The Basics of Composting

Published by Kara Harders, Small Acreage Management Specialist 

Composting is a natural process we can utilize to help break down and recycle materials which would have otherwise been considered trash or waste. Materials including food scraps, garden byproducts, and other organic “trash” can become the magical soil amendment we know as compost!

Because composting is a natural process, it can be induced by following some basic rules and creating ideal conditions for the process to happen. While people may think they are the ones composting it is really bacteria, fungi, molds, and worms doing all the heavy lifting. When we compost it is important to keep these organisms happy and healthy so they can do what they do best, turn trash into soil gold! Luckily, they only need a few things to do what they do best.

Food! (Nitrogen and carbon rich)

These composting critters work best when given about a 30:1 Carbon to Nitrogen ratio. The carbon source could be dead plants, bedding, grass clipping, leaves or even shredded office paper. The nitrogen source could be fresh grass cuttings, food scraps or animal manure.

Moisture

Like all living things, water is essential to the life in your compost heap. Most of the organisms breaking down materials in your compost pile live in the film of moisture around the “ingredients” in the pile. Too little moisture and they will die or become dormant and too much moisture and they will drown (and the pile will smell BAD). Aim for a pile that feels damp, like a wrung-out sponge. If the pile gets too dry spray it lightly with a garden hose and try to keep it covered with a tarp in a shady area to retain moisture and to keep out heavy rains. 

Form

Compost needs to be grouped to maintain moisture and heat; therefore, the structure of your compost needs to be in a heap of sorts. This may seem obvious, but there are a few critical details.

Consider where you are putting your pile, avoid spots in direct sunlight for much of the day as this can dry out your pile. You should also avoid areas where water collects or drains. Compost piles are rich in nutrients that can be harmful to water ways and contribute to nutrient pollution. Think about keeping water from running through the pile when it rains or snow melts.

An ideal size is about on cubic yard, a pile this size can be built over time (cool composting) or all at once (hot composting), a benefit to doing hot composting is the sterilization of some weed seeds. Large heaps made all at once with the correct balance of materials and moisture can break down materials so fast the internal temperatures of these piles can reach 160ºF! Smaller piles wont hold heat as well and can dry out quickly if done outside of a container, but they will be easier to turn. Speaking of turning…

Aeration

All those composting organisms you are after also need to breath, in addition to design, to get them oxygen you will need to “turn” the pile.

Ideally, your compost pile will sit on some coarse materials to help allow air travel in from the base. When setting up the pile make an effort to use materials which create air pockets, such as stems, stalks, wood chips and other rigid materials. These will help to draw air up and out of the pile.

Use a composting thermometer to gauge the inside temperature. When it reaches 140ºF, give it a turn and water as needed. Turning the compost will also help get air to the organisms doing the dirty work. You can turn the compost as often as the temperature reaches 140ºF. It is recommended to let the pile go through three heating cycles to help sterilize weed seeds.

Particle size

While it is not always possible or realistic to select items for your compost pile by size it can make it more efficient. Because the organisms breaking down material work on the outer surface of the composted materials, they work much quicker when the surface area is large in relation to the particle size’s mass, in other words, small pieces break down much faster. You can mulch logs/branches, cut stalks to less than 5”, mow leaves with the lawn mower, and break up manure clumps.

 

Arthritis and Farming

Arthritis and Farming By Linda Langelo, CSU Horticulture Program Associate Arthritis is a debilitating disease that afflicts some 54 million citizens in the United States.  This disease does not discriminate across age, gender or race.  Farmers are among the afflicted.  Being a farmer is a massive job where you need your body to be flexible and in minimal pain to farm effectively. This is not to exclude ranchers and gardeners.  Unfortunately, farmers are at a higher risk for arthritis according to the Arthritis Foundation.  Yes, all types of farming operations and farmers can be in this group.  Beyond the main types of farming operations of corn, wheat, millet and potato farms, the photos below demonstrate the varied types of farms which include tree nurseries, watermelon/cantaloupe farms and organic farming just to name a few.  Photo Credit: Wikipedia Photo Credit: Wikipedia Photo Credit: Balance.com Osteoarthritis is the arthritis that most commonly affects farmers and ranchers.  This is when the cartilage –the gliding surface of a joint- is destroyed.  Then, the joint rubs bone on bone creating bony overgrowths called “spurs”.  Osteoarthritis is a heredity disease.  Being overweight can cause this as well.  How?  According to the Arthritis Foundation for every pound you gain adds four pounds of additional stress to your knees.  Worst of all, this translates to six times the pressure on your hips.  As with gardeners, farmers do frequent heavy lifting and repetitive motions, such as constantly bending and kneeling.  The average age of our farmers in the United States is 58 years.  If those farmers have been bending and kneeling for 30 or 40 of those years, it sets the stage for arthritis. The best thing to do is go to a doctor or visit a rheumatologist for a correct diagnosis.  Then, there are many options such as exercises which help with strength training, range-of-motion, fitness and endurance. The Arthritis Foundation states that resting during the day is beneficial.  They also state that a good night’s sleep goes a long way to resting the joints.  Pacing yourself through the day by scheduling and taking breaks.  Changing the type of repetitive motion that you do over a twenty minute period.  This sounds like a lot of work even for a gardener.  It is more about rethinking what you do because you are learning a new habit.  It is not always possible to hire someone or pass tasks along to other members of the family.  Taking the time to rethink and invest in yourself helps you preserve the business you have worked your entire life.  You are worth investing in your health. If you wish to research more information go to http://www.agrability.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Arthritis_and_Ag.pdf .

