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Composting

Making Earth for Gardens

• Use pictures on your compost bigs to show what to put into the bins and what not to put into the bins.
  
  

• Start a composting team of 6 to 8 people.  Have this as one of the volunteer roles people choose from when they join the garden and pay their rental fee.  Explain that choosing a role is part of joining the garden!  The garden cannot run unless everyone does their bit.

 

• Chop up greens and brown into very small pieces to reduce the amount of time it takes to have finished soil.

 

• Water the compost bin regularly when you water your garden bed then turn and stir the compost weekly to sustain the soil making process.

 

• If compost bins in progress of making soil did not get moisture last year, add this volunteer role to the gardener's agreement so that 4 people are responsible for checking the compost pile and watering it before it gets too dry and stops making earth. 

 

• Use unpainted, untreated pallets instead of painted or treated ones when you are building a  multiple bin composting system.

 

• Compost Big!  You need at least one cubic yard of greens and browns, water and air to create the right chemical reaction to make earth.  If you have a small compost pile you don't get enough heat created to turn the greens and browns into soil.

 

• Ask neighbours near the garden with trees in their yard to donate their fallen leaves in bags for the community gardens browns bin in the compost area.

 

• Compost tea improves soil fertility and plant strength to withstand pests.  Wash all harvested produce before it hits your plate!

 

• Compost Tea:  Mike Dorion of Living Soil Solutions
  sprays  with compost tea. 

 

• Laureen Rama of Eco-Yards  also offers a compost tea spray service.

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