Is it Organic? How would you know?

No one will die or get sick if they eat fraudulently organic food; they’ll just get unwittingly ripped off. Inspections of organic farms occur once a year, never on a surprise basis, and consist basically of a review of the farmer’s paperwork. Organic crops aren’t tested, so how do you know they’re not fraudulent?For the most part the media is giving the fledgling organic industry a free pass on this important question. But perhaps because he realized we neared the $20-billion mark in the North American market last year, Bill Alpert, a senior financial editor at Barron’s, had the guts to hit the nail square on the head.
Many consumers think organic food has been tested for pesticides. But organic certifiers spend most of their time shuffling papers and auditing the files of farmers for records indicating that forbidden chemicals weren't used…. Mischa Popoff visited hundreds of farms on behalf of organic certifiers and believes most of the farmers were credibly organic. But Popoff was frustrated when he'd see farms whose "organic" fields were as green and pest free as their conventional fields. One farmer's garage hid gallons of the herbicide Roundup. When Popoff made a fuss about these suspicious findings, he … was blacklisted by some certification outfits. Conscientious farmers go to a lot of trouble to be organic, so they worry about competing with cheaters who just want the price premiums that an organic label can command. Popoff argues that routine pesticide tests could catch cheaters, the way that drug tests snare doped athletes.(Copyright (c) 2007 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)What a lot of consumers are blissfully unaware of is just how the organic system currently “works”. Organic farmers “prove” they’re not using synthetic fertilizer by documenting that they are using composted manure applications, and they “prove” they’re not spraying toxic herbicides by documenting that they are harrowing weeds mechanically, just to give a couple of examples. The inspector’s job, besides having a quick look around the farm, is focused predominantly on examining these records which, for all one knows, were completely fabricated.It’s like a man trying to prove he wasn’t fooling around on his wife because he was playing poker with his buddies all night and he’s got it all documented in his trusty daytimer, along with a receipt for the pizza he bought. It’s circumstantial, subjective, and open to abuse. But don’t blame organic farmers. Many organic farmers have long wanted to make the system objective by testing their crops. But the private organic certifiers and their federal regulators show no signs of admitting anything except more paperwork into the system, and the excuses for not testing organic crops abound. One excuse is the fact that conventional crops can sometimes attain very low, even undetectable chemical levels if they air out long enough. So there’s a reluctance to test final organic product lest it opens up the organic industry to unfair competition from conventional products which could be marketed as chemical free once they hit the store shelf.But organic farmers want their crops tested in the field. Forget about testing the final product! They point out that organic food isn’t just supposed to be better to eat; it’s also supposed to be better for the environment. Consumers have every right to get their money’s worth when they pay a premium for organic food. Testing organic crops would provide the assurance of the purity of the entire growing process, and guarantee the natural fertility of the "value-added” crop while it’s still in the field. But, alas, another excuse given in opposition to testing is the fear of obtaining false positive readings in otherwise completely organic crops. No one’s ever bothered to investigate this mind you; they just claim it’s possible. But as a former organic farmer, and an Advanced Organic Farm and Process Inspector, I’ve tested the crops of many organic farmers who wanted scientific results and I’ve never found any such false positive results. Honest organic farmers experience a profound disillusionment when they realize that absolutely nothing distinguishes their truly organic crops from bargain-priced “organic” crops which comply only with the letter of the law on paper. Many are dropping their certifications, leaving the growing organic market to be filled by good paper pushers. Testing organic crops would be the first step to bringing the good farmers back into the fold by curtailing the useless bureaucracy that exists between them and consumers. They don’t use paper trails at the Olympics to deter athletes from using performance-enhancing drugs. Can you imagine an athlete showing up for the 100-metre dash with receipts for all the approved substances he ate over the last four years in an attempt to demonstrate he had not injected anything illegal? Scientific laboratory analysis keeps the cheaters out of international sport. Why not use it for value-added, certified organic food? If organic is supposed to be so much better for the environment, and so much better for our health, why not prove it?

Author:Mischa Popoff, B.A. (Hon.)IOIA Advanced Farm and Process InspectorAuthor of Is it Organic? (due out in the fall)Osoyoos BCTel: +1 250-495-2902Emailwww.isitorganic.ca

As Published in http://www.freshplaza.com/

Vermicomposting made easy

Find a informative presentation on Vermicompsting Made easy at http://p2pays.org/compost/Vermicomposting/VermicompostingMadeEasy.pdf
It has good explination on vermicomposting, hardware for small scale and large scale production.

