From Leaf to Soil, and Soil to Leaf

July 4, 2008

Waste is just a resource that’s unrecognized. If we all looked at our stuff through this lens, we could have a future without trash cans—one in which everything is designed to be reused or recycled and all materials are too valuable to waste.

Compost is a beautiful example of this perfect cycle, one that’s easy to participate in. Say you buy some strawberries from Eatwell Farm. You cut off the tops, and instead of throwing away the carbon, nitrogen, and nutrients, you put them in the green bin. The strawberry tops and the rest of the materials in your bin are picked up at your curb, brought to Vacaville for composting, and turned into an organic soil amendment. Eatwell farm buys the compost, incorporates it into the soil, and the cycle starts again…

On Friday, June 13, CUESA organized a Waste Wise tour to the Jepson Prairie Organics composting facility in Vacaville and Eatwell Farm in Dixon. Eatwell uses compost from Jepson Prairie to enrich the soil. Click on the links below to go on a virtual tour with us.

Click here to find out how compost happens at Jepson Prairie Organics >

See what’s going on at Eatwell Farm, where the people and the chickens eat well >

For attendees’ interpretations of the tour:
Marc writes about Eatwell Farm on the Eat Local Challenge blog >
Marcus summarizes the visit to Jepson Prairie Organics in his blog, Eats for One >

Topics: Food & Farm Tours, Waste