Below is a link to a good article a friend sent to me on various animal droppings and what makes the best garden fertilizer - and why. It also gives other creative tips on procuring poop.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/02/20/HOBS1HLCK9.DTL&ao=all

Recently I found a good source of horse poop at some stables next to a park nearby and am very excited at the possibility of a lusher more productive garden this year. I had already bought some chicken manure in bags from Home Depot and spread it around not only on some veggie beds but also ornamental areas. The lettuce patch already looks better.

The horse poo was happily mixed in with some straw, making a more well rounded compost. I added some to my two compost bins as neither of them are ready to use yet. And I also dug a bunch into an empty bed that is waiting for summer crops. The poo mix was too 'hot' to use on plants immediately. It was pretty easy to gather too. I just shoveled it into garbage bags - helped by a friend who held the bags open - which was very useful.

Only a gardener would be this happy about getting poo! we are a weird lot.

Posted by Sudeep Johnson at 11:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I recently listened to a Commonwealth Club podcast of a panel discussion on The Urban Farming Movement

The Podcast is available here, scroll to #81, 5/20/2010.

You can get the audio in Real Audio format here.

Here is the description:

The Urban Farming Movement

Jason Mark, Co-manager, Alemany Farm; Editor-in-Chief, Earth Island Journal Novella Carpenter, Founder, Ghost Town Farm; Author, Farm City Christopher Burley, Founder, Hayes Valley Farm David Gavrich, Founder, City Grazing Sarah Rich, Writer; Editor; Co-founder, The Foodprint Project; Co-author, Worldchanging: A User's Guide for the 21st Century - Moderator

Enterprising city dwellers are bursting from their pre-packaged lives and taking back their choices for consumption. Urban farms foster community and healthy eating beneath towering city blocks, where fast and easy often supersede fresh and home-grown. Like SF’s own Alemany Farm and Hayes Valley Farm, these urban crop spaces allow neighbors to trade their Swingline staplers for pitchforks and break new ground. Fresh, organic veggies are grown and sold, and the locavore food economy is epitomized. What’s the appeal of throwing away the chain grocery store for the neighborhood till?

Come hear from local leaders of the movement like Novella Carpenter, founder of Oakland’s Ghost Town Farm, and trailblazing San Franciscans Jason Mark, of Alemany Farm, Christopher Burley, founder of Hayes Valley Farm, and David Gavrich, "goat whisperer" and founder of City Grazing. They’ll discuss the urban farming movement's place in the world of organic, local-grown culture, and how they’re bringing the farm to the city - goats included!

This program was recorded in front of a live audience at The Commonwealth Club on May 12, 2010

Posted by Dave Johnson at 10:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)