GO GREEN!
Composting in the Brazos Valley
By NICOLE SHAIR
A
s spring starts to bring more sun and
rain to the Brazos Valley, gardeners
and recyclers alike are preparing to use
winter’s dead leaves to create compost
for spring’s fresh flowers and beautiful
gardens — and you can, too.
Composting is a great recycling method
because it benefits the recycler just as
much as it benefits the environment, says
AgriLife Extension Agent for Horticulture
in Brazos County Robert “Skip” Richter.
“[Composting] can help create
something that will improve your soil
so that your gardens and landscapes are
enhanced,” Richter says. “It’s also a way to
recycle a part of our waste stream so that
we are not paying additionally to have
trash hauled away to landfills.”
No matter what kind of soil a person
has, composting has benefits to offer
homeowners, including healthier and
more beautiful landscapes.
“The number one use from a home
standpoint is to help improve your soil,”
Richter says. “If your soil is sandy, it will
help it hold water and nutrients, and if
your soil is very clay-like, it helps it form a
structure that helps the soil drain well.”
One of the best things about
composting is that few resources and
preparation are needed to make a well-
functioning compost bin. The easiness
of composting is also aided by the two
different types of composting available:
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traditional compost, compost mixed
in a bin and left to decompose; and
vermicompost, composting using worms.
“There’s different ways that we
compost: one is the traditional compost
bin, but we can also, if you have a garden,
mix leaves into the garden and let them
decompose naturally,” Richter says.
In order to do traditional composting,
Richter suggests a bin about three
to four feet in diameter in order to
maintain the right levels of moisture
and amount of compost taken care of,
though bins can also be plastic, wire,
or homemade. Next, gather the waste
materials which will go in the compost;
Richter recommends things that are
higher in nitrogen like grass clippings,
banana peels, and potato skins,
combined with carbon-based materials
like dry leaves or old hay. When both
materials mix, the compost gets the
right blend so composting happens fast
and thoroughly, Richter says.
“There’s nothing magical about it,”
Richter says. “The little microbes that do
the work don’t care what they’re living in.”
For vermicomposting, the initial set-up
and materials needed are a Rubbermaid-
type bin about two to three feet long and
newspaper. Where vermicomposting
diverges from traditional compost is
with the addition of moistened, shredded
newspaper and red wriggler worms.
“You take newspaper and tear it into
strips and then wet it with water and
tumble it [loosely] in your hands until
it is moist, but not sopping wet,” says
Richter. He continues by saying if you
add red wriggler worms, and then you
bury food scraps in your newspaper,
the worms will eat it and create worm
castings, which are very rich and are
good for your houseplants.
Vermicomposting is a viable
alternative for those who don’t have
large gardens or landscapes. The
materials needed for vermicomposting
are more readily available to those in
apartments and dorms rather than
the large amount of grass clippings
and leaves needed for traditional
composting. Almost any type of paper
product or organic food waste can be
used in vermicomposting.
“We did a trial once where we used
junk mail like magazines and took
scissors and cut them up and we even cut
up some old computer CDs and just threw
it all in there,” Richter says. “The plastic
doesn’t get decomposed but none of it
hurt the worms.”
For more information on what
materials can be used for composting,
how to put together a compost bin, and
what to do with the compost after it has
been decomposed properly, visit
aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu. i