Atomic Gardening

By Cassey Anderson, Adams County Extension

Photo Credit: http://www.atomicgardening.com/1958/10/01/rebuilding-plants/ 

Listening to a podcast awhile back I learned about a form of gardening I had never heard of before. In the 1950s scientists realized that, in the presence of gamma radiation, plants would mutate.  Interest in crop mutation grew out of a combination of food insecurity as a consequence of World War Two and the discovery of the power of the atom. In the fallout from the atomic bomb in Japan, people noticed that sesame plants near the blast site grew much larger than non-irradiated sesame plants. This sparked an interest in scientists and lay persons alike seeking to see if they could safely replicate these effects.

Gardens, named atomic gardens, were arranged in a radiating pattern with a radioactive source at the center, typically cobalt-60 (ironically these gardens resembled the warning symbol for radioactivity). While the plants nearest the radiation source would often be stunted or die, those further away were likely to exhibit a wide variety of mutations.  The results were highly unpredictable but there were some successes from irradiated seed. This was the period in which radiation was perceived as likely to make things stronger, rather than weaker. Think Spider Man, Godzilla, Atomic plants; they all fit in the same optimistic mentality of the benefits of radiation.

An early Atomic Garden.

Photo courtesy of http://www.gardenhistorygirl.com/2010/12/atomic-gardens.html

A woman in Britain, Muriel Howarth, started the Atomic Gardening Society to encourage homeowners to plant seeds from these irradiated plants. Howarth even published a how-to guide on Atomic Gardening, titled the same. Her goal with her home gardeners, who she called “Atomic Mutation Experimenters”, was to work to help scientists produce food more quickly for more people and progress mutations to promote food security. The seeds from the plants grown in this manner were not radioactive, but did have radiation induced mutations.

Photo courtesy of:  www.atomicgardening.com/resources 

In one of the research gardens in Rhode Island plants placed in the radioactive garden included plants ranging from strawberries to sugar maples. By 1958 government labs around the world had set up atomic research gardens. Muriel Howarth tasked her Atomic Mutation Experimenters with keeping data on the progress of the plants they grew out for scientists. Many seeds did not produce a plant or a satisfactory product, as blasting a plant with radiation receives erratic results.

Current gamma garden at the Institute of Radiation Breeding in Japan.
http://www.atomicgardening.com/2017/01/01/yes-atomic-gardens-still-exist-today/

Home gardeners became discouraged with limited results from their research plants, and even government programs with dedicated personnel produced only limited results. The final program in the US was discontinued in 1979. However, there is still a working “gamma garden” in Japan, the Institute of Radiation Breeding. There is also a collaboration of scientific research focused on nuclear techniques in food and agriculture called the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture to help improve global food security and promote sustainable agriculture development.

There are some survivors in our food supply from this strange period of atomic gardening. You may be familiar with the Rio Red grapefruit, and ‘Todd’s Mitcham’ peppermint for oil production, they are both byproducts of atomic mutation experiments. The Joint FAO/IAEA division lists over 3200 official mutant varieties from 214 different plant species. 

In dark of winter, I’m dreaming about seasons, possibilities ahead

 Posted by: Darrin Parmenter, La Plata County Extension

Author and philosopher Albert Camus once wrote “In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.” As a philosopher, I can only assume that there were multiple layers to that line and perhaps he was only speaking personally. But many of us can relate, especially now when the cold and wetness and darkness have crept into our bones. 

Don’t get me wrong, I love the snow. After living in Florida for 4 winters I have grown to appreciate seasonality. I enjoy seeing my breath, feeling the hairs on my beard freeze. I enjoy how the snow sticks to the bare branches of trees and shrubs, and the sound it makes when it hits the metal roof. 

As a gardener, or one who teaches gardening, I look forward to educating myself on what I can do different, or what I hope to do when I grow up, or what the farm or yard or garden will look like next year. I grow envious of my farmer friends as they look forward to the next growing season and what they will plant and the difference they will make - only to know that come September, they will all be tired and sore, calloused and windblown, and they will occasionally look up to the sky and say “Please, just two more weeks without a freeze” or “Please freeze come tonight because I am so sick of finding squash among the prickly leaves.”

I smile watching my class of bushy-tailed Master Gardener students hungry for information. Then, after one 8 hour class, watching their eyes glaze over as the amount of facts, hints, photos and bulleted PowerPoint items race through their brain.  

Winter gives me time to think about where my yard, or property, will be in 5 years. Currently, the small back yard is consumed by shade, and Asher and Bella and Elena and Grey (and London, the dog) as they need the space to let loose of energy and practice baseball and soccer (and stick fetching). It leads Beth and me to ask “what if?” – What if we moved out of town and had acreage to grow and escape and raise animals other than those that go to school. We like living where we can bike to school, work or our favorite park or restaurant. But to have a large garden, or a greenhouse, or chickens, or a horse…that would be awesome. But I’m pretty sure those are somewhat restrictive in the Historic District of downtown Durango. Then there’s life: practices and lessons, full-time jobs and traffic, and hours in cars, carting kids back and forth. 

Yet the openness. There is a garden that will feed us for months and months and there is a space where we can teach the kids about life, and death. A space where I can escape to the seat of a tractor and Beth escape to the shade of the cottonwood tree.

So this winter, I will wait patiently. I will wait for spring blossoms and the greening of grass; I will wait for warm summer mornings, baseball under the lights, and alpine wildflowers; I will wait for the smell of fall and the changing of the colors. And then I will once again wait for the killing frosts and first snows and a cold, dark drive home.