59. Sheet Composting Top-dressing on
the soil surface like a garden lasagna
right onto a future growing space.
Trench Composting - composting
directly in the soil
Cold Bin Composting Fill your
compost bin halfway with browns and
bury kitchen scraps
Bokashi Bucket anaerobic bacteria
(grass-like inoculated bran, rice, dried
leaves sprinkled over scraps). 10
days to ferment & “pickle” waste,
forming an acidic organic matter that
must be dug into the soil or added to
a compost pile.
TYPES OF COMPOSTING
78. AS PILE TEMPERATURES &
TIME IS NEEDED FOR VARIOUS
MICROORGANISMS TO COLONIZE
79. Left: (1 year old) Last year’s material all garden stuff, grass & leaves,
kitchen: banana peels veg. trimmings from the pile’s top.
Middle: (2 years old) bottom of this year’s pile put into bags
Right: (3 years old) Finished product from the bags to be used in the
garden & greenhouse this year
GUESS WHERE THIS
COMPOST WAS MADE?
Easily sign up for a library card to get immediate access to our online library. A vast collection is available with your library card like eBooks, eAudiobooks, movies, music and more! Go to M-D-P-L-S ‘dot’ org to learn more.
Remote library resources
This app is your library on the go with 24/7 access for downloading and streaming eBooks, eAudiobooks, movies, music and magazines, search the catalog, find your nearest library branch and hours, request and renew books, search events and much more!
Have titles mailed directly to your home through Libraries @ Your Door our free one direction Home Delivery Service. Just log in into your library account online or calling us to make requests. Once you're ready to return your items, simply drop them off at any library location, use the book drops or pay return postage to mail them back.
Take home Mobile Device Lending Program is Part of the award the Emergency Connectivity Fund Program so Borrow a tablet or Wi-Fi hotspot to take home for 30 days, Our Mobile Device Kits can be used just about anywhere for work, school and personal browsing.
Playaway Launchpad tablets come preloaded with learning apps, videos, storybooks and games designed just for kids. Choose your tablet by theme, grade level from K-5 and subjects including math, reading, science and more. No internet connection is required. Check one out today!
At 29 libraries out of 50, there are Local certified teachers. Bachelor's degree in Education or related field. Three years of teaching experience. A current Professional Teaching Certificate issued by the State of Florida and a Certification in Elementary Education, Reading, Math or Science (grades K-12) is required. https://mdpls.org/tutor
On the front page of the MDPLS website, click on the young couple sitting and viewing a laptop. The box is labeled Databases. Trusted for decades. Trusted reviews on appliances, cars, and household devices.
11/9/2021 “Grow and dry your own. That might be a particularly good idea if you use a lot of basil, oregano, and thyme; in our tests all or almost all the brands tested were high in heavy metals. Read more about how to grow and dry your own herbs and spices.”
For Local news, you can search the Miami Herald back to 1904
This article is from Wed., 4/27/2022. A major reason for this class is to keep 20-40% of your kitchen waste on your property as something beneficial for your plants. The MD Dept of Solid Waste
Management has purchased composters that you can receive after this class to offset the tonnage
Of wasteful waste.
Overdrive is the website & Libby is the app. Thousands of ebooks, eaudiobooks and
Magazines.
https://mdpls.overdrive.com/
733 ebooks and audiobooks on gardening.
About 388 issues on gardening.
About 300 issues.
30 downloads or streams a calendar month.
https://www.hoopladigital.com/
Now Masterclass online classes has a starting price of $15/month (billed annually), Thru Hoopla, the Great Courses are accessible to you, for free, from Art to Zoology with multiple video lessons. No homework, no tests, no pressure – just in-depth instruction from the world's greatest professors.
3249 results from gardening
10,820 results from the word cooking
5,605 results form the word humor
Interesting opportunities to collect community service hours
Email companionil@mdpls.org
By date…
In person. Face to face or should I say face to Muzzle.
Hybrid October 1 at 3pm
Family research techniques with local archivists
https://www.gsgmfl.org/
https://mdpls.org/event/7242770
Weekly walk-in program. A conversation circle for Spanish language learners.
Register: https://mdpls.org/event/7037675
Students gather together to gain comfort and fluency when speaking English as a second language.
This free program is provided for English as a Second Language (ESL) learners to practice vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar in a fun, comfortable, laid-back environment.
And now let’s talk about Book Clubs. We have a variety! Seven at the moment..
First Wednesdays from 1- 3pm
Oct. 8, 2022 https://mdpls.org/event/6853925
A new monthly Read with Me Book Club for kids ages 6+. All titles are Newbery Award winners. 11am - Noon.
