Pesta's Vegetables

Jack Pesta's interest in organic gardening began 25 years ago but a brush with cancer 14 years later made Jack realize the vital connection between food quality and overall health. Limited by the number of organic options available in the grocery store, Jack and his wife, Lucille, started to grow as much of their own food as possible.

In his vegetable production, Jack spreads his fields with kelp and applies an organic fertilizer called Greenworld (consisting of carp and Norwegian seaweed) directly on his garden. He believes that these fertilizers supply minerals and natural growth hormones to the plants and keep them healthy. In order to enrich soil fertility and control weeds, Jack plants rye every fall. His objective is to achieve a "maximum amount of humus (organic matter) with the least amount of input."

In addition to cover crops and cultivation, Jack controls weeds by hand weeding which also gives him a regular source of exercise. Jack asserts, "if you have a healthy plant, most pests don't bother you, except for the Colorado potato beetle." He uses organically certified Bt (Bacillus thurengensis) todestroy the larvae and Rotenone to eradicate the adult bugs.

According to Jack, this limited use of inputs is in contrast to conventional potato growers who use toxic sprays sometimes 10-12 times per year to control various rots and bacteria causing fungus.

The Pesta's market their products at the Whole Foods Cooperative, in central Minnesota, whose products, Jack declares, "are grown in a way that captures healthy natural vitamins and overall natural goodness."