Composting: Author wanted

by Catherine Haug

We have received a few queries about composting:.  Shelli at Yellow Bay wanted to know if meat could be added to compost; Keith (our Brew Master) wants to know more about vermicomposting.  And the question has come up at a few gatherings.

Is there anyone in our ESP community who could write a post about composting? You don’t really have to be an expert, you just have to have experience with the topic.  And having photos to illustrate your text really helps.

The post could describe various ways to compost, what to include (or not to include), how to ensure it gets warm enough to make good compost, how to ensure it gets adequate air and moisture, benefits of adding and encouraging worms, etc.

If you are interested, send your draft to Catherine (cat(at)essentialstuff.org — email disguised), along with how you’d like your name to appear, as the author.

If you have the expertise but don’t want to write it up, lets get together.  You describe, I’ll take notes and then write it up for you.

4 Responses to “Composting: Author wanted”

  1. David Brown says:

    One efficient way to utilize kitchen waste, including meat and other food scraps, and yard waste is to dig a hole 2 to 3 feet deep and wide and slowly (or quickly) fill it with organic material of all sorts. This can include bones, spoiled leftovers, leaves, grass clippings, material clipped from trees and shrubs, sawdust, weeds, manure, urine, feces, fish guts, shredded paper, cardboard, and anything else that can rot. Keep the hole covered to discourage varmints and dogs and immediately throw dirt and/or leaves in the hole on top of anything that might produce an objectionable odor.

    Once the hole is filled, you can do a number of things with it. Ring it with rocks or blocks or two tires bolted together with most of the rims cut out, fill with compost-enriched rich topsoil, and plant squash, melons, cucumbers, or pumpkins. Or wait a year for the soil to settle and plant a tree, shrub, or raspberry bush.

  2. Catherine says:

    Thanks, David! And thanks also for allowing us to print your Daily InterLake article from October 2008, on Fall Composting of Yard Waste: https://www.essentialstuff.org/index.php/2009/04/06/Cat/composting-yard-waste/

  3. Catherine says:

    Jeffrey Funk sent this in an email:
    “I very highly recommend ‘The Humanure Handbook’ by Joseph Jenkins. It is a brilliant, serious, and often humorous journey into the fine points of composting. And it takes direct aim at our insane practice of dispersing our own precious manure into our waterways rather than composting and cycling the nutrients back into our personal food production. Solid research, sharp analysis, radical and sensible solution.” see http://www.jenkinspublishing.com/humanure.html or http://www.amazon.com/Humanure-Handbook-Guide-Composting-Manure/dp/0964425890 for more info.

  4. Catherine says:

    ESP is considering a future gathering on composting toilets and indoor privies. Does anyone know of someone(s) who could do a presentation on these subjects? Contact Catherine or Edd (see ESP Contact page, https://www.essentialstuff.org/index.php/contact/)