A partnership with Kristi House with 2 sessions every 2nd Wed. Book readings, interactive scenarios, and fun role-playing activities, enabling children to easily identify and assert personal boundaries without feelings of shame or guilt for children ages 4-10 years of age.
Register: https://mdpls.org/event/6589614
Two hybrid new library clubs: 2nd Sat Great Books & 3rd Sat Great Conversations
Oct 8 https://mdpls.org/event/7005422
Oct 15 https://mdpls.org/event/6908109
November planned repeats
https://mdpls.org/event/6406951
Informal with no teacher, bring your own supplies
42 people each visit, call for an appt.
More for teens.
More for teens.
Requirements at four branch locations: ND, SD HG, LC
High School Student (ages 14‑19)
Resident of Miami‑Dade County
Possess a MDPLS library card
Possess a valid high school identification
Workshops in video and music production, graphic design, photography, 3D modeling
Printing, podcasting, robotics, virtual reality.
----------------------------------------------------------
YOUMake @ MB & WK
Makers 8 years and older.
M-Th 2pm-8pm
F&Sat 9:30-6
Jewelry, sewing, video production, painting, arts and crafts, video design
Frost Museum of Science
History Miami
Fruit and Spice Park
Perez Art Museum
First come, first serve, 1 pass for four people once during a 7 day period
https://sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/events/?location=miamidade
Google Miami Cooperative Extension
Fruit and Spice Park’s Growfest
Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/rain-barrel-workshop-growfest-at-the-fruit-spice-park-tickets-421614810247?aff=ebdsoporgprofile
Rain fall drops off in our dry season, November averages 4" of rain. Be ready to catch it. A 1" rainfall event falling on a 1000 ft. rooftop adds up to 620 gallons!
Lecture is free. Barrel has a $60 charge. Fruit & Spice Park • Homestead, FL
The free workshop will be conducted virtually on Friday evening, March 11, 2022.
For those who purchase a rain barrel, the pick-up details are as follows:
When: Saturday, April 9, 2022 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon
For more information contact bmcadam@ufl.edu
Helps Avocado growers dealing with the Red Bay Ambrosia Beetle or white fly on ficus to questions gardening for birds and coastal cleanups
https://sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/miami-dade/
If Zone 10a in hits 30 to 35 degrees F. then Zone 10b in the darker red area typically lands five degrees warmer from 35 to 40 degrees.
https://tinyurl.com/MiamiVeggies
https://tinyurl.com/MonthlyPlanting
START WITH FOOD SCRAPS. BUT THAT IS JUST THE START…
TOO MUCH OF ONE THING – LIKE FOOD SCRAPS – MAKES A STINKY MESS.
THERE ARE DIFFERENT KINDS OF COMPOST BINS. SOME CITIES DON’T ALLOW OPEN BINS.
MINIMUM SIZE 3’x3’x3”
Types of bins: https://tinyurl.com/42wbx2t8
MOBILE HOLDING BIN
STATIONARY BIN
MULTI-BIN TURNING SYSTEM
TUMBLERS AND DRUMS
SHEET COMPOSTING (NO BIN)
HEAP OR PILE COMPOSTING (NO BIN)
A COMPOST PILE IS AS EASY AS A CIRCLE OF WIRE. ENCLOSURES ARE A GOOD IDEA TO KEEP OUT DOGS & RODENTS FROM DIGGING FOR FOOD SCRAPS.
Sheet Composting is just scattering organic material on the soil surface. Then allow the browns and greens to decompose without moving anything around. It’s like treating compost like mulch. Mulch doesn’t start out as compost, but mulch decomposes into compost. What mulch is, is a 2-3 in deep blanket, covering your garden to keep weeds from growing and keeping garden soil moist and soft. Sheet composting is easy, it’s lazy but has drawbacks. As these materials decompose, compost filters slowly into the soil below. Leaves, wood chips, and other mulches are examples of sheet composting. So what’s wrong with sheet composting? Drawbacks include slow rate of decomposition, and it is not compatible with composting all materials such as kitchen scraps. You’ll attract animals who’ll seek out the kitchen scraps. Also, if the raw materials contain weed seed or plant pathogens, these undesirables won’t be destroyed in the sheet composting process. Trench Composting is like sheet composting only you dug an 8” trench. It’s a relatively straight-forward method of composting directly into the soil. This method does not require a bin. Simply dig a trench 8 inches deep in the garden area, fill with 4 inches of kitchen scraps and backfill with soil.
