Posts Tagged: compost

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15
Apr 11

Food Waste Composting

Food Wastes to Compost Or Not

DO COMPOST – For food compost it is important to use a plastic or metal compost bin:

- All your vegetable and fruit wastes, including rinds and cores even if they are moldy.
- Coffee grounds, tea bags and filters
- Crushed egg shells
- Stale bread, donuts, cookies, crackers, all foodstuffs produced from flour.
- Grains (cooked or uncooked): rice
- Fruit or vegetable pulp from making juice
- Expired boxed foods from the pantry; pasta
- Corn cobs and husks (cobs decompose very slowly)

DON’T COMPOST

- Meat or meat waste, such as bones, fat, gristle, skin, etc.
- Fish or fish waste
- Dairy products, such as cheese, butter, yogurt, cream cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream,
- Grease and oils

The Decision to Live Green

Home composting of food products is the decision to live green. Store scraps in plastic bags in your refrigerator until you can place them in your compost bin. While preparing food, chop up scraps so they take up less space until placed in your compost bin. Scraps can be placed in a Kitchen Compost Pail until taken to your compost bin

The Kitchen Compost Pail

The best way to store food scraps until thrown into the compost bin is in a kitchen compost pail with a snap on secure lid. This pail can be kept under the sink. The kitchen scrap pail should have a secure lid, be washable, and have a handle. A plastic pail with a tight fitting lid is ideal.

Empty your kitchen scrap container daily or every few days, depending upon how much waste you generate. Placing a damp paper towel or damp newspaper over the contents of the pail will help keep down the odor.

The best size pail to store food scraps is a 4-5 gallon lidded bucket. This 4 to 5 gallon bucket can be easily found at your local hardware store. Keep the bucket near your back door. Line the lid with newspaper to cut down on gnats and odors.

Here’s a good process to cut down on odors or gnats. Keep nearby a small pail of finished compost, sawdust or peat moss, Scoop a large spoon full of this material and sprinkle it on the top of the newly-added food scraps. This will cut down on the odors and gnats.

The Cone Shaped Composter

There are several cone shaped composting bins available on the market to make composting easy. The bottom portion of these types of compost bins have aeration holes and are buried about 2 feet in the ground. This keeps the odors generated by decomposition to a minimum. The portion of the compost bin that is above ground is sealed when the lid is closed to keep out animals.

These types of compost bins aren’t designed to compost grass clippings but are specifically for composting vegetable food waste. This type of compost bin should be set in direct sunlight. The heat generated from the direct sun exposure aids in the decomposition process.

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12
Mar 11

Home Vegetable Gardening – Recycling Food Waste

San Francisco, California recently enacted a law where people will put their food scraps in a red container and have that container picked up by the local municipality waste collection department. The idea is to separate the food waste from other garbage so the food wastes can be recycled into compost.

While the concept of what they are doing is a noble one, the cost to do it makes no sense whatsoever. The reason being is the fuel used to power the trucks to pick up the food waste is a far much more expenditure than the resulting compost that can be produced.

A better solution to recycling food waste into useable compost is the one I am about to outline here in this article. It requires little effort on your part and absolutely no cost in fuel and transportation. The best part is the ecosystem does all of the work for you.

Every person in North America creates some kind of food waste. Obviously the larger family you have the more likely you are going to create a larger amount of waste. Most people do one of two things with that food waste. They either flush down their sink via the means of a garbage disposal, or they simply throw it in the regular trash. Both methods are wasting what could be the best fertilizer for your soil.

When food waste is broken down by bacteria and other living organisms the result is compost. This compost, when added to your soil, increases the amount micro and macro nutrients required to grow strong and healthy plants.

The food recycle method I am about to describe is what I call the lazy person’s method. Why? Because it requires no “real” physical activity on your part. Here is how it is done.

Get yourself a container of some sort, I like to use a large Tupperware bowl. This is the container where you will putt all of your food scraps. Any food waste that would normally go into the trash or down the sink will now go into this container.

