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By Elvena Bielecki
Citations
Citations and Sources
and Sources
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What is composting?
What to Compost is a mixture of decayed or decaying organic matter used What NOT to
compost to fertilize soil. Decaying organic matter is most commonly made compost
leaves weeds
up of grass clippings, and fruit and vegetable scraps. Composting
grass clippings wood ashes
is a simple and efficient way to help make the world a cleaner
manure (cow, meat, grease,
horse, chicken, place in your own lives. Although composting is a great way to get bones
rabbit, NOT
HUMAN or rid of excess food scraps, it is also important to be aware that not any dairy products
house pets)
ALL items/materials can be composted. plastic, metal,
food scraps glass
Turning Bins
Indoor Bin
Earth Machine
Back
Composting bins come in all
shapes and sizes!
Back Indoor Composting with a Worm Bin
Advantages
you dont need to go outside
You dont turn bin contents, the worms turn it!
Bin Type
Wood or plastic
Size: one square foot of bin surface area for each pound of compost waste created in one week
Have holes in bin for air flow
Have holes in bottom to let liquid drain out
Worms like temperatures between 50 and 60 degrees
Worm type
Most common is red wriggler (Eisenea fetida)
Ideal ratio is 2:1, so for half pound of compost waste per day, use one pound of worms (1,000 worms in one
pound).
Worm Menu
Decaying fruit, vegetables, and bacteria
Collect compostable waste in a covered container
Add food to of the bin every 5-7 days
Add food to different row each time
Add just a few handfuls each time
Bin bedding
Shredded newspaper, office paper, cardboard, partially degraded leaves. Wet with water. When you
squeeze bedding, only few drops should come out. Fill of bin with moist bedding.
Sprinkle in a handful of eggshells or soil. This provides grit to help the worms digestion. Handfuls of
completed compost of soil can speed the degradation process. Takes 4-6 months till composting is
completed.
Back Troubleshooting Tips
Fruit Flies Most common pest in bin Bury food waste 2 below bedding. Use bin
w/air holes too small for flies to get through
Stop putting food waste in bin for 3
weeks--worms can survive over a month,
but fruit flies cannot
There is too much waste product and not enough fresh soil for planting.
Composting is a controlled decomposition of organic material. It reduces
garbage in landfills and creates nutrient-rich soil for gardens and lawns.
Composting is beneficial to our environment and is something everyone can
do!
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Citations/Sources
(for reference and/or more info)
What is composting?
http://www.recycleworks.org/compost/
http://www.planetnatural.com/composting-101/how-it-works/
Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Home Composting but Were Afraid to Ask , by New York State Department of Environmental
Conservatory
How to Compost.
http://eartheasy.com/grow_compost.html
http://www.howtocompost.org/
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Composting by Chris McLaughlin
Composting for Dummies by Cathy Cromell and editors of the National Gardening Association
http://www.planetnatural.com/composting-101/how-it-works/
Compost: growing gardens from your garbage by Linda Glaser
Home Composting: A Guide for composting yard and food waste, published by the Commonwealth of MA Executive Office of Environmental Affairs,
Department of Environmental Protection
Home Composting Made Easy, by C. MacDowell, Ph.D. & Tricia Clark-MacDowell
Importance of composting:
http://www.earthtimes.org/going-green/importance-composting-help-eliminate-organic-waste-fertilize-soil/82/
http://compost.css.cornell.edu/why.html
Easy Compost: the secret to great soil and spectacular plants by Beth Hanson
Let It Rot!: the gardener's guide to Composting by Stu Campbell