After a few months, the material will have decomposed sufficiently for planting above the compost trench. For large
amounts of material, consider roto-tilling the material into the soil, and waiting a season before planting. What’s wrong with trench composting? The disadvantages of trench composting include slow rate of decomposition and potential for digging pests to excavate trenches just like sheet composting. Additionally, if the raw materials contain weed seed or plant pathogens, these undesirables will not be destroyed in the trench composting process.
Today we promote bins help keep the compost neat and tidy, and to help you exclude varmint type pests from becoming a problem.
Bokashi is Japanese word meaning "fermented organic matter.” Bokashi composting can be done in a relatively small space since it does not require materials to be fluffed up with air. The material produced is a fermented product, not a traditional compost that can be surface applied to a garden as a mulch. It must either be buried in trenches in the garden or added to a traditional compost heap for further breakdown. The process requires a special airtight bucket or bin with the ability to drain off the liquid that is produced.
START OUT WITH A VEGETARIAN COMPOST PILE. IF YOU’RE PUTTING THE COMPOST ON EDIBLES, THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU WANT THE PLANT TO UPTAKE FROM THE SOIL IF THE ANIMAL EATS MEATS – DON’T COMPOST ITS POOP.
IF IT STILL HAS A WATER CONTENT – IT’S A GREEN
“A compost pile is quite a bit different from the human body! Moldy and rotten vegetables are probably not very healthy for me to consume either, but my compost pile thrives on them! And I throw plenty of Datura (devil trumpet), Digitalis (foxglove) and Castor Bean (Ricin) leaves and stems in my pile, which I probably wouldn't want to eat either!
With a small quantity of soda, the carbon dioxide will quickly dissipate and the sugars will be digested in no time at all by bacteria and yeast. Flavorings, even the artificial kinds, are organic compounds that are easily broken down. The only possible concern might be from preservatives, but how many preservatives are there in ordinary soda? Any quantities are minuscule at best.”
If the ink used is vegetable-based, soy-based or non-toxic, then it's safe for the compost. If the paper is from a printer, covered in Sharpie or ballpoint pen, or it's colored construction paper, it's generally not advisable to compost these, and just recycle them instead, according to NationSwell. Some wrapping paper can be composted if it looks or feel like plain old butcher paper, but try to avoid throwing any that have a plastic, waxy, or metallic coating into a compost heap. Try and reuse those as much as possible. When it comes to shiny receipts, those aren’t really using ink, they are typically thermal paper printed via a heat process instead. This type of specialized “paper” requires a fairly large infusion of an industrial chemical called bisphenol A (BPA), which has been used to make plastics and resins. BPA is not something you want seeping into your compost or your soil, especially not if you plan on using that compost to fertilize your garden come the spring. If parts of your pizza box are grease-free, feel free to cut the box up and put the completely clean parts in your recycling bin, and save the rest for the compost. For that, you’ll need to rely on the compost heap. Regardless of how much sauce and cheese is left on the inside of a pizza box, it’s going to break down. Paper is a carbon-based material, which means it’s actually an important part of any amateur composting setup. Simply tear that pizza box into little pieces, cover it with some dirt and food scraps, and you should be turning it into usable fertilizer in no time. It also requires less energy and water to recycle paper than to make new paper. So, there are some types of paper, like pizza boxes, that can be composted but not recycled. Unfortunately, glossy magazines should not be composted,, as they have strong inks, dyes, and printing chemicals that can be very toxic for the environment, but they can be recycled.
Recognize these little fruit and vegetable branding stickers? They are
Plastic and do not compost.
Here’s the science behind composting:
The bacteria responsible for the composting process require C & N as nutrients to construct their bodies as they reproduce and multiply.
CARBON HAS A “B” when spelling the word SO THINK BROWN
NITROGEN HAS A “G” when spelling the word SO THINK GREEN
NITROGEN IS USED A FOOD source. Fresh green plant material contains high levels of nitrogen. As the greens age they lose nitrogen and turn brown at the same time. Green leaves have high levels of nitrogen, but as they go brown in fall, their nitrogen levels drop. Wood products and straw have low levels of nitrogen but lots of carbon to produce energy to breakdown materials when interacting with the Greens. A whole lot of browns on their own, like a pile of cardboard, will just sit there – they need the greens to jumpstart the decomposition. Greens help microorganism in the pile to grow and multiply. The activities of the micro and macroorganisms make the compost heat up.
THE ELEMENTS IN THIS SLIDE ARE THE RECIPE.
