Next Steps in Organic Care for Trees and Shrubs
Edible trees and shrubs? This may seem far-fetched, but the line is blurring between landscape care services and agricultural cultivation. The reason for the blurring can be traced to consumers preferences. There is a great movement toward the consumption of organic foods and products in our country. According to Consumer Reports “nearly two-thirds of U.S. consumers bought organic foods in 2005, up from about half in 2004.” So why are more and more people buying organic food? Some say it tastes better, some that it’s more nutritious, better for the environment and the farmer, and many because organic foods are grown without the use of certain synthetic materials. Some consumers also want to extend these benefits into their home, garden and landscape.
Organic Standards
Scientific studies continue to evaluate the overall properties and benefits of organic foods and goods. To protect consumers, food products certified as USDA organic must meet strict government regulations in the way they are cultivated, handled and processed. The Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) is a nonprofit organization that reviews substances for use in organic production. It provides guidance on the suitability of material inputs under the USDA National Organic Program Standards.
As a company, we proudly provide stewardship for the properties we serve while respecting the environment. We regularly evaluate new products and their efficacy. Better organic alternatives are being developed to treat adverse conditions in the landscape all the time. Over the years SavATree has incorporated many of these organic products, so that our program now includes the latest in naturally derived and biorational ingredients. While many companies are making claims that they are organic too, we realize that similar to what happened with foods and the USDA certified organic standard, consumers are looking for piece of mind with regard to their landscape care. To that end, we are excited to offer a program that exclusively uses ingredients allowed by the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) and is consistent with organic land care practices. We are further testing products approved by OMRI (OMRI listed fertilizer is already successfully utilized in our organic lawn care program) and in some cases seeking their approval of products we currently use, which have yet to be evaluated.
So if you decide to eat the fruit from your Kousa Dogwood or flowers from your Red Bud, you may be happy to learn that one day it may be certified organic too! The outlook is certainly promising for furthering the use of certified organic programs in landscape beautification and preservation.
Click or call today to arrange a complimentary consultation from our fully trained and certified arborists and lawn specialists for tree care, organic tree fertilizer and lawn care services from SavATree. Click here to contact the office nearest you.
