BCG
Sunday, January 29, 2017
Wednesday, August 3, 2016
Composting at the Garden
BRENTWOOD
COMMUNITY GARDEN COMPOST NOTES (v3 July 2016; M.L. Russell)
DO WE HAVE
COMPOST BINS IN THE BRENT WOOD COMMUNITY GARDEN?
We have 3 compost bins in our garden:
·
Bin 1 (round black plastic bin) – the most southern bin
·
Bin 2 (wood)– in the middle
·
Bin 3 (wood) – the bin on the north, closest to the tool shed
WHICH COMPOST
BIN SHOULD I USE?
Always put
compostables in BIN 1
·
Bin 2 is ‘partly composted’
·
Bin 3 is for ‘maturing’ compost – ready to use at fall cleanup
We are
composting in batches. At or just before
spring clean-up, anything in bin 1 is moved to bin 2.
At about the end of July or early August, the contents
of bin 2 are moved to bin 3.
WHAT DOES A
COMPOST PILE NEED TO WORK?
For Aerobic composting, which is what we do in the
garden, the pile needs
·
greens – high in nitrogen
·
browns – high in carbon
·
air
·
water
WHAT CAN BE PUT
INTO THE GARDEN COMPOST?
In our garden compost put only
·
greens
·
browns
WHAT IS A GREEN?
Greens are high in nitrogen and include anything that
was harvested when it was green or ripe/juicy.
·
lawn clippings harvested when green
·
leaves blown down in summer when green
·
coffee grounds
·
green vegetable scraps, fruit, fruit skins
·
grass, hay
WHAT IS A BROWN?
Browns are high in carbon - harvested when dead,
brown, and crispy.
·
shredded newspaper
·
finely shredded cardboard
·
dry, brown autumn leaves
·
straw
·
sawdust (not from painted, treated or pressure treated wood)
Use a paper shredder rather than just ripping up paper
and cardboard – the smaller bits compost much faster.
Avoid leaves
from trees with clumps of seed like Manitoba maple – will cause a huge weed
problem when the finished compost is spread.
WHAT ABOUT
MEAT/DAIRY/BAKED GOODS/GRAINS?
Do NOT
compost these items at home or in the garden. You will:
·
attract vermin like mice and possibly even dogs/coyotes
·
create an awful smell
·
potentially breed pathogenic bacteria while things are composting.
HOW MUCH
GREEN? HOW MUCH BROWN?
A simple rule of thumb is ‘equal amounts’. This, however, can be misleading. Our experience is that you have to think about
the ‘equal amount’ – volume? or mass?
If the greens are light and fluffy you can add about
an equal volume of browns BUT, a bag
of fresh, wet grass clippings contains HIGHLY compressed grass and is MUCH
heavier than a bag of brown leaves. An equal volume of browns is just not enough –
aim for roughly equal weight.
Excessive greens make the pile very smelly – the cure
is to add browns and aerate/turn like crazy.
WHAT ABOUT COMPOSTING
WEEDS?
Do not compost weeds if:
·
seeds have formed
·
the weed spreads by rhizomes (e.g., quack grass)
·
they are noxious weeds - (place
in garbage bin in playground next to community garden or take home to your
black garbage bin)
Alberta legislation on noxious weeds can be found at
You can find a great identification field guide at
WHAT IF THE
PLANT IS DISEASED?
Never compost any plant that you suspect is diseased
as the bacteria, fungi or virus affecting the plant will not be killed.
WHAT MAKES A
COMPOST BIN/PILE SMELL BAD?
It shouldn’t!!!
Bad smells indicate problems.
Most commonly these are:
·
too many greens and not enough browns
·
too wet
·
not adequately aerated.
HOW DO WE BUILD
THE PILE?
·
First ‘fluff’ (turn) the pile.
·
Alternate layers of greens and browns, maximum about 4 inches thick per
layer. Then mix the layers together. Make sure that the 1:1 by mass ratio is
maintained.
·
Add a handful of soil after layering so that the pile has some
micro-organisms to start the compost process. Once it starts heating up no need
to add more.
As decomposition takes place,
the pile will settle and squeeze out the air – killing the bacteria and fungi
that make the compost (‘decomposers’).
That is why it is important that aeration and turning gets done to
introduce air spaces. Aerate (fluff that
pillow! – mix, fold sides to centre) twice a week if you can.
CAN I BRING MY KITCHEN OR GARDEN WASTE TO THE BCGG BINS?
·
No, we do not have the capacity to handle this.
·
The BCGG compost bins are used only for garden waste from the BCGG - PLUS
coffee grounds (and ripped up used paper
coffee filters which some volunteers bring from Starbucks)
·
However, if you happen to munch a fruit or veggie while in the garden,
you can put your
apple core, banana skin, etc.
in bin #1!
WHAT ABOUT
EGGSHELLS?
·
Compost these at home.
