Isn't that a strange way of asking someone what is going on in their life? No stranger than asking, "What's up?" I suppose.
I read an interesting story in this month's issue of Sierra magazine. As you may have guessed, it was all about poop. Poop is surprisingly useful, given the fact that it is literally post-consumer waste. But like other items of the same category, it can be recycled.
"In the future, poop will solve all our problems."
The story focused on three amazing (re)uses for poop that are making a small difference now that can evolve into a big difference later. I'll let you read the details yourself, but basically we can and should harness the waste and its byproducts as sources of alternative fuel.
This got me thinking. We recycle a lot at my house - paper, plastic, glass, aluminum, bags, light bulbs. One of the things we recycle though, isn't something that is really talked about.
That's right. I'm talking about poop. Now before you click away and unsubscribe to my blog, I don't mean what you think I mean.
I can't say that I use poop to fuel my car or heat my home (although that would be pretty awesome). I do use it though, to fertilize my garden. Composted or not, the pellets break down quickly to improve the soil.
One of the most important elements to successful gardening is nitrogen. It's part of what makes plants green and what encourages big leafy growth on top. Now too much nitrogen will cause your plants to grow too quickly on top without developing a supportive root system. However, when you use a natural fertilizer instead of a chemical one, there is little risk of overdose.
Besides, why purchase a pricey chemical when there is plenty of natural free fertilizer around?
And in case you are wondering, guinea pig poop is fairly odorless. (Urine is generally what you smell in a stinky rodent cage.) If you have a different pet... that one's up to you.
And that's the poop on poop.
Disclosure: Sierra magazine sent me a free issue. I wasn't paid to post, but how could I not share this??
Ahhh, Sweet Ned! The best part for Ned is that he gets to eat his recycled poop in the form of carrots and lettuce that grow in your garden. Wonder what his comment would be? I can remember as a kid cleaning out the chicken house and hauling it to the field to be plowed back into the ground. One of my first paid custom tractor jobs was plowing manure into a field. I made $100 for that nasty several day job.
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