NOFA-NY Organic Action Plan (PDF)
- Eat organically grown food
- Buy from local farmers who are organic and trade fairly
- Use organic methods in your own garden or window box
- Turn your yard into a carbon sink by doing some of the following:
- Do not use synthetic nitrogen fertilizers
- Make your own compost by mixing food and yard waste or sign up for a compost collection service
- Increase biodiversity
- If you must use pesticides, use organic pesticides that are not toxic to soil microorganisms – focus on the prevention of pests
- Reduce the area of lawn that you mow
- Add white clover, birdsfoot trefoil, or native grasses for drought tolerance
- Set your mower to 3 – 4 inches and leave grass clippings on the lawn
- Preserve or add native plants
- Observe the natural landscape and apply nature’s lessons
- Grow more vegetables and flowers and less grass
- Plant nitrogen-fixing cover crops in the walkways, such as white clover
- Water infrequently and never more than 1″ per week including rainfall
- Turn off automatic sprinklers
- Divert roof run-off to low-lying areas or rain barrels
Thank you! We can all start sequestering carbon today and every bit helps!
By Elizabeth Henderson, NOFA-NY member, Northeast Organic Farming Association -Interstate Council Co-Chair Policy Committee, Agricultural Justice Project Board