Lighthouse Gardens
CERTIFIED ORGANIC
Todd Lighthouse
Honeoye Falls, NY
Crops Grown:
Greenhouse-grown potted herbs, vegetables starts, annuals, perennials, compost, garlic, tomatoes grown in homemade compost-based planting mix, leeks, onions, shallots, rhubarb, sunflowers, summer squash, chard, kale, beans, peppers
Growing Practices:
In 2011, Lighthouse Gardens became a USDA Certified Organic farm certified by NOFA-NY. According to Todd, “our passion for greenhouse growing with integrity informs every decision when managing our crops. In addition to complying with the NOP standards we recognize and cultivate our role in the local biological and cultural ecosystems. We often refer to our growing philosophy as restorative horticulture because it’s not necessarily about what inputs or chemicals we avoid but rather the inputs or growing practices we incorporate into our farm plan. These inputs and practices help restore the fertility, mineral levels, physical structure and soil microorganism populations in ours and our customers’ gardens to ideal levels. We achieve this primarily by blending our own organic compost based potting soil ourselves…the result if a potting soil that has a soft, porous yet moisture holding structure with a diverse population of soil microorganisms combined with organic soil amendments that provide our plants with all of the fertility they need when they need it. When the relationship between the plant and the soil microorganisms is nurtured the plants are better capable of protecting themselves against their pests and more tolerant of less than ideal growing conditions. If we do experience a pest outbreak we rely primarily on introducing beneficial organisms to restore the pest population below threshold levels. If the result is unsatisfactory to us we spray OMRI approved pesticides which are most often botanical or biological based formulations that don’t affect beneficial organisms.”
