Composting - It's all give and take!

Compost and organics soil maintenance is at the heart of organic growing: don't feed the plants, feed the soil -- the plants will look after themselves. The extremely complex subject of soil maintenance can happily be summed up in one word: composting.

The composting process will be more effective if you follow these suggestions.

To get started, make a layer of leaves or other brown vegetation. Then add a layer of green plant material. Add kitchen wastes as they accumulate. Dig these into the pile or cover with a thin layer of soil.

Continue adding material, alternating layers of brown material, green yard waste and kitchen waste. Brown yard waste is generally high in carbon. Kitchen scraps and fresh yard waste are high in nitrogen. Both carbon and nitrogen are needed to build a balanced compost pile.
Fine materials such as grass clippings should be added in thin layers so that they do not compact.
Keep the material as moist as a wrung-out sponge. Covering the pile with a plastic sheet may help to retain moisture. Water the pile occasionally if it becomes too dry.

Turn the pile every few weeks or whenever it becomes compacted, too wet, or develops an odour. A garden fork, commercial aerator, rake or pitchfork can be used to keep the pile properly turned and aerated.
Mix the material from the edges of the pile into the middle for more even decomposition.

Why Make Compost?

Compost is one of nature's best mulches and soil amendments, and you can use it instead of commercial fertilizers. Best of all, compost is cheap. You can make it without spending a cent.

Using compost improves soil structure, texture, and aeration and increases the soil's water-holding capacity. Compost loosens clay soils and helps sandy soils retain water. 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. Nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus will be produced naturally by the feeding of microorganisms, so few if any soil amendments will need to be added.

Most gardeners have long understood the value of this rich, dark, earthy material in improving the soil and creating a healthful environment for plants. Understanding how to make and use compost is in the public interest, as the problem of waste disposal climbs toward a crisis level. Landfills are brimming, and new sites are not likely to be easily found. For this reason there is an interest in conserving existing landfill space and in developing alternative methods of dealing with waste. Don't throw away materials when you can use them to improve your lawn and garden! Start composting instead.

One by one, cities are refusing to haul off our leaves and grass clippings. About one third of the space in landfills is taken up with organic waste from our yards and kitchens, just the type of material that can be used in compost. With a small investment in time, you can contribute to the solution to a community problem, while at the same time enriching the soil and improving the health of the plants on your property.

Following is some suggestions listing common composting materials:

*Algae, seaweed and lake moss - Good nutrient source.
*Cardboard -S hred into small pieces if you use it. Wetting it makes it easier to tear. If you have a lot, consider recycling instead.
*Coffee ground and filters - Worms love coffee grounds and coffee filters.
*Cornstalks, corn cobs -Best if shredded and mixed well with nitrogen rich materials.
*Dryer lint - Compost away! Moistening helps.
*Eggshells - Break down slowly. Crushing shells helps.
*Hair -Scatter so it isn't in clumps.
*Manure (horse, cow, pig, sheep, goat, chicken, rabbit) - Great source of nitrogen. Mix with carbon rich materials so it breaks down better.
*Newspaper - Shred it so it breaks down easier. It is easy to add too much newspaper, so recycle instead if you have a lot. Don't add slick colored pages.
*Oak leaves - Shredding leaves helps them break down faster. They decompose slowly. Acidic.
*Sawdust and wood shavings (untreated wood) -You'll need a lot of nitrogen materials to make up for the high carbon content. Don't use too much, and don't use treated woods.
*Pine needles and cones - Don't overload the pile. Also acidic and decomposes slowly.

Site Selection
Any pile of organic matter will eventually rot, but a well-chosen site can speed up the process. Look for a level, well-drained area. If you plan to add kitchen scraps, keep it accessible to the back door. Don't put it so far away you'll neglect the pile. In cooler latitudes, keep the pile in a sunny spot to trap solar heat. Look for some shelter to protect the pile from freezing cold winds which could slow down the decaying process. In warm, dry latitudes, shelter the pile in a shadier spot so it doesn't dry out too quickly.
Build the pile over soil or lawn rather than concrete or asphalt, to take advantage of the earthworms, beneficial microbes, and other decomposers, which will migrate up and down as the seasons change. Uncovered soil also allows for drainage. If tree roots are extending their roots into the pile, turn it frequently so they can't make headway.

Using Compost
Finished compost is dark brown, crumbly, and is earthy-smelling. Small pieces of leaves or other ingredients may be visible. If the compost contains many materials which are not broken down, it is only partly decomposed. This product can be used as a mulch, but adding partly decomposed compost to the soil can reduce the amount of nitrogen available to the plants. The microorganisms will continue to do the work of decomposing, but will use soil nitrogen for their own growth, restricting the nitrogen's availability to plants growing nearby.
Allow partly decomposed compost particles to break down further or separate them out before using compost on growing plants. Or add extra nitrogen such as manure, to ensure that growing plants will not suffer from a nitrogen deficiency. Compost is great for flower gardening, herb gardening, organic lawn care and vegetable gardening.

A compost mulch can benefit trees and shrubs just as it does other plants. Spread a ½" to 1" layer of compost on the bare soil under the tree as far as the drip line. Then cover with a 2-3" layer of some other kind of organic mulch, such as chopped leaves or pine needles. The mulch will hold the compost in place and keep it from drying out.
Adding compost to the planting hole of small perennial plants is valuable, particularly perennial food plants. Annuals will also benefit from a dose of compost at planting time.
Compost is the ultimate garden fertilizer. It contains virtually all the nutrients a living plant needs and delivers them in a slow-release manner over a period of years. Compost made with a wide variety of ingredients will provide an even more nutritious meal to your growing plants.
Compost is the best material available to enliven your soil no matter where you live. Farmers around the world will testify that healthier soil grows healthier plants that naturally resist disease, insects, and other environmental pressures. Adding compost to your garden is a long-term investment - it becomes a permanent part of the soil structure, helping to feed future plantings in years to come.

