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livingontheland - Re: [Livingontheland] Question re: Market Gardening

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Subject: Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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Chronological Thread  
  • From: Harvey Ussery <harvey@themodernhomestead.us>
  • To: Healthy soil and sustainable growing <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] Question re: Market Gardening
  • Date: Fri, 15 Jan 2010 18:51:37 -0500

D K wrote:
I was talking to my boss the other day about starting a market garden.
He runs a variety of businesses under the name Colorama and has an
excellent space for a Farmer's Market, a deli and catering company
from which scraps could be used to start composting. . . ~Diane in Florida

Diane, may I suggest you consider cycling those "food residuals" either through redworms or Black Soldier Fly grubs. Will Allen's Growing Power project [featured in the DVD FRESH, which I highly recommend] cycles 80,000 pounds per *week* through worms to produce the fertility for his greenhouses and other vegetable growing beds:
http://www.growingpower.org/compost.htm

BSF grubs are my current passion. I'm feeding the mature grubs to my poultry--if you have no poultry (or pigs, or farmed fish) to feed, and are just looking for the high-fertility soil amendments (soldier grubs produce that as well), maybe vermicomposting would be a better choice for you.

Vermicomposting:
http://themodernhomestead.us/article/Boxwood+Vermicomposting.html
Introduction to cultivating soldier grubs:
http://themodernhomestead.us/article/Black+Soldier+Fly.html
[Note that that one is not properly keyed in to the nav system as yet, so the link is your only way in.]

~Harvey

--
Harvey in northern Virginia
www.themodernhomestead.us

The threat of nuclear weapons and man's ability to destroy the environment
are really alarming. And yet there are other almost imperceptible changes--I
am thinking of the exhaustion of our natural resources, and especially of
soil erosion--and these are perhaps more dangerous still, because once we
begin to feel their repercussions it will be too late. ~The Dalai Lama





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