Farm the Soil, Not the Crop.

At West Glow, we see this farm as a living organism that needs the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems. Our growing practices are based on the belief that if we tend to the soil well, the crops we grow will take care of themselves.

We pursue this goal in a number of ways including the implementation of a permanent raised bed system, limited disturbance of the topsoil (no-till), the regular addition of compost and compost tea, heavily mulching our beds with organic material, diversifying our crops (polyculture), companion planting, cover-cropping, rotating our fields, etc.
 

• CNG farmers don’t use any synthetic herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers, or genetically modified organisms.
   

• CNG participation requires a full commitment to robust organic practices. Our standards for produce and livestock certification are based on the standards of the National Organic Program.
   

• CNG is a private non-profit organization that's not affiliated with the USDA's National Organic Program. CNG's certification approach is based on the participatory guarantee system (PGS) model that relies on peer reviews in which inspections are typically carried out by other farmers. The PGS model promotes farmer-to-farmer knowledge sharing about best practices and fosters local networks that strengthen the farming community. This model minimizes paperwork and keeps certification dues affordable.
   

• Certified Naturally Grown’s certification process is transparent and open to the public. Every CNG producer has a profile on the website. On it, you will find the information they submitted in their application, as well as scanned images of their inspection reports and signed declaration.