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COMPOST AND CRITTERS There are many ways to have a compost pile. The way many beginners start is just with a pile of scraps. That does work but a pile of kitchen scraps does have some downsides. For one, it attracts critters to your property. Even if your pile doesn't have an odor to you, it does to rodents, deer, raccoons, and other wildlife. That’s a good or a bad thing depending on your tolerance for sharing with all creation. WHAT’S GOOD ABOUT ATTRACTING WILDLIFE TO YOUR COMPOST? They take away some nutrients but they also leave nutrients. Critters leave urine and feces around where they eat. If that’s around your compost pile, you probably have healthy vegetative growth. In a compost bin, instead of a pile, you may have mice nesting all winter. The composting process creates warmth. Mice bring in added organic matter with nesting materials. Mice with babies leave even more organic matter in the form of manure. Admittedly, it‘s startling to open your compost bin and scare up a mouse family. But they won’t go far. That bin is shelter from the elements. The best thing about sheltering mice in your compost bin? They like the compost bin and that means you’re not sheltering them in your home! Deer, raccoons, opossums, and other night creatures appreciate fresh produce close to the safety of their woods. I’ve found if I empty my kitchen scraps every night during the vegetable growing season I have less deer damage to my garden. It’s worth experimenting. A word of caution: you must be consistent about providing an evening snack or you WILL HAVE more deer and other critter damage in your garden. They think you’ve moved dinner. WHAT’S BAD ABOUT ATTRACTING CRITTERS TO YOUR COMPOST? It’s back to that consistency thing. Essentially you’re feeding wildlife and that’s a good thing especially if you have a camera and can watch nighttime activity. This is a wonderful experience for kids. But many species of wildlife are transmitters of disease. If your dog or cat roams around outside and has access to the area around your compost pile the opportunity exists for wildlife-pet interactions. Rats, mice, raccoons, opossums, and deer all carry ticks and fleas. They fall off wildlife and hang around in tallish vegetation waiting for their next meal. It might be your dog or cat. Wildlife may be unhealthy. They carry several different types of worms that can infect your pet. Tapeworms and roundworms are the two most common contagious diseases wildlife transmit. Keep your pets free of diseases that wildlife carries by limiting their contact with wildlife areas. Do you want your dog or cat eating rotting food from your compost pile - and then licking your face? Ick. Wildlife adds interest to your landscape and deposits manure. If you’re concerned about wildlife in your compost, try a different composting system. There are many solutions for efficient composting systems. Stay tuned. #makecompostmainstream #wildlife

COMPOST + BIOCHAR - THE PERFECT MATCH Do you have a garden? If so, let’s talk about the benefits of biochar + compost for lush growth that will amaze your friends and family. WHAT IS BIOCHAR? It’s a type of charcoal made from heating organic materials (wood, crop residues, bamboo, nut husks) at high temperatures in a low-oxygen environment. How can you transform your garden soil into a nutrient-rich paradise with compost and biochar!? FIRST START WITH COMPOST Compost is layers of greens and browns. Greens are your kitchen scraps (greens aren’t always green - think coffee grounds and summer squash) and browns are yard waste, leaves, and any organic materials that are brown and dry. When you plop some wet kitchen scraps on your compost pile or in your compost bin it has to be covered with a layer of leaves or yard waste to avoid odors and insects. That layer of browns is full of microorganisms that immediately start breaking down the kitchen scraps and releasing nitrogen. Your compost pile can be a source of nitrous oxide released into the atmosphere. But you can trap that greenhouse gas and add it to an effective nutrient cycling system in your soil with biochar. ADD A LAYER OF BIOCHAR TO TRAP GASES Gases are nutrients escaping into the atmosphere. Biochar is carbon with lots of pores created by heating (pyrolyzing) organic material at very high temperatures. Those pores capture the gases and when you put the biochar/compost mixture in your garden you get twice the nutrient rush. Biochar does more than add nutrients to your soil. It also acts as a sponge to hold moisture, making your garden drought-resistant. It also improves your overall soil structure and locks up carbon, combatting climate change. THE BENEFITS OF COMPOST + BIOCHAR There are so many, and more are being discovered every day. The cycles of the natural world sometimes seem slow to us, but we only understand a fraction of what is happening under our feet. Compost decomposes quickly and is a quick start for your soil nutrient cycling. Think of it like your morning coffee. Biochar is a slow-release soil amendment, adding carbon and improving soil structure over long time periods. Think of biochar like the protein you had for breakfast. None of us does our best with ONLY caffeine. We need some slow-release nutrients to keep up our energy all day long. Together they create an amazing soil amendment. Combining biochar and compost gives you a soil amendment that gives Quick results Long-term benefits Balanced soil nutrients Gardening isn’t just growing plants; it’s nurturing the soil. The duo of compost + biochar makes your soil perfect for lush garden growth. #makecompostmainstream #biochar #compost

