Free the Seeds event cultivates agricultural learning

The eighth annual Free the Seeds event returns to the Flathead Valley Saturday, with a host of events and speakers — this year with a theme of cultivating community.

The event will showcase many things, including a seed swap, more than 20 booths where participants can learn about what supports the local community food system and how to support sustainability.

One of the featured speakers Alissa LaChance is the owner and operator of Dirt Rich Compost, an industrial scale compost company, where the focus is on regenerative agriculture.

“We are turning [food waste] into a product that is important for soil,” LaChance said. “We are kind of this interesting connection point between food waste and then growing food again.”

LaChance is participating in two events at the Free the Seeds.

During a question and answer session, LaChance hopes will bring numerous people to the table to better understand composting and the food system. The second is a soil ecology information session where interested parties will learn about the chemical, biological, and physical properties of soil and the natural cycles that take place to understand how different management practices affect growing abilities.

“We want to bring more people to the table to understand as a community how our actions are participating in this cycle or, if you will, divesting from it and the issues it can cause,” LaChance said.

Originally from Whitefish, LaChance moved back to the valley after attending the University of Montana where she majored in sustainable agriculture. At the time, her friend had a booth at the Whitefish Farmers Market which showcased two compost bins.

It wasn’t until a sustainability coordinator with Xanterra — the hospitality company that manages Glacier National Park’s lodges and provides other services in the park — approached the booth in 2015 and asked if they would be interested in composting on a large scale. Thus, Dirt Rich was born.

Seven years later, Dirt Rich now provides composting for around 35 businesses and numerous households for anywhere from $22 a month to $275, depending on if it's residential or commercial and how many bins and pickups a customer needs a week.

The company also has bear proof bins located throughout the valley for individuals to drop their food waste for $15 a month.

In the summertime, the company composts upwards of 8,000 gallons of material a week at their facility in Columbia Falls.

Composting is a controlled, aerobic process that converts organic material — like food scraps — into a nutrient-rich soil addition, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The agency says that composting is a resourceful waste management strategy, involves minimal effort, and builds healthier soil.

“Food comes from the soil, we want to get it back to the soil,” LaChance said.

Dirt Rich is not certified organic because they accept BPI Certified compostable plastics, but beyond that follow the same guidelines that are required of businesses selling organic compost.

The mix is composed of food waste, wood chips, spray free hay, garden cutback, and other natural material; each pile of compost is moderated for four to six months before the compost is ready to be used.

“Our compost is fully cured,” LaChance said. “So it's a specific stage in the end that we want to give the mixture at least a month of it to break down, cool down, and be stable.”

LaChance has participated in Free the Seeds in past years. She looks forward to the growing community getting the opportunity to gather together and share tools, tactics, and information.

The organization that runs the event, Land to Hand MT, expects more than 1,000 people to attend. The day includes 25 educational workshops, along with four workshops geared toward kids ages 8 to 12. Todd Uizilo from Two Bear Farm, who is an expert in growing vegetables in the Flathead Valley, will also be speaking.

The fair is free and runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m in the Flathead Valley Community College Arts and Technology Building.

More information, including an event schedule, can be found at https://landtohandmt.org/programs/free-the-seeds/.

Reporter Kate Heston can be reached at kheston@dailyinterlake.com or at 758-4459.