Sierra-Worm-Compost-Blog

Apr 29, Worm compost bin

Tue, 29 Apr 2014 10:41:11 -0400

A few years ago my parents gave me a worm compost bin. The rest of the family fell about laughing over it because it was such an unusual gift. I was really

Feb 12, Contribute to Worm Compost

Wed, 12 Feb 2014 17:08:05 -0500

Would you like to share your knowledge about worm compost? Great, find out how you can submit your story or tip here.

Jul 26, Worm Compost Puts Life Back in Your Soil and Health in Your Plants

Fri, 26 Jul 2013 13:10:50 -0400

Learn the why and how of making and using worm compost,nature's ultimate soil builder and plant growth enhancer.

Jun 16, Is it necessary to dry out the worm compost?

Sat, 16 Jun 2012 21:10:29 -0400

I'm unclear about whether it's necessary to dry out worm compost. I have a small bin and can easily use what I'm producing pretty quickly. Can I just

Apr 15, worm bedding or food

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 22:46:30 -0400

Paper celluose could it be used for bedding and or be fed to worms (before any chemicals are put on it)Thanks Keit

Apr 14, Storing worm castings

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 22:12:17 -0400

What is the best way to store worm castings and how long will they be good for

Apr 12, Worm Compost Events Calendar

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 22:21:01 -0400

Our worm compost events calendar shows our scheduled appearance at farmers markets and other venues. .

Mar 27, How Much Water to Add to Bin

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 23:10:53 -0400

Please tell me how much water to put over the decomposing material in the bin. I believe that this is a must here in South Africa. Thank you so much for

Mar 25, Seedlings

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 16:44:16 -0400

How much worm compost can you add to the soil when potting up seedlings

Mar 25, Weeds for bedding

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 15:55:14 -0400

I don't have newspapper or any of the other bedding materials that you have mentioned. I do have weeds. Lots of weeds. If I run them through the chipper

Mar 23, Nutritional benefits of organically grown food

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 23:37:14 -0400

“Healthy soils = healthy food = healthy people,” is a fundamental tenet of many ecological farming systems, yet the nutritional quality of food grown by organic and conventional methods is the subject of much controversy. The mainstream scientific community argues that nutritional differences do not exist and that plants don’t know the difference between organic and chemical fertilizers. Organic advocates claim organically grown foods are nutritionally superior because such foods contain higher levels of vitamins, minerals and amino acids, and have a much greater level of vitality and are more disease and pest-resistant. In addition, the plants are more healthful due to lower levels of pesticide residue and nitrate-nitrogen and have greater density and better flavor.

Mar 21, Using worm tea on Orchids

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 14:33:07 -0400

I have several orchids and mainly want my worm tea for use on them, can you give me a more or less amount of dilution of the worm tea. I have been diluting

Mar 16, COW & HORSE MANURE

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 21:25:42 -0400

HI I WAS WONDERING A COUPLE OF DAIRY FARMS AND MORE THAN A FEW HORSE RANCHES HAVE CONTACTED ME TO DELIVER THEIR MANURE SO MY QUESTION IS WHAT ARE THE STEPS

Feb 21, Worm Bin Heating Up

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:36:51 -0500

I may have accidentally created a hot compost by unknowingly mixing bedding with a bit too much food stock. I still have plenty of worms but I'm wondering

Jan 26, Help support the GMO labeling campaign in California

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:07:36 -0500

A grassroots coalition of health, environmental and consumer organizations filed papers last fall with the California Attorney General's office to place a citizen's initiative on the ballot late in 2012. If the measure is successful, California would be the first state to adopt mandatory GMO labeling laws.

Dec 22, Farmers get clever, use Kickstarter to promote Aquaponics in North Carolina.

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 23:45:19 -0500

Forget venture capitalists or bankers. Kickstart is the new way of raising working capital for small businesses. Fantastic idea!

Dec 22, The deliciously eccentric story of the town growing ALL its own veg(etables)

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 01:27:33 -0500

A town growing all its own veggies? This one in England is doing just that. Hopefully, the idea will spread to the U.S.

