Yesterday I started my Master Gardener program at the UofA Maricopa County Cooperative Extension office! So each week I will be blogging about class, volunteer opportunities, events, and about what is growing in the awesome Master Gardener demonstration garden.
This week the lesson was on composting and vermiculture with Bonnie Newhoff. Bonnie's main message about composting was to KEEP IT SIMPLE. You just layer greens and browns, add some water, turn it occasionally to get oxygen, and the bugs and microbes will come and break it all down into beautiful compost. Browns are carbon rich materials (dried leaves, straw, or wood chips) and greens are nitrogen rich material (food scraps or fresh garden clippings). You don't need to buy fancy additives. If you want to speed up the process, add more oxygen by poking holes into the pile, or by turning once a week or so. If you are in a tight space you might try using the compost crank pictured below to aerate your compost pile. A temperature gauge/thermometer is important to track the compost temperature. A hot compost decomposes faster. Add water regularly, the pile should be as damp as a wrung out sponge. You can check the wetness by using a soil moisture meter.
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| Compost Crank to turn and aerate compost, made in Tucson by LoTech, available at the Garden Tool Company |
I've been doing the lazy method of composting - layering, no turning. The bottom of the pile has a thick layer of sticks and branches to provide air flow. There are 2 bins, one we are actively adding to, the other was filled and is now decomposing. By the time that one has usable compost, the other bin will be full, so we keep rotating and starting new piles. Irrigation lines lead to both bins, watering them regularly. Metal grates are set down on top of each pile to keep the squirrels and roof rats out. I keep a bale of straw and bags of leaves next to the active bin so I always have browns on hand to layer over greens (kitchen scraps added daily).
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| Its difficult to see, but under the metal grate and layer of straw is the finished product, rich dark beautiful compost, ready for my garden beds! |
If you want to produce a larger volume of compost, look for outside sources of compostable materials. Coffee shops are a great source for coffee grounds, beer brewers are a source for brewers leavings (hops), landscapers for yard trimmings, chefs for kitchen waste and neighbors for leaves and grass clippings.
Here is a chart showing which kitchen scraps and waste are compostable -
Your city might offer free, or very low-cost, composting bins! Check HERE
If you are interested in becoming a Master Gardener, the next Master Gardener program will be the 2018 Fall session held July through November. There is also an evening Fall session this year! Details HERE
