Nature’s Haven is proud to announce our collaboration with the world-renowned Waterside Inn and Chef Alain Roux.
At Nature’s Haven we want to promote awareness of all the benefits that we obtain from soils, how to keep soil healthy and therefore grow highly nutritious herbs, fruit and vegetables. It’s not just about being able to grow more food, but the nutritional value of the food we produce.
Did you know that:
The chronic lack of micronutrients in soils and crops is now recognized as one of the leading causes of worldwide illness burden.
Hidden hunger affects over 2 billion people worldwide.
Soil fertility is being lost through unsustainable agricultural practices such as lack of soil organic matter; misuse and overuse of nutrients; underuse of nutrients; and soil degradation.
At Nature’s Haven we use permaculture principles. We compost as much of our garden waste as we can, but we can’t produce enough for the whole garden. The Waterside Inn produces 2 cubic metres of food waste every 2 weeks. They use an enzyme compost machine which recycles all their food waste and they have kindly agreed to establish a partnership with us and provide us with an amazing ‘digestive’ that we add to our compost and soil.
Included in the food waste is: high end food waste of cooked or raw veg, fish trimmings, shellfish, bones cooked and uncooked, meat products cooked and uncooked, dairy.
How it is processed: The food waste is broken down by powerful enzymes which then break down the food into a digestive, leaving remains of small bones and shellfish which are sieved out. The temperature of the compost is raised to approx. 80° centigrade before it is harvested every 2 weeks, which kills off any bugs and pathogens etc.
The end product: doesn’t need to be disposed of, it’s a healthy but very rich digestive which should be added to other matter (compost, peat, loam etc.) at a ratio of 10:1-20:1 dependent on usage. Alternatively the compost can be stored to mature, and then used on its own.
If you want to find out more about how we use the ‘digestive’ why not come along and join our volunteers on a Thursday from 4-6 pm or Saturday morning 10 am-12 noon at the Maidenhead Community Centre. Alternatively, you can sign up to our Sow, Grow, Eat . . . Repeat programme - https://www.natureshaven.net/event-details/sow-grow-eat-repeat-programme
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