Dec 6, School turns abandoned athletic field into organic garden

Tue, 6 Dec 2011 00:17:46 -0500

(NaturalNews) A Denver, Co., public school has set the bar high for reconnecting the next generation of children with the food they eat. ABC 7 News in Denver reports that Denver Green School (DGS), an urban "innovation" school, has brought new life to an unused, one-acre athletic field by turning it into an organic garden -- and the garden has been such a success in just eight months that the school is able to serve fresh produce from it to students in the cafeteria.

Nov 19, That Big Farm Called San Francisco

Sat, 19 Nov 2011 03:41:41 -0500

The times and towns, they are a-changing. And by the sound of this article, San Fran is getting downright earthy. Though this article is a year old, it's still current as far as people learning and asserting self-reliant skills.

Sep 27, Study Debunks Myths About Organic Farming

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 15:18:45 -0400

The results are in from a 30-year side-by-side trial of conventional and organic farming methods at Pennsylvania's Rodale Institute. Contrary to conventional wisdom, organic farming outperformed conventional farming in every measure.

Sep 21, How Independent Are You?

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 02:40:14 -0400

A 1976 article that has even more relevance today. "The garden is the best place to start looking for ways to help people become more independent. A garden is both the symbol and reality of self-sufficiency—especially an organic garden, which recycles organic wastes of the yard and household, permits the production of significant amounts of food with only minimal reliance on outside resources. Any campaign to boost personal independence should start by helping people become gardeners—teaching, motivating, and making land available."

Sep 4, Local food advocates to protest in Santa Cruz a crackdown on small dairy farms

Sun, 4 Sep 2011 15:52:56 -0400

The tired refrain of federal, state or local government that they must intervene because "someone might get sick" is getting pretty stale. Since when is it any level of government mandate to save us from ourselves? Especially when it pertains to food? While shares in fruit and vegetable farms have been a popular part of the local food movement, a new trend is buying shares of animals. But this new trend disturbs authorities, so much so that prosecutors have sent cease-and-desist letters to small herd share cooperatives across the state - including Evergreen Acres in Santa Clara County - and even staged an armed raid on a Ventura operation. In this climate, local herd share operators, many of whom prefer anonymity, are coming out of the shadows next week. They are planning a downtown Santa Cruz "milk-in" to raise awareness about what they say is a misuse of taxpayer funds and government resources.

Aug 17, Now They're Sanitizing Almonds! What's next?

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 00:00:02 -0400

If all almonds now require pasteurization, what foods will be next on the list of mandatory sterilization, heat treatment, or irradiation? This may be the first step toward a sterile food environment that protects processors from lawsuits and facilitates industrial-scale food processing and distribution—which is exactly the kind of environment that fosters bacterial contamination. For an in-depth look at what's on those almonds to "make them safe", go to- http://www.cornucopia.org/almonds/Almond_Fact_Sheet.pdf

Aug 11, It's Sauerkraut time!

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 17:24:17 -0400

I've been harvesting my Early Jersey Wakefield cabbage(Heirloom from Burpee)on and off for several weeks now. I have planted a variety of veggies, but somehow cabbage never made it on the list, usually it was just too late.
It was unseasonally cold the first part of May when I set them out knowing that it could be too late in the season to get a nicely developed head. By mid-June it was starting to finally warm up. Since I seeded them in straight compost with an additional handful in the transplant hole, the plants were beautiful and big. But, by mid-July it was getting hot and I didn't know if I would get any cabbage at all. So I just waited and watched and slowly they started forming their heads.
I've picked close to 15 heads from 1/2 - 1 pound each. And they were not bitter as a couple of smaller heads were used for slaw. Delicious. I pulled out my old (1973)Stocking Up book from Organic Gardening to see how sauerkraut is made. Will know in a week.

Aug 2, Family Farms Are Under Attack

Tue, 2 Aug 2011 00:35:55 -0400

In Late May, the DOT (Dept of Transportation) proposed a rule change for farm equipment, and if it is allowed to take effect, it will place significant regulatory pressure on small farms and family farms all across America – costing them thousands of dollars and possibly forcing many of them out of business. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), part of the Department of Transportation (DOT), wants new standards that would require all farmers and everyone on the farm to obtain a CDL (Commercial Drivers License) in order to operate any farming equipment. The agency is going to accomplish this by reclassifying all farm vehicles and implements as Commercial Motor Vehicles (CMVs). The move by the DOT appears to be “legislation through regulation.” By reclassifying all farm vehicles and implements as Commercial Vehicles, the federal government will now be able to claim regulatory control over the estimated 800,000 farm workers in America, at the same time, overriding the rights of the states.

