05/09/2013 - Organic Unit 10325 and Vermiculture Unit 21049

Actual Temperature
13 degrees Celsius
Humidity : 82%
Rainfall : 0.00mm
Wind : Moderate Wind

Today my class on Organic Unit was with Lisa Burton.  Organic farming has been practised since the beginning of agriculture itself. It has grown in popularity as consumers have become more interested in caring for their own health and that of the environment, as well as developing a greater understanding of how their food is produced. Many different definitions and perceptions of organic farming have developed over the years, not all of them accurate.

Organic farmers should aim to “achieve optimum quantities of quality produce, while enhancing the sustainability of natural agriculture resources”. This is done by using practices “which create soils of enhanced biological activity … such that plants are fed through the soil ecosystem, and not, principally, through soluble fertilisers added to the soil”. “Plants grown in natural systems take up nutrients that are released slowly from humus colloids … the development of soil structure and humus is fundamental to organic and biodynamic systems”. “Organic and biodynamic systems rely upon crop rotations, use of residual crops, animal manures, legumes, green manures, mechanical cultivation, cultural control, minimal application of approved mineral-bearing rocks and aspects of biological pest management to maintain soil productivity and tilth, to supply plant nutrients and to control diseases, insects, weeds and other pests”. Livestock require organic feed and husbandry practices that suit their behavioural needs, ethical treatment and welfare. Organic farmers need to identify and manage any contamination risks that may threaten their farm’s organic status.

So, successful organic farms achieve…

• good product quality and productivity
• working relationships with natural systems
• improved soil health
• crop nutrition through healthy soil ecosystems
• cultural and biological management of pests, diseases and weeds
• high standards of animal welfare and ethics
• minimal off-farm impacts of the farm system

…while using ‘approved inputs’ appropriately and excluding synthetic chemicals and genetically modified organisms.

‘Approved inputs’ for organic farming are determined by a committee that represents a wide range of interests and industry experience, including consumers, organic certifying organisations and technical experts. The approval or prohibition of inputs takes into account such aspects as the nature of their components, their process of manufacture, their environmental fate and the likelihood of impacts on the farming and natural environment.

In the afternoon, my class was with Kim Thomas on Vermiculture. Vermicompost is the product or process of composting using various worms, usually tiger worms, red wigglers, white worms, and other earthworms to create a heterogeneous mixture of decomposing vegetable or food waste, bedding materials, and vermicast. Vermicast, also called worm castings, worm humus or worm manure, is the end-product of the breakdown of organic matter by an earthworm. These castings have been shown to contain reduced levels of contaminants and a higher saturation of nutrients than do organic materials before vermi composting.

Containing water-soluble nutrients, vermicompost is an excellent, nutrient-rich organic fertilizer and soil conditioner. This process of producing vermicompost is called vermi composting.