Herb-infused manure nourishes contentment

After a hard life - which included multiple divorces, alcoholism, drug addiction, the loss of a young son and bankruptcy - specialty fertilizer producer Denise Ritchie is now finding gratification by rescuing dairy cows before slaughter and using manure to create biodynamic compost.

Ritchie's story was featured this week in a Los Angeles Times Column One article by Martha Groves. She and her husband Randy purchased a dairy cow at auction last August. The animal was christened Bu, ensconced at a friend's organic dairy farm near Fresno, and became the namesake for the Ritchies' "Bu's Blend Biodynamic Compost."

According to the Times article, Ritchie stumbled upon and was inspired by the biodynamic process, which mixes organic principles with cosmic spirituality. The Ritichies believe their compost emanates "energetic life forces to vitalize vegetables, plants, flowers, lawns, gardens, farms and our earth," according to their website. While much of mainstream agriculture is unconvinced about the value of biodynamic tenents, UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor Glenn McGourty sees their value.

"There are lessons for all of agriculture in some of the basic agronomy that biodynamic farmers practice," McGourty was quoted in the story.

Bu's Blend is sold in about 50 California nurseries, running about $20 for a 1.5 cubic foot bag, easily double the cost of other organic composts.

"You're healing your soil with this stuff," the story quoted Sarah Spitz, a KCRW producer and a graduate of the Los Angeles County UC Cooperative Extension Master Gardener program.

The LA Times story says the Master Gardener became a customer of the fertilizer after studying various approaches to gardening and concluding that biodynamics "was the purest, healthiest and cleanest system." Every seed she has planted using Bu's Blend, she told Groves, has sprouted and grown "big and beautiful."

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