Vermicompost Manufacturers - Drop your contacts

Dear Vermicompost Manufacturers, Please post your contacts on this blog or on to vermicomposting@gmail as many buyers are asking for the availability of the Vermicompost.

Happy Vermicomposting and Way to Organic Life

Sanjeev.

Meet a Vermicomposter from Ganadulu Villagehttp://www.dainet.org/livelihoods/vermicomposting.htm

Development Alternatives (DA) launched a vermicomposting project in Tumkur District, Karnataka in mid 1996. The project was part of a larger programme on sustainable agriculture but it had the additional target of helping underprivileged rural women develop micro-enterprises. Today, 25 women have created sustainable livelihoods through vermicomposting.
"We were very poor..."
Farida Banu of Ganadulu village was among the first participants. Farida set up a vermicomposting enterprise in her parents backyard. She regularly harvests close to 400 kg of vermicompost every month. Farida, a 30 year old Muslim, from a family of agricultural labourers, tells her story...
Recalling her childhood she says, "We were very poor and I had to go and work in somebody's house to earn something for the family... I also wanted to go to school and learn like others. But it was not possible as we were very poor and had no way other than working as labourers. I could not go to school and also work as a coolie [labourer]."
Before starting vermicomposting, Farida used to prepare agarbatti sticks (incense). She recalls, "I used to prepare around 1000 sticks a day and get Rs 25. When I first started doing this I used to get Rs 2.50 a day for doing the same work... In those days the prices were low and the wages were also low. We could manage with whatever we earned as wages in those days. But today the prices are exorbitant. Even earning so much more, it is hard to save even Rs 10 a day."
"Those were very hard days," Farida says. "We did not have enough for anything. If somebody wore good clothes or made a feast, we used think about the possibility of our family getting these things. We started working harder and harder every day and earning more and more wages to fulfill our dreams of getting a better life."
Despite the hurdles, Farida was determined to progress. She says, "We were very poor. But we also wanted to live a good life like our neighbors. That is why we decided to work harder as labourers and come up in life."
Social Context
"My parents got me married with force. I was not happy at all even for a day as it was a forceful marriage against my wishes."
Like many women, marriage did little to improve Farida's life. She recalls, "I got married 10 years ago when I was 20. I was not interested in that marriage. But my parents got me married with force. I was not happy at all even for a day as it was a forceful marriage against my wishes... My husband also used to live in our house... My husband became an alcoholic and never heeded to my repeated requests of leaving that habit. He refused to work as a labourer and [ignored] my advice of working hard and living a good life. He used to always waste his time in accusing me of not having issues [children] and finally divorced me for that reason only... After my divorce, I remained in my parents' house and earned my livelihood by working as a labourer..."
Farida notes, "A married woman will have no problems if by her good fortune she gets a good well mannered husband. If by her misfortune she gets a bad husband who happens a alcoholic, then her life will be miserable. She will always be worrying about her fate in life because what ever she earns by hard work goes to her husband's drinking and other habits. She will have to worry about her future life... If men and women work together to achieve a goal there won't be a problem. If a man wants to sit and eat the earnings of a woman then there certainly will be difficulties."
"People do not like a woman to go out in public and work."
Farida highlights the plight of many women when she says, "People won't come to rescue others in the event of a quarrel even if they know that one of the party is right. This is more [so] if with women. If a woman goes out and works independently, people talk about her with a sour voice. In the event of a dispute if we call a grama sabha (village level meeting) or a meeting in our masjid (mosque) people refuse to attend and provide justice. In those events we give a police complaint and obtain justice... People co-operate if a woman remains indoors... They do not like a woman to go out in public and work. They support a woman who is bad if she remains indoors."
Farida has two brothers. One is 25 years old and is married, while the other is only 15 years old. Farida says, "They work on my advising them only. They do not take initiative on their own. For everything I have to lead... We have taken some land on lease. They do agriculture there. That too only if I insist. I have to tell them what to do. If I don't tell them, they won't do any thing on their own... My parents are alive. But, they are not taking any responsibility of the family. My brothers are still young and they are also not taking any responsibility. The family has left all the responsibility on me.
Project Beginnings
"[I] thought that it is easy to produce vermicompost and there is good profit in it. I decided to give it a try."
When Development Alternatives first informed Farida about vermicomposting, she recalls, "I tried to mobilise a few [people] in the village for the vermicomposting training. Everybody ridiculed me about vermicomposting. No one came forward to get themselves trained. I attended the training programme and thought that it is easy to produce vermicompost and there is good profit in it. I decided to give it a try."
After the training Farida became even more interested in the enterprise. She says, "I used to attend every meeting DA used to call and was eager to learn more about it. I was keen to start the production." She explains the vermicomposting process, saying, "I follow the same procedure that was taught to us in the training programme. They had taught us to collect agricultural waste and add cow dung to it. We have to allow that to decay for 15 days. Later, DA gave us the earthworms which we introduced and after 15 days the vermicompost was ready. We collected it and dried it in sun. We reported this to DA."
