The Good, The Bad, and The Organic

Did you know the sale of organic produce grows 5-10% each year, but the number of organic gardeners is growing even more quickly? Oh, and about that produce...

The Environmental Working Group is a great organization and resource that can help you figure out which produce has been found to be the most contaminated with pesticides- giving you organic gardeners a rough idea of what to grow to alleviate the concerns of contamination, and which you can feel a little more comfortable buying at the grocery store. 

Their top 14 produce items found to have the most pesticides are:

• Peaches
• Apples
• Hot Peppers
• Celery
• Nectarines- imported
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Cucumbers
• Grapes
• Spinach
• Potatoes
• Strawberries
• Sweet Bell Peppers
• Kale and Collard Greens
• Summer Squash

Those found to have the least are:

• Asparagus
• Avocados
• Cabbage
• Cantaloupe
• Sweet Corn
• Eggplant
• Grapefruits
• Kiwi
• Mangoes
• Mushrooms
• Onions
• Papayas
• Pineapples
• Sweet Peas-frozen
• Sweet Potatoes

You can see the complete list of 48 ranked at the EWG's full data page, which will really motivate you to start planning that organic garden for 2014!  

The worms' favorite holiday is right around the corner....stay tuned for some very scary bin pics!