This week we celebrate Earth Day! We are blest to have a few acres in the beautiful St. Croix Valley and we want to do our part to protect the water quality of the St. Croix Wild & Scenic River.

Here’s a quick list of conservation and water quality practices we utilize:

  • Wetland Restorations. Over the years we have done a number of wetland restorations throughout our property. The most visible ones are the ones you see on the nature trail. On a nice spring day, the sounds of the peepers and geese looking for nesting areas is a delight.
  • Soil Health. I’ll let you in on a secret to why our apples taste so amazing. We practice good soil health. Healthy apple trees start at the roots, that is where all the nutrition the tree needs begins. We have a soil regimen that involves nutrient management, the most visible being that apples we don’t harvest get returned to the soil.
  • Weather Station. We have our very own weather station here! This helps us monitor temperature and moisture which in turn we use to guide our integrated pest management program to minimize our use of pesticides.

Other practices we’ve put in place include a pollinator plot to help the bees; we plant our strawberries and pumpkin fields on contour to control run-off; and we use coffee grounds as mulch to feed the soil. Finally, are proud to have MN Ag Water Quality Certification.