What goes into the container? Left over dinner, shredded newspaper, cotton clothing with plastic and metal pieces removed, coffee grinds and filters, tea bags and so on. What does not go into the container? Chicken or steaks bones, aluminum foil, plastics, laminated paper etc.

Now that your container is full what do you do with it? Grab yourself a shovel, go to your backyard and dig a hole about 18 inches deep. Then pour the contents of your container into that hole and then cover with the dirt. You have just now recycled your food waste. From this point forward the ecosystem that lives underneath your soil will take over. Worms, bacteria and other organisms will break this down for you and turn it into compost.

That’s it! You just recycle your food waste and didn’t have to pay someone to haul it away. Just remember to mark the spot where you buried the food waste and do not dig in that same spot within 60 days.

I have been using this method my entire life, first helping my dad with his garden and now with my own and the results to my vegetable gardening have been incredible and I know yours will too. Watch as you continue to use this method as the volume of your soil will actually increase!

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22
Oct 10

Home Vegetable Gardening – Growing Arugula

Arugula is a very popular green to add to any salad or as a stand alone side to your dinner or lunch. And who can resist, it is enriched with plenty of Vitamins A, C, K and Folate as well as the nutritional minerals Calcium and Potassium. Its rich peppery taste also makes arugula a good choice to use in pasta dishes. Here is how you can grow some great tasting arugula in your home vegetable garden.

Arugula is a colder weather crop and germinates best in a soil temperature in the range of forty to fifty-five degrees Fahrenheit. As soon as you work the soil (after the freeze is over) you can begin planting arugula.

Arugula is typical to many other vegetables in that it likes a pH level in the soil to be as neutral as possible. Test your soil to make sure the level sits above six and as close to seven as possible. You can get a pH soil tester at any home or garden center for a few bucks.

Sow the arugula seeds no deeper than a quarter inch and no closer than six inches. This gives the seed the ability to break through the top soil and the roots to spread out and grow strong underneath.

Arugula requires moderate and even watering and if you are growing it in a cold frame you can lighten up the water even further. It can grow in full sun but also grows well in partial shade making this plant very versatile as far as where you can place it in the garden.

When the arugula leaves are two to three inches they are ready to be harvested. This usually occurs as soon as 3 weeks after the seeds germinate. Simply cut the leaves off, give them a quick rinse and pat dry with a paper towel and they are ready for consumption.

Good companion plants include beets, carrots, cucumbers, potatoes and spinach where as bad companion plants include pole beans and strawberries.

There are many healthy benefits to this great addition to your home vegetable garden, but as you can also see, it is very easy to grow, and you can add it to your early spring and late fall crop.

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26
Aug 10

Seven Top Tips For a Successful Vegetable Plot

More and more people are being turned on to the benefits of growing their own food.

What was once a pastime for the “knit your own sandals” brigade is now an activity for the masses and to prove the point, waiting lists for allotments in the UK are the longest they have ever been.

You first battle then, is to find a suitable piece of land for your plot.

Once you have acquired your potential larder, you will want to make it as productive as you can and here’s how:

1. Keep your plot as environmentally friendly as you can. Instead of using new plastic plant pots, either re-use old ones or better still, make your own pots from old newspapers which will eventually compost down into the soil.

2. Realise that a 250 square metre plot can produce almost three quarters of a ton of food each year – that’s a potential saving of ?500!

3. Weeds are very powerful – your plot may be over run in a single season. Make sure that any unplanted areas are covered with some sort of membrane – old carpets are good for this.

4. The soil is your friend and provider. Make sure that you keep feeding your plot with the nutrients your crops will need. Make your own compost and feed it back into the soil.

5. Protect your plot from pests. Slugs, snails, caterpillars, birds, mice and rabbits can all decimate a plot in very short order. Try to work with nature to control and deter these pests and a bountiful harvest is yours for the taking.

6. Don’t go berserk when sowing seeds or you’ll end up with feast then famine. Spread your sowing over several weeks to ensure a steady supply of fresh produce. Remember you aren’t able to irradiate your harvested crops to preserve them in the same way as supermarkets – it’s always best to eat your veg just after it comes out of the ground.

