Here’s Herbdoc with some tips on buying vegetables:

Denise’s recent blog entry on organic gardening struck a chord with me.  I too follow organic practices and in my vegetable and herb gardens which tend to be interspersed with annuals and perennials.

When I can’t pick what I need from my garden, I head to the Farmers’ Market to purchase fruits and vegetables.  For those who don’t have a garden or a Farmers’ Market nearby, here are some tips on figuring out exactly what is organic in your neighborhood store.

Those little stickers (what a pain to remove!) hold not only the PLU (price look up code) and place of origin but also a series of numbers:

1)  If the five digit code starts with the number nine (9), it means it’s organically grown;

2)  If the five digit number starts with an eight (8), the item was genetically modified;

3)  If the PLU has only three (3) or four (4) numbers, it means the growing process was conventional (fertilizer, pesticide, fungicide etc).

This is very helpful information for the consumer, but personally I find it much easier to go to the Farmers’ Market, buy what’s in season, and ask the grower if I have any questions.