Happy Farm Fact Friday, folks! This week we’re covering something that might be unexpected. It’s something smelly, messy, and “gross” but helps us improve soil health and nutrients, as well as reduces waste: the important farm practice of composting.
In short, composting is the process of turning organic material (anything we grow that doesn’t make it into consumable produce, like food scraps, weeds, leaves, etc.) via decomposing organisms that break it down like worms into fertile soil. It keeps food waste out of landfills, where it can’t properly decompose without oxygen and creates methane and carbon dioxide.
There are two different types of composting. Hot compost requires materials high in nitrogen at a specific high temperature to kill potential disease and weeds over time. Technically it is a faster process, taking some months, though maintaining the temperatures required.
Cold composting, which we utilize on the farm, is a slower process that may take up to a year to provide nutrient rich dirt. However, it does require less maintenance as you can add whatever material you have that works for composting, and only requires mixing to ensure it breaks down together and takes time. Without the temperature, it’s more important to ensure that weeds are properly disposed of so you aren’t spreading them with your soil, and that you keep any crop waste with disease out of it, to ensure it isn’t spreading.
On the farm, we use cold composting. We also utilize fertilizer and mixtures of things like chicken manure that create the healthy, nutrient rich soil we work with and grow with. You can compost on a small scale, with products you can purchase to use inside your home, or you can compost in a corner of your garden.
You can learn to compost at home, learn more about the components of composting, learn about the do’s and don’ts of composting, and learn more about the differences of hot and cold composting here.
