| A feasting “foodie” |
Feasting Foodies or The Saga of the Organic Hay
It started like this: We got a notice from our certifier Demeter that an herbicide used in hayfields to control weeds was not breaking down through composting and was stopping the germination of seeds. We were to start using organic hay or to document that our hay was unsprayed.
Our son Jesse has a friend five hours north of here who had extra organic hay that he grows for his goats, so we sent Jesse north with a large truck to purchase the extra. He returned home fifteen hours later with fifty bales.
However, the goats didn’t like the hay. In fact, they boycotted it. The only time we saw them eat it was when they sneaked into the locker where the hay was stored and grabbed a mouthful. Our vet Claudia suggested they might be spoiled goats, but I like to think they are “foodie” goats, like many of the rest of us living in the Napa Valley.
We had to get another load of (unsprayed) hay and decided to use the “organic hay” for composting. Then the killer: the organic hay had thistles in it! To use it in compost risks spreading those thistle seeds throughout the vineyard and lavender field.
So now we are going to haul it to the county compost where they heat very hot (in biodynamic composting we stay on the cooler end to preserve nutrients.)
| Organic hay awaiting transfer to dump. |
