Healthy soil and sustainable growing

[Harvey Ussery <boxwood@nelsoncable.com>]

> Manure to feed the worms which are eaten by the poultry is part of the
> integrated farmstead where the output of one part is the input for another.
>  A closed cycle is a big step up from simple growing which is what I've
> done, and it makes for a far more productive operation. . .Importing
> manure from neighbors means it won't be a closed system, but it does keep
> some of their manure from being wasted. I'd rather move up to a closed
> cycle, which leads to the next question: what kind of manure is best for
> worms, and can we avoid the expense and time we don't have for large
> animals?   ~Paul

Making the homestead more of a closed circle is indeed the goal, but as 
long as we have neighbors who don't recognize the value of their organic 
"wastes," bringing them in to our own places is eminently sensible, both 
for our own sustainability and that of the society at large. If our 
neighbor isn't going to reclaim that fertility, we do a broader service 
if we do. I get pony poop by the pickup load from a neighbor, and she 
hauls many loads of oak leaves for me and dumps them in my back yard. I 
say God bless her!

As for what manures to use: Horse manure and manures from all the 
ruminants will be great for vermicomposting. Rabbit manure is fantastic. 
Humanure would be a good feedstock for worms I believe, though have yet 
to try it. (And for those concerned about pathogen issues, the humanure 
could be kept in a separate vermicomposting bin and used only on crops 
like fruit and nut trees, fertility patches like comfrey and nettles, 
etc.) I think you could make poultry manure work, but it would not be as 
easy and would take a lot more management input (because it is so "hot").

~Harvey

--
Harvey in northern Va
www.themodernhomestead.us

"How we eat determines, to a considerable extent, how the world is used."  
~Wendell Berry