7. Don’t lose heart. A vegetable plot can be hard work – weeds, pests, and the climate in your area can be formidable foes. Start simple and adopt a little and often approach and you’ll find vegetable growing hooks you forever.

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6
Aug 10

Five Items You Can Recycle and Use in Your Vegetable Garden

Vegetable gardeners were going green long before “green” went main stream. We have been recycling food waste for decades, storing up rain water in barrels to use when the weather runs dry and so many other things.

But now that the world has finally caught on with the green movement, it is time to pass along a list of items that many might overlook and consider trash, but really are great to use in the vegetable garden.

Cardboard Egg Cartons
If you buy your eggs in Styrofoam cartons then you have to switch to the cardboard carton variety. Cardboard egg cartons, besides being able to be recycled with regular cardboard, can be shredded and mixed in your compost bin and also make great plant seed starters. Simply cut small drainage holes in the bottom of each of the twelve cups, fill with potting soil, add your seeds and water. Once they germinate and you see about two inches of growth, cut the carton so that you separate the cups from one another and then plant the entire cup.

One Gallon Plastic Milk Containers
I can give you two uses for each before you send them to the recycle center. First, rinse the containers out to make sure all the milk residue is gone. Then fill to about an inch from the top with water, put the cap back on and stick the entire container in the freezer. In about a day you will have a nice solid block of ice you can use at your next barbecue to cool down those drinks. When the ice is ready, run some luke warm water on the outside so the ice inside detaches from the plastic sides. Take a utility knife and cut the container in half, in other words separating the top of the container from the bottom. This will allow you to remove the ice. Now take bottom half and drill some holes in the bottom and you have an excellent pot for flowers and plants and the top makes for a great protector against the cold air at night.

Reuse that Old Hose
Before you toss that old hose into the trash, create for yourself your very own soaker hose. Poke plenty of holes in the sides of the hose so that when you turn the water on it drips through the holes you just created.

Pantyhose, Old Socks and T-Shirts
Don’t just toss them into the trash, you can use them to tie up your plants. Tomatoes have weak stems and instead of splurging on the Velcro ties you can cut up some old socks and t-shirts and use them instead.

Newspaper
Done reading the paper yet? Is your neighbor? Good! Newspaper makes a great weed barrier and also great mulch for the compost bin. To use as a weed barrier in your garden, lay the newspaper down, cover with grass clippings, and wet it down with your hose. To use in your compost bin, shred the newspaper and just throw it in there.

Trash is only trash if you can’t think of anything to do with it. As more people get involved with the green movement, especially those that plant vegetable gardens, we will start finding even more ways to keep our garbage out of landfills.

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29
Mar 10

Compost Crock

Have you recently started a compost bin but find that it’s an annoying chore to constantly bring your kitchen scraps out to it??What good is a compost bin outside when most of the stuff that you want to put into it is in your kitchen??If you want to collect kitchen scraps for your compost bin you should really own a compost crock.?/p>

A compost crock looks like a cookie jar but instead of storing cookies in it, you store garbage.?Put your used coffee grinds, eggshells, vegetable peelings or fruit rinds in there for safekeeping.?When it’s filled up, then you bring it out to your compost bin.?What could be easier??Now there’s no need to walk outside every time you make a cup of coffee or peel a carrot.?Just pop the waste into your kitchen compost crock and you can take it outside another time.?/p>

Now you may be thinking that it sounds pretty gross to store this waste in your kitchen.?Well don’t worry about smells because you can get a compost crock with a filter built right into the lid.?With a carbon filter eliminating the odors, you won’t even know it’s in your kitchen.?/p>

Kitchen composters come in either stainless steel or ceramic versions so choose one that best fits the d飯r of your kitchen.?Now just because you can save your organic waste in a kitchen crock doesn’t mean that it’s okay to get lazy and never empty the contents into your compost bin.?Now that would be gross.?Depending on the size of your family you will probably have to empty it at least once a week.?I suggest owning two compost crocks.?/p>

After you empty your indoor composter, it’s a good idea to rinse it out.?A quick blast from the hose while you’re outside is fine or you can clean it back in your kitchen sink.?Every once in a while you may want to give it a thorough cleaning in the dishwasher.?/p>

Stop throwing away those banana peels, tea bags and anything else that could be used in your compost bin to make an terrific organic fertilizer.?It’s almost like throwing out money.?A compost crock will make saving these items more convenient and that will make composting more convenient too.

