Starr Valley Farms

04/01/2022

01/21/2022

Feeding the Worms
by Danusha Laméris

Ever since I found out that earth worms have taste buds
all over the delicate pink strings of their bodies,
I pause dropping apple peels into the compost bin, imagine
the dark, writhing ecstasy, the sweetness of apples
permeating their pores. I offer beets and parsley,
avocado, and melon, the feathery tops of carrots.

I’d always thought theirs a menial life, eyeless and hidden,
almost vulgar—though now, it seems, they bear a pleasure
so sublime, so decadent, I want to contribute however I can,
forgetting, a moment, my place on the menu.

08/14/2021

Great class & Growing Hope, today! Many thanks to those who showed up…both old and new friends 🙏🏾 Special thanks to Farm Manager *Payton* who accommodated our every need and made us feel abundantly welcome…Thank you Brother 💪🏽👍🏽🙏🏾

06/17/2021

05/23/2021

Pulling and drying castings in advance of screening/separating next week:
A great day of new discovery in worm farming for me. I am ecstatic when clients test the limits of our systems and still achieve fantastic results. I love it even more when I can expand upon my personal experiences and witness “extreme” scenarios in worm farming. It can be mundane at times after all 😅
The job was capped off on the day with a mature Bald Eagle super low flyover. Literally about 40ft above.
Sometimes work is cool

05/18/2021

Last spring, farms across the country saw a surge in demand for their CSA programs, with signups and waitlists that flourished at rates not seen before. As families sheltered in place at home and farmers’ markets either closed or ran under tight restrictions, more people turned directly to local f...

05/16/2021

We have concluded worm sales for summer 2021. Please check back for wigglers in the fall. If you have reached out to us Prior to May 16th regarding worm purchasing, we are working our way to your email and WILL be able to process your order.

04/20/2021

Now offering 3 tiers of customer service!

04/15/2021

Holy smokes! Ya'll are ready to go! We are wading through emails, text and voicemails and responding as quickly as possible...in order of receipt. A couple Notes/requests/mentions:
-With the recent website update we have temporarily lost the ability to take online orders. After direct contact with you, we send in invoice via Paypal to be paid prior to pick-up arrangements being made. NO cash transactions at this time.
-We have implemented some pricing increases (first time ever).
-This time of year we are shooting for a 24-72 hour response time...we are BUSY with actual farming and this online web stuff stuff is ALOT to keep up with.
-Please read the information on our "Contact us" page before contacting us.
Lastly, I'd guess we have almost another month before last frost...ease up on an old fella eh? ;)

03/30/2021

We begrudgingly updated our website. Still some kinks and needed info (to come) but here it is for now. Just a reminder that we will be opening for the season April 11.
StarrValleyFarms.com

03/27/2021

Continually impressed by the excellence of this organization. Bringing imperative issues to light!
https://civileats.com/2021/03/26/op-ed-an-afro-indigenous-approach-to-agriculture-and-food-security/?fbclid=IwAR1CCuC9rR2Da9Ii1cwSP9jqeipdchz1hqcj-lkybgYq0IsHGk93Rn8Su8c

Society is finally waking up to the fact that we cannot have a healthy food system if we ignore racial justice or if we ignore the health of the land.

03/24/2021

Bee Keeping queen producers are dealing with the exact same shipping woes that we are. This issue has basically ended worm shipments for us causing a complete revamping of our business 🥴

Many of us experienced pandemic-related shipping issues over the last year-especially around the holidays. The United States Postal Service (USPS) in particular is still recovering from the holiday...

03/08/2021

We will be opening this 2021 season for limited business, beginning on April 11, 2021.

Limited business?
We are restructuring, tweaking our goals and thinning out our product offerings this year.
Why?
The old man's back & hips, catastrophic shipment delays and not enough hours in a day. That said, we will be offering a couple new big surprises...hint: Natural Farming Preps and cultures! More on those later this spring.

Big Worm - out!

03/02/2021

White Springtails are a regular inhabitant of mature and healthy vermiculture systems. Meet one of their more cold tolerant cousins...chances are you've already met ;)

It's that time of year again, sugar maple sap is flowing and springtails are in the air... well, a few inches into the air anyway!

In case you're not yet familiar with these tiny jumping critters, this species of springtail (aka snow fleas, scientific name Hypogastrura nivicola) make their own version of natural antifreeze that is being studied for potential use in medical as well as culinary applications. Not only are they harmless to humans, they are an essential part of forest soil health and work together with microbes and fungi to break down organic matter.