I am often asked what is the difference between organic and conventional farmers. My simple answer is that as an organic farmer I feed the soil and let the soil provide what the crop needs. A conventional farmer feeds chemical fertilizer to the soil according to what crop he or she will grow. These chemicals often harm the soil micro fauna.
Compost is the mainstay of our fertility program here at Eatwell farm. Not just any compost though. since 2000 we have been using food waste compost from San Francisco and Oakland. The food scraps come from restaurants and homes which are collected in a special green bin. Each night trucks leave the Bay area and head to one of two composting facilities, one of which is near us just south of Dixon. In three months the food scraps are made in sweet smelling nutrient rich food for the soil and all the life it contains.
The compost is delivered to our farm on a regular basis. Roberto applies compost to the fields after every crop so as soon as I see his stockpile diminish I call Kim at Jepson Priarie Organics and ask her to arrange for more deliveries of her special black stuff.
Every time the truck leaves the farm full of fruits, vegetables, herbs and eggs it takes the nutrients needed to grow those with it. What better way to return the nutrients than to use food scraps that are recycled.