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Organic lettuce is grown without artificial pesticides, fertilizers, or herbicides and cannot be treated with anything not found in nature. Pest control is achieved through natural means, such as predatory insects. Weeds are controlled through labor-intensive methods. Commercial growers must meet strict requirements to be certified organic.
Organic lettuce is grown without the use of artificial pesticides, fertilizers or herbicides. Any type of lettuce qualifies, including head lettuce and leaf lettuce, as long as it is grown in chemical-free soil and none of these are added. It also cannot be stored or treated after harvest with anything that does not occur in nature. Rigorous controls ensure that commercial growers meet the requirements necessary to label their produce as organic.
Many people choose to grow organic lettuce in their home gardens, where it is relatively easy to control additions to plants and soil. The same methods will work at home or in commercial operations; the difference between the two is the scale of the operation. The soil is fertilized with aged compost that contains only organic materials, with worm castings from carefully fed worms, or with other organic fertilizers. For best results, the soil should have no artificial products added for three or more years, which is a requirement for organic certification in some cases.
Pest control can be more difficult in some situations, as lettuce is vulnerable to several types of insect damage, including attacks by cabbage loops, earthworms, aphids, and leaf hoppers. Since no pesticides are used in growing organic lettuce, other means of pest control must be found. One method that can have good results is to use predatory insects against harmful ones, in order to reduce their numbers to the point where they cannot do any serious harm. The addition of tiny Trichogramma wasps is an effective means of control for many different types of caterpillars, and ladybugs work hard to reduce the aphid population.
Since the application of herbicides is forbidden, weeds are generally controlled with more labor intensive methods. Tractors or plows work the soil between rows to minimize weed populations, but some weed is unavoidable. Growers invest a lot of time keeping weeds under control until the organic lettuce is well established and able to hold their own.
Commercial growers of organic lettuce and other produce must keep accurate records showing which crops were grown on each patch of land and detailing each stage of the growing process. They also typically need to be able to demonstrate that the seeds used are organically produced, demonstrating that chemicals were avoided from the start. Government bodies oversee the certification process, and only those who meet the requirements are allowed to sell their produce as certified organic lettuce. The exception to this rule is that in some places farmers who have very small farms and limited sales do not need to be certified to sell organic produce.
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