Apple Lady

Fall Crop of BC Peas is In

$6 lb

Find them at
Apple Lady Orchard Market
11 - 6 Monday - Saturday
Closed Sunday

3109 Palliser Drive SW
In the plaza between Social Grounds coffee shop and Sweet Rice

Take the 90th Ave exit from the SW Ring Road/Tsuut'inaTrail SW

Bus Route 99 stops at the plaza

If you have ever seen us pause when you ask how the produce we sell is grown, we are trying to distill this conversation into 2-3 clear and useful sentences...I hope some of you will read this longer response

I’ve been debating whether to post this one because I already know it’s probably going to rub a few people the wrong way.

But after the amount of conversation lately about strawberries, pesticides, PFAS and “no spray” food, I think we need to talk about what these words actually mean.

Because almost every day now somebody comes into the stand and asks:

“Are these no spray?”

Fair question.

But my question back is:

What exactly do you mean by no spray?

Because we now use a whole bunch of different terms as though they all mean the same thing.

They don’t.

BIODYNAMIC

Biodynamic farming is an entire farming system, not simply “we don’t spray.”

There are actual biodynamic certification standards, including Demeter certification, with requirements around the way the whole farm is managed. Some people also practise biodynamic methods without being certified.

That is very different from simply putting the words “no spray” on a sign.

ORGANIC

Organic is another one people misunderstand.

In Canada, organic is a regulated claim. Certified organic producers operate under the Canadian Organic Standards and permitted-substances lists.

But here is the important part:

Organic does NOT mean pesticide-free.

Organic farms can use approved pest-control products, including certain fungicides, biological controls and other permitted substances. Health Canada itself says pesticides are used in both conventional and organic agriculture.

So if an organic grower sprays an approved organic fungicide on strawberries, those strawberries can still be certified organic.

But could I honestly stand at my farm stand and tell you:

“Nothing has been sprayed on these strawberries”?

No.

Something was sprayed.

That doesn’t automatically make the food dangerous.

It just means “organic” and “no spray” are not the same claim.

THEN WE GET TO “NO SPRAY”

And this is where things become muddy.

There is no Canadian certification system equivalent to the Canada Organic Regime that gives consumers one universal definition of “no spray.”

Does it mean:

Nothing was sprayed directly on the fruit?

Nothing was sprayed on the plant?

No synthetic pesticides?

Only biological products?

No fungicides?

No herbicides?

Nothing sprayed anywhere on the farm?

What if somebody sprays herbicide in the pathways but never touches the crop?

What if they spray sulphur?

Copper?

A biological fungicide?

What if something drifts from the neighbour?

These are completely different farming situations being condensed into two words:

NO SPRAY.

CFIA actually warns that even a claim such as “free of pesticide residues” may be misleading because crops can be exposed through soil, water, drift or runoff, and anyone making that claim has the responsibility to substantiate it.

That tells you how complicated this actually is.

NOW LET’S TALK STRAWBERRIES

Strawberries are not exactly an easy crop to grow commercially in our climate.

The B.C. government’s own strawberry production guide talks extensively about Botrytis, powdery mildew, leaf diseases, insects and other problems.

For Botrytis alone, the guide says wet seasons can cause very serious losses and discusses both conventional and biological fungicide programs. Some biological products listed may be suitable for organic production.

So when somebody walks into the stand in wet weather and asks:

“Are these no spray?”

Sometimes I wonder what answer they’re expecting.

A farmer producing thousands of pounds of marketable strawberries through weeks of rain may need to manage disease.

The better question might be:

“How were these grown?”

That opens an actual conversation.

What was used?

Why was it used?

Was it conventional?

Organic-approved?

Biological?

Was Integrated Pest Management being used?

Where were they grown?

When was the last application?

Those questions actually tell you something.

CONVENTIONAL — GROWN IN CANADA

Then we have conventional farming.

Conventional does not mean:

“Farmer sprays whatever he feels like whenever he feels like it.”

Pesticides registered in Canada have approved crops, rates, timing, application requirements and maximum residue limits.

Health Canada sets legal Maximum Residue Limits — MRLs — for pesticide residues in food.

That does not mean conventional farming is perfect.

It does mean there is a regulatory framework behind it.

CONVENTIONAL — GROWN OUTSIDE CANADA

This gets even more interesting.

Other countries can have different pesticides, different pest pressures, different application practices and different regulatory systems.

But food imported and SOLD IN CANADA is still required to meet Canadian residue limits. Canada generally applies the same MRL to a food whether it was grown domestically or imported.

Historically, CFIA monitoring has shown very high compliance for both groups, although Canadian-grown produce performed somewhat better in the 2019–20 data cited by Health Canada: about 99% of tested Canadian fruits and vegetables were below established MRLs compared with about 94% of imported fruits and vegetables.

That DOES NOT mean:

Canadian = pesticide free.

Imported = dangerous.

It means origin, farming practices and regulatory compliance are all separate questions.

AND THEN CAME THE DRISCOLL’S STORY

There are actually a couple of different stories getting blended together online.

