AUBURN - Since the 1950s, the nutritional quality of fruits and vegetables has been decreasing steadily.

The reason, said Lou Lego, owner of Elderberry Pond Farm in Auburn, is because most crops are now produced for transport, shelf life and basically anything but taste.

“Apples are bred for color. People want red apples,” he said. “This loses the main characteristics of the apple.”

Alternatively, Elderberry Pond is a certified organic farm and grows all its produce naturally with no pesticides. Lou and wife, Merby Lego, held a class Sunday afternoon at the farm to offer an organic farming how-to.

Everyone introduced themselves at the beginning of class, some were there because they had just planted half a dozen apple trees and wanted to know how to care for them, others just wanted some general organic home gardening advice.

After a short demonstration and tasting in the Elderberry Pond Restaurant kitchen by executive chef Chris Lego and his assistant, Bekah Roppel, using produce that is in season to make spinach salad with warm bacon dressing and glazed radishes, Lou used a slideshow presentation and tour in the fields to explain the benefits of farming organically.

“The quality of food is much better,” he said.

Farming in recent decades has turned to chemicals to replace labor and produce fruits and vegetables at a rapid rate, Lou explained. On average produce travels approximately 1,600 miles to the supermarket shelves and dinner tables.

Organic farms, however, use natural methods to reduce plant disease and ensure the sustainability of the land. Using cover crops replaces spraying with pesticides and helps the soil more or less stay alive.

“Probably the most important thing about organic farming is soil,” Lou explained. “Plants get their nutrients from the living organisms in the soil.”

Environmental educator at Cornell Cooperative Extension, Renee Jensen, said in organic farming the focus must be on the soil. Using synthetic fertilizers like chicken manure is a good way to bypass chemicals.

“You can probably even work something out to get it from a local farmer,” Jensen added.

One of the most important things to do before planting a crop, she said, is to complete a soil test, which can be purchased from Cornell for about $15. The tests will point out what nutrients are currently lacking in the soil and which ones are present.

When chemicals are used on a crop, the plant might live, but everything else in the soil will die, Lou said. The plants will thrive as well in the dead soil.

The nutritional value goes beyond vitamins and minerals, Merby said, who is also a nutritionist. Produce grown on living soils can have more things like flavonoids and anti-cancer elements.

Learning how to sustain the land by rotating crops and the cycle between sunlight, plants and animals including humans, was essential to understanding how the orchard works so spraying doesn't have to be considered.

A mix of baking soda and corn oil mixed with water works just as well as pesticides against mildew, yet is natural. Thin white sheets that let sunlight and water through, called row covers, are used to protect greens like lettuce, chard and arugula against disease.

Adding mulch around the base of plants can protect plants against infection, Jensen said.

“When rain falls, it can create a splash of fungal diseases up onto the plant,” she explained. “The mulch will prevent that.”

Those who wish to organically farm their own gardens can use all these same practices on a smaller scale, and Lou said seed companies are now catching on as well. “It's really a fast-growing business, and you can get most varieties (of produce) through seed companies.”

He said every home garden should at least have asparagus. “It'll last for 30 years and come up every spring.”

Insects can become another problem, but the Legos use natural pheromones to confuse things like the male moths that can infect apples. This prevents reproduction and creation of the worms that can get inside.

Jensen said other smells can also be used for pest management.

“Planting marigolds will keep out some pests,” she said. “Just plant them around the border of your garden.

Walking from field to field, Lou pointed out all of this as part of the workshop. And now his students were off to get their hands dirty in their own organic gardens.

Staff writer Laura Boyce can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 236 or at laura.boyce@lee.net