COMPOSTING ALL WINTER - NOW WHAT Pat yourself on the back! You’ll be planting your flowers and veggies into some of the richest soil in your neighborhood. And because we didn’t have a very cold winter in any of the United States your pile probably never froze completely. HOW TO HANDLE YOUR COMPOST NOW You may have thought your compost pile was frozen solid all winter. You trudged out to your composting site anyway, because you had faith. Although the outsides of your pile may have frozen, the middle of the pile was full of microorganisms and earthworms. They were steadily decomposing all those organic materials. Now, you need to turn your compost, so all the frozen pieces get a chance to meet those microorganisms. Hopefully, last fall, you piled a lot of leaves (browns) in with the kitchen scraps (greens) and that kept the pile warm all winter. As your pile completely thaws it may become wet and slimy. Add more browns, leaves if you have them, or sawdust, ornamental grass trimmings (really good), or mulch materials. You want to make sure you keep the aerobic bacteria happy. At the bottom of your compost pile, you’ll have the most decomposed material. That dark brown earthy material is a perfect potting soil amendment. By the way, as we’re heading into spring fishing season, the best place to find nightcrawlers is at the bottom of your compost pile. Compost piles will sometimes steam. This is methane being released from the composting process. There are ways to capture this, and your garden will benefit. More on that coming up. Spend some time observing the texture and smell of your compost pile. A good compost will be spongy and smell like earth - because when those organic materials decompose, they are soil. The most fertile soil in your neighborhood. #makecompostingmainstream

A COMPOST PILE - TO TURN OR NOT TO TURN? You’ve started a compost pile. Maybe last fall. Conventional wisdom is that you need to turn a compost pile 3 times a week when it’s getting started. Didn’t do that in the winter? No problem. As compost matures it needs less work. Turning only every few weeks. WHAT DOES “TURNING” MEAN? It means you take a pitchfork and mix up the ingredients. Depending on how large your compost pile is, this can be a lot of heavy work. For most backyard compost operations, it’s an afternoon’s work. When you turn your compost, you get oxygen into the layers. That speeds up the decomposition process and keeps your pile from stinking. You also get a more uniform decomposition of organic materials. Large pieces take longer to decompose. Leave them in your pile longer. WHY NOT TO TURN This boils down to: how much effort do you want to exert and how fast do you want compost? All organic material in a pile will decompose eventually. So, if you aren’t concerned about having compost right now, turning isn’t absolutely necessary. That said, if your compost pile gets too wet or too big so that the inside doesn’t get any oxygen it can start to stink. That’s because anaerobic bacteria have taken over. If we have a dry summer and your pile isn’t sitting in a low spot it’ll probably dry out. At that point, the aerobic bacteria will come back, and the odor will become less intense. An unturned compost pile will eventually decompose and at the bottom of the pile, you’ll have a fantastic soil amendment. Note that I say AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PILE. So, to get to those wonderful nutrients you’ll inadvertently turn your pile upside down. The short answer to turn or not to turn is really: a compost pile always gets turned if you want to harvest a great soil amendment. It’s a matter of how often and at what stage. Turning gives you a higher quality soil amendment. But any compost is of higher quality than fertilizers. #makecompostingmainstream

YOUR FIRST COMPOST PROJECT? You’ve read about composting, recycling, and saving the planet. But you're doubtful anything you do can really make a difference. Composting your kitchen scraps instead of letting them sit for decades in a landfill (they don’t decompose when they’re buried) is an easy first step. COMPOSTING IN A NUTSHELL Composting can be done on a massive scale. Some companies create huge piles, called windrows, of composting materials. But composting is also a low-tech operation that works well on a patio or in a backyard. Before you start sorting and saving kitchen waste figure out which composting method you’re going to try. Here are a few options Worm bin - very easy, compact, and fast. The worms do all the work. Every worm bin has directions. There is also a wonderful book “Worms Eat My Garbage” by Mary Appelhoff. First published in 1993 with many updates, it's still the best book for beginners. Compost pile - easy, convenient, not as fast, you have to do some work. But not much. A compost pile has to have greens (your kitchen scraps, including coffee grounds) and browns (leaves, cardboard, paper, broken up twigs) layered or mixed with more browns than greens. A compost pile is an art and a science. You need enough browns to cover the greens, so your pile doesn’t attract insects or critters. You need to enclose your pile somehow. I use T-posts and chicken wire. But you could use any discarded wood, plywood, or pallets, this is the creative side of composting. Whatever is handy. You need to leave one side open or hinged so you can turn your compost occasionally. Check out YouTube videos for more specifics. Compost bin. These are usually plastic, but more are being made with recycled materials. They look tidier in an urban landscape. Whatever you decide, be sure and get your family involved. Remember you’re helping the environment while creating rich soil for your garden beds or potted plants. #makecompostmainstream

Regen ag and brands coming together to generate greater consumer interest in healthy meat. This conference educates the production side of the supply chain. How many, and what kind of "buyers" will be there. Will this attract the retail consumer? The demand by the consumer, through voting with their $$$, is where power rests. How do we make consumers aware the high price of conventional meat is only the tip of the iceberg? Most of the iceberg, the health consequences, are hidden from view. Should the health care industry be invited to participate? Your thoughts? #hiddencostsoffood #healthyfood #foodasmedicine

Had to have a bit of a laugh. Strong hint from Matthew that I talk too slowly normally as he has revved this up to 1.5x. Gets it out quicker for sure!😀

Do you love chocolate? 🍫 It’s about to get 2-3 times more expensive. Why? Climate change, speculation & underinvestment due to little cash passed to the cocoa farmers. This year alone harvests are predicted to drop by 11% because of poor weather. According to Financial Times plain chocolate bars will give way to the ones with nuts and berries. And consumers will bear higher costs. What can I say? “Save the Earth! It’s the only planet with chocolate.” 🌎 #sustainability #chocolate #nature

This article about New Zealand wool and the brand's value is a warning for all producers with a superior product. Transparent and authentic supply chains must be protected. The quality of the finished product using your raw materials makes/or breaks your business. It's important who you develop parentships with. A good article - not a rant, as the author says.

This is a farmer's chance to try out hemp with NO RISK. Corn and soy aren't going to bring you a profit this year. Try hemp and at the end of the season do the numbers. Is it an economically feasible crop? You'll only know if you try.