Our ‘living’ systems are composed of carbon residue, microorganisms, minerals, and red wriggler worms. The resulting material is remarkably fertile, giving plants access to the nutrients needed for both plant growth and for human nutrition. The “closed-loop” ecological approach to this system allows for the clean up of contaminants in the soil, for digestion and transformation of food waste, and for the production of fertilizer that is far more effective than chemical treatments.  The high microbial count in our system helps fight off soil disease and breaks down food waste rapidly, keeping plants strong and healthy.

The fertility for all of Growing Power’s sites comes from compost that is produced on the 2.5-acre urban farm in Milwaukee and our 30-acre rural farm in Merton.  Our compost is made with recycled food waste, farm waste, brewery waste, and coffee grinds.  Bread, dairy, or meat products are not included in the compost.  The product of Vermicomposting (intensive composting in boxes with worms) is also added to the growing system.  The resulting worm castings are a low impact, completely sustainable product that has the NPK ratio of a strong fertilizer and the perfect pH for planting vegetables.  The compost and castings are added to fields and raised beds as mulch, a soil amendment, and in the form of foliar teas.  In the urban growing environments raised beds are built called “Living Biological Worm Systems;” these beds are constructed with a layer of raw compost seeded with a healthy worm population and then capped with castings and/or topsoil.  These raised beds maintain their fertility with little or no amendment for up to five years. 

Compost 101: Growing Power style