regulations!

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HELP FOR A NEW BUSINESS
Also, remember that the Small Business Administration provides invaluable information for anyone starting a new business of almost any type!

Http://www.sba.gov/

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GENERALLY SPEAKING
If you are interested in learning more about growing organic food, in general, there are many good websites out there. Here are some good ones:

1. Rodale –
http://www.organicgardening.com/
2. Starting an organic garden:
http://www.organic-gardening.net/
3. Some basics of organic gardening:
http://www.organicgardening.com/channel/1,,s1-2,00.html
4. A simple explanation and tips:
http://www.gardenersnet.com/organic.htm
5. University of Florida’s website on Organic Gardening:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/TOPIC_Organic_Gardening

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Good luck! I hope that this may be helpful to you (and possibly other readers). There is a definite expanding market out there if you decide to go for it!

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After I wrote my answer, I noticed several good folks writing about organic gardening resources in the UK. Perhaps, I may have missed something in your profile about where you were located? Are you from the UK?

(Although much of what I referenced is applicable to the USA, some of the sites I mentioned still may be helpful in many different regions. )

GardenersCardiff answers:

Yes it is, I used to have a pretty large garden until it became too much for me.
Until you mentioned growing a lobster I thought this was going to be a sensible question.
You failed
Dune

GardenersCardiff answers:

Over a year and a half ago my doctor advised me to take Vitamin E for my badly picked and bitten nails. I was ready to try anything, believe me! This worked beyond my wildest dreams! My nails are strong and healthy and ugly deformed bumps on my thumb nails disappeared. Now they grow and grow fast! I use a rectangular nail block to keep them a good length (no talons for me!) and I pamper them with good hand lotion and cuticle cream. I use Develop 10, from Amazon, which is a great strengthener as well as being a shiny clear polish that can be reapplied every few days. One trick that I found on my own is a real winner – I clasp my hands together while watching TV, sometimes massaging in hand cream at the same time. I also have worry stones (from eBay), inexpensive but beautiful smooth stones to rub when stressed) all over the place – in my purse or pocket, on the nightstand, near my couch, and a bowl of them as decor on the coffee table! I check for rough spots or snags on my nails regularly and go after them with the nail block so that no breakage will occur. I even use the nail block for dry, hard places on the skin around my nails, leaving nothing to bite or pick. I am very satisfied to have, finally, a routine that works!

GardenersCardiff answers:

Over a year and a half ago my doctor advised me to take Vitamin E for my badly picked and bitten nails. I was ready to try anything, believe me! This worked beyond my wildest dreams! My nails are strong and healthy and ugly deformed bumps on my thumb nails disappeared. Now they grow and grow fast! I use a rectangular nail block to keep them a good length (no talons for me!) and I pamper them with good hand lotion and cuticle cream. I use Develop 10, from Amazon, which is a great strengthener as well as being a shiny clear polish that can be reapplied every few days. One trick that I found on my own is a real winner – I clasp my hands together while watching TV, sometimes massaging in hand cream at the same time. I also have worry stones (from eBay), inexpensive but beautiful smooth stones to rub when stressed) all over the place – in my purse or pocket, on the nightstand, near my couch, and a bowl of them as decor on the coffee table! I check for rough spots or snags on my nails regularly and go after them with the nail block so that no breakage will occur. I even use the nail block for dry, hard places on the skin around my nails, leaving nothing to bite or pick. I am very satisfied to have, finally, a routine that works!

GardenersCardiff answers:

If you grow your own food using natural compost/fertilizers then you are already growing organic food. To get certified though you would have to prove that the soil you use does not contain any contaminants. If you are planning on selling any of your produce as “organic” you need to have this certification. I jokingly tell my friends that all organic means is that there is still dirt on the produce.-blurey

GardenersCardiff answers:

Check for government help. They will help farmers get started and keep going if they keep there farmland. Not much money is to be made on a farm that is why the government assists farmers.

GardenersCardiff answers:

Is the area walled or fenced off from oter property?

How large: length and width.

How much sun and shade?

And WHY can’t you till it?

Tell me those and I’ll get right back to you.

Edit: OK, thanks for the info. Three problems here: owner’s regulation on no tilling, a lot of shade, and very acid soil under the trees. Here’s an approach that might work.

Consider planting pea in theshady areas -early in the spring before the trees are fully leaved. I assume you are allowed to dig a hole for a plant, so, instead of a hole, scartch up the area with a garden rake, lay the peans on the ground, and cover them with a mix of sand and bagged garden/top soil to a level of about 1″. When they grow to 3″ or so, start gradually adding some top soil to give them some support. Don’t wory about planting them in neat straight rows, just scatter them up and down the planting areas defined by the width of your rake. Later, as they reach about 6″ put stakes along the row and tie strings between them to give the peas something to hold on to. With the peas, plant carrots. The peas will help loosen the soil for the carrots to take hold. Get short fat carrots, because the skinny ones just won’t penetrate the soil well in the first year. Let them grow right in there with the peas. As the the pea vines die off, the carrots will come in behind them. I would recommend snow peas or sugar pod peas -the ones you eat pod and all. Aside from being fairly adaptable, the peas will put nitrogen into the soil. Carrots actually take 2 years to mature -in the second year they put out attractive white blooms that look sort of like Queen Anne’s lace. So you can let them take the full 2 years. Maybe you can put in 2 rows instead of just 1.

Around the dog area (which I assume has some kind of fence of its own) plant cucumber, just along the outside of their fence. As the vines grow, train them to the fence, so the cucumbers will be suspended as they grow and easy to pcik. The dogs won’t eat them. Plant just by making a hole about 1/2″ deep and dropping in a seed or 2 -every 12″ along the fence.

INSIDE the doggies’ area, plant tomatoes and/or peppers in pots. The pots should be about 16″ deep. Use plants that have been started for you. You can use the nice, rich bagged soil and some fertilizer for these You’ll need to support them as they grow; either tie them to the dog fence or drive stakes in by the pots. Hint: it is easier to use wire to tie the plants, such as solid wire used for house wiring, because you can bend it around plant stems and branches -then use it again next year. In the base of the tomatoe pots you can plant lettuce and spinach from seed.

After the season is over, gather up the dead stems and vines, break them up or shred them as much as possible, and put them in a compost pile. Put vegetable waste (peelings, etc.) coffee grounds and broken egg shells in the pile from time to time, and toss on some soil. You can add some worms if you like. The following year, you’kll have some rich stuff and won’t need to import as much.

It is tough to create a vegetable garden on an elevated surface or flat, because you not only need adequate depth of soil, but must control drainage as well.

If possible, without getting into trouble, cut away some of the tree limbs hanging over your area to let in a bit more sun.

Good luck!

GardenersCardiff answers:

You wouldn’t need that much for two people–we have 4/10 of an acre, and we planted about 1/2 the back yard. We had enough left over that we were selling at the farmer’s market every week! No matter what you do, growing your own will be more environmentally friendly, because it saves the gas it would have taken to transport vegetables to and from the store and it uses less fertilizer. 5-6 tomato plants will do nicely, as well as just a packet of most types of vegetables. You can also grow an indoor herb garden year-round, and if you can and freeze vegetables, you’ll be set for most of the winter. (If you really want to lay back spaghetti sauce, etc., you may want to plant more tomatoes. Make sure you get a guide on how to can and freeze so you don’t waste food, too. If you really still want a greenhouse, it won’t need to be large, and even frozen fresh tomatoes are better than hothouse tomatoes any day.