You can learn more about kitchen composting and other great ways to reduce your waste by making organic, chemical-free compost at TheCompostBin.com

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27
Mar 10

Garden Composter – How Long to Make Compost?

So you’re a garden composter. You’ve learned how to make compost. You’ve made, bought, borrowed or stolen a compost bin. You’re adding garden waste and recycling kitchen scraps. Now the awkward bit – the wait… How long will it take to make the compost?

If you have a reasonably large compost bin (say 1 metre cubed), the chances are you could go on filling it indefinitely. As you add to the top, the garden and kitchen waste underneath will slowly be decomposing, composting and creating humus. As it does this the organic matter shrinks. That leaves you more room on the top, to add more garden and kitchen waste. The dilemma is, if you never run out of space for the garden waste, chances are you will just go on and on, adding more and never seeing the benefit of the rich garden compost you have made!

For those of you with smaller compost bins such as the beehive compost bin, or a kitchen composter, no such worries. You will run out of space relatively quickly and so automatically stop adding more garden waste and naturally wait patiently for your new garden compost to be created. In your case you will have discovered pretty quickly that you need at least two compost bins!

Time Limit for Creating the Compost Heap

Unless you have a compost bin you easily fill quickly, you’ll need to set yourself a time limit for creating the compost heap. And, you will need to stick to it! The very best way to do this, is to keep a record of when you started your compost pile. Then, according to available space and time you expect to take to fill it, assign yourself a date when you will stop putting garden waste on that heap.

We have various compost heaps of different sizes from 1/2m cubed to 1m cubed. For the smaller compost piles I give myself 3 months in which to create the pile. For the larger, we give them 6 months of ‘creation’. Once that date is reached we cap off the compost heap and start creating another.

‘Capping Off’ a Compost Heap

For those using sealed compost bins, this step is not required. But if you’re making compost out in the open, for example in a wooden bay with no lid, you need to protect the compost heap from the elements a little.

* Firstly, if its been dry throw on a bucket or two of water to moisten the whole heap.
* Then add a layer of thick insulating organic matter. such as grass clippings or manure. This will keep the heap warm, and seal in smells so no vermin (or pets) are attracted to the compost.
* If you experience heavy rain, cover with old carpet, plastic sheeting or an old tarpaulin to deflect the heaviest rainwater.
* Note down the date of ‘compost heap completion’.
* Wait!

When will the Compost be Ready?

Okay, so how long you wait for the compost to be ready depends primarily on the following:

* Climate – in warmer weather decomposition is faster.
* Moisture – you need to ensure the compost heap is moist (not saturated) throughout the time you’re waiting for it to develop into full blown garden compost.
* Content Size – lots of thick woody things will take longer to decompose than lots of small sappy things.
* Content Type – most garden and kitchen waste will break down pretty fast (within three months so long as it isn’t too cold, the particles are well mixed and of relatively small size). But certain foodstuffs such as bones and egg-shells are pretty dense. These will take 6 months or more to break down. Manure from people (humanure) or animals from non organic farms may contain veterinary chemical residues. These will be gone in three months. But if you farm organically and sell your produce, you may need to adhere to Soil Association guidelines requiring you not to use such composts (including non-organic pig or poultry manure) for up to six months.

Yes, But How Long do I Need to Wait for My Compost?