Eggshells don’t actually ‘compost’; rather the
minerals in them break down and leach into the pile. It helps if they are crushed first. They add useful trace minerals to the mix but
it takes a long time and chunks of shell may still be visible when the compost
is sifted.
WHAT ABOUT
‘COMPOSTABLE’ BAGS?
Bags marked ‘municipal compostable’ are only
compostable in the City green box program.
·
Don’t add these bags to either the garden compost or your home compost
WHEN SHOULD WE
ADD WATER?
·
Don’t add water without thoroughly turning/fluffing the pile and
checking the feel in case under layers are wetter than the top.
·
The compost should feel damp, not wet:
like a wrung- out sponge.
·
If the pile gets too wet:
o
toss to aerate, (or use
Wingdigger to aerate)
o
add some dry browns (in a pinch, shredded paper) to absorb the moisture. When you add the shredded paper you are also
adding browns. IF you add too many
browns need to add more greens
Calgary is so dry and our garden so windy that a pile
that is too wet will dry out on its own most of the time. If we have a lot of rain making things too
wet, just cover the pile!
WHAT ABOUT
AERATING/TURNING THE PILE?
Aerating and turning are critical so that the bacteria
can work. Compost left to itself (for example – black compost bins that are not
aerated) will take longer to decompose (i.e. 1 year).
At minimum for 2016, the piles need to be turned at
every garden work party. If possible, some
volunteers will turn/mix the pile at least once a week. Turning the pile means: mix, fluff right to the bottom and blend the
layers. Mix and toss stuff from the
sides to the middle and the middle to the sides. Can use Wingdigger, garden fork or
whatever. Make sure that stuff from the
bottom is pulled up to the top.
·
Think “fluffing a pillow”; folding flour into egg whites!
WHY SHRED PAPER
OR CUT UP GARDEN WASTE?
We are doing ‘aerobic’ composting (requires air – oxygen). Shredding paper (narrow but not more than
about 4 inches long) or cutting up garden waste increases the surface area
exposed to air. The pile composts faster
and is much easier to turn and aerate. Aim for “as long as your hand”.
IF SHREDDING
IS SO GOOD, WHAT ABOUT USING A BLENDER?
Alas, this makes quite a dense sludge. Particles are too small – they don’t
aerate. Chop up your left over veggies
instead. Aim for pieces no long than a finger and no
wider than the width of a finger.
DOES
COMPOSTING ONLY WORK IN THE SUMMER?
Composting works all year round.
·
In warmer weather, the mix of greens and browns
activates thermophilic (heat loving)
micro-organisms – which is why the pile really heats up (those bacteria really
love those greens!)
·
After about 8 weeks, conditions start to be more suitable for mesophilic
(middle temperature loving) bacteria.
The material in the middle bin #2 continues to compost but cools down as
the mesophils take over.
·
The ‘finished’ compost from bin #3 may be added to the garden beds in
November or left until spring. It continues
to compost slowly over winter.
·
Material added to the bin in the winter will also compost very slowly,
but will need to be tossed to aerate unless frozen solid – as soon as thawed enough
to aerate or turn, need to do so.
WHEN IS
COMPOST READY TO ADD TO GARDEN BEDS?
·
The finished compost looks quite a lot like soil. It doesn’t heat up and it smells like earth.
·
“Mature’ compost is best left for several months before application so
that the ‘decomposers’ settle down or die off.
·
Usually best to apply in fall after harvest, or at least 2 weeks before
planting in spring (some seeds/plants are sensitive to the ‘decomposers’).
DOES COMPOST
HAVE TO BE SCREENED BEFORE USE?
·
Finished compost can be used without screening. BUT, it may contain a lot of twigs, rocks and
incompletely composted lumps of pine cone/paper etc. Screening gives a much more evenly textured
product.
·
A compost screen is a frame that contains ¼ inch or ½ inch ‘hardware
cloth’. ‘Hardware cloth’ is a tough
metal mesh that can be purchased at hardware stores. You can make your own screen or buy one at
Seedy Saturday – most garden centres don’t carry them, or if they do – at a
price you probably won’t want to pay.
WHERE CAN I
LEARN MORE?
There
are a lot of resources out there. My
favorite book is:
Composting for Canada by Suzanne Lewis (Lone Pine
Books). You can find it at the public
library or purchase it for about $18.00.
It covers the many ways you can compost and is designed for Canada.
It
is very practical and accessible for beginners but also useful for experienced
composters.
Monday, June 27, 2016
Haskap Berry Harvest - 18 June 2016
Another great haul of haskap berries this year! Thanks to everyone who came out to do the picking!
Photos by Cheryl M.
Photos by Cheryl M.
Wednesday, May 18, 2016
Spring Clean Up 2016 - A huge success!
Thank you to everyone who came out to our Spring Clean Up on Saturday, May 14 - the garden looks fantastic because of all your hard work and dedication!
(Photography by Cheryl Moller)
Monday, October 5, 2015
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
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