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Monday, September 12, 2022

What Happens When USDA's National Organics Program Standards are Not Met?


The USDA organic regulations allow the AMS National Organic Program to issue proposed notices of suspension or revocation to certified organic operations that do not comply with the organic standards. If the operation does not appeal a proposed notice, NOP issues a final notice of suspension or revocation, which end the operation’s ability to sell, represent, or market product as organic.   

Oversight Update:
Certifier Exits and Appeals Process

Organic operations that are denied certification from a certifier or that receive a proposed notice of suspension or revocation may appeal that proposed notice to the AMS Administrator.  The AMS Administrator may sustain or deny an appeal, or AMS may choose to enter into a settlement agreement that achieves the goal of compliance.  If the AMS Administrator denies an appeal, the operation or certifier may request a hearing with a USDA Administrative Law Judge (ALJ).

The list below includes Final Notices of Suspension or Revocation issued by the National Organic Program, and AMS Administrator Decisions resulting from appeals. For each Decision, we have indicated whether a hearing has been requested with the ALJ. Operations  and certifiers that have requested a hearing remain certified pending the conclusion of their appeals.

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Sunday, September 11, 2022

Intercrop Plants With Roots That Grow to a Similar Depth

Q. I planted asparagus at the base of my fruit trees. I can send you pictures if you want.

Asparagus is short when harvested. But allowed to grow tall in recovery. Some asparagus will grow 5 to 6 feet tall.

A. Asparagus is a good thing to interplant with fruit trees, but it should be planted between the fruit trees, not at their base. They have similar watering needs, and their frequency of watering is very similar. That’s important.

            There are three things to concern yourself when planting at the base of fruit trees; increasing the amount of water needed, height interference with lower fruit tree branches, and a decrease in light for the asparagus growing under the tree’s canopy. That decrease in light directly affects asparagus production.

Intercropping between fruit trees requires light, water, and space. Here sesame is intercropped with fruit trees.

            Now onto where it should be planted. Plant intercrops between fruit trees rather than around their base. If you do, they will get an increase in the amount of light they receive, and they can grow as tall as they like without interference from lower tree branches. Intercropping like this works well with melons, squash, perennial herbs, perennial fruit, and artichokes.

Plants intercropped with fruit trees should have a deeper root system, require light and water.

            Unless you are using drip tubing you will have to add emitters if grown between trees. Drip tubing (built-in drip emitters) allows the roots of trees to “follow” the water and provides a wet soil for interplanting until the trees start to shade the area. When grown between trees asparagus height won’t be a problem later in the season. Asparagus is allowed to get taller after the spring spear removal for fresh vegetables.
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Figs an an Oasis Tree. They Need Water When Producing Fruit

Q. I planted various fig trees that were very good producers in southern California, Los Angeles County to be exact. Here they have been planted for over 10 years and I have yet to pick and eat any fruit from any of the trees! The problem that I am experiencing is fruit drop off. The figs grow to a fifty-cent piece and then they drop off.

Figs need water when they produce fruit even if the tree looks fine.


A. At the University Orchard and elsewhere I grew nearly 12 varieties of figs, and all have done very well. As long as they get enough water. Figs are what I call an “oasis” fruit tree. They handle the heat and do well and produce fruit if water is available.

Hot, Then Water More Often

            However, this is the desert. Our desert has two major problems when growing fruit trees like figs: soil improvement and water. Figs produce basically two crops of fruit. These are classed as the “briba” crop and “main” crop. The briba crop is the earliest because it produces figs on last year’s growth. This is also the crop that fails each year if there is a late spring freeze.

Figs produce fruit in different stages. First is the early or 'Briba' crop. The second crop of figs are produced on growth from this year and called the 'Main' crop.

            But figs also produce a “second” crop later in the year called the main crop. This main crop of fruit starts growing late enough in the season that freezing weather has gone. It starts to produce figs early in the season when it starts getting hot. It gets hotter so the tree needs more water to produce its figs. It is confusing because the tree shows no signs it needs water because the leaves look fine! But the figs drop off because the tree needs water. Very confusing!

            Those are the keys to successful fig production. Give it a productive soil and apply a two-to-three-inch layer of surface mulch.  Water it more often in the early summer even though the tree doesn’t look like it needs it.

