Worm farms use worms and microbes to naturally clean wastewater from farming operations. As wastewater passes through beds filled with wood chips and millions of worms, the worms eat and break down organic waste, while the microbes living alongside them help filter and purify the water.

This process is useful in farming because it cleans wastewater, allowing us to reuse it for irrigation, reduces odors from manure while keeping it out of local waterways, produces worm castings, a nutrient-rich, organic fertilizer, and reduces methane emissions from manure management.

The Soil Center has two worm farms, totaling 14 acres of worm beds, and millions of worms!

Biochar is a charcoal-like material made by heating plant waste, like wood chips, or orchard prunings, in a low-oxygen environment. Instead of rotting or burning and releasing stored carbon back into the air, the carbon in that plant matter gets locked into a stable and solid form. 

When biochar is added to soil, it can stay there for hundreds to thousands of years, effectively trapping carbon in the ground. Additionally, it can improve soil health by enhancing water retention and nutrient cycling. 

At CMI Orchards, we generate biochar at The Soil Center using our three biochar reactors, which utilize our orchard tree waste as feedstock. We then use this biochar in our orchards to complete the loop.

Soil amendments are materials added to soil to improve its health and productivity. They can be natural (such as compost, manure, or biochar) or synthetic (chemical fertilizers and treatments), and they help with tasks like adding nutrients, improving soil structure, retaining more water, and supporting beneficial microbes. 

Why are they important?

Healthy soil grows healthier crops, uses water and fertilizers more efficiently, and provides greater resilience to drought and pests. 

Why are carbon-rich soil amendments useful? 

Carbon-rich soil amendments are beneficial because they not only boost soil fertility but store carbon in the ground instead of letting it escape into the atmosphere. All soil amendments made at The Soil Center are naturally-derived, designed to be carbon-rich and highly nutritious, reducing our need to add synthetic products to our soil.