Compost, Vermiculture, & Soil Fertility Cynthia Sandberg Love - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Compost, Vermiculture, & Soil Fertility Cynthia Sandberg Love - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Compost, Vermiculture, & Soil Fertility Cynthia Sandberg Love Apple Farms www.LoveAppleFarms.com It's All About the Soil Increase yields Decrease pests and diseases Increase nutritional value of crops Improve flavor


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Compost, Vermiculture, & Soil Fertility

Cynthia Sandberg Love Apple Farms www.LoveAppleFarms.com

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It's All About the Soil

  • Increase yields
  • Decrease pests and diseases
  • Increase nutritional value of crops
  • Improve flavor
  • Reduce erosion of

topsoil

  • Conserve water
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Macronutrients

  • Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium (NPK)
  • Needed in larger quantities by plants
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Micronutrients

  • Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg), Molybdenum (Mo),

Boron (B), Copper (Cu), Manganese (Mn), Zinc (Zn), Chlorine (Cl), Iron (Fe), Nickel (Ni)

  • Needed in trace quantities, too much can hurt plants more

than it can help

  • Regular additions of organic matter essential
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SLIDE 5

Soil pH

  • Test your soil!
  • Rainfall increases soil acidity
  • Add lime to raise pH
  • Add sulfur to lower pH
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Importance of Soil pH

  • Most vegetables want a pH between 5 and 7.
  • 6.5 is a great pH for an all-purpose veggie garden.
  • Your pH could be way off.
  • Plants cannot uptake nutrients when pH is skewed.
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Soil Fertility

DON'TS

  • Rototilling
  • Fallow land
  • Chemical fertilizers,

fungicides, and pesticides DO'S

  • Double-digging
  • Cover cropping
  • Organic amendments
  • Compost!!!
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SLIDE 8

Double-Digging Technique

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SLIDE 9

Cover Crops

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Organic Amendments

  • Feed your soil like you feed your body.
  • Cannot "Miracle Gro" soil into good health.
  • Vegetables are fast-growing plants.
  • Need more fertilizer than perennials because you

are harvesting (taking away nutrients).

  • Always amend beds before planting.
  • Soil test will reveal deficiencies and

and excesses.

X

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SLIDE 11

Bed Amending Recipe

For a 50 square foot bed:

  • 1 wheel barrow homemade compost OR

1 bag Gardner & Bloome Harvest Supreme or 1 bag G&B Farmyard Blend.

  • 4 quarts G&B 4-6-3 Tomato, Veg, & Herb

Fertilizer.

  • 1 quart pure Worm Castings.
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SLIDE 12

Bed Amending Step by Step

  • If bed too full, remove a barrow of

soil.

  • Sprinkle all amendments evenly on

top.

  • Turn over soil as deep as you can

(two digs preferably) using a spade fork.

  • Rake smooth
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SLIDE 13

Composting is.....

The controlled aerobic decomposition of biodegradable organic matter, producing compost

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Building a Compost Pile

  • Start with 6" layer of sticks and stalks criss-crossed

○Use twigs, sunflower stalks, corn stalks, or a pallet

  • Add a 2" layer of "green" matter (nitrogen)
  • Add a 3" layer of "brown" matter (carbon)
  • Water lightly
  • Another 2" layer of "green" matter
  • Another 3" layer of "brown" matter
  • Water lightly
  • And so on and so on...
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Homeowner Method - Bit by Bit

If you're not building complete pile from scratch:

  • Add your buckets from under your sink one by
  • ne.
  • Ensure there is enough carbon in your bucket as

you add.

  • Carbon can be paper towels, napkins, Kleenex,

coffee filters, tea bags, torn up newspaper, junk mail, etc. Caveat: If not enough carbon, pile will putrefy.

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SLIDE 22

"Green" Matter: High Nitrogen Content

  • Kitchen scraps*
  • Garden scraps*
  • Grass clippings
  • Coffee grounds
  • Yard trimmings*
  • Green leaves
  • Most weeds
  • Animal manure (vegetarians
  • nly)

*Cut up into smaller pieces. More surface area = faster decomposition.

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"Brown" Matter: High Carbon Content

  • Animal bedding

(shavings, straw)

  • Cardboard
  • Paper
  • Coffee filters/tea bags
  • Cotton rags and balls
  • Dryer and vacuum

cleaner lint

  • Eggshells
  • Fireplace ashes
  • Hair and fur
  • Hay and Straw
  • Dried leaves
  • Nut shells
  • Sawdust
  • Newspaper
  • Wood chips
  • Wool rags
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What Not to Compost

  • Black walnut tree leaves or twigs
  • Oak leaves and pine needles
  • Coal or charcoal ashes
  • Dairy products
  • Diseased or insect-ridden plants
  • Fats, grease, lard, or oils
  • Cooked meat or bones
  • Pet wastes
  • Yard trimmings treated with chemical pesticides
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Vermiculture (Cold Composting)

  • Can be done outdoors

and indoors, even in apartments.

  • Rich soil conditioner
  • Worm casting tea: our

favorite fertilizer.

