July 30, 2008

Put your trash to work

Composting saves landfill space, benefits environment

By KAREN J. BOOTHBY

kboothby@jacksonsun.com

Going green involves some brown.

Composting is championed as one way every person can helps conserve resources. “Yard trimmings and food residuals together constitute 24 percent of the U.S. municipal solid waste stream,” according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Web site www.epa.gov/compost. “That’s a lot of waste to send to landfills when it could become useful and environmentally beneficial compost instead.”

The end result improves soil quality. “Compost binds with the soil particles in fine-textured clay soil, making these soils easier to work,” University of Tennessee plant and soil science professor David W. Sams states in the agricultural extension handout “Making and Using Compost.” “This also improves aeration, root penetration, water infiltration and availability.”

It’s a win-win situation. Less garbage in landfills and more nutrients to produce plants. The alternative to burning leaves and yard debris also helps air quality.

Green components include fruit and vegetable waste, egg shells, coffee grounds, grass clippings and horse and livestock manure. Brown elements include leaves, branches, twigs, paper, straw and pine needles. Air and water are essential ingredients. The goal is to have the right carbon-to-nitrogen ratio to promote decomposition.

Lynette Firles of Jackson is a longtime composting and organic gardening proponent. She cautions against adding meat to the decomposing matter. In addition to inviting animals to rummage, you can expect maggots rather than earthworms that help break down organic matter. Then, there’s the issue of unpleasant odors. Grease and oily food products also are discouraged for similar reasons and the time required to break down. Dog and cat feces are another no-no. It produces undesirable elements and can cause human health concerns.

One simple step Fields suggests is putting egg shells in the yard instead of the garbage can. “Birds will come and eat the shells” and gain the calcium, she said.

Court Kolter of Morris Nursery and Landscapes recommends adding an enzyme to the compost pile. Ask your local farmers’ co-op or gardening and landscaping supply stores.

“Without enzymes, it will just sit there and stink,” Kolter said. “It will break down, but the process will take a lot longer. A lot of our (foods) are picked green and treated with chemicals to slow down decomposition. Banana peels, for instance.”

Composting is part of master gardeners classes that Madison County extension agent Bill Wyatt teaches. The next training begins this fall. Meetings are monthly in Jackson. Call 668-8593 to enroll or get instructions on how to set up a compost bin.

“It’s also a great project to get kids involved,” Fields said. “Kids love to get dirty, and this is one time when Mom and Dad can’t get mad.”

Wood, wire and concrete blocks are suggested for construction of holding areas for the layers of organic matter. Special bins and tumblers are available on the Internet ranging from about $125 to more than $400. People Powered Machines’ Web site at www.peoplepoweredmachines.com offers several products and comparisons.

Agricultural settings work on a larger scale, usually with heavy equipment. Kolter suggests two holding areas: one for fresh straw, plant trimmings and manure; the other for the mature byproduct.

It takes several weeks to a year to turn raw materials into usable compost. For those who can’t wait, Jackson Energy Authority sells compost to the public for $20 a cubic yard at its facility at 167 Miller Ave., off Hollywood Drive near the U.S. 45 Bypass.

[via: Jackson Sun]

Soil acidity a very important environmental factor that can affect plant growth, and limit your crop production. Some plants such as azaleas and camellias are acid-loving, while others such as clematis prefer a much more alkaline soil to call home.

Soil acidity or alkalinity is defined by the amount of calcium-rich lime in the soil and the type of soil itself. Soil acidity and alkalinity are expressed by their pH; a pH lower than 7.0 connotes an acid soil while one with a pH higher than 7.0 is alkaline.

As a rule, soils found in moist climates tend to be more acidic while those in dry climates are more alkaline. For maximum plant growth and health, you must adjust your soil to suit the acid needs of the plants you plan to use.

Soils can be acidic because of the composition of the parent material (rocks) from which they were formed. Or it becomes acid via a number of processes. Cropping and use of nitrogen fertilizers are two main sources of soil acidity while another contributor is rainfall.

