Sustainable World Radio- Ecology And Permaculture Podcast

Episode 158: Longtime organic farmer Mark Sturges believes that when we create a better habitat for beneficial insects, we create a better habitat for ourselves. Mark is a master compost maker whose compost is filled with life. When Mark creates compost, he encourages the "whole neighborhood" to move in. The cast of characters in Mark's neighborhood are vast and include beetles, rotifers, fungi, nematodes, springtails, enchytraeids, and Beauveria bassiana- an insect "eating" fungi. Mark and I chat about compost tea and how its application can re-invigorate plants, soil, and large areas of land. You'll hear about Mark's successful use of compost tea in a vineyard suffering from a Phylloxera infestation. Mark's tea was sprayed on a Pinot block and the grapes were saved! Mark is a so-called entrepreneurial "Entra-Manure" who fills us on the importance of manure in the compost loop. He tells us why we shouldn't use chemical de-wormers on our animals and what effect these products have on beneficial insects, espec