Jul 26, Blackberries and stawberries update

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 00:38:02 -0400

In April I posted my ambitious project of transplanting an old,thornless, blackberry bed and planting strawberry plants in the cinder block retaining walls. Well, the blackberries are loaded and look great. The strawberries didn't get enough water early on and didn't produce the quantity I was hoping for. The water problem was fixed and the plants themselves are beauties. They may yet produce a fall crop.
Here's the terraced bed in April

And here's what it looks like now.

Jun 1, Help Save Nick's Organic Farm

Wed, 1 Jun 2011 08:12:36 -0400

Though I live on the opposite coast from this organic farmer, I'm incensed at what his local government is doing to drive this good man from his farm. If you live in the Potomac, MD area, please read this and stand up against this land grab.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Nick Maravell has farmed the land on Brickyard Rd. in Potomac for 30 years. He has farmed it organically and sustainably, benefiting the local community, consumers and other farmers in the county, and our environment, including the Chesapeake Bay. He has farmed so well that in September of 2010, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack appointed Mr. Maravell to the prestigious National Organic Standards Board. Nick's Organic Farm is a heritage farm, one of the few organic farms in our county and the only one to produce genuine organic seed. And now the Montgomery County government wants to destroy it. Earlier this year, the Montgomery County School Board, which owns the land, gave Nick three weeks notice that they intended to cancel his lease, and give the lease to the county government in order to build... soccer fields. The deal was made with no public or community input. Read about Nick's farm here: http://www.nicksorganicfarm.com/

May 23, Fungi reduce need for fertilizer in agriculture

Mon, 23 May 2011 16:45:56 -0400

Although the article does not mention it, this is where customized, fungal-dominated worm tea could make an important contribution.
______________________________________________________________________________ The next agricultural revolution may be sparked by fungi, helping to greatly increase food-production for the growing needs of the planet without the need for massive amounts of fertilizers according to research presented today at the 111th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in New Orleans. While mycorrhizal fungi typically only grow on the roots of plants, recent biotechnological breakthroughs now allow scientists to produce massive quantities of the fungus that can be suspended in high concentrations in a gel for easy transportation. Sanders and his colleagues are currently testing the effectiveness of this gel on crops in the country of Colombia where they have discovered that with the gel they can produce the same yield of potato crop with less than half the amount of phosphate fertilizers.

May 18, Detroit's Revitalization Through Community Gardens

Wed, 18 May 2011 14:48:02 -0400

Detroit was once called the Paris of the West, but at this point it’s more reminiscent of Venice. Like Venice, its demise has been imminent for some time, as crucial businesses and huge chunks of the population flee. Here, local food isn’t just hip, it’s a unifying factor not only among African-Americans and whites but between them. Food is an issue on which it seems everyone can agree, and this is a lesson for all of us. “The idea,” says Malik Yakini, a school principal who runs the two-acre D-Town Farm, “is to help black people stand up, to demonstrate that creating reality is not the exclusive domain of white people — without pointing fingers at white people.” The farm, located in Rouge Park — the city’s biggest — will soon double in size.

May 11, 40 Fruits, vegetables and herbs that will grow in partial shade

Wed, 11 May 2011 01:17:59 -0400

We all know that most garden crops want as much sun as possible. Tomatoes, melons and peppers will positively pout if they don't get oodles of light. What you may not realize is that many other garden crops will do quite well with limited sunlight. Which plants will put up with lower light levels? A general rule is that plants grown for their stems, leaves or buds generally tolerate light shade fairly well. Those grown for roots or fruits tend to need more sun. That said, even many of these crops will also tolerate light shade, simply providing smaller yields. These are noted on the list with an asterisk (*). The following crops will grow with as little as three to six hours of sun per day, or constant dappled shade. While size or yields may be affected in some instances, taste will be just as good.

May 4, USDA Still Ignoring New Pathogen Tied to GMO Feeds

Wed, 4 May 2011 15:29:30 -0400

I first posted the problems with genetically modified crops in a March post. Now, the USDA is planning on allowing Monsanto to approve Roundup Ready® alfalfa which would have long-term implications of more Roundup Ready® crops on the market, especially as it affects dairy and cattle herds.

