Dirt is Everything |
Thursday Sep 10 2009
I think an essential part of literacy today is literacy with food growing. I was raised on farms and in urban gardens (although we didn’t have the word ‘urban’ at that time). Translated: Mom and Dad were raised in Kansas and settled in the big city of Denver after WWII. Our vacations consisted of driving to Kansas and helping bring in the harvest. I got to stay until the end of summer.
During those summers, we just ate great food and I weeded a lot and helped Gram butcher chickens. The dirt was always great because my Dad or Granddad or Grandma were always throwing some kind of poop on something. Meanwhile, the cows were in the fields doing what they do best—eating and pooping. I got to understand very early on that ‘real’ dirt gives us great food.
Dirt is everything. One of my top ten heroes (I have a distinct list for heroines) is Will Allen, CEO for Growing Power. Among other things, he teaches creating great dirt in inner cities using worms and fish (since it’s hard to have cows poop in urban areas—the cows aren’t happy!). Learn more about what they do to turn food waste into compost and vermicompost that fertilizes naturally.
When we when we allow our animals and fish to eat what Nature intended for them, when we use composting and vermicomposting to feed our earth naturally, then healthy and great stuff comes out to feed and keep us all healthy. An empowering circle of life.
P.S. This past week, I’ve been canning and dehydrating: pickled beets, cauliflower, jams for my Dad, tomatoes, crackers. Peaches and nectarines are up next, as well as pickling peppers, carrots and green beans.
© 2009 Sharon Knoll. All rights reserved.
Written by eldering at Wisdom in Action
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Tagged with: compost dirt growing_power sustainable_agriculture vermicompost will_allen
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Posted by David Boothroyd on September 12, 2009 at 12:48 AM EDT #