According to the National Organic Program, certified organic growers must use organic seed “unless commercially unavailable.” Organic seed is much more widely available this year than previously. Most of the seed companies advertising in this issue of Growing for Market carry at least some organic varieties, and we encourage you to call for a catalog or visit the web sites listed to find out what is available.
Many growers have expressed uncertainty about when organic seed is considered to be commercially unavailable. Here is an explanation from Pennsylvania Certified Organic (PCO), printed in its winter newsletter. Other certification agencies may have their own responses, so you should call the agency you want to have certify your farm before making a final decision on whether you can comply with the organic seed provision of the law.
“The first step is to determine if an equivalent organically produced variety is available. By equivalent variety, look for comparable growing habits, days to maturity, insect and disease resistance, flavor and other important qualities. Just because it does not have the exact variety name as the one you’ve been growing for the past five years does not mean that it is not an equivalent variety.
“Once you have found a source for a specific equivalent organic seed, the next step in determining commercial availability is to see if it is in:
•Appropriate form – such as sized, graded, pelleted, hot water treated, etc.
•Quality – you may want to try a small quantity the first year to make sure it does well under your particular conditions. If the only seed available organically is of inferior quality, it may be acceptable to buy non-organic.
•Quantity – example: if you want to plant 1 acre of pumpkins and the only organic seed available comes in 1 oz. packets, it may be acceptable to buy non-organic.
“If you believe that the organic varieties available are not a suitable equivalent variety, or are not commercially available, note where you tried to look for organic seed, because that is important for your certification records and is something the inspector will ask to see.
“Documenting your good faith efforts to find suitable organic seeds/planting stock is crucial. We encourage growers to trial organic varieties to determine suitability in their system if they are hesitant to rely on unproven varieties. A pattern of inadequate documentation and lack of good faith effort to obtain organically grown seeds and planting stock may be considered non-compliance and could result in PCO requiring prior approval regarding commercial availability issues in future planting cycles.”
You can find lists of organic seed suppliers and organic transplant suppliers at the Pennsylvania Certified Organic web site, www.paorganic.org, or on the Organic Materials Review Institute web site, www.omri.org.