For those of you who have not had the pleasure of hanging out with Professor Kate Chandler, she calls dirt "black gold". She also gets very excited about the prospect of making compost. Everyone should take some inspiration from our dear English professor because we're losing valuable fertile soil at a ridiculous rate due to overuse of soil, lack of biodiversity, erosion, compaction, imbalances in organic matter, etc., thus making soil a very valuable resource. We can help to decrease the rate of our losses by helping the Earth to regain a little soil health. Composting is a solution- can you see why Kate is so excited about it?
| lasagna garden- plant right into the compost! |
| compost tumbler |
| open-air compost bin |
| hot compost bin |
To save space, posted below will be some links where you can find out more about composting. If you're too lazy to do all this reading, you could swing by the farm and ask any of the farm managers or Kate about how to compost because we partake in all of these composting methods at the farm. Just so ya know, we at the farm utilize all of our resources to make our compost and upkeep our school's sustainable agenda- food scraps from Bon App, coffee grinds from the Grind, leaves from Kate's backyard, weeds and old plants from the farm, and manual labor. It's a real community effort. So, next time you grab a coffee from the Grind or eat a cantaloupe from the Great Room- just remember that the scraps are eventually going to be dirt.
Helpful site describing the different kinds of composting: http://www.oregonmetro.gov/index.cfm/go/by.web/id=16264
How to make a lasagna garden: http://organicgardening.about.com/od/startinganorganicgarden/a/lasagnagarden.htm
An excellent compost bucket you can use in your kitchen to collect food scraps- $20 at Bed, Bath and Beyond (tested by blogger): https://www.google.com/search?q=oxo+compost+bucket&oq=oxo+compo&aqs=chrome.3.57j0l3.2912j0&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Compostable Materials
Courtesty of http://www.composterconnection.com/what-to-use.html
Include• Leaves
• Grass clippings
• Brush trimmings
• Manure (preferably organic)
• Any non-animal food scraps: fruits, vegetables, peelings, bread, cereal, coffee grounds and filters, tea leaves and tea bags (preferably minus the staples)
• Old wine
• Pet bedding from herbivores ONLY -- rabbits, hamsters, etc.
• Dry cat or dog food
• Dust from sweeping and vacuuming
• Dryer lint
• Old herbs and spices
Need Prep or Special Time
All of these items can be added to compost, but if you just toss them into a normal heap, they may still be there, virtually unchanged, a season or two later. Be prepared.
• Shredded newspaper, receipts, paper bags, etc (any non-glossy paper)
• Tissues, paper toweling, and cotton balls -- unless soaked with bacon fat, kerosene, makeup, or other stuff that doesn't belong in the pile!
• Cardboard, egg cartons, toilet rolls
• Used clothes, towels, and sheets made from natural fabrics -- cotton, linen, silk, wool, bamboo
• Old string & twine made of natural fabrics
• Pine needles
• Pine cones
• Saw dust
• Wood chips
• Nut shells
• Twigs
• Hair, human or otherwise
• Old, dry pasta
• Nut shells
• Corn cobs
• Pits from mangos, avocados, peaches, plums, etc.
• Toothpicks, wine corks
Avoid
• Raspberry & blackberry brambles
• Long twigs or big branches
Real No-Nos
• Pet droppings, especially dogs & cats
• Animal products -- meat, bones, butter, milk, fish skins
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