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from the Jones Valley Urban Farm Website
http://www.jvuf.org/about_compost.php
Rot Web text (c)1996 by Eric S. Johnson

Composting Fundamentals

http://www.economist.com/world/unitedstates/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13...

ONE day Judith Haller was watching television and saw that Martha Stewart had chickens. “I was very envious that she had her own chicken manure,” she recalls. So last year, she got a couple of chickens on behalf of her vegetable garden. They proved to be industrious providers and pleasant companions. Now there are 13 hens pecking around the yard. And Ms Haller has become an advocate for a hot movement: backyard chickens. In April, as part of Austin’s first Funky Chicken Coop Tour, she hosted 637 visitors.

http://www.economist.com/world/unitedstates/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13...

ONE day Judith Haller was watching television and saw that Martha Stewart had chickens. “I was very envious that she had her own chicken manure,” she recalls. So last year, she got a couple of chickens on behalf of her vegetable garden. They proved to be industrious providers and pleasant companions. Now there are 13 hens pecking around the yard. And Ms Haller has become an advocate for a hot movement: backyard chickens. In April, as part of Austin’s first Funky Chicken Coop Tour, she hosted 637 visitors.

It is said that ‘You are what you eat’. You can’t help but then ask, “What does that make me?” Are you supersized, with extra flavor, longer lasting and filled with all those ingredients that you can’t even pronounce?

From the garden out back or a massive monocrop farm over 2000km away, everything you eat has an impact on yourself, your community, and the well-being of this planet.

TheTyee.ca

Making homemade bread has taken on a whole new meaning.

Brock McLeod and Heather Walker will teach you how to start your own wheat field. Even if you live in the heart of the city.

"We want to see a reintroduction of people growing grains for themselves in their backyards," says McLeod who, together with Walker, has created Island Grains, a new participatory farming project on Vancouver Island.

"If we can start growing wheat locally, if there is enough demand for it, well, that could really help revise the food system."

Electric fan separates chaff

The EcoGarden received a grant from the federal government's New Horizons funding program to built some new beds. We also received money from the Farm 2 School program to build a greenhouse. A whole lot of construction for one year. This journal will track the changes.

We had a two day work session that completed a huge amount of the work in a short amount of time with the help of many volunteers. Catered meals by Fernie Fine Foods helped us keep our energy up. It was intense.

A side bonus of building 12 new beds in the middle of summer is that we can do some experimentation with cover crops in our area. As of August 9th, 9 of the plots were planted with cover crops from West Coast Seeds. 2 of the plots were planted with winter hardy carrots, broccoli and cauliflower, and 1 was planted earlier in the year with peppers and geraniums.

This journal will follow the growth of the crops with weekly photo updates, and descriptions.