Apr 21, Third town in Maine to pass food freedom law

Thu, 21 Apr 2011 19:49:53 -0400

NaturalNews April 20,2011,Ethan A. Huff,staff writer Within the past several months, numerous towns in Maine, and one in Vermont, have proposed or enacted food sovereignty laws that declare, plainly, that the federal government has no business telling citizens what food products they can and cannot buy or sell locally. Representing the third town to successfully pass such an ordinance, Blue Hill, Maine, recently adopted a local food and self governance bill that asserts the freedom of local citizens to choose their own food. In early March, two other towns in Maine, Sedgwick and Penobscot, both passed their own food sovereignty laws. And the town of Barre, Vt., will vote on its own food freedom resolution sometime in May. The Food Freedom Act is a direct response to the “Food Safety and Modernization Act” from Washington D.C. The FFA declares that food grown and produced in state, when sold in state are beyond the authority of Congress under its constitutional power to regulate commerce among the states. The FFA is primarily a Tenth Amendment challenge to the powers of Congress under the “commerce clause,” with food and farming as the objects.

Apr 13, Mixing blackberries with Stawberries

Wed, 13 Apr 2011 03:16:38 -0400

Spring has definitely arrived in the Sierra Foothills. The pear trees are in full bloom with the apple trees not far behind. I'm trying to beat the blackberry's in transplanting them to their new home up the hill from where they've been for the last 25 years. They were originally planted down the slope, not across it. Consequently, the plants at the bottom of the slope got the most water. Terracing this slope a labor of love, with the accent on labor. The added benefit of using the cinder blocks is that I'm planting 2 strawberry plants in each block. Yes, the spacing is much closer than is suggested, but this is an experiment. The planting mix is worm compost mixed with 7 year old composted pine needles, so any newly hatched worms will have something to snack on. Same mix is used to back-fill the the blackberry plant transplants. This endeavor has been in my mind for the last 5 years!! I started it a year ago, with the plan of buying enough cinder blocks for two rows every month. I should have it finished by mid-June. I love it when a plan comes together.

Terraced Blackberry Beds

Strawberry plants

If some of you are facing gardening challenges like this, I hope it has given you new confidence that it can be overcome. It may take some time in realizing your plan, but you just have to take that first step.

Mar 23, LittleTown in Maine Stands Up to Food Goliaths

Wed, 23 Mar 2011 19:25:53 -0400

This is really astounding. 120 people in this community of Sedgwick, ME had the fortitude to stand up and say "No" to the myriad of governmental regulations on food. Stating that "they have the right to produce, process, sell, purchase and consume local foods promoting self-reliance, thus preserving family farms and food traditions. . . . . . " More of us need to stand up and do the very same thing in our own communities while we still can.

Mar 16, Neither rain nor sleet nor snow shall stop them.

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 23:10:57 -0400

Speaking of noisy worms, after 24 hours of steady rain I went to check on herd. The tarps over the bins have done a good job of keeping the lids dry. Lifting the lid on my newest bin, I was amazed at the number of worms. Masses of them. With all the cold, hail snow and rain we've had in the last 3 months, these little guys haven't been bothered in the least. Still happily munching away. . . . . in the dark.

Mar 13, Update on Urban Farming Guys

Sun, 13 Mar 2011 17:51:18 -0400

I signed up for their updates and will be posting as needed. What a vision they have. And all without any gov't help. Way to go guys.

Mar 9, UC Campus Joins the Compost Tea Brigade

Wed, 9 Mar 2011 23:39:25 -0500

The UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley recently began an new innovative fertilizing method, financed by a campus fund that supports environmentally friendly projects. Last month, the garden, perched atop a hill northeast of campus, started to use what is called "compost tea" to provide nutrients to plants and reduce the amount of water that is needed. The "tea" is a liquid that is brewed from high-grade organic compost and sprayed onto plants, acting as a disease suppressant. "Because the liquid is so biologically active as compost, the soil is allowed to take advantage of the nutrients," said Anthony Garza, supervisor of horticulture and grounds for the garden. "You use less synthetic fertilizers that are based in chemicals."

