A record amount of San Francisco compost is being shipped to Napa and Sonoma Valley vineyards this season, acting as an important chemical-free and nutrient-rich fertilizer that grows healthier grapes.
According to Robert Reed, a spokesman for Recology, Inc., the city's waste management company, San Francisco's composting laws provide ample fodder for the finished garbage that is trucked up daily from Recology's compost plants around the Bay Area. The compost makes its way to organic farms and other agricultural outposts -- including Napa and Sonoma vineyards.
"Because the compost we're sending to vineyards is made in part from food, the compost itself becomes food for worms and bugs and microorganisms that live on the vineyards," Reed said. "It stimulates microbial activity on the vineyards and brings life to the soil of the vineyards, which means healthier vines, healthier grapes.
Fall -- right after grape harvest -- is the busiest season for
vineyards buying compost, Reed said. And San Franciscans are ready to
lend a helping handful of banana peels, yard trimmings, and coffee
grounds. As much as 50 percent of all compost that Recology ships to vineyards comes from San Francisco, according to Reed.
