Podere di Melo is a family owned and operated bio-intensive farm that uses organic methods to produce delicious food in a sustainable manner. Our farming practices reflect our family principles that life be cherished, preserved, and shared.
We are intensely pasture-based – We believe that animals do best on open pastures with plenty of sunshine. Because we believe animals are happiest when they are allowed to live as they would in nature, all our livestock are out on pasture 24 hrs a day, seven days a week during the spring, summer, and fall.
Soil fertility is all about soil biology, not chemistry– Sustainable soil fertility is driven by the living part of the soil: fungi, bacteria, and roundworms that naturally aerate the soil and break down organic matter to feed crops organically.
All our soil amendments (compost, soil amendments, and fertilizers) are Certified Organic. We resort to pesticides as a last resort and all pesticide plans follow organic guidelines. We use organic seeds whenever possible (and all seeds are non-GMO and untreated) as well as cover-crops and established methods of crop rotation.
We integrate livestock into our growing strategies – We use livestock to create compost and add vital nutrients to feed the soil naturally. We rotate our animals in a responsible fashion to insure the health of our pastures. We do not use vaccinations, antibiotics, or hormones in our livestock.
We are beyond organic – We adhere closely to national organic standards, but we are not limited by them. We strive to go beyond organic whenever possible.
We are customer certified – We service the local area and believe that the customer is the best and most appropriate certifier of our practices. We encourage customers to ask us questions, inspect our fields and our livestock, to “kick the tires”. We welcome your in scrutiny.
We support local companies – we believe that small family businesses, like farms, are a key to a strong local community. We sell our products locally and use local businesses whenever possible.