by Cody Marx Bailey on October 9, 2008
Courtesy of Ohio State University and Reposted from Organic Consumers
Composting is a great way to discard yard waste and kitchen scraps. In many cases, it’s more economical than paying to have these wastes hauled away. And you can improve the health of your soil by adding the compost to your garden or yard.
To construct a composting area, determine the size. “A large compost pile will insulate itself and hold the heat of microbial activity,” said Joe Heimlich, environmental science leader for Ohio State University Extension. “Its center will be warmer than its edges. Piles smaller than 3 feet cubed (27 cu. ft.)will have trouble holding this heat, while piles larger than 5 feet cubed (125 cu. ft.) don’t allow enough air to reach the microbes at the center. These proportions are of importance only if your goal is a fast, hot compost. Slower composting requires no exact proportions.”
First, remove the grass and sod from the designated area. This allows decaying materials direct contact with soil microorganisms. Heimlich suggests the following “recipe” for constructing compost heaps that work the fastest:
- First layer: about 3-4 inches of chopped brush or other coarse material on top of the soil surface allow air circulation around the base of the heap.
- Second layer: About 6-8 inches of mixed scraps, leaves, grass clippings or sawdust. Materials should be “sponge damp.”
- Third layer: One inch of soil serves as an innoculant by adding microorganisms to the heap.
- Fourth layer (optional): About 2-3 inches of manure will provide the nitrogen needed by microorganisms. Sprinkle lime, wood ashes and/or rock phosphate over the layer of manure to reduce the heap’s acidity. Add water if the manure is dry.
- Fifth layer: Repeat steps 1-4 until the bin is almost full. Top off the heap with a 4-6 inch layer of straw and scoop out a basin at the top to catch rainwater.
Your compost heap should reach temperatures between 120 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit in four to five days. The pile should then begin to settle-a sign the heap is working properly.
After five or six weeks, move materials into a new pile and turn the contents so that the outside of the old heap is now the center of the new heap. Add water if necessary.
Your compost should be ready to use in three to four months. For spring compost, start a heap in late autumn. For fall compost, start a pile in early spring. The more often you turn the pile, the faster you will have compost. Check the internal temperature regularly and if it changes substantially (usually after about a week), turn the pile.
You’ll know when your compost is done “baking” because it will be dark brown, crumbly and earthy-smelling. Be sure to let it stabilize for a few extra days and screen it through a half-inch screen if you want a finely textured material.
For more detailed information, read Composting at home http://www.countrysidemag.com/issues/83/83-5/composting_at_home.html
by Cody Marx Bailey on August 28, 2008
I found a wonderful article on growing a 4-season garden. Melinda, from the pacific Northwest, describes some of the things she learned while ignoring the conventional rules and doing what she was determined to do. Here’s a quote:
When I moved to Geyserville, California in May of last year, I was excited to grow my own food for the first time. But immediately my neighbors dashed my hopes. They told me that it was too late to grow much this year - that I’d have to wait until next year. Sure enough, I found a pamphlet put out by the local Master Gardeners, confirming that it was too late to plant most crops.
Fortunately, I didn’t listen.
Matt and I first amended the soil. Then we made garden beds. And then, between mid-June and mid-July, we finally got in our tomatoes, peppers, summer squash, winter squash, runner beans, bush beans, tomatillos, ground cherries, beets, carrots, radishes, scallions, corn, oregano, cilantro, fennel, and loads of salad greens of all different types. Plus worms and microbes to help them along. A few weeks later we planted kohlrabi, brussels sprouts, kale, more winter squash, melons, and started successional planting our greens and carrots.
Link: How To Grow A Four-Season Garden - Part 1
by Cody Marx Bailey on August 18, 2008
I did the math tonight and I think you could get about 40 tomatos for $7 if you followed the steps that I have. What you basically1 need is a 5-gallon bucket, rocks, soil, compost and lastly, the tomato plants.
I found that fast food restaurants and bakeries get their supplies/ingredients in 5-gallon buckets and instead of recycling them they just toss them out. If you go in and ask a manager to set them beside the dumpster instead of throwing them away you could conceivably recover 5 or 6 per week.
Cost: $0
Take one of these 5-gallon buckets and be on the look out for rocks/gravel/pebbles. You’ll want to make sure that they are not hazardous to your mission. Make sure they are somewhat clean. These will be used to help with drainage at the bottom of the buckets when it’s time to plant.
Cost: $0
Soil is one of the more important factors so I usually try not to skimp on this ingredient. I usually get about 4 buckets worth of soil out of a large bag after I fluff it with compost. The cost per bag is $8, but like I said, that stretches 4 buckets.
Cost: $2
Next is the compost. You should be able to create your own compost by collecting the table scraps, organic material, and lawn cuttings. We started ours about 3 weeks ago and it’s already starting to decompose. Unfortunately it’s not ready for this season planting - so we had to purchase some from Producers. It’s cheap and seems to work pretty well when you combine it with the soil mentioned previously. A bag will run you about $4 and do the same as the soil and cover 4 buckets.
Cost: $1
The plants are next. You can get a 6-pack of tomatos for $0.99 which brings the cost down to around $0.20 after tax per plant. Or you can get a 4″ single plant that’s a little further along for $1. I usually buy those just because I’m anxious and I feel like I get a better idea of how strong the plant is. Mark has informed me to stay away from celebritys for container gardening as they have a taproot that wants to go a bit deep than a bucket can provide. Cherry and Romas though should do fine.
Cost: $1
So, when you think about it - tomatos can be extremely cheap if you grow them yourself. A Cherry Tomato plant will put off 40 tomatos and should have only costed you $4 for all the supplies. If you are in a pinch and don’t have time to track everything down like I explained above, you could get everything for under $10.
Total: $4
1 I’m really trying to quit using split-infinitives, really.
by Cody Marx Bailey on August 11, 2008
I was running errands today listening to KEOS and I had the opportunity to catch the tail end of a piece on slow foods or slow living. I wish I had caught the entire program, but I was able to catch a URL at the end and when I got home I was surprised to see such a well thought out and organized community rallying around the term “slow food”.
From the website:
Living the slow life with food as the focus is as rewarding as it is easy, and it can be done daily by each one of us. Ultimately, it is about pleasure and taste, knowledge and choice. Once we begin to take an interest in the enjoyment of food, and in finding out where our food comes from, we can begin to see the effects of these choices. When we shorten the distance—both literal and figurative—that our food travels to get to us, we are participating in the Slow Food movement. Slow Food is about coming together as a food community—connecting producers and co-producers, coming together on the farm, in the market, and at the table—to create and enjoy food that is good, clean and fair.
Slow Food is also simply about taking the time to slow down and to enjoy life with family and friends. Every day can be enriched by doing something slow - making pasta from scratch one night, seductively squeezing your own orange juice from the fresh fruit, lingering over a glass of wine and a slice of cheese - even deciding to eat lunch sitting down instead of standing up. For example, here in the Slow Food USA office, we take a moment to eat lunch together every day.