Farida notes, "My relationship with every one [at the self help group and DA] is very cordial even when I am the lone Muslim in the group. Every one treats me like their own sister."
"In the beginning, we were not aware of marketing."
"In the beginning," Farida says, "we were not aware of marketing. We slowly started taking vermicompost to different villages and started promoting it. That is how we started marketing vermicompost... In my house, I myself sell vermicompost. I go and inform farmers who have irrigated land about vermicompost. I tell them that it is very good for the crops grown in irrigated land. I won't get the order in the first visit itself. They will tell me to come after some time. I will make two or three visits before I get a firm order. Once I get the firm order I will supply the vermicompost to their door steps and collect the payment."
"I never sell vermicompost to my villagers," Farida says, "they all ridicule me about vermicompost. They tell me the conventional compost is good enough and better than vermicompost because the worms would have eaten away all the nutrients. So, I never try to argue with them and try to convince them to purchase vermicompost. I am successful in convincing farmers from other villages about the benefits of using vermicompost and I sell it to them."
Project Impact:
"From the profits we have earned we have purchased two cows and two buffaloes."
Farida's whole family is involved in the vermicompost project. She says, "My mother sifts the vermicompost and dries it. My brothers collect green manure and chop the green manure and feed it into the unit."
"My family members encouraged me," Farida says, but, "my neighbors and other villagers ridiculed my work." Now Farida regularly produces about 400 kg of vermicompost per month. She says, "from the profits we have earned we have purchased two cows and two buffaloes... there is nothing which is difficult in this. If we work hard we can earn more. If we don't work hard we will not be able to earn as much."
"I wish to improve my business."
Farida's average monthly earning from vermicomposting is around Rs 1150. She says, "we have a monthly expenditure of around Rs 3000... To earn another Rs 1850 we have to do something else like beedi rolling, agarabatti stick preparation, or agriculture labour etc... If we increase the [vermicompost] production we can earn more.
Farida is determined to expand the vermicomposting. She says, "I wish to improve my business. I propose to save Rs 500 a month from the monthly expenditure of Rs 3000. And from these savings, I wish to add an additional production unit. Like this only, I think I can increase production."
Moving Towards Sustainable Livelihoods
"My parents feel proud of me. They tell me that I am no less than a male."
Farida says, "My parents feel proud of me. They tell me that I am no less than a male. They think that I am working harder than their sons. They also feel bad about not providing me any luxuries in my life." But just as Farida shrugs off the mockery of other villagers she also shrugs of the hardships in her life, saying "Since I have grown with difficulties, I don't feel or get hurt easily by anything."
Farida's strength and persistence have readily paid off in her enterprise. She stands as an example of what can be achieved when people are given a chance. She says, "It [vermicompost] certainly has brought in changes in our lifestyle and in our family. We did not have even a mat to offer to any one who visited our house. People used to hesitate to come to our house. We used sleep on gunnysacks. Today, we have purchased mats and proudly offer it to visitors. Villagers and officials are regularly visiting our house and are appreciating our enterprise. My brothers have improved. They are now confident enough to move about individually and if required deliver vermicompost to DA or to any other parties. They were unable to do any of these earlier."
"People today talk to us with respect."
The families image, she says, "has dramatically changed. Earlier we used to go for household help or agriculture labour. We had nothing to eat. People used to offer us stale food some times three days old. We had no other choice other than to accept it. Today, the situation has dramatically changed, our family eats two square meals with dignity and pride with our own hard earning. People, today talk to us with respect."
"If we want development we will have to take the initiative and work for it."
Reflecting on the future of her village she says, "I do not think that there will be a major change. If we want development we will have to take the initiative and work for it. If people do not keep any bad feeling about anything or anybody nothing happens to our village... Every body can live in peace."
Farida explains her success at vermicomposting, saying, "the wish to live better is the driving force in me. I have my inner spirit pushing me to move forward and achieve something even when I don't have financial strength. This spirit is making me move forward even when other people are trying to ridicule me and pull me down."
Farida calls vermicomposting the biggest achievement in her life. She says, " I have undertaken vermicomposting and I am proud of my achievement in this. I feel that I got returns for the hard work I put in this venture." She says, "I am getting better respect in my house than other women are getting in their houses. Because my people consider me a good woman and respect me...I am advising my brothers and my sister-in-law that they should also work hard and come up in life as I have done... I want to promote this technology to more people. I feel bad because my own villagers are not willing to learn about this. I have spread this to many villages outside my village... I hope I can convince my villagers."

