Latest composting Stories
By Brown, Margo Reid Getting organics out of landfills is critical. Connecting that mission with greenhouse gas emissions will make that happen. THE ENVIRONMENTAL outlook is bright throughout California, and we're doing everything we can to keep the momentum going forward. A huge part of this is going to be how we leverage the progress made thus far, and employ the credibility from that success to build more support behind the organics-related solutions we've always known to be a tremendous...
By Runge, Karsten Trends and practices in biosolids composting in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. OVER the past few years, composting of biosolids has become very popular in some Eastern European countries. This trend started in Poland in the late 1990s (see "Past, Present and Future of Composting in Poland," BioCycle April 2002), with later development in countries like Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Those countries, also known as the Baltic States, belonged to the former Soviet Union before...
By Diaz, L F Eggerth, L L Grover Landscape Services processes up to 800 tons/day of yard trimmings and source separated food waste, producing high quality compost for landscape and agricultural markets. GROVER Landscape Services, Inc. operates several composting facilities in northern California. Its site in Vernalis receives yard trimmings and food waste from various communities around the San Francisco Bay area, between 70 and 100 miles to the east. These include the City of Berkeley,...
By Anonymous Montpelier, Vermont The Vermont Natural Resources Board recently instructed Vermont Compost Co.'s operation in Montpelier to halt operations, and issued an $18,000 fine. The Board believes Vermont Compost to be in violation of Act 250, declaring the operation to be a compost manufacturing facility instead of a farm. Karl Hammer, proprietor of Vermont Compost Co., maintains that his operation is a farm, because he raises chickens and mules, and has an agricultural contract with...
By Dale Skaggs Now that the rains have moistened the soil, one good gardening task is to prepare soil for fall planting. In the Mid-South most of our soil is slightly acidic clay. If you have topsoil you probably live in an older house. In general, good building soil is vastly different from good gardening soil, and if there was any topsoil originally on the site the developers removed the good garden stuff. I often hear from folks who are new to the area complain that the soil here is...
WHEN it comes to going green - waste not, want not. The Evening Gazette's Go Green campaign is encouraging all of us to take steps to improve the environment. Today Energy Doctor Steve Hunter, right, who is regional manager for the Energy Savings Trust of the North East, Yorkshire and Humberside Advice centre, answers your questions on dealing with waste in the home. Q. I live alone and have a full time job, so when it comes to making myself dinner a lot of the food I have bought has...
By SHARON KILEY MACK; OF THE NEWS STAFF LIMESTONE - There's one sure thing about raising cows: They poop. A lot. Pineland Farms Natural Meats estimates that the 2,000 cows on their cattle farm in Fort Fairfield, the largest feed lot in New England, produces about 10,000 yards of manure each year. Thursday PFNM unveiled their new composting operation at the former Loring Air Force Base. "The agriculture community in Aroostook County will greatly benefit from this. It is large enough to make...
By Anonymous A project to evaluate the effects of green waste compost and "in vessel" compost (with food waste included) on the yield and quality of Class 1 fruit in commercial strawberry production was presented to visitors at Fruit Focus. The Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP)-funded trial is taking place at East Mailing Research (EMR) - and scientists Dr Mark Else of EMR and Dr Martin Wood of Earthcare Environmental were on hand to discuss the progress of the project so far. The...
SQUATTING behind a bush to do their business is now a thing of the past for these allotment holders. Plot holders at West Denton Allotments in Newcastle spent more than a few pennies installing a composting toilet on their site. The pounds 8,000 loo, thought to be only the second composting toilet at an allotment in the North East, will give gardeners a place for a convenient comfort break throughout the day. And after a year it will also provide compost for use on flower beds and...
GARDENERS in Nuneaton and Bedworth are being encouraged to replace aging mowers with mulching mowers. Unlike conventional mowers, which collect grass clippings, the new style mulching lawn mowers operate a system which recycles the clippings as it mows. The new system chops the grass clippings into fine particles, which are then pushed into the turf out of sight. There are no grass bags or collectors to empty and no trips to the compost bin. The result is a perfect lawn finish that claims...
Latest composting Reference Libraries
The term plasticulture is in reference to the practice of utilizing plastic materials in agricultural applications. The plastic materials themselves are frequently and broadly referred to as “ag plastics.” Plasticulture ag plastics can include soil fumigation film, nursery pots and silage bags, irrigation drip tape or tubing, but the term is most frequently used to describe all kinds of plastic plant and soil coverings. Such coverings range from plastic mulch film, high and low...
Vermicompost is composting with the use of special earthworms. Red wigglers and white worms are the more common worms used, although European night crawlers can be used as well. Red wigglers can be found living in manure piles and in rotting vegetation and adapt the best in covered worm bins. Common earthworms burrow deeply and are not recommended for use in compost bins. Blue worms are commonly used in the tropics. Worms are used to decompose vegetable and food waste along with bedding...
Image Caption: Compost barrel with compost and tools. Credit: Diego Grez/Wikipedia Compost is fertilizer made from decomposed organic matter that is then tilled directly into the soil or used as an additive when transplanting seedlings. Composting can be very simplistic or complex, depending on the amount of compost needed. Compost is widely used in organic farming because of its high nutrient content and natural pesticide abilities. Composting is simply piling, systematically,...
