Tag: composting

Top 10 Backyard Compost Tips From Mark Bowen

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With Earth Day celebration in session, The Ground Up’s Mark Bowen joined ABC 13’s Tom Koch this morning to talk backyard composting. With 30+ years of hands-on experience, Mark has made a huge impact at TGU since his arrival. Here are Mark’s Top 10 Back Yard Compost Tips!

1) Use 1 cubic yard (3’x3’x3’) bins.

2) Choose open air style wire mesh bins for optimal air flow.

3) Use the formula of 80% Brown (carbon rich) to 20% Green (nitrogen rich) ingredients. Avoid meat & dairy.

4) Leaves & chopped up (to 2”) plant trimmings work well for Brown & veggie/fruit scraps & coffee grinds for Green ingredients.

5) Ideally turn the pile at lest monthly. 

6) If the pile seems dry, water it with non-chlorinated water like rainwater.

7) If the pile becomes too fragrant, add 20% more Brown ingredients and turn. 

  8) Your compost pile should be ready for use in 4-6 months or longer if conditions are less ideal.

 9)  Consider topdressing struggling lawn areas with a 1/2” layer of compost.

 10) Putting down a 1/2” layer of compost in beds before mulching will help improve soil quality.

 

For composting class info: www.codegreenhouston.org

The Soil Factory – Episode #7 – We answered your Facebook Questions.

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FB Q&A

Thanks to all our loyal FB followers. on episode #7 we answered your questions posted on FB on January 23rd.

In episode #7 Craig Jacobs & Luis Chamorro answer questions relating to compost top dressing, different types of compost, artillery fungus in mulch, how to compost at home, using galvanized containers for growing veggies & herbs, and the basics of bacterial vs fungal compost.

Compost top dressing basics:

  • layer 1/4” to 3/8”.

  • use a bow rake’s flat side and work compost in your lawn by creating small piles and working the product into the matting of the lawn. Move the bow rake’s flat side back and forth to work product into the lawn.

  • You can opt to core aerate your lawn prior to doing a compost top dressing.

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Types of compost:

  • yard trimmings, food waste, leaves, manure, mushroom, worm compost, bio solids/sewer sludge.

Bacterial vs Fungal Compost:

  • Bacterial – high nitrogen ratio.

  • Fungal – higher carbon ratio and used as an all purpose compost.

How to compost at home:

  • Make sure your compost area is not shaded.

  • If using a barrel or compost turner, follow this rule:

    • 80% brown (carbon)

    • 20% green (leafy or fruit scraps, coffee grounds)

  • If your compost is stinky: this may indicate your Nitrogen ratio is out of whack.

  • AVOID composting meats, dairy, and pet poop.

Growing in Galvanized containers – is it safe?

  • It’s safe as long as you punch holes on the base and allow for water to drain properly.

Artillery Fungus:

  • Also referred to as dog vomit or yellow slime.

  • Not harmful/non toxic.

  • Occurs due to breakdown and decomposition of bark or wood mulches.

  • How to control:

    • turn the mulch and spread.

    • You can also place a black plastic on top and prevent sun rays from hitting the affected area.

  • Naturally occurring. Don’t panic!

  • Good products to use: Consan 20.

  • Good products to use as a cleaner if spores affect siding of home, pots, or other surfaces: Bio degradable cleaner.

Seed Starting:

  • Use a sterile soil for seed starting (Quality Feed will have a private label starting the week of Feb 25th)

  • Once seed sprouts and you have established roots, you can transplant to a larger pot and use TGU’s MY Veggie & Herb Soil.

LEAF MOLD COMPOST:

  • Currently in the works.

  • Keep up on updates for our exclusive pile of Leaf Mold Compost. Follow the twitter handle @leafmoldcompost to see updates on composting.

Companies and Websites mentioned in this podcast:

http://l3-design.com/ – top dressing

http://urbanorganicsonline.com/ – raised beds

http://qualityfeedco.com/ – seed starter

https://buchanansplants.com/ – compost barrels

https://wabashfeed.com/ – garden center

Dig a Little Deeper!

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In celebration of International Compost Awareness Week, I invite our readers to dig a little deeper into the many benefits of utilizing compost.  

In a nutshell all composting is, is just nature’s way of recycling. It is a natural process of breaking down organic matter and turning it back into a rich nourishing substance. With this comes a lot of nutrition and benefits for your landscaping and gardening. Microorganisms produce a rich earthy substance called humus that is the key component in producing fine compost. Though most people think that compost is a fertilizer, it is actually a soil amendment. Fertilizers add nutrients to soil; while amendments improve the soil so that plants can make use of those nutrients. A simple way to distinguish the two is to remember that compost feeds the soil and fertilizer feeds the plant.

What Can Compost Do For You?

  • Supply nutrients for plants by providing surfaces where nutrients can be held in reserve in the soil
  • Reduces the need for chemical fertilizers.
  • Facilitate better drainage by loosening soil structure 
  • Use less water; Store water in the soil 
  • Help increase air drainage 
  • Increase the activity and numbers of soil microorganisms 
  • Encourage earthworms
  • Enhances the ability of vegetables to stand up to common diseases and may improve their flavor and nutrition
  • Compost can benefit year-round
  • Helps balance the pH of your soil

My Organic Compost DS: Goodness in a Bag

We celebrated this week by releasing our new “My Organic Compost DS” bag design. This double screened goodness will be available to you in a few weeks at any of our locations. We love it and we know you will too. 

  

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Why DS? 

DS is made from leaf mold, wood, vegetative debris. We ground up the raw materials and make windrow piles by folding fruits and veggies into the piles. The juices from the fruits and veggie keep the compost with an optimum moisture content during the composting process. In addtion, we also populate the piles with a microbe pack that allows for better composting. The piles then are turned and once the pile is mature and ready for processing, we screen a 1st batch with a 3/8″ screen. This product is now called Vegan Compost. The following step is to take batches of Vegan Compost and screen again. For every yard of Vegan Compost we double screen we get 60% of Finished DS product.

How can you use our Compost DS?

 Our compost DS is probably one of the finest fungal compost products you will see anywhere in the US. It’s perfect for top dressing, amending, tilling, mulching, spot treating and as a general use compost.

Compost Tip:

Spread about a half-inch to an inch of compost around your trees, shrubs, and/or your lawn, and in your annuals and vegetable gardens. In established gardens, spread the compost on top of the soil, where it will eventually seep into the ground below; or you can lightly fork it over. This can help improve the first 6–10 inches.
 

Questions about our Compost DS or just compost in general? Head on over to www.thegroundup.com/askusanything and ask away!  We are happy to answer any questions you may have. If you’d like to see samples of our Compost DS, please visit one of our locations and we will show you this goodness packaged in a 1 cubic footbag!