Mar 9, 20 Families Uproot from Suburbia for Inner-City

Wed, 9 Mar 2011 22:36:14 -0500

This is a great story about what can happen when you leave your comfort zone. Though, like the article makes clear, this may not be for everyone. Still, the ideas they have implemented go a long way to get us to change our thinking about where our food comes from and how much can we do locally to move people from "what can government do for me to what can I do for myself".

Mar 5, Hothouse Activities

Sat, 5 Mar 2011 04:05:17 -0500

It actually hit 55 deg. today; high enough to get me outside and getting some seeds sown in the hothouse. I'm figuring if it's going to be another late spring, I might as well plant more lettuce. The heirloom Reines Des Glaces lettuce I purchased from Seed Savers is the best I have grown. I pick the leaves only, so I have salad going into July! Even if lettuce leaves go bitter (which these don't), I learned you can soak them in cool water for an hour or so to remove the bitterness. I've tried it and it does work! I also dug up 4 of my stevia plants and divided them. Now I have 15 portions in pots. In case you have never heard of stevia, it's a South American herb that is 200x sweeter than sugar without the calories or carbs. The leaves are removed in late September and dried. It takes less than a 1/4 cup steeped in hot water to sweeten a half gallon of ice tea. Tastes great and good for you.

Stevia plant

Mar 4, USDA Playing Fast & Loose with GMO-Roundup Resistant Plants and Its Implication in New Pathogen

Fri, 4 Mar 2011 02:51:17 -0500

One of the nation’s senior scientists has alerted the federal government to a newly discovered organism that may have the potential to cause infertility and spontaneous abortion in farm animals, raising significant concerns about human health. Dr. Don Huber, professor emeritus at Purdue University, believes the appearance and prevalence of the unnamed organism may be related to the nation’s over reliance on the weed killer known as Roundup and/or to something about the genetically engineered Roundup Ready crops. In a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, the professor called on the federal government to immediately stop deregulation of Roundup Ready crops. Here is the the letter that was sent to Secretary Vilsack in January.

Feb 23, Vermicomposting Book Review

Wed, 23 Feb 2011 13:40:39 -0500

Source: BioCycle February 2011, Vol. 52, No. 2, p. 12 “Vermiculture Technology: Earthworms, Organic Wastes and Environmental Management” (CRC Press, 2011) is the first international, comprehensive and definitive work on how earthworms and microorganisms interact to break down organic wastes on a commercial basis. The 35-chapter reference book, edited by Clive Edwards of the Ohio State University, Norman Arancon of the University of Hawaii in Hilo, and Rhonda Sherman of North Carolina State University, explores the dramatic growth and changes in vermiculture technology since 1988. Contributing authors from Australia, Belarus, Brazil, Canada, China, Cuba, Hong Kong, India, Mexico, the Philippines, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States discuss outdoor and indoor windrows, container and wedge systems, and fully-automated continuous-flow vermi- composting reactors that can process more than 1,000 tons/year of organic waste per reactor. Authors highlight the science and biology behind the use and efficacy of vermicomposting, examine its importance to developing countries and explore technologies of the past, present and future. This volume chronicles how vermiculture can be brought into full commercial and industrial development and find application in integrated waste management systems.

Feb 11, Ode to Worm Composting

Fri, 11 Feb 2011 02:29:10 -0500

Why do I enjoy worm composting? Let me count the ways. First, because I'm frugal. Okay, I'm cheap. I don't like to waste anything, including money. I can feed worms old lettuce leaves, coffee grounds-with filters, tea bags, stale bread, apple cores. Throw in some horse manure, ground up egg shells and voila! They give me their extraordinary poop called castings for lawn and garden. And it didn't cost me a dime. Second, because composting worms are the easiest animal to take care of. It doesn't have to be exercised or groomed; never needs a vet; no fencing required, no barking or crowing-in fact,no noise whatsoever; no expensive feed bill- in fact for what the worms eat, your friends and neighbors would gladly GIVE you stuff to feed them. I could go on, but I think you get the idea of what wonderful animals these worms can be. They don't meet you at the door and smother you with slobbery worm kisses or look at you adoringly with big sad eyes when you've had a bad day; BUT,they do give you the richest garden "gold"-their manure or castings for your veggie garden, flower beds or lawn and all they ask for in return is a damp, dark container with plenty of rotting stuff to eat! Third, it connects me to important, but simpler things of life: the lowly worm, the soil, the compost that improves it and the quality of food I can grow because of it. The compost worm makes the very thing that helps our soil grow healthier food by converting our food waste and farm manures into something much more valuable. And that's why I enjoy worm composting so much.