Vermicomposting using paddy straw as Published in The Hindu

VERMICOMPOSTING is an appropriate technique for efficient recycling of animal wastes, crop residues and agro-industrial wastes. Paddy strawis a wide C:N (80:1) organic material, low in nitrogen and phosphorus but fairly rich in potassium. In conventional method of composting, paddy straw takes 6-8 months for decomposition resulting in a poor quality of compost. The process of conversion of organic materials into manure is chiefly microbiological and greatly influenced by the proportion of carbonaceous and nitrogenous materials present in organic wastes.
Microorganisms need carbon for cell structure formation and nitrogen for cellular protein synthesis. It was found that C:N ratio of 30:1 or lower for raw material was desirable for efficient composting. Organic materials poor in nitrogen content (wide C:N ratio) decompose slowly, take more time and result in lower amount of compost formation. Under the situation, the biological activity diminishes and several successions of organisms may be required to degrade the carbonaceous materials. So, C:N ratio of organic materials poor in nitrogen should be made narrow by adding nitrogen in the form of any nitrogenous fertilizer to it for better decomposition.
Superphosphate is generally added to fortify the phosphorous content of the compost. It also checks the volatilisation loss of NH{-3} from the decomposable mass during the process of compost formation.
Earthworm activities are important in aiding faster decomposition process mainly done by microbial actions. It grinds the organic waste materials in the gizzard and the actions of bacteria therein hasten the decomposition process. The number of bacteria and actinomycetes increased 1000 fold during passage of substrate through the gut.
Besides, aeration, mixing and turning over the materials are essential in decomposition process which are also done by earthworms. An experiment was conducted in Orissa taking red earthworm (Eisenia foetida) for the decomposition of paddy straw in presence of fertilizer sources to add N and P. Dried and chopped (3-4 cm) paddy straw, after thorough mixing with fresh cowdung slurry was introduced into pots. Nitrogen in the form of calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN) was applied to raise the N level of the straw to 2 per cent N and phosphorus as Single Super phosphate (SSP) to raise the total P{-2}O{-5} content to 0.2 per cent. In control, no such additional fertilizer N or P was added. Watering was done to pots to maintain the moisture content to 40-50 per cent.
After two week of preliminary decomposition, red earthworms were released at 10 adults per pot.
The pots were covered with gunny bag to maintain moisture and temperature under shed.
This prevents worms from crawling outside the waste material and also to prevent entry of other insects. Ten weeks after the initiation of the composting process, the compost masses were collected.
The experimental results showed neutral reaction of the compost masses indicating their suitability for soil application.
The straw decomposition was (91 per cent by vermiculture in presence of fertilizer N & P which was greater than the control.
The C:N ratio decreased to 10:1 due to earthworm activity alone and further decreased to 8:1 when inoculated in presence of N + P, showing better influence for the decomposition of a wide C:N ratio material like paddy straw.
The earthworm population was increased by 16-20 times. .
M.K. Jena, P.K. Das and S. Mohanty,Department of Agricultural Chemistry and Soil Science,