Crop Removal: Calcium, magnesium, and potassium are essential nutrients for plant growth. Plants naturally remove these nutrients from the soil and they are also remove through harvesting. This can leaf to an acidifying effect on soil.

Fertilizers: Nitrogen fertilizers have a greater acidifying effect on soils than other fertilizers. Two processes are involved. First, commonly used nitrogen fertilizers contain ammonium nitrogen. Soil bacteria convert ammonium to nitrate (through a biochemical process called nitrification. Hydrogen is released and free hydrogen ions cause an increase in acidity. The second acidifying effect comes from nitrate that is not taken up by the growing crop. Nitrates are very soluble and, if not consumed by plants, will move downward with soil water and may be carried below the root zone. They take with them other nutrients that have a positive charge, most likely calcium and magnesium, and their removal in this manner has the same acidifying effect on soils as removal by a crop.

Rainfall: Soils can become acid even in the absence of crop removal or fertilizer applications. Rainfall is considered a natural cause of acidity because of the downward movement of water through the soil and the removal of nutrients from surface runoff and erosion.

Most garden supply centers sell soil testing kits, and some will even test a soil sample for you. Also, if you live near a university with an agricultural extension, your chances of getting a professionally conducted soil test are very high.

If you go the soil pH test kit route, your kit will probably consist of a test tube, some testing solution and a color chart. Put a sample of your soil in the tube, add a few drops of test solution, shake it up and leave it for an hour or so to settle.

The solution in the tube will change, after which you can compare the color of your sample with the color chart that came with the kit to determine the pH of your soil sample. Higher end soil testing kits also usually include a booklet that will tell you how to interpret the results of your tests.

When you’ve identified the pH of your soil, you can change it to be more acid or alkaline depending upon the result your test obtained and the soil needs of the plants you want to plant. Usually, it’s easier to make soils more alkaline than it is to make them more acid—and because different soil types react in differently to added lime, clay soils and peaty soils require more lime than sandier soils.

Making highly acidic soil more balanced can be a lengthy project. It’s better to test your soil each year and make the indicated adjustments gradually. In addition to lime, adding hardwood ash, bone meal, crushed marble or crushed oyster shells will also help to raise the soil pH.

If your soil needs to be more acidic, you can use sulfur to lower the pH. Mix the sulfur thoroughly into the soil before planting. Sawdust, composted leaves, wood chips, cottonseed meal, leaf mold and peat moss will also lower the soil pH.

New gardeners rarely understand the whole issue of pH soil balance, but as you become comfortable with your new hobby and want to introduce a wide variety of plant species, it is important that your soil condition are optimal for your garden plants. For many, the process may seem complicated but it really needn’t be. Just test your soil conditions once a year and then either plant in that area according to the soil, or adjust the soil conditions to meet the needs of your existing plants.

Click to find out how to start your own organic garden.

Remember:

A soil test determines the soil pH. Soil pH indicates the acidic level of a soil. A pH less than 7.0 indicates an acid soil.

A popular definition of Sustainability or Sustainable Development, is “to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs,” as defined by the Brundtland Commission.

Organic gardening is a very cost effective way of growing your own food, preserving your health and the environment. Using sustainable gardening techniques we can avoid toxins and start living a healthier lifestyle by not being dependent on chemical fertilizers and growing crops .

The most important aspect of having a sustainable organic Garden, is the soil. The soil must provide the right mix of nutrients necessary for a successful crop. When plants don’t receive proper organic nutrients they are unhealthy and fall prey to disease much easier.

“A home garden can yield two to four times more food per acre than any commercial agriculture; in a single season the average home garden can provide over six hundred dollar’s worth of food. We can increase that yield further with raised beds and biointensive organic gardening methods. Of even greater value is the quality of the food itself… fresher, tastier, and more nutritious.” – Garden Simply

Click to find out how to start your own organic garden.

Things to consider:

Historic cause of demise of many great civilizations: Topsoil depletion

Percentage of original U.S. topsoil lost to date: 75

Amount of U.S. cropland lost each year to soil erosion: 4,000,000 acres, the size of Connecticut