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The Container

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SLIDE 27

The Container

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SLIDE 28

Drainage Holes

  • Drill holes in

bottom for drainage and sides for ventilation.

  • Raise bin on bricks
  • r wooden blocks.
  • Place tray

underneath to capture excess liquid (use as plant fertilizer).

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Cover Bins

  • Retains moisture.
  • Provides darkness for worms.
  • Indoors: burlap sack or sheet of dark plastic is ok.
  • Outdoors: solid lid to keep out unwanted

scavengers and rain.

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Bedding for Inside Bin

  • Must have damp bedding for worms to live in.
  • Shredded newspaper, cardboard, dry leaves,

chopped up straw, compost, sawdust.

  • Add a few handfuls of sand or soil - necessary

grit for worm's digestion.

  • As damp as wrung-out sponge.
  • Fluff up to provide

air spaces.

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Compost Worms: Redworms

Eisenia foetida

  • Aka red wiggler, brandling, manure worm
  • Live at or near surface

Lumbricus rubellus

  • Aka driftworm, garden worm, angle worm, leaf worm, red march

worm, red wriggler

  • Live further down

Do not use dew-worms (found in soil)--they will not survive

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Food/Worm Ratio 1 lb food waste every week to start 1/2 lb worms (roughly 500)

:

  • If starting with less

worms, reduce food accordingly

  • Worm population

will steadily increase over time

  • Then you can start

adding more proportionately

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Feeding Your Worms

DO's

  • Fruit and vegetable

scraps, chopped up

  • Pulverized egg shells
  • Tea bags, coffee

grounds, filters DON'Ts

  • Meat
  • Dairy
  • Oily foods
  • Grains
  • Citrus
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Worm Bin Location

  • Can be indoor all year round

○ Basements are great

  • Can be outdoor during milder climates

○Sheds, garages, patios, balconies, in yard

  • Temperature range: 40 - 80°F

○If < 40°F: move indoors or ○insulate well

  • Out of hot sun and heavy rain
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Maintaining Your Bin

  • Add food for 2.5 months - little or no bedding should

remain. ○Castings will be dark brown. ○Contents will decrease in bulk.

  • Separate worms from finished compost before using.

○Move aside and add new food for worms to move in to. ○Or dump on large plastic sheet and pick out worms. ■Save tiny, lemon-shaped worm cocoons too. ■Saves more worms, but more work.

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SLIDE 36

Worm Cocoons

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Common Problem: Unpleasant odors

From overloading food waste that sits around too long. This is a photo of what bin should NOT look like! Solution:

  • Stop adding food waste.
  • Gently stir contents to

allow more air in.

  • Check drainage holes

for blockage, and drill more holes if necessary.

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SLIDE 38

Worms Crawling to Sides and Lid

Bedding may be too acid if you add a lot of acidic

  • foods. Solution:
  • Add a couple handfuls of dolomitic lime and cut

down on acidic wastes

x

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Fruit Flies

Solution:

  • Bury food waste in bedding a bit and don't
  • verload
  • Keep bin covered
  • Move bin to new location
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Harvesting your Castings

  • Worms move up into food, leaving castings below.
  • To harvest, remove top half of bedding, which holds

the worms.

  • Remove the top half to a tarp or box or bin.
  • Take away bottom half of bin.
  • Add a couple of inches of new bedding on the

bottom of the bin and water it to consistency of wrung-out sponge.

  • Add back the removed top half.
  • Store castings in a bucket or plastic ziplock until

ready to use. Do not store in heat or sunlight.

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SLIDE 41

Worm Casting Tea

  • Big handful of castings in a 5 gallon bucket of water.
  • Let sit for two days.
  • Can then be diluted with up to another 15 gallons of water.
  • Strain through cheesecloth or strainer and apply to plants

with a watering can or garden sprayer.

  • Do twice a month during growing season.
  • Increase fertility, reduce incidence of disease, and reduce

bug stress.

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SLIDE 42

Upcoming Events at Love Apple

  • Basic Cheese Making - August 1 or Sept 14
  • HOW-Day Garden Skills - August 3
  • HOW-Day Kitchen Skills - August 10
  • Pizza from Scratch - August 24
  • Sushi - August 31
  • Kombucha - September 7
  • Winter Vegetable Gardening - September

14

  • Yogurt - September 15
  • Advanced Cheese Making - September 28
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Final Word on Worms

  • Taking worms out of

their natural environment

  • Creates responsibility
  • Living creatures with

unique needs

  • Create and maintain

and healthy habitat

  • Your worms and your

garden will thrive!

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Now Let's Go Build Our Worm Bins!

  • Grab a bin.
  • Add two to 3 inches of compost.
  • Put your worm container nested into compost. Don't dump

worms out yet.

  • When home: sprinkle water - about 6 cups - onto compost

and mix in well (consistency of bedding should be that of a wrung-out sponge).

  • Now dump worms into compost - no need to mix.
  • Add thick layer of newspaper or cardboard to top of worms
  • Put in shady location
  • Watch for leakage - you'll need to catch leakage (it's good

stuff!)