Ready to compost

Ian explained how composting is a snap – a natural process we can help along.

Checking out the new bins

Thanks to the new bins and a team of newly trained and/or refreshed gardeners we are ready to do some serious composting, building rich soil for our garden. Now the grass, wood chips, stems, leaves and other garden debris can all be recycled into rich dirt efficiently (careful with those weed roots and seeds though). Take a look at the list of what to compost in our garden.

Want to do even more? Now, gardeners may bring vegetable and fruit peels, bread and other kitchen waste from home to add to the pile. Once at the garden, you can leave your compost materials in the metal compost bin. From there, trained gardeners will carry it to the first bin, on the far right side. The compost is then transferred to the left as it is turned,  until it is finished about three months later.

He gave us some great tips to avoid common composting mishaps. Because our compost is alive with microorganisms we will give it some air and water (the pile should be moist, not wet) to help it along. We will discourage animals by never putting tempting milk products, meats or cooked/processed foods in our urban compost.

We inspected the new compost bins. They are really well-made. The front panels slide upwards to allow for easy access to the finished compost at the bottom of the bins. Get ready for some great soil!

After the workshop, Ian put the finishing touches on the cover and Michelle helped install the bin on bricks to prevent wood rot. We inaugurated the bins with a load from the metal compost can from the front of the garden.

William tells stories from the farm

New garden member and long-time neighbor William told us about his experience with composting when he was growing up. Thanks to a job stocking shelves at the grocery store, he and his brothers brought home the older produce and buried it in the fields to make their soil the envy of everyone around. Trash to treasure, the Stone Soup way!

Studying the ingredients list for some Stone Soup style compost