Earlier this year, a consumer group tested one conventional and one organic box of Driscoll’s strawberries and reported multiple pesticide residues in the conventional sample, including several fluorinated pesticides that it described as PFAS-related. That is worth discussing, but two boxes are not the same thing as a national monitoring program.

Separately, a former Driscoll’s food-safety manager has now filed a lawsuit alleging that a significant number of berry shipments sent to Canada between 2022 and 2024 exceeded Canadian pesticide limits.

Those are allegations in ongoing litigation.

Driscoll’s denies wrongdoing and says its berries comply with applicable regulatory requirements.

Those distinctions matter.

Because social media can take:

“A pesticide residue was detected.”

and turn it into:

“The food is poison.”

Those are not automatically the same statement.

AND THEN THERE’S PFAS

PFAS deserve a serious conversation.

They are not something I think we should shrug off.

Health Canada says Canadians are exposed to PFAS through numerous sources including drinking water, air, dust, food and consumer products.

PFOA and PFOS have been detected in the blood of more than 99% of Canadians in the national biomonitoring data Health Canada cites.

That is exactly why I think this conversation needs to get BIGGER, not smaller.

If PFAS are a societal problem, then why are we reducing the conversation to:

“Farmer, did you spray my strawberry?”

What about water?

Packaging?

Textiles?

Manufacturing?

Wastewater?

Consumer products?

Industrial contamination?

Agricultural inputs?

Imported food?

Domestic food?

Those are system questions.

And those deserve system answers.

WHICH BRINGS ME BACK TO THE SMALL FARMER

This is the part that frustrates me.

People say they want local agriculture.

They want small farms.

They want affordable food.

They want perfect-looking strawberries.

They want those strawberries in rainy weather.

They want them to last after harvest.

They want them cheap.

And now increasingly:

They want the farmer to guarantee “no spray.”

Those expectations can start contradicting one another.

Every additional standard has a cost.

More labour.

More crop loss.

More documentation.

More certification.

More testing.

More risk.

Sometimes a much lower yield.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to know how your food was grown.

You SHOULD ask.

But maybe we need to stop treating two words on a sign as the entire measure of whether a farmer is responsible.

I would rather tell you exactly what was used, why it was used and where your food came from than hide behind a vague marketing phrase.

Maybe the conversation shouldn’t be:

“Is it no spray?”

Maybe it should be:

“Tell me how my food was grown.”

That is a conversation farmers can actually answer.

And if society decides there are chemicals we genuinely do not want in our food, water or environment, then that is a much bigger conversation about standards, enforcement, manufacturing, imports and agriculture.

It cannot simply become another responsibility pushed down onto the farmer standing at the end of the food chain.

Because if we actually want better food systems, we have to understand the whole system first. 🌱

Just in From Creston, BC
Peaches and Cream Corn

4 for $5 12 for $10

Find it at
Apple Lady Orchard Market
11 - 6 Monday - Saturday
Closed Sunday

3109 Palliser Drive SW
In the plaza between Social Grounds coffee shop and Sweet Rice

Take the 90th Ave exit from the SW Ring Road/Tsuut'inaTrail SW

Bus Route 99 stops at the plaza

Apple Lady

Fresh Taber Corn Today

Apple Lady

13 Varieties of BC Apples
4 Varieties of BC Pears

Ambrosia, Bramley, Gala, Gold Rush, Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Hidden Rose Kingston Black MacIntosh, Pink Lady, Salish, Spartan & Sweet Orin

Anjou Pears, Bartlett, Harrow Crisp & Seckle

Find it all at
Apple Lady Orchard Market
11 - 6 Monday - Saturday
Closed Sunday

3109 Palliser Drive SW
In the plaza between Social Grounds coffee shop and Sweet Rice

Take the 90th Ave exit from the SW Ring Road/Tsuut'inaTrail SW

Bus Route 99 stops at the plaza

Alberta Made Syrup Samples at Apple Lady Today Til 5

Picked Today Taber Corn
Naturally Grown
No pesticide or other chemicals

4 for $5 or $10 dozen

Find it at
Apple Lady Orchard Market
11 - 6 Monday - Saturday
Closed Sunday

3109 Palliser Drive SW
In the plaza between Social Grounds coffee shop and Sweet Rice

Take the 90th Ave exit from the SW Ring Road/Tsuut'inaTrail SW

Bus Route 99 stops at the plaza

Apple Lady

AB organic "juicing" carrots 25lb $29
Zoom in to view the interesting shapes

Peach Season Extended
BC Organic

$6 lb
4 lb$22
8 lb $40
18 lb case $75
All Freestone

10 varieties of BC apples

Find it all at
Apple Lady Orchard Market
11 - 6 Monday - Saturday
Closed Sunday

3109 Palliser Drive SW
In the plaza between Social Grounds coffee shop and Sweet Rice

Take the 90th Ave exit from the SW Ring Road/Tsuut'inaTrail SW

Bus Route 99 stops at the plaza

Apple Lady

The apples are arriving ! 2026 Ambrosia
apples. a heritage c***r apple....