FAQs by seeds and planting stock
Response times may be slow due to the wildfires affecting Santa Cruz County and Covid-19. Organic compliance deadlines and inspections will be delayed for businesses affected by these crises. Read the latest updates on the Northern California wildfires, and visit our Covid-19 webpage to find pandemic-specific information »
Los tiempos de respuesta serán lentos debido a los incendios forestales afectando al condado de Santa Cruz y COVID-19. Los plazos de cumplimiento orgánico y las inspecciones se retrasarán para los negocios afectados por estas crisis. Lea las últimas actualizaciones sobre los incendios forestales del norte de California y visite nuestra página web de Covid-19 para encontrar información específica a la pandemia »
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New to organic certification or looking to become certified and not sure where to start? You might find these FAQ topics most useful:
Seeds treated with prohibited materials are not allowed. Look to the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) or the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) lists of allowed materials to find seed treatments that are approved. Our staff...
Yes, transplants must be from certified organic sources. Growers must maintain certificates and invoices showing all annual transplants are certified organic.
There are two situations in which transplants may come from nonorganic sources:
Non-organically produced annual seedlings may be used to produce an organic crop when a temporary variance has been granted in accordance with 205.290(a)(2);...
Organic seed and planting stock must be used unless organic versions are not commercially available, with the exception that organic seed must always be used for production of edible sprouts. Commercial Availability is defined by the NOP as the ability to obtain a production input in an appropriate form, quality, or quantity to fulfill an essential function in a system of organic production or...
Growers whose seed or planting stock is determined by a third party must be able to demonstrate that the third party complies, on behalf of the grower, with the commercial availability requirement for seed or planting stock. CCOF must be able to verify that a commercial availability search was conducted for all non-organic seed or planting stock. If a buyer, seed distributor, or other third party...
Visit our Organic Seed and Planting Stock Resources page for details on seed and planting stock requirements, and our list of organic seed and planting suppliers.Your diligence in sourcing organic seed and...