As a rule of thumb. If it doesn’t get too cold, and you’ve been a good garden composter, building a varied compost heap it should be crumbly hummus in three months. You may still see the odd egg-shell or bleached bone (in which case throw them on the next compost heap, and bash them up a bit before adding to heaps in the future), but overall your garden compost will be complete.

If you add manure from any omnivores or carnivores and you are unsure the heap has been working efficiently give the pile six months before using.

How to Tell the Compost Heap is Working Efficiently.

I recommend regularly having a cheeky look under the cover of your compost heap to see how its getting on. If it seems very dry you can add some water. If the compost seems very wet you can leave the cover off and let it dry out!

Your compost should get hot within the first month of you ‘capping off’ the compost heap. At times the compost can actually be dangerously hot so be careful. If you see steam, don’t touch it! I have been caught out by decomposing grass clippings, which break down so quickly and give off such huge amounts of heat and steam, to burn the hands when checking the compost heap.

This heat is the thing that quickly kills off any nasty pathogens in the compost heap. Those pathogens will most likely come from food and manure. They’re nothing to worry about so long as you remember strict hygiene rules when dealing with compost (you’re not going to eat it, now are you?).

Cold Compost Tip: If your compost doesn’t get hot, decomposition will still occur, but may take a little longer. This is particularly common in cool climates where the compost struggles to become a quick hot heap.

Once the compost has heated, it will cool again. At this point – when you see no more steam, you can turn the compost.

Turning a Compost Heap

Now, some people swear that you have to turn compost and others (like myself) swear you don’t! Personally, if the compost is heating up nicely and decomposing I really don’t see the point. But, a compost heap which isn’t turned may run the (not too serious) risk of having non-decomposed matter around its edges. But, because we’ve ‘capped off’ the compost heap with garden waste which breaks down easily we shouldn’t have that problem!

I never turn my compost heaps. Occasionally I do find the odd woody bit of matter around the edges of the heap that hasn’t completely broken down. I don’t see it as a major problem. I just throw any such bits and bobs onto the next heap.

But, if you really want to turn your compost heap. Here is how its done:

* Pull everything out of your compost bin or compost making area.
* Put everything back in your compost bin, or compost heap area.

Not complicated at all. But, you do need to make sure the stuff originally from around the edges of the heap, goes into the middle of your new one. And, conversely all the stuff originally from the middle of the heap, goes around the edges of the new one. Once the compost heap has been turned, you should find it will heat up again which will speed up decomposition.

Unless you have a compost heap which is free-standing and cold with no organic matter you can insulate it or cap it off with, I find turning the heap unnecessary.

Don’t turn your compost heap unless you need to, and are going to do it thoroughly. Otherwise it will be a waste of time for a huge amount of effort.

When is My Compost Ready?

I hope this post helps. A well made compost heap should be ready in three to six months. But, any garden composter will vary due to site and contents. How long compost takes to be ready is highly variable. If you use plastic or wooden sealed compost bins you can be pretty sure the compost will be ready in three months, as they ensure the compost stays moist and warm.

Our compost heaps are built in open boxes made of pallets, so are halfway between a free-standing compost heap and compost made in a compost bin. In the summer our compost heaps take less than three months to break down, but in the winter it is four or five.

And when yours is ready grow some lovely potatoes like the ones above!

I have lots more articles on gardening. Please check out my page and go to my blog from there!

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16
Mar 10

Organic Gardening – Microorganisms and Composting

To have a successful composting system you need some key ingredients, carbon rich material, nitrogen rich material and microorganisms to decompose the organic matter. Bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes are the three main microorganisms that account for the majority of the decomposition process in a compost pile. They are what is known as chemical decomposers, they change the chemistry of organic matter. There are also larger organisms that work just as hard in the process of decomposition, these are called macroorganisms. Earthworms are the most commonly known of these organisms to the home gardener, others include beetles, centipedes, slugs, spiders and flatworms. They all aid in the decomposition process by chewing, grinding and tearing organic material into smaller pieces.

The most important all these organisms in your compost pile is the aerobic bacteria and there population can be incredible. In one gram of soil there can be millions. They are the most diverse of all organisms and can devour just about anything.