GREENS + BROWNS + WATER + HEAT + MICRO-ORGANISMS (bacteria, fungi, microbes) + MACRO-ORGANISMS (earthworms, insects – yes even roaches)
+ OXYGEN = COMPOST
RECIPE IS SIMPLE – DO NOT OVERwhelm the composter with GREENS
EXAMPLES OF GREENS which are rich in protein to help
Microorganisms in the pile grow and multiple fast : coffee grounds,
Examples of browns : corn cobs, nut shells
Browns are the carbon and carbon produces energy to breakdown materials when interacting with the Greens which act as protein
Like feathers and wheat flour and drier lint
LIKE THE FOOD PYRAMID OF HOW MUCH WE SHOULD EAT – THIS IS WHAT COMPOST IS CREATED FROM: MORE BROWNS, THEN GREENS
Solarization – sterilizing the soil from last seasons infiltration of nematodes, viruses, funguses, etc. Summer crops to add nitrogen: cowpea, velvet bean, soybean, and sunflower • Winter: cereal rye (FL 401), crimson clover, and Austrian winter pea
Cover crops to protect the soil:
https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/edibles/vegetables/cover-crops.html
Solarizing your garden boxes:
https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/care/pests-and-diseases/pests/management/soil-solarization.html
Slide 15-26 for more cover crops https://sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/sarasota-docs/ag/OrganicVegetableGardening_CoverCrops.pdf
SOIL THAT IS STERILE (WITHOUT MICRO-ORGANISMS) END UP NEEDING MORE FERTILIZERS. FERTILIZERS SEEP INTO THE AQUIFER. Did you know that there’s a new Miami Dade ordinance prohibiting fertilizer use from May 15 to Oct 31? It is intended to offset the harmful nutrients that wash into canals that end up in waterways.
Here’s the farm: This is why you should Wear gloves when working with compost. You are farming and cooking organisms, among them plant viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa and algae which make up the soil biome. In the process of composting, microorganisms break down organic matter and produce carbon dioxide, water, heat, and humus. DIFFERENT BUGS LIKE DIFFERENT TEMPS. Without a strong microscope, you wouldn’t know. these millions of microbes under our feet act as workers at recycling plants, mining operations, and refineries. They all have specific jobs helping make nutrients available for plants.
This is a prettier version of that last slide…A LOT OF LIFE GOES ON IN JUST ONE TABLESPOON OF DIRT. Soil is alive. “It’s the brown food web”. More than a prop to just hold up your plants, healthy soil is a jungle of voracious creatures eating and pooping and reproducing their way toward glorious soil fertility. A single teaspoon (1 gram) of rich garden soil can hold up to one billion bacteria, several yards of fungal filaments, several thousand protozoa, and scores of nematodes.
The rhizosphere is the word used to describe the area of soil surrounding plant roots. It is the most biologically active layer of the soil; populated with micro organisms interacting and benefiting from chemicals released by plant roots. Most soil microorganisms work in the “recycler” role. These are the decomposers that take dead plant and animal matter and break it down. If these recyclers didn’t do their job, the world would be a heap of unusable trash.
So let’s talk about those microorganisms…DIFFERENT BACTERIA LIKE DIFFERENT TEMPS. Different communities of microorganisms predominate during the various composting phases. Initial decomposition is carried out by mesophilic microorganisms, which rapidly break down the soluble, readily degradable compounds. The heat they produce causes the compost temperature to rise rapidly.
As the temperature rises above about 104F, the mesophilic microorganisms become less competitive and are replaced by others that are thermophilic, or heat-lovers. At temperatures of 131°F and above, many plant pathogens are destroyed.
During the thermophilic phase, high temperatures accelerate the breakdown of proteins, fats, and complex carbohydrates like cellulose and hemicellulose, the major structural molecules in plants. As the supply of these high-energy compounds becomes exhausted, the compost temperature gradually decreases and mesophilic microorganisms once again take over for the final phase of "curing" or maturation of the remaining organic matter.
THIS IS THE PROCESS. How much time depends on the mix.
Compost heat is produced as a by-product of the microbial breakdown of organic material.
ALASKA! WHAT TAKES THREE YEARS IN ALASKA, CAN TAKE JUST MONTHS IN OUR CLIMATE. THE PROBLEM FOR SOUTH FLORIDA GARDENERS, IS WITH YEAR-ROUND HEAT, COMPOST used in the garden DETERIORATES QUICKLY. We can make it fast but the problem is that it breaks down fast. You need more more more.
CHIP DOWN LARGER ITEMS.
ONE WOMAN USES HER BLENDER TO CREATE A MUSH, another bakes egg shells til they are crispy and break down into dust SHREDDERS ARE GOOD FOR TOILET PAPER ROLLS, SMALLER CARDBOARD.