Feb 11, Worm Compost News from the Philippines

Fri, 11 Feb 2011 01:11:46 -0500

From: MB News, Manilla, Philippines RLD GOAT FARMS VERMICULTURE PROJECT In 2009 Rico L. Diaz relates that they decided to start culturing earthworms to produce organic fertilizer. Having a lot of goats necessitates a lot of maintenance and daily cleaning, the result of which was a growing hill of manure which they would simply set ablaze. Vermicomposting began more as a waste management practice rather than a business unto itself. However, after trying the resulting organic fertilizer in their pasture, they were very impressed with the results and decided to commercially produce it under the name One Earth Vermiculture. Today, they are producing around 8 to 10 tons of vermicompost per month. Their main buyers are organic farms.

Feb 4, Sustainable Local Food DVD is available

Fri, 4 Feb 2011 00:19:27 -0500

Update The DVD for this conference can be purchased from Touchdown Productions,Grass Valley, CA.
530-274-2206 or
sales@touchdownproductions.com Price is $29.09 which incl.tax & shpg.

Feb 4, Battle Against GMO Goes On

Fri, 4 Feb 2011 00:19:27 -0500

Yesterday’s announcement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that it will once again allow unlimited, nation-wide commercial planting of Monsanto’s genetically-engineered (GE) Roundup Ready alfalfa, despite the many risks to organic and conventional farmers, is deeply disturbing, but not surprising. For the past four years, there has been a ban on the planting and sale of GE alfalfa, as a result of a lawsuit brought by the Center for Food Safety (on behalf of farmers) against USDA. In 2007, a federal court ruled that the USDA’s approval of GE alfalfa violated environmental laws by failing to analyze risks such as the contamination of conventional and organic alfalfa, the evolution of glyphosate-resistant weeds, and increased use of glyphosate herbicide, sold by Monsanto as Roundup. Last spring more than 200,000 people submitted comments to the USDA highly critical of the substance and conclusions of its draft on GE Alfalfa. Instead of responding to these concerns including expert comments from farmers, scientists, academics,conservationists, and food safety and consumer advocates, the USDA has chosen instead to listen to a handful of agricultural biotechnology companies. My Take on this-
This stuff is going to continue(sugar beets are next) and so it behooves us to start looking after ourselves and our families by buying,using and saving heirloom seeds. Start a worm bin for making compost and make 2011 the year you make time and start that garden. Even if it's only to show your children what a REAL tomato tastes like.

Jan 23, Review of The Sustainable Local Food and Farm Conference

Sun, 23 Jan 2011 03:38:36 -0500

Today I attended this indoor Expo in Nevada City, CA. So many people engaged in all sorts of animal husbandry and small-to-large-scale agricultural production. All the speakers were excellent; from Mark McAfee, owner of Organic Pastures Raw milk; Dr. Will Winter,DVM; Aaron Lucich; and keynote speaker, Joel Salatin, famous for his pastured beef and poultry operation in Virginia. A point I wrote down from Lucich's presentation was "agriculture is ecology and ecology is agriculture". That concept is missing in today's modern ag industry. That's why there are so many problems due to "confinement" model of raising animals. Mark McAfee spoke passionately about the disaster that pasteurization has been to our health. Many gov't agencies decry the possible problems with raw milk, yet we never hear of the illnesses that happen with pasteurized milk! Joel Salatin had us rolling in the aisles with his humorous presentation of life at his PolyFace Farms. He had many pictures of how he rotates his animals on grass pastures. He allows his animals to do what they like to do naturally, but just regulates the time and place. His hogs are allowed to root in the the pasture, which is a foreign concept in today's pig farms. He is very big on composting."We are supported by a world under our feet", he said. Music to my ears! Salatin reminded all of us that enjoying the "fruits of the land" that we manage makes us stewards of those resources. An awesome responsibility. So much information. There will be a DVD available later and I hope to be able to get one. If you are at all interested in organic gardening/farming and have a chance to hear Mr. Salatin in person, by all means go.