Composting

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Composting Natures LifecycleEverything
returns to the Earthadapted from Robert E
Richter and nsbar.org
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Assignment

• Create a 1 page handout to teach a fifth grade
  student how to compost.

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                                       Brown
stuff is dead, Brown stuff is high in the element
carbon. Green stuff is fresh, Green stuff is
high in the element nitrogen.
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              Finished Bin! ...TAH DAHHHHH! the
microorganisms will go to work breaking down the
ingredients into humus.
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Compost "Critters" Now tiny microorganisms
(that you cannot see without a microscope) go to
work breaking down the organic matter into
compost.
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Input and Output
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What is Compost?

• Compost is organic material that over time has
  been consumed by animals of all sizes, from
  larger mammals, to worms, and microscopic
  organisms. The result of this is compost,
• a combination of digested and
• undigested food that is left
• on the forest floor to create
• rich, soft, sweet-smelling soil.

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Why Compost Our Food Waste?

• Return nutrients to the soil
• Create mulch/fertilizer for free
• Reduce the amount of trash that you send to the
  landfill, where it creates
• CO2, does not break down
• and becomes toxic
• Think about the impact on the next 7 generations,
  as Native Americans do

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Look what we waste!!!!
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Anyone Can Compost

• Home dwellers locate compost bin next to
  trashcans for convenience, or near backdoor.
• Apartment dwellers talk to landlord about
  having a compost bin by the trashcans, and/or set
  up your own vermicomposting system
• It doesnt cost anything to set up a compost
  system and its a simple thing to do, yet has a
  large result!
• What is your level of courage?

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Why is Compost So Good?

• Adds nutrients to the soil, which in turn
  supports healthier and more productive plants.
  Compost provides virtually all of the essential
  nutrients for plant growth, and more importantly,
  it releases these nutrients over time to give a
  slow, steady consistent intake of essential
  elements needed for growth.
• Improves the structure of soil, making it able to
  hold water, yet it creates pockets of air that
  plant roots need as well.
• Eliminates the need for synthetic fertilizers
  which leach chemicals into the groundwater and
  pollute our streams and lakes.

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Anatomy of a Landfill
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Why doesnt food compost in the landfill?

• No oxygen mummifies waste
• Mixed with non-organic plastics and waste
• Built to encapsulate waste, no breakdown
• Monitored for 30 years to watch for toxins

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Anatomy of Compost
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How big should the bin be?

• 3 foot by 3 foot is optimal
• Organic matter needs a balance
• Air
• Water
• nitrogen/carbon
• microbes

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Compost Lasagna

• Brown Layer (noodles)
• Green Layer (spinach)
• Water (sauce)
• Air
• Time

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Greens (Nitrogen-rich)

• Kitchen scraps
• Ground eggshells
• Grass clippings
• Used coffee grounds/filters
• and teabags
• Leaves and garden waste
• Manure from herbivores
• Feathers and hair
• Old flower bouquets

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Browns (Carbon-rich)

• Fall leaves (shredded preferably)
• Spent plants
• Shredded paper/newspapers
• Sawdust
• Pine needles
• Old potting soil
• Food-soiled paper napkins/towels
• Stale flour, cereals, spices
• Nutshells
• Paper based egg cartons

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C/N Ratio Ideal 301 for fast hot composting
501 for slower, low temp. composting

• Brown (Carbon)
• Leaves 601
• Straw 901
• Sawdust 5001
• Wood chips/
• twigs 7001

• Green (Nitrogen)
• Food Scraps 151
• Grass Clippings 171
• Fruit Waste 401
• Weeds 201
• Chicken Manure 71

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Composting Made Easy

• You can get a c/n ratio of 301 501 by adding
  two parts green material to one part brown
• Example
• food scraps 151.
• Grass clippings 171.
• Leaves 601.
• 15 17 60 92 divide by 3 31.
• Or.
• 311 CN ratio.

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What NOT to put in bin

• Meat
• Dairy products
• Pet waste
• Clay kitty litter
• A lot of garden soil
• Weeds with seed heads

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Addition Helpful Tools

• Pitchfork or turning fork
• Shovel
• Compost Thermometer

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Black Gold!!!
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What can I do with my compost?

• Seed starting. Its light and airy, and allows
  quick growth. You can add it to commercial
  potting mix, which is primary made up of peat
  moss, which has virtually no nutrients, so
  compost gives it a great boost.
• Mulch, to hold in moisture for established
  plants, and nourish them as the compost continues
  to break down.
• Lawn food, as its a slow release food that will
  help your lawn resist diseases. Youll have no
  chemical run-off and youll save money, as well
  as make your lawn come alive with earthworms and
  beneficial microbes.

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What a beautiful compost bin!
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Very nice backyard tumbling composter
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This would be easy to make!
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As simple as this wire bin
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Bins come in all shapes and sizes
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Other Forms of Composting

• Vermicomposting
• Windrow composting (commercial)
• Sheet composting
• Indoor composter

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Vermicompostingaka Indoor Composting

• Rubbermaid bin
• Shredded cardboard, some shredded newspaper
• Kitchen scraps
• Worms
• Spray bottle of water
• www.wormmainea.com
• www.redwormcomposting.com

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Windrow Composting

• This method of composting is used for processing
  large amounts of compost, mostly for commercial
  productions.

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Sheet Composting aka Lasagna Gardening

• Best to do this in the fall
• Slow method of composting
• Carbon rich ingredients will
• take nitrogen from the soil to break down
• Layers of newspaper and kitchen waste create your
  lasagna and in the spring you have a garden
  bed ready for planting

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Indoor Composter

• Nature Mill Composter
• Creates compost in two weeks
• 299.00

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Go Forth and Compost!

• Choose your method
• Make from materials on hand to save money
• and reuse/recycle
• Share what youve
• learned
• Enrich your garden
• and the planet!