COMPOSTING TECHNIQUES AND PRACTICE

Judith Wright Microteach 20th March 2012

Objectives of the Session

Identify What Composting Is Identify the Reasons for Home Composting Construct a Pseudo Compost Heap and Wormery

What is Composting?
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Composting is a natural biochemical process of decomposition It is a recycling facility for kitchen and garden waste It is a recycling facility for household newspapers and cardboard

The Reasons for Composting

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Save money (on buying compost and food) To reduce waste going to landfill (we live on an island!) To take some responsibility for our own footprint (at the rate we are currently using finite resources we would need about 4 planets) To support home food growing (and so reduce reliance on food produced by conventional agriculture) Encourages us to think (refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle)

Compost Heap Ingredients

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Greens quick to rot, nitrogen rich 2. Browns slow to rot, carbon rich Golden Rules

The Basics! 2 parts greens: 1 part brown In the presence of air and moisture Add ingredients in layers Cover to stop rain 1m2 size bin

Examples of Greens/Browns
Greens Grass Cuttings Tea Bags Fruit and Vegetable Peelings Soft Green Pruning's Animal Manure Urine Comfrey and Nettles Coffee Grounds Browns Cardboard Hay and Straw Dead Plant Material Newspapers Woody Hedge Prunings Cereal and Egg Boxes etc Junk mail (Shredded) Old Woollen Jumpers/Worn Socks

Wormery Ingredients
Golden Rules Worms Regular small quantities of food material Rainproof container Drainage Correct PH Bedding

Wormery Ingredients Examples

Vegetable and fruit peelings (only a little citrus peel) Cooked leftovers (meat free) Eggshells Paper Bags Coffee Grounds Bread/Cakes Eggboxes/toilet rolls etc Annual weeds Newspapers

Review of Objectives
Identify What Composting Is Identify the Reasons for Home Composting Construct a Pseudo Compost Heap and Wormery

Any Questions?