Roosevelt Island Adults And Kids Invited To Big Reuse Biodynamic Gardening & Composting Workshop With LIC's Smiling Hogshead Ranch Founder Gil Lopez May 10 At The Roosevelt Island Public Library

Gil Lopez from Big Reuse and the Smiling Hogshead Ranch in Long Island City is presenting a free Intro to Biodynamic Gardening & Composting on May 10 at the NYPL Roosevelt Island branch.

The workshop is in partnership with RI Garden Club, iDig2Learn, Green Roosevelt Island Neighbors (GRIN) and Big Reuse. Funding is from City Council Member Julie Menin’s office. 

According to this February 15, 2023 Washington Post article:

... “It’s part methodology, part philosophy,” says Maggie Hyde, co-owner of Wisconsin’s Petal Back Farm, which incorporates biodynamic practices in growing its floral crops. “The biodynamic garden should be thought of as an organism. The idea is to create a diverse ecosystem, which creates resilience, and to give back more to the ecosystem than you take out.”

Proponents of the practice also highlight the benefits for the gardener. “The nutrient density of the food is increased, the flavors are typically enhanced and the shelf life of the crops will be longer,” says Joseph Brinkley, director of regenerative farming at the Bonterra Organic Estates vineyard in Hopland, Calif., which incorporates biodynamic practices....

Click here for the full article.

Here's a 2014 story on LIC's Smiling Hogshead Ranch.

In 2021, Gil Lopez led a Big Reuse Compost Bike Tour which included a stop at the Roosevelt Island Haki Compost Collective Food Scrap Drop Off site. Here's some of what happened.