By Bill Kohlhaase, Planet Natural

For years, I composted in heaps. Three piles — collected, turned, finished — three years from pitching it in to shoveling it out. And then I took a tumble.

Yes, a tumbling composter has changed my life. No longer do I wait several seasons to have rich, rewarding, garden-ready organic material to spread around my plants, add to my growing containers and enrich my precious, precious soil. No longer do I have to listen to my true love’s complaints — and, believe me (yes, dear), they’re well-informed complaints if just a bit misguided — that my piles are unsightly, surrounded by clouds of insects, odiferous (I call it “green perfume”), and offend the neighbors. Best of all, no longer do I strain my back turning the heaps with a garden fork or transferring compost from one heap to the next. Now, my compost is turned twice a week — or more — without back strain. How? By using a compost tumbler. (more…)

By Kate Gardner, Planet Natural

Soda bottle composting lets people watch the decomposition process happen in a bottle they can hold in their hands. It’s usually done in clear soda bottles, which are cheap, easily available, relatively indestructible and transparent. Since the volume of compost produced is so small, it’s a lousy way to generate compost for the garden. However, if you want to show your children or your students what happens in a compost pile, this is a great way to do it.

Putting a micro-composter together is the work of an afternoon, but the composting process takes a couple of months. For teachers, it’s not an especially good project for the last week of school. But it’s an excellent one for the slow winter months. If the school has a garden on which compost will be applied in the spring, this project gives students a hands-on understanding of the stuff they’re spreading over the soil. In an urban setting, the micro-composter lets children see processes that might otherwise remain completely foreign to them.

Overview

Micro-composters are constructed from either two or three two-liter soda bottles cut apart so they can be filled with solid material and then fitted back together securely. Holes are punched to aerate the contents, and the bottles are filled with a mixture of damp organic materials before being closed and insulated. At this point, composting begins. (more…)

By Eric Vinje, Planet Natural

One of the loveliest aspects of nature is that everything in it has a use — the nasty, rotting zucchini as well as the lavender sprouting scented blossoms in the backyard. Home composting can take some of our leftovers, waste and unwanted extras and turn them into fertile soil to boost the productivity of gardens and landscapes.

What is compost?

Compost is decomposed organic material that is produced when bacteria in soil break down garbage and biodegradable trash, resulting in a product rich in minerals that is an ideal garden or landscaping amendment.

Why compost?

• For one, it’s free. You get to use kitchen waste, lawn clippings, leaves and other vegetation that would otherwise get thrown away. In fact, you might even save money on landfill fees.

• Potting mixes and soils that are rich in compost produce vigorous plants regardless of whether you’re growing vegetables, growing herbs or organic rose gardening.

• Compost improves garden soil structure, texture and aeration.

• Adding compost improves soil fertility and stimulates healthy root development in plants. The organic matter provided in compost provides food for microorganisms, which keeps the soil in a healthy, balanced condition. (more…)

The Dirty Truth About Vermicomposting

By Eric Vinje, Planet Natural

Composting with worms (a.k.a. vermicomposting) is the proverbial win-win situation. It gives you a convenient way to dispose of organic waste, such as vegetable peelings. It saves space in the county landfill, which is good for the environment. It gives worms a happy home and all the free “eats” that they could want. For those that have gardens or even potted plants, homegrown compost is a great way to feed and nurture plants.

Vermiculture, which some advocates have dubbed “the organic garbage disposal,” recycles food waste into rich, dark, earth-smelling soil conditioner. It’s such great stuff that Planet Natural sells a variety of organic compost that ranges in price from $5.95 to $13.95 as well as potting soil that contains compost.

And despite its reputation, worm composting doesn’t need to be a smelly endeavor. If you take care to set things up correctly, your compost bin shouldn’t be stinky. (more…)