8009 ‎(2)‎

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 8009
• Author: Natural Resources Law Center.
• Title: Restoring the Waters.
• USFW Year: 1997.
• USFW - Doc Type: Boulder, CO.
• Copyright Material: YES

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As John Texiera says,
"People don't realize it,
but soil is alive."
Compost from cotton gin trash
Trash donated by a local gin is laid
out in fields in long piles about
three feet high. Since the key to
creating compost is the right mixture
of water and oxygen, each pile is
periodically sprayed with water and
stirred far 90 to 120 days. According
to John, residues of pesticides and
other contaminants in the cotton gin
trash are removed by the intense heat
(up to 140° F) created by micro-
organisms inside a compost pile.
John Texiera, Los Banos, California
John Texiera farms on the west side of
California's Central Valley. Soils in this
region are high in salts and low in organic
matter, inducing most farmers to use high
levels of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.
John, athird-generation farmer, has a
vision and a plan for rebuilding the soil
fertility and reducing the use of chemicals
and water.
Most of John's acreage is devoted to
growing tomatoes, both for the fresh
market and for processing. After two years
of tomatoes, he rotates with either melons
or cotton. About 12% of his fresh market
tomatoes and 20% of his processing
tomatoes are grown organically.
Water Management
For the past eight years, John has utilized
subsurface drip irrigation equipment,
which is currently used on less than 1 % of
California's irrigated acreage. Although it
took him at least a year to get the drip
system working efficiently, he reports
reducing water use by as much as 50%
(from 32 inches per acre under furrow to
16 inches per acre under drip). John also
adds his synthetic nitrogen fertilizer
directly to the irrigation water in a process
called fertigation. Because the fertilizer is
directed beneath plant roots, he has
reduced fertilizer use by 25%. Drip tubing
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has the added advantage of not watering
weeds that grow between the tomato beds,
thereby reducing the need for herbicides.
Another distinguishing feature of John's
approach to farming is his extensive soil-
building program. On 14 acres of land he
has developed 7,500 tons of compost
derived from cotton gin trash, the woody
parts of the cotton plant left over from
harvest that would otherwise be disposed
of as waste.
A primary benefit of adding compost to
the soil is the creation of organic matter,
which increases the soil's water holding
capacity. For every 1 % increase in organic
matter, the soil retains an additional 50
pounds of water. In just 10 months, John
has seen the addition of compost increase
his organic matter from 0.9 to 1.2%. For
John, getting into the business of using
compost has made farming fun again.
For More Information Contact:
Ronnie Cohen
Natural Resources Defense Council
71 Stevenson Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]
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