Bacteria, although it can eat it’s way through a variety of organic material, it is not indestructible. The environment can be it’s worst enemy. The change of temperature, moisture and oxygen can harm and kill off bacteria as well as help it. The proper percentage of these three elements are very critical in composting to have a successful ending product.

Compost piles have more than one type of bacteria and there population will vary depending on the temperature of the compost pile. Psychrophilic bacteria is one that works in a pile with low temperature, Mesophilic bacteria for mid temperatures and the heat loving Thermophilic bacteria for high temperatures.

Along with the various types of bacteria that is needed to work the compost pile, there are other higher forms like Actinomycetes. It is a bacteria that is similar to a fungi or mold,

Composting is a basic process that can easily be preformed by the home gardener, but when you get into the compost pile you will find out the large amount of complexity that makes it work.

A environment friendly and healthy way of gardening. Organic Gardening is away of gardening in harmony with nature. Growing a healthy and productive crop in a way that is healthier for both you and the environment.

John Yazo

http://www.organicheirloomgardening.com

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16
Mar 10

Organic Gardening – How to Create a Garden by Sheet Composting Your Organic Waste

Sheet composting is a method that you add layer upon layer of organic materials on top of each other and let them cook down or decompose over a period of time. It is also an eco- friendly way to garden. As the organic material decomposes it turns into a rich humus loose soil that is ideal for growing your crops directly in. It is also a great way to create a garden in an area that is hard to dig or can’t be dug at all.

This method of composting is a method that is regularly used in a no-dig garden. It is a way to create a natural environment for all the beneficial organisms in the soil to work the garden soil for you. Building a healthy organic soil structure is what you want when organic gardening. This organic matter is what is needed to supply the soil food web and help create a healthy environment.

The materials that can be sheet composted are the same materials that you would put into your compost pile or bin. All your organic yard waste as well as organic household waste can be included and there is no labor involved but to carry it out to the area you are composting and spread it out.

Start you on sheet composting operation in your own yard and create a healthy environment that your crops will benefit from. They will have a steady supply of all the natural nutrients needed for them to thrive and produce a healthy and high yielding crop.

A environment friendly and healthy way of gardening. Organic Gardening is away of gardening in harmony with nature. Growing a healthy and productive crop in a way that is healthier for both you and the environment.

John Yazo

http://www.organicheirloomgardening.com

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26
Jan 10

How to Make Liquid Fertilizer From Your Compost

There is something better than compost, compost tea. It is a nutrient rich liquid fertilizer made from compost that can be applied either as a foliar spray or soil drench method. There are several benefits that compost tea have over the traditional method of adding compost to the soil. When compost tea is sprayed to the foliage of plants it helps to suppress foliage disease and it increases the available nutrients to the plant. The use of compost tea as a soil drench enhances the existing microbes in the soil. These microbes are very important in improving the soils structure by enhancing the decomposition of organic matter in the soil. This is where plants get the nutrients they need to survive.

A basic way to make compost tea is by placing a cloth bag filled with compost into a pail of water and letting it soak for a couple days.The water solution is then applied to the plants as a foliage spray or used to water there root system. There is another method of making compost tea by the use of aeration and water. This process keeps the oxygen levels in the compost tea from depleting which in return enhances the aerobic microorganisms that are the ones that are the most beneficial.

Compost tea can also be made for a specific use. It can be made to be dominated by either bacteria or fungi. Which way you want to dominate it depends on the plants you are growing or the soil condition you are improving. Compost tea can be a highly sophisticated method depending on how much you want to work at it.The benefits that you can get from the use of compost tea are extremely rewarding.

Any way you choose to apply it you will have a nutrient rich water solution that can be use to feed your plants and help defend insect and disease problems in your garden.

A environment friendly and healthy way of gardening. Organic Gardening is away of gardening in harmony with nature. Growing a healthy and productive crop in a way that is healthier for both you and the environment.

John Yazo

http://www.organicheirloomgardening.com