All those grass clippings, kitchen waste and leaves can give flowers a boost

Master Gardener Patti Larson shows off some of the effects of compost used at the Gillette Community Garden. The earthworm is a vital part of making nutrients for the compost, which adds needed minerals to Campbell County’s alkaline, compacted soils. — News-Record photo by Paul RuhterBy J.D. STETSON, News-Record Writer
Leftover vegetables, lawn clippings, fallen leaves — these waste items can actually help grow a garden.
It really is easy to make the mulch and compost that can be used in gardens and flower pots around the house.
Decomposing things provide nitrogen and nutrients that can help plants grow.
Compost is very important to the garden because of the high amounts of alkaline in the highly compacted soils, said Master Gardener Patti Larson.
There are two types of plant materials to use to make compost:
- Greens: These materials are freshly cut and high in nitrogen. Green materials include lawn clippings, green plant wastes and kitchen wastes (no meat or dairy products).
- Browns: These dry materials have already started decomposing and are high in carbon. Hay, sawdust, leaves and straw make good brown materials.
There are different ways to mix the greens and browns to get the desired compost, but the typical ratio is four parts brown to one part greens.
The Community Garden uses several different ways to create its compost:
- Hot compost: This way collects the decomposing plants in three piles, each a cubic yard, near the garden entrance. When people pass by the piles in early spring, they can see three stalls with a large clump of dark brown mass in each with an occasional twig or tree leaf sticking out of it.
What they can’t see is the microscopic organisms that fill the center of the mass.
The organisms heat the mass to 120 degrees with their digestive process, causing it to breakdown into nutrient healthy compost. Larson calls this process “hot compost” because it heats up on the inside.
Grass clippings, vegetables, shredded paper, kitchen leftovers (no meats) could be used for the pile.
The gardeners are careful what they put into the pile because they do not want any pathogens or chemicals to be transferred to the soil.
When they get grass clippings, the grass cannot be treated with weed killers prior to cutting, Larson said.
As long as the piles are kept out of the wind and sun, and kept moist, they should produce compost in a couple of months.
- Cold compost: This process simply allows the mixture to decay on its own. Larson showed a plastic garbage bag filled with leaves that had been left at the Community Garden since last fall. That compost would be good enough to use by next fall.
- Vermicomposting: A newer way to create compost that is becoming popular inside the home is vermicomposting, or using worms to make compost.
Janet Thompson, horticulture program coordinator with the Campbell County Cooperative Extension Service, said the service encourages gardeners to try the method.
In vermicomposting, people keep the worms in a container around their home. They feed the worms their organic garbage and the end result are called “worm castings,” which are black in color and rich in nutrients.

Source:www.gillettenewsrecord.com/

Commercial vermicompost leads to clean basement

For me, it started out innocently enough, I suppose -- a simple hobby operation in the basement to pass the time and development of something to feed my plants with organically. I didn't know it would become an obsession run amuck!

I'm talking about vermicomposting. If you're not familiar with the term, don't feel bad. It's not a household word ... yet. Think of it as the manufacture of compost using worms (usually red wigglers) as the engine that makes it happen.

Although the formal term for the finished product is "worm castings," the folks in the business like to refer to it simply as "'worm poop." I guess you don't have to think about it long to realize the second term is a whole lot more down-to-earth than "vermicomposting" or "castings."

No matter what you call it, the end result is rich, dark compost loaded with beneficial microorganisms along with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.

If you happen to be into soil science (as I am), it is easy to see why it has become such a popular soil amendment and plant food. Using it as such was once a practice utilized only by organically-minded gardeners. Fortunately, due to the popularity of the green movement and the importance of eco-friendly alternatives, worm poop is becoming progressively more mainstream as a powerful garden ally.

So how did this fascination with worm poop come about? Well, a number of years ago, as I was looking for more Earth-friendly ways to fertilize my lawn and garden, I came across several articles that extolled the virtues of using worm castings.

In the soup

I decided to try this vermicomposting at home. I discovered that when you vermicompost, an excess amount of liquid eventually collects at the bottom of the bin. As an avid user of compost tea, I thought there might be some added value in using this soupy liquid as plant food rather than discarding it.

Because it was so dark and rich, I mixed about one part of it with nine parts water. I shook it up and went right to work pouring it on the foliage and around the roots of my most tired-looking plants.

The next day I was amazed at what I discovered. Not only had the plants perked up, but the pale greenish-yellow foliage on many had darkened considerably. I clearly had noticeable and dramatic results literally overnight. I'm not easily impressed but these are the things that catch my attention.

Now I was on to something great -- an all-natural, organic and effective way to feed my plants safely, and I made it at home. My biggest concern now was how could I produce enough to satisfy the quantity I needed?

Since increasing my vermicomposting production facility was not an option, I used the worm tea sparingly and only on the plants needing the most help. Thankfully, now I have far more options. In fact, the actual castings are becoming more readily available in garden centers and nurseries by the bag.

But, even more exciting, the worm tea I covet so much is now available, premixed and ready to use! Thanks to one company, TerraCycle (www.terracycle.net), blazing a path into many of the major retailers and garden centers, you and I have access to all the liquid worm food we want or need. More companies are likely to follow, creating even more opportunities for us all to enjoy these benefits in an eco-friendly way.

So thanks to the power of worm poop and one small but growing company, I can appease my wife and retire the basement worm bin and still have all the liquid organic plant food I'll ever need.

Lamp'l, a Master Gardener, hosts "Fresh from the Garden" on the DIY Network as well as a gardening radio show. Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.

Source:
January 17, 2007By Joe Lamp'l DIY Network