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Families
Take Different Approaches to Backyard Composting
By
Darci Clark – For the Sun
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With
summer in full swing, it’s time for the fourth installment
of our friendly eco-challenge – Compost Quest.
For those just joining us, this monthly reality journal is part
of a larger Westman community action project called “Composting
101” seeking to promote the economic and environmental
benefits of backyard composting.
Through our work with local schools, Composting 101
found two generous families – one urban Brandon household
and one from rural Westman – willing to have us look over
their shoulders for the upcoming year as they gain confidence
fitting backyard composting into their busy lives. Our project
rationale continues to be to show how the average household
can make simple local changes that will contribute positively
to our global waste crisis. Besides extending the life of our
local landfill, bonus benefits include a nutrient-rich organic
amendment that boosts the health of soil and plants and the
personal satisfaction of creating this naturally recycled product
in our own backyards.
As you can see from our latest ‘compostoons’, each
family is developing their own style of backyard composting.
Our farm family, with an open bin made of recycled wood pallets
from Westman Recycling Council, is focusing primarily on a mix
of cattle manure, straw and yard/grass trimmings for their compost
material. Although they are not adding kitchen waste, the manure
and grass clippings will nicely heat up the pile and provide
the necessary microorganisms to break down the matter. Things
are going so well that the kids have had time to go to the lake
knowing nature will still do its work while they play. A potential
early harvest will soon find them keeping up with the pace of
increased garden waste and catch-up chores around the yard.
 Our city
family is using a plastic enclosed bin courtesy of Canadian
Tire. The process is really ticking along there as the 8 year
old boy T has become the family eco-conscience by establishing
a routine of adding most of their kitchen scraps (things like
fruit cores, veggie peels and coffee filters) and any extra
grass clippings on virtually a daily basis. Mom and Dad report
that they have no odor concerns as they regularly match this
fresh ‘green’ nitrogen-rich material with a reserve
stock of dry leaves (a ‘brown’ source of needed
carbon) and a scattering of soil to keep the composting process
in balance. The occasional poke with the handle of a rake allows
air and moisture to circulate throughout the bin. The kids continue
to compare techniques with Grandpa and the family states that
composting is now becoming a household habit just like recycling.
As you can see, backyard composting can be whatever scale and
method a family desires, with the basic recipe modified by need
and experience to suit any household. Stay tuned next month
to see how our families begin dealing with the bounty of yard
waste from their ripening gardens at the same time they also
get back into fall school and work routines.
For more information on all types of composting, or copies of
previous articles, call us at 725-9234 or 727-5683. Composting
101 provides presentations, demonstration workshops
and educational material to help make backyard composting second
nature.
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