It’s Spring—Time for Llama Beans!

Soroptimist International of Novato will be selling their famous “Llama Beans” again this year from 9 am to 12 noon on Organic Gardening Day, April 14, 2012, in front of Pini Ace Hardware.

What are llama beans?  Llama beans are the natural output of llamas—in short, llama poop. And llama poop turns out to be one of the most desirable fertilizers available. It is organic, can be spread right on the garden without composting, has a compact pellet size (similar to deer droppings), is virtually odor free (can be used indoors), is almost completely devoid of weed seeds, and is not “hot” (it has a nitrogen analysis of about 1.7 percent).

Carole Bennett, the president of Soroptimist International of Novato, owns llamas. Carole and her husband collect the manure on the hill behind their home. Club members meet in their garage in order to fill and tie about 200 bags of llama beans. This project is the ultimate in recycling—the bags are made by club members out of old sheets. Bags hold approximately 2 quarts and are priced at $4.99.

Profits from the sale provide funding for our annual Violet Richardson award to a local young woman (14-17 years of age) engaged in volunteer action within her community or school. To learn more about our llama beans, check out our llama bean website (www.marinllamabeans.com). You can learn more about Soroptimist International of Novato there, too.