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Organic, INC.
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GARDENING AND
LANDSCAPING This comprehensive,
all-organic encyclopedia provides clear, easy-to-follow instructions
and a wealth of information on gardening techniques for both
ornamental and food gardeners--advanced and beginner alike. It is
jam-packed with practical "how-to" information and step-by-step
instructions. The essential reference for all gardeners. |
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THE
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Evolution of A Family Compost Business...Spreckles, California - where Cranford Inc is
based - is in the heart of the Salinas Valley, which is recognized
as the Salad Bowl of the World. Cranford makes three compost
products. Cranford Compost, designed for organic farms and gardens,
is the premium product. Cranford's Commercial Compost is designed
for conventional farms that utilize chemical fertilizers. Micronized
compost, developed in the late 1990s, is Cranford Compost ground to
finer than 500 mesh. All three compost products are registered with
the Organic Materials Research Institute as acceptable inputs for
organic production. Cranford also went through a learning process
with compost tea. Tea application has proven successful with control
of white fly and aphids on lettuce, tomatoes and other crops.
Cranford is also working with some golf courses to determine the
effects of a regular tea program. |
Vineyards Make Switch...Vineyards in four northern California counties are
using compost made from commercial and residential food residuals to
grow healthier vines and grapes. The food scraps are collected,
composted and sold by subsidiaries of Norcal Waste Systems Inc, a
solid waste company headquartered in San Francisco. Norcal began
target marketing its Four Course compost to vineyards in 2002; since
then, more than 30 vineyards have applied Four Course Compost. Some
vineyards have reported needing less fertilizer after using the
compost. Kathleen Inman, owner and winemaker at Inman Family
Vineyards in Sonoma County, says she uses Four Course compost as a
topdressing to maintain moisture and as a soil conditioner. This had
three benefits. First, it worked as a weed deterrent. Second, the
compost helped retain moisture in the soil. And third, when
irrigated in the summer, the water percolated though the compost to
gently feed the plants. Four Course compost was approved for use on
organic soils by the Organic Material Review Institute (OMRI) in
June 2001. |
Yard Trimmings Composter...Organic Resource Management Inc (ORMI) has
operated the Fort Bellefontaine Compost Center in north St. Louis
County for ten years. The facility is located on a closed landfill
owned by St Louis County Parks, making it a public/private
partnership. The closed landfill was donated to the parks
department, and not being certain of the best use for the site, an
RFP was issued, recalls Kim Wolterman. While ORMI started with yard
trimmings because its initial focus was on composting, the company
has expanded into mulch production as well. As ORMI's marketing
strategy has evolved, the need for mulches became apparent, and the
company started producing them as well, she noted. In recent years,
Peerless Resource Recovery has become a significant C&D recycler in
Missouri, on a mission to steadily increase the percentage of waste
material it can reclaim. The C&D waste tonnage brought to Peerless
each year includes approximately 25,500 tons of masonry. Large
pieces of concrete are stockpiled and hauled from the landfill to an
adjacent site, an abandoned sand and gravel operation. |
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