98 ~ Friday, January 28, ackyard compost: the garden’s best resource WHAT'S BEST for your garden can't always be bought at a plant store or nursery. But it can be creat- ed right in your own backyard. While backyard composting is enjoying popularity, thanks to its contribution to solid waste reduc- tion, it has long been known to be an excellent soil amendment for your garden. There are references to compostl- ing in the Bible and the Talmud, ind it appears that composting practices predate even these ancient books by hundreds of years. Obviously, early civilizations quickly leartied that healthy plant growth could be stimulated by adding a mixture of organic materi- als to the soil, and that's still the case loday, The Greater Vancouver Regional District and its member municipalities are encouraging local residents to rediscover the benefits of composting, but not just to promote lush gardens. Tie GVRD recognizes compost- ing as an essential tool that will help.the regional district reach the waste reduction goal that has been mandated by the B.C. government. By the year 2000, regional dis-. « tricts are expected to have reduced © the amount of solid waste requiring disposal by 50% per capita. {t sounds like a tall order, but when you consider that composting yard and kitchen waste can cul down on many households" garbage by over 30%, we can see that the goal is well within our reach. To help houscholders get started * with composting, many municipali-: ties have been selling compost units _at subsidized rates. Both the GVRD and some municipalitics also have compost demonstration gardens tnat, offer “composting information and show interested visitors a number of .dil- _ ferent compost bins in action. . The GVRD garden is located. at 4856:Still Creek Ave.. Burnaby. It’s open from 10am. to 3 p.m, * - Tuesday to Sunday, and is available for pre-booked group tours on Mondays. Call 299-0659 during garden hours for information. Garden visitors will find that making black gold, as’ gardeners call their finished compost material, is not difficult. “While some avid gardeners are careful to add different materials to their composter with careful preci-- sion, there are really only a few simple guidelines that are important to follow: First, ensure that your composter is rodent-resistant so you don't attract unwelcome guests in the form of raccoons or rats. This is done in two ways: by making sure that your bin is impen- ctrable (by having a secure lid and base and Hning the interior with wire mesh, for example), and by keeping your compost free of mate. rial that would attract pests. While uncooked vegetable and fruit scraps, tea and coffee grounds, and rinsed-out egg shells are per- fect compost additions, meat, bones, oil or greasy scraps and cooked food are an invitation to local wildlife. All food waste should be buried in the other compost material when you add it to the bin, so it is less likely to attract flies or create odor. To facilitate the most rapid break-down of organic matter into usable compost material, house- holders should try to add nitrogen- rich, or green materials, in roughly the same proportion of carbon-rich, or brown material. Green, nitrogen-rich materials include fresh grass clippings and ‘food waste. Brown materials include straw, fallen leaves. and dricd-out grass cuttings. Many people keep a stockpile of autumn leaves in a large plastic bag next to their composter, so they will have a handy source of carbon-rich miterial to mix into the pile when they add food waste or grass clip- pings. You should try to aerate your compost pile by prodding it with a ski pole or other similar implement every week or so, and check that iCs feeling moist, but not wet. lt can take anywhere from three months to a year before the various ingredients in your compost pile break down into a nutrient-laden earth, At that point, there are many uses for the finished product. You can support this summer's water conservation efforts by using compost as a mulch around the base of your trees, shrubs and plants. The mulch will protect the topsoil from the sun's rays and help keep moisture in the earth. Finished conipost can be used is a part of your potting soil, or mixed in with the top six inches of soil in See Compost page 19 NEW YEAR! NEW BATHROOM _NEW PRICING MAIN BATHROOM 1 piece tub/shower stall RETAIL . 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