Mary Harmon is trying something new this year at Harmony Acres Farm. She’s adding worm castings to enrich her garden soil and feed her vegetables. A long-time organic gardener, Mary was searching for a source for bulk compost when she discovered Kitsap E-Z Earth last year.  

 

This innovative business enterprise is a program of the non-profit Peninsula Services, which is dedicated to finding meaningful employment for people with disabilities. At the Kitsap County facility, employees run a worm growing operation. They care for thousands of red worms (Eisenia fetida) that eat their way through tons of garbage and recycled shredded paper.  The result of all this natural activity is worm castings, a rich organic fertilizer that is called vermicompost.

 

Mary’s enthusiasm for using the organic vermicompost is catching, as she describes the many benefits of using this odorless, weed-free, and nutrient dense fertilizer.  Only small amounts are needed to enrich the soil, and it can be used in container plantings or large garden beds.  Using the vermicompost at Harmony Acres Farm this year, Mary is to growing chard, herbs, salad mix, beans, peas, beets, carrots, onions, rhubarb and strawberries. On her tidy 5-acre family farm, she excited to see the results of the new fertilizer, and there are early indications it will become a permanent part of her growing efforts!

 

It’s now possible to make it part of your garden soil enrichment plan because Mary has become a distributor for Kitsap E-Z Earth products. If you visit the farm stand on New Brooklyn, you can purchase bags of the organic vermicompost, worms, worm bins and other supplies. She’ll be delighted to share more information about the benefits of using the fertilizer and her own use of it at Harmony Acres Farm.

 

When you visit the farm, you’ll be standing on land that was originally one of the strawberry farms that dotted the Island.   In the 1940’s it was converted to a holly farm because holly was the new “cash crop”.  In 1996, when Mary and her husband, Jim, bought it, they started another chapter in the farm’s history. With heavy digging and a chainsaw, Jim removed most of the holly trees to make way for vegetables, fruit trees and two llamas. 

 

The llamas provide humorous moments as well as wool which Mary spins and sells when she has time. Her great love of gardening comes naturally from her childhood in Texas where her family had an abundant vegetable garden.  Her Texas roots can still be heard in her gentle voice as we tour the early plantings in the long raised garden beds. She does most of the planting and harvesting, and until two years ago, she produced enough vegetables and fruits to have a CSA which served up to 25 families. Now she’s scaled back a bit and only sells at the farm stand next to the house.

 

Mary and her family see gardening as a natural and comforting part of their lives, a way to know what they’re eating, what’s on it and in it. Mary would love to see enough small garden farms so that everyone would be within walking distance of fresh produce each day. It’s a wonderful vision.

 
We’re eager to hear the final results of the new fertilizer this year. In the meantime, the farm stand on New Brooklyn Road is open Wednesday through Friday (2 to 8 p.m.) You’ll find wonderful tasting fresh produce as well as that special worm fertilizer for your own garden.  For more information about the worm operation go to www.kitsapezearth.com or email Mary at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it