Better Earth: The Soul of the Soil

Many of our techniques on the farm come from the French market gardeners who were able to feed ALL of Paris back in the mid 19th century into the early 20th century. These market gardeners would grow on small amounts of land similar to ours. They grew very intensively and were able to do so because of their management practices. 

When ready to sell, they'd harvest and load their produce into a wagon and bring it into the city. Then they'd load up their wagons with horse manure from the city and bring it back to the farm to spread on their fields (or to further compost it, then spread it).

This is how rural and urban communities can and should work together. Nowadays, we're all segregated, individualized. We're separated into tribes based on where we live that largely predetermine our political leanings. Why don't people talk about the fact that nearly ALL urban areas go blue and nearly ALL rural areas go red? I spend a lot of time thinking about this. And while it's a very nuanced and difficult question to answer, I believe a large part of it is that we've removed all ties to each other. Because of our massive, clunky, globalized food system we're not reliant on each other for resources, food, or anything really. Farmers now just sell into a commodity market and urban folks just go to the supermarket. This is not how things used to work at all. It's weird, unnatural, and unsustainable. 

We directly utilize and damn near rely on the compost that comes from YOUR food scraps by way through @betterearthcompost.

And I almost believe it's my responsibility as a grower that serves the Peoria area that if I am PRODUCING a product, I am also managing the waste from that product. Too many companies don't think about their product AFTER its use, after it breaks, after it is disposed of. This is the companies' responsibility and should be a part of any business plan. 

We essentially spread your food scraps/yard waste (composted, of course) right back on our fields to grow our next crop. 

Urban/rural communities should function synergistically as it requires us to look at each other with mutual respect and not simply as producers/consumers.