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Texas Olive Froze at 25F or More

Q. I have a Texas olive tree that may or may not have survived this past winter. We have had the tree for several years now and it has always bloomed and grown. I don't have any new leaves or blooms except the suckers on the bottom.  All our other trees like our sumac, Palo verde, and fruit trees are doing fine.  But not this one. Is there anything I can do at this point beyond just watching it?

Texas Olive, Cordia boisieiri, hardy during the winter to about 25F, about the same winter temperature as Myers Lemon.

A. That particular tree, Cordia boisieri, is native to the desert southwest Chihuahuan desert and survives to a winter temperature of about 25F; around the same winter temperature as Myers lemon. Because it’s from our desert southwest it is considered xeric in its water use. Lots of good that does you if it is winter killed or severely damaged. 

A better choice might be Littleleaf cordia, a smaller tree and found growing on East Flamingo in Las Vegas.

A better choice might have been another xeric tree from that area such as little leaf cordia, Cordia parvifolia, which seems to survive to a slightly lower winter temperature. I suggest in the future, permanent trees in your landscape should have a minimum winter temperature of 20F.

Suckering from the base is a good indicator it died to the ground, or the trunk was severely damaged. You do not need to replace the tree unless it looks horrible. It is grown on its own roots. Let one or more of the suckers replace what died. Suckers grow very quickly if the roots were not damaged.

If a tree does not normally produce suckers at its base, the production of suckers can sometimes indicate the trunk is damaged either from borers or sunburn or both!

If you decide you want to keep it, water deeply and infrequently and fertilize it in the spring. Two handfuls of tree and shrub fertilizer about two feet from the tree each year will be enough. Wet the soil, create a slit in the soil with a shovel about 6 to 8 inches deep, drop the fertilizer into the slit, step on it to shut it and water it in. Xeric trees grow rapidly with water applied to them like mesic trees. You will have to search to find this tree at local nurseries.

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Large Orange Tree and Early Peach Presenting Problems

Q. I have both a ‘Washington’ navel orange and ‘FlordaPrince’ peach tree planted this spring that a local nursery claimed was 8 to 10 years old. The peach tree produced lots of small fruit, but the orange tree produced tons of flowers but fruit that dropped from it after it flowered. The trees don’t look so good now. Your opinion please?

'FlordaPrince' peach tree three years in the ground.

A. It sounds like many issues may be involved. Pictures would have helped. As it stands right now there is not much you can do. Some years you will get a good harvest and other years you won't. That is the nature of the varieties and location in the landscape you selected. Much of your future harvest depends on the weather, fruit tree location and the microclimate of your landscape. That's the Mojave Desert for you. In the future remember this.

Avoid Buying Large Trees

Next time select smaller trees with low branching at the beginning. If there are production issues, then they can be ironed out early. It is important to shade the trunk as quickly as possible when growing fruit trees of any type in the desert. 

Even though this peach tree was growing in or near a lawn it did not have enough shade to protect it from the hot desert sun common to the Mojave Desert.

Shading the trunk can be done with its own growth, painting the trunk or shading it with a trunk protector. However, it’s easier to remove branches that you don't want than to wish you had them. Our hot desert sun can be very brutal. I am leaning more and more toward leaving the lower branches (below the knee) on fruit trees as long as possible rather than remove them at planting time.

Consider Different Varieties

Consider different varieties of fruit trees. Both varieties may not a wise choice for different reasons. ‘FlordaPrince’ peach is an early producing fruit variety that also flowers very early, about mid-February in our climate. Selecting a variety of peach that produces flowers later gives you a more reliable harvest in our climate due to spring freezes.

Yes, that's right. Peaches from 'Earlitreat' peach in May in North Las Vegas, one of the earliest peaches. Producing early peaches can present a whole host of problems if your weather and microclimate don't cooperate.

Selecting a more cold tolerant orange type (such as a clementine, aka, tangerine) is sometimes a better idea. Selecting a fruit tree that gives you improved tolerance to freezing winter temperatures may be a better idea in the long run than a ‘Washington’ navel orange which doesn’t. Selection of a cold tolerant variety does not help provide a consistent fruit load every year but may help its future survival.

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