Second Annual Earth Hour

This is the second annual Earth Hour.

The first one was held in Sydney Australia and during the 60 minutes of darkness, when 2.2 million Sydney residents and 2,100 businesses turned off their lights, energy usage decreased by 10.2 percent -- the equivalent of taking 48,000 cars off the road for a year.

Turn off to plug in --- http://www.wwf.ca/EarthHour/

On Saturday, March 29, from 8:00 pm - 9:00 pm, turn off the T.V., switch off the lights and join millions of people for Earth Hour. During this quiet hour of darkness, dream about how we can make the Earth a healthier place to live.

Pass it on...!

A MUST watch movie - The World According to Monsanto

The World According to Monsanto

Present in forty-six countries, Monsanto has become the world leader in GM crops, as well as becoming one of the most controversial companies in industrial history. Since its foundation in 1901, the firm has faced trial after trial because of the toxicity of its products. Today it has reinvented itself as a "life sciences" company which has been converted to the virtues of sustainable development.
Using hitherto unpublished documents and the testimonies of victims, scientists and politicians, The World according to Monsanto pieces together the origins of an industrial empire, built upon lies, collusion with the American government, pressure and attempted corruption, which has become the world's leading seed manufacturer, spreading GM crops worldwide - amid a lack of any proper controls with respect to their effects on nature and human health.

Available in English Audio Version
http://torrentportal.com/details/1799757/The_World_according_to_Monsanto_National_Geographic_english.divx.torrent

http://www.arte-boutique.fr/detailProduct.action?product.id=245754

http://plus7.arte.tv/fr/detailPage/1697660,CmC=1940000,scheduleId=1933560.html

Slow Food Toronto - Farm To Home Fair

Slow Food Toronto - Farm to Home Fair
Saturday, March 29 - 1:00 - 5:00 Gladstone Hotel - 1214 Queen St. West, Toronto Suggested donation at the door Students / Children $5 - Adults $10 - Exhibitors $25

Connecting good, clean, fair, local farms with Toronto households Learn about: Community Supported Agriculture Farmer’s Markets / Direct Delivery Farmers’ Organizations Farm work and volunteer opportunities Food Policy / Urban Agriculture

All mindful eaters should come, including: Families with kids [activities provided] Farmers Local snacks will be served
A community building event generously supported by the Gladstone Hotel For more info: http://www.gladstonehotel.com
Interested in exhibiting?: paul[at]toronto.slowfood.ca

More info - http://www.toronto.slowfood.ca/

Documentary on TVO - Toxic Trespass

Toxic Trespass - May 14, 2008 - TVO
WHEN event -->
Start: 2008-05-14 22:30
WHEN: Wednesday May 14, 2008WHERE: TVOTIME: 10:30 p.m.
Toxic Trespass (2007).
In Toxic Trespass, filmmaker Barri Cohen launches an investigation into the detrimental effects of the chemical soup around us. Journeying into toxic nightmares all too common in industrialized countries, Cohen meets passionate activists working for positive change, along with doctors and scientists who see evidence of links between environmental pollution and health problems. Cohen also learns just how quickly barriers can go up when anyone tries to ask questions about the connection between toxins and serious health problems.

Hummingbirds - Nature's sonic jet!

Hummingbird trivia:

A Hummingbird will feed on more than 1,500 flowers during one day

Hummingbirds are attracted to red flowers, but will obviously go to other coloured flowers in search of food.

A Humming bird is the only bird that can fly backwards.

The average hummingbird weighs less than a penny.

More interesting info on these incredible creatures!

http://www.naturalsciences.org/funstuff/faqs/hummers.html

http://www.hummingbirdsociety.org/HB101/

http://www.birdwatchers.com/debtips.html

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Ruby-throated_Hummingbird.html

http://www.rubythroat.org/

Food colouring is not needed in this creatures feeders. Just sugar and water. Easy.

I can't wait until they return this Spring!

Well, I suppose today is "bash Monsanto" day. When I looked up information for the previous article, I came across some very interesting things that should be shared. Especially to Milk drinking Americans....

Monsanto, the same giant bio-tech company who created “Agent Orange”, PCB’s, and Roundup®, has been producing and selling to farmers, (with the FDA’s blessing, which is another strange story in itself), recombinant bovine growth hormone (rbGH), a hormone that increases milk production in dairy cattle, at the expense of these animals health.
The story could stop there, and readers might inquire as to why I’m passing this information on, however.....
Monsanto certainly doesn’t want consumers to know much about recombinant bovine growth hormone (rbGH), because it’s been widely reported that rbGH can increase toxicity in cows and cancer risk in humans, hence Monsanto is trying to bully labellers NOT to put ingredient information on the milk you drink, so as not to scare of the buying public....
Funny, but I think people's health should be a little bit more important than this corporations profit margins, but hey that's just my humble opinion.

Now don’t shoot the messenger. Check out these very interesting and informative links for yourself.

http://vvv.com/healthnews/milk.html
http://www.organicconsumers.org/rBGH/rach621.htm
http://home.intekom.com/tm_info/rw80626.htm#Monsanto%B4s
http://www.thecampaign.org/canada/monsantofiles.php
http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/food/foodsafety/dairy/no-rbgh

As for me, you ask? I’m going to get a glass of milk that is free of anything produced by the producer of Agent Orange.