(News article for November 1, 2025; edited)

Many people are interested in growing fruits and vegetables organically. Using organic practices offers certain benefits, including conserving or improving soil quality and reducing the use of some types of pesticides.

People began applying the term organic to gardening and farming in the middle of the twentieth century. In 2000, the US established the National Organic Program (NOP), defining organic production and laying out the criteria that must be met for people who sell produce or livestock to call it organic. While this article isn’t intended to provide all the information a commercial grower would need to know to sell organic produce, when I use the term organic in reference to gardening or farming, I’m thinking of these standards.

A core principle of organic regulations is, “Production practices … must maintain or improve the natural resources of the operation, including soil and water quality.” NOP regulations require that soil fertility be managed in a way that maintains or increases organic matter and doesn’t cause contamination of soil or water by plant nutrients, pathogens, or substances that aren’t allowed in organic production. The law specifies that crop rotation, cover cropping, and the use of plant and animal materials must be used as part of managing soil fertility.

For insect, disease, and weed management, the law requires that people use a comprehensive set of practices, including crop rotation, appropriate nutrient management, and good sanitation practices. People must choose appropriate crops and varieties for the location, including ones with resistance to common problems.

In general, naturally occurring substances are allowed in organic production and synthetic substances are not, but there are exceptions. For example, horticultural oils, insecticidal soaps, and copper sulfate are allowed under some circumstances. At the same time, some natural substances such as tobacco dust (nicotine sulfate) and rotenone are prohibited. You can find more details about this in what’s called the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances. Most of the synthetic disease, insect, and weed management materials listed in the “National List,” as well as some non-synthetic products, can only be used when other practices have not proven to be effective enough.

You’ll often see “OMRI” on products used in organic gardening or farming. OMRI stands for the Organic Materials Review Institute and is a non-profit organization that evaluates products to determine if they comply with NOP regulations. When using OMRI-listed or other allowed products, certified organic producers must do this within the context of an overall organic plan. In other words, it’s not just a matter of substituting an allowed product for one that’s not allowed.

In the next article, I’ll go into some examples of ways people can incorporate organic practices into their garden.

Let me know if you have questions.

Contact Mary Helen Ferguson.

Leafy greens grown using organic practices in North Carolina. (Photo by M.H. Ferguson)