Water
You don’t have to be an organic farming expert to realise that water is absolutely essential when it comes to cultivating crops. Climate change, droughts, pollution through industry and conventional agriculture etc. are threatening this vital resource and the future does not look all that good.
The mighty Rio Negro River
All our Nature & More growers understand the importance and are very careful to use only what is absolutely necessary. On a more positive note, studies have shown that good organic compost increases the water holding properties of the soil, meaning that 100 litres of water goes a lot further on an organic farm compared to its conventional counterpart.
For most of the organic farms along the mighty Rio Negro, one would assume that water scarcity and is the last of their problems and although correct, it’s not as easy as you may think. When the Bartusch family moved to a new plot of land where there would be no danger of contamination from conventional neighbours, getting the water from the river to the plantation was a big and above all expensive challenge. By building a state of the art canal and consequent irrigations system (all paid for by family members) the orchards have been able to blossom and produce the very best apples and pears.