Although some kid’s books nail it. Here’s carbon and nitrogen is just called dry and fresh stuff.
AERATION IS A NECESSITY. THIS IS THE PHYSICAL PART OF COMPOSTING.
Like a giant wine bottle cork screw.
The pile gets hot, so hot that you’re cooking this material from the inside out.
The internal bottom center turns into compost fastest.
THE OTHER PHYSICAL PART IS MOVING THE NEWEST DECOMPOSED MATERIALS OUT TO MATURE. MOVE THE COOLER AREAS OUTSIDE TO THE INSIDE.
Compost can take months to make or sooner if you turn the whole thing.
Your composting system may not break down all the larger materials, such as corn cobs or wood chips, in the first batch of compost that you make. When you screen your compost, any material larger than your screen size can be removed. Some call these "overs," and they can go back into the compost system the next time that you build a pile. The overs provide bulk for aeration, and microbes attached to these pieces will help jump-start the new composting process.
Immature compost may contain phytotoxins that will often kill seed embryos. Seeds grown in immature compost won't sprout or may die immediately after sproutingYou can use compost as a soil amendment when repotting houseplants or mix it 50/50 with potting soil when starting seeds. The best time to add compost directly to the soil of a garden bed or container is before planting in the spring or after harvest in the fall.
Phytotoxins are poisonous substances synthesized by plants or plant pathogens through naturally occurring biochemical reactions. Plants use them as defensive agents against predators (pests, insects, stress, etc.) and diseases.
A THERMOMETER IS VALUABLE! Use it to probe deep into the compost. Take TEMPERATURE readings in several locations at various depths from the top and sides. Compost may have hotter and colder pockets depending on the moisture & ingredients. IF air enters from the bottom, the hottest locations tend to be two-thirds or more of the way up. A well constructed compost system will heat up to 104F -122F within two to three days. As readily decomposable organic matter becomes depleted, the temperature begins to drop and the process slows considerably. The temperature DEPENDS ON how much heat is being produced by microorganisms and how much is lost through aeration and surface cooling. Moisture also affects temperature; since water has a higher heat than most other materials, drier compost mixtures tend to heat up and cool off more quickly than wetter mixtures, + MICROBES NEED MOISTURE.
HEALTHY VEGGIES AND PLANTS START WITH HEALTHY DIRT. On the other hand
A Damaged soil microbiome, disrupts the concentration of nutrients in our food.
COMPOST IS AN AMENDMENT NOT A FERTILIZER. IT HELPS WITH THE UPTAKE OF NUTRIENTS. JUST LIKE YOU DON’T LIVE BY EATING JUST VITAMINS, THE VITAMIN PILLS THAT YOU TAKE HELP YOU ABSORB THE MOST OUT OF THE FOOD THAT YOU EAT.
Great for apartments. Quiet. Loves the dark. Best pet ever!! No pet deposit required!
Fishing Bait shop. One lb of worms can turn 65 lbs of edible garbage into compost in 100 days.
A lb of worms can eat 65 lbs of kitchen waste in 3 months because they consume their own weight in food daily. Have 5 hearts, 1 brain, breathe through skin and lay eggs. Double in population every 2-3 months in ideal conditions - (60°- 80°F) Life span – 15+ years
Bedding and food Air –skin is their lung Moisture –Need water to breathe through their skin. Designed as a "tube within a tube" - the digestive tract runs the length of the body from mouth to anus Red wiggler worms are better equipped to work and live in your compost pile or bin where they can get into the ground or pile more than they are for your in-ground soil. This is because red worms have different preferences and environmental boundaries than earthworms. Red worms prefer decaying plant matter and are likely to eat almost anything that you put in your worm bin. They feed and prefer to stay within the top few inches of soil but avoid light. Red wigglers are excellent consumers of organic kitchen waste. Your output will be nutrient-rich worm castings which you can use in your garden or water down and pour on your potted plants.
Expensive when purchasing this 10 lb bag = 100 sq. feet
Worm castings – natures perfect plant food as a healthy balance of water soluble plant nutrients and beneficial microbes.
Chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://mobilecontent.costco.com/live/resource/img/static-us/IMO-ApplicationGuidelines-v1.pdfNaturally odor free for outdoor or indoor plants
Encourages root growth, Improves soil structure, Non-burning
LANDFILLS IN FLORIDA ARE THROUGHOUT FL. THE TRASH PILES ARE GETTING BIGGER AND HIGHER .
20-30% WHAT’S BEING TRASHED COULD BE RECYCLED INTO COMPOST.