Charles Darwin's last book, The Formation of Vegetable Mould Through the Action of Worms, was about the importance of worms. Taking a page out of Darwin's book, Pro-Organic Belize invited self-described worm farmer Graham Herbert to talk on Earth Day about his 100% organic fertilizer, made in Belize, worm castings. The 'wormiculture' expert explained that use of worms to build up soil is properly called vermiculture.
Pro-Organic Belize (POB), founded in 2016, recently held its annual general meeting via Zoom. Elected to the board of directors to serve for two years were Karin Wesdyk, Josie Flowers, and Keon Clare. They join Mary Loan, Dottie Feucht, Robin Clarke, Dr. Sophia Clarke, and John Briggs who serve until 2022.
Discussed at the meeting were highlights of the previous year, including monthly speakers which started as a Tuesday afternoon event and ended with a change to Saturdays at 3:00 to accommodate a wider audience. Speakers in 2020 included Dr. Rosita Arvigo who spoke on Medicinal Herbs, Dr. Ed Boles on Watersheds, Helen Choco on CATIE Projects in Belize, Fay Garnet on Agroforestry Systems and Aurelio Sho on Our Forests are our Future. Other speakers for 2020 included Kim Ringland who spoke on Landscaping with Native Herbs, Gary Ramirez on Improving Agriculture, and Henry Peller on Seed Saving.
Well-known herbalist Dr. Rosita Arvigo, in a video conference with Pro-Organic Belize members last week, updated them on her 40 years’ experience of organic gardening. According to Dr. Arvigo, her essential roles with gardening has brought shares of failures and success.
While gardening on a one-acre plot, some 1,800 feet above the Macal River, she discovered that her vegetable production had decreased and the topsoil became hard and brittle. That problem was solved with several bags of compost obtained from the nearby Chaa Creek Resort.
Today, Dr. Arvigo maintains a vegetable garden that during one season can produce ingredients for 500 salads. Her varied products have medicinal values as well.