CONCEPT: Composting
turns organic wastes into a valuable product.
OBJECTIVE: To
learn about composting.
MATERIALS:
Kitchen Compost
Add a mixture of some or all of the
following ingredients:
-vegetable peels and seeds
-fruit peels and seeds
-coffee grounds
-eggs shells
-nut shells
-any other vegetable or fruit scraps
Note: Do not add meat scraps, bones, dairy products, oil, or
fat. They may attract pest animals.
Yard or Garden Compost
Add a mixture of some or all of the
following ingredients:
- hay or straw
- grass clippings
- leaves
- ashes
- sawdust
- wood chips
- weeds and other garden waste
- manure
- shredded paper
KEYWORDS:
compost, biodegradation
BACKGROUND:
Composting is nature's way of recycling. Decomposition will occur
whether we help it or not. But since we produce so much waste
we get paid back when we help to speed up the composting process.
Composted material improves our gardens.
Composting is like baking a cake. Simply
add the ingredients, stir, "bake," and out comes --
compost!
Whether you compost kitchen wastes
or yard and garden wastes, there are a few basic steps to follow.
Here are the necessary ingredients and general directions for
composting.
PROCEDURE:
1. Choose a container for making your
compost. Any type of composting bin will do (chicken wire enclosure,
wooden box, etc.).
2. Place kitchen or yard wastes into
the composting bin. Chop or shred the organic materials if you
want them to compost quickly.
3. Spread soil or "already done"
compost over the compost pile. This layer contains the microorganisms
and soil animals that do the work of making the compost. It also
helps keep the surface moist. The pile should be about 4 cubic
feet in size.
4. Adjust the moisture in your compost
pile. Add dry straw or sawdust to soggy materials, or add water
to a pile that is too dry. The materials should be damp to the
touch, but not wet that drops come out when you squeeze it.
5. Allow the pile to "bake".
It should heat up quickly and reach the desired temperature (90
to 140 degree F, or 32 to 60 degree F) in four to five days.
6. "Stir" your compost as
it bakes by turning it with a pitch fork or shovel if you want
to speed up the baking time.
7. The pile will settle down from its
original height. This is a good sign that the compost is baking
properly.
8. If you mix or turn your compost
pile every week, it should be "done", or ready to use,
in one to two months. If you don't turn it, the compost should
be ready in about six to twelve months.
9. Your "best ever compost"
should look like dark crumbly soil mixed with small pieces of
organic material. It should have a sweet, earthly smell.
10. Feed compost to hungry plants by
mixing it with the soil.
FOLLOW-UP:
Try growing a few beans or other seeds
in pots, some filled with sand and others filled with a mixture
of sand and compost. Compare how well the seedlings grow. Discuss
the plants' need for nutrients and water. Sand is a poor nutrient
source and does not store water. When compost is mixed in, both
of these needs are better met. Gardeners can similarly enrich
their gardens using compost.