Sopa Piaa eee Macatee ae nance eae ea Friday, October 26, 1990 - North Shore News - 13 Here’s how to make black gold at home YOU MAY accuse me of dead-horse beating, but | would like to continue with the topic of composting anyway. This being such a crucial issue, | am hoping most of you will understand. After rereading last week’s arti- cle, I realized it was long on urg- ing and short on how-to. [ can see how some of you may find the act of turning kitchen goo and yard waste into ‘Black Gold® (compost) somewhat unappealing, especially if you don’t know anything about alchemy. 1 stil say a trip to one of the demonstration gardens is a good place to begin if you are about to Start composting. If you can’t make the trip, however, here are a few simple rules to go by. First, just what is composting? Well, besides an easy way to rid yourself of unwanted organic ma- terial without contributing to the garbage crisis, it is best described as the natural, biochemical pro- cess of decay. Natural because the alchemists we rely on to work this magic are the lowly worms, bacteria and fungi found in healthy soifs all "round us. Like most work forces in B.C., these miracle workers do have cer- tain requirements for minimum working conditions. These condi- tions are proper air circulation, moisture, heat and decent pay. The form of pay most sought after is the organic sources of nitrogen found in most of the ma- terials you throw into the pile. The only contribution you will be required to make is a never-ending stream of yard and kitchen waste SE Sale ends Oct. 3 "90. Sah ic) KITCHEN & BATH ACRYLIC SILK FINISH FLAT... eee eee PEARL LOW LUSTRE OR SEMI-GLOSS a") A home' 's best friend MELAPAINE W LUSTRE $9999 $4399 SCENTED may £99 (no problem there) and the occa- sional addition of a nitrogen fer- tilizer to break down the hard stuff (paper, sawdust, corn cobs, etc.). These nitrogen fertilizers can be as simple, environmentally ques- tionable as a commercially avail- able ‘composter’ or planet-friendly products such as blood meal and cotton seed meal. Beware of pro- ducts which list lime as the major ingredient; they may result in a compost that is too alkaline to use in certain parts of the garden. Bonemeal may not be as effec- tive as blood meal as a source of nitrogen, but it will greatly im- prove the quality of your compost as an organic source of nutrients. Composting efficiency decreases as the combination of air and moisture become unbalanced. If your compost is too dry (too much air) or too wet (not enough air) your population of compost critters will begin to die off. No workers, no work. This being the Wet End of the earth, things are more likely to be too wet than dry; you can cure this condition by mixing in more fibrous material and/or turn the pile over occasionally. Cover the pile with plastic over the wet winter months. If you live in Phoenix, Arizona or your digs are under an overhang, use the hose. Another thing about compost > NATURA zp, ENTER TODAY Son runs DEVAS Se Yam Geoff Tobiasson OVER THE GARDEN GATE working conditions, keep your waste material bite-sized. The time it takes to break down a whole leaf is exponentially longer than that needed by a shredded leaf. Just like any worker, the little Rotters work better when they're not discouraged by the sheer size of the task ahead. So what do you feed them? It is easier to suggest things to exclude from the menu, because you can compost just about anything organic. Stay away from things such as unshredded newspapers, sawdust, wood shavings, cooking grease, etc. They will slow the process down to a crawl and deplete the nitrogen needed to meet the payroll. Also avoid pet manures, as they can carry disease, and ashes from 1D NO PURCHASE MaCESSASY RIVIERA WITH Cornival The Most Popular Cruise Line in the World! 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[ am not big on including the nee- dles dropped by coniferous evergreens mor the feaves from horsechestnut and walnut trees: they take forever to break down and release growth inhibiting oils which can harm the plants in your garden. The roots of perennial weeds such as morning glory should be avoided at all cost, but annual weeds are OK. Of course you should try to make sure there are no seed heads included, so as to avoid weed problems next year. Do include seaweed — it is rich in nitrogen, phosphorus and po- tassium as well as valuable trace elements. Make sure you let it weather in the rain for a while; this will remove most of the harmful sea salts that could be harmful to the garden and the compost workers. Your composter can be as sim- ple and inefficient as a pile of grass clippings off in a corner of the yard. This method will take 12 to 18 months to yield a usable compost, but this is unlikely as you just keep throwing the grass on the heap. There are high-yield units such as the revolving drums which 1° Bolt Sale produces in Jess than four months. The design of your composter should take the requirements men- tioned above into account. oes it allow for good air circulation? Is it easy to get materials in and out of? And perhaps most important, have you used wire screening to keep out invading pests such as rats, giant raccoon-type or other- wise? Whichever design finally decid- ed on, the techniques used to load it will ultimately decide how suc- cessful you and your littl Rotters are at producing the ‘Black Gold’. The more attention you pay to properly layering your compost the faster the work will get done. The best method involves mak- ing a pre-moistened, 12-inch layer of compostable material and cover it with two inches of soil. As I said earlier, the bacteria, fungi, worms, centipedes, etc. you need are all found in the healthy soils around us. Inserting layers of this soil between fayers of waste will assure you of the minions necessary to get the job done. So get with the program and stop relying on others to look after the garbage you and your garden create. Go out tomorrow and build yourself a ‘Black Gold’ mine. All instock designer fabric, buy first yard at reqular price and get the remaining boit for just 1‘ regardiesss of yardage! (any fabric under 2 yards just *1-°10 display sheers and valances slashed to clear *25-*50.)