One of the keys of organic gardening is to build a healthy soil ecosystem through the incorporation of compost, manure, cover crops, and rock minerals. Composted yard waste is applied to agricultural crops as a nutrient source.
Good soil is essential to grow healthy plants that are able to survive pests and diseases.
Organic gardeners also rotate crops, monitor insect populations, exclude pests from plants with barriers, select pest resistant crop varieties, and encourage natural predators to manage pest and disease problems. So organic does not necessarily mean without pesticides. As a result of 1988 legislation sought by the Tilth Producers Coop, the state began certifying organic farms. The WSDA's Organic Food Certification Program verifies the claims of organic farmers through on-site inspections, pesticide residue testing, and maintaining audit trails on organic food products. Van Bobbitt, Community Horticulture Coordinator, WSU Cooperative Extension.