Tuesday Open Thread ~ It's All About The Soil
“The soil is the great connector of lives, the source and destination of all. It is the healer and restorer and resurrector, by which disease passes into health, age into youth, death into life. Without proper care for it we can have no community, because without proper care for it we can have no life.” ~ Wendell Berry
Life can be funny sometimes. I don’t mean “ha-ha” funny. I mean that sometimes when you take a decisive action in a certain direction, you are lead down a path you didn’t necessarily expect to find yourself heading towards. As a newcomer to composting, I’ve already been asked what I plan to grow. Good question. While I’ve managed to keep the azaleas, hydrangeas, and rose bushes that I inherited alive when I moved to Southern California, I’ve never actually grown food. So, after doing a little research about what I could grow, I found suggestions for beginners typically ranged from tomatoes, lettuce, and cucumbers, which would make a nice salad, but I actually eat a lot of zucchini spirals, so I think I might go rogue and consider growing zucchinis instead.
The composting process has been interesting. When Christine Lenches-Hinkel of 301 Organics comes to my home, one of the first things she does is take a temperature reading of my composting. She does this to determine the activity level of the microbes. The higher the temperature the more active the microbes are digesting my food scraps. It’s as if they are doing their own work-out and giving off heat!
Environmental Filmmaker Josh Tickell says it's all about the soil. Meaning a soil rich in microbes helps plants grow, keeps the soil warmer during cold temperatures, and also pulls carbon from the air into the soil where it nourishes the plants and trees. So, how do we get more microbes into our soil? By composting.
Thankfully, I’ve had a lot of support during the initial phase of my composting adventure. Christine of 301 Organics has been an endless source of encouragement and information. She is among the very few who can talk about food scraps, paper scraps, and yard waste and make you feel like you are a part of something much bigger than yourself. I thank her for her upbeat spirit during a time when we need it most. Fellow composters and friends have also been a source of inspiration. In fact, last week a group of us sat down together with a little wine and cheese (I mean why not, right?) to watch the premier of Kiss the Ground’s new movie on Netflix. It is an empowering documentary highlighting soil regeneration as an effective solution to climate change. This simple idea of composting took on an entirely different meaning for me. By regenerating our soil we can take part in stabilizing and restoring the Earth’s eco-systems, grow our own food, and help our young people feel a sense of purpose and possibility.
Healthy Soil, Healthy Plants, Healthy Climate, Healthy Humans. And it begins with us.
Comments
Good morning, Anja ~~
My father taught me about composting, so I've done it most of my life. It makes me feel better about my food waste (not the fat, people - fat and compost no mix!).
All is well in transitionville - just continuing to move forward.
Enjoy the day!
"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11
Good Morning RA
Now that I’m composting, I’m finding out a lot more people I know are doing it too. And yes, it makes me feel better about my food scraps too. Just imagine if we could get everybody to do it!?!
Glad to hear the transition is moving forward. Let’s catch up.
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
No such thing as too much zucchini !
Slice it and fry it. With or without breading.
Or bake zucchini boats. Slice lengthwise, scoop out seeds (for separate processing waste nothing edible), fill center with Italian sausage, cheese optional and bake until sausage is done. Don't have times. My mother made them. For vegans: You might try with this new faux sausage.
Serve with red wine. Nothing fancy needed. I like Runite Lambrusco. Oinophiles doubtless have other preferences.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
If you plant zucchini, better really LOVE it
Those vines are incredibly productive, and you'll be eating zucchini till you're fed up with it.
There is no justice. There can be no peace.
Good Morning Maven
The zucchini. It’s coming back to me now. I remember hearing from someone here when I did my foodie recipes on zucchini spirals about the prolific nature of zucchini’s. As in, people where she lived would leave a basket of them by her door, ring the doorbell, and then disappear. I remember laughing at that story, but now it takes on an entirely different meaning.
Guess I’m going to have to arrange a sharing coop of some kind, eh?
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
Guilt of overproduction of squash is a matter of
perspective.
First - there is no way to ensure one is buying food without harmful substances in the soil preparation, growing, harvesting, packaging and travel to market except grow your own or share within a small group.
Second - squash blossoms are a tasty treat best prepared and consumed within an hour. Plus, bumblebees enjoy the large blossoms to collect pollen and nectar.
Third - each stage of the growth has its own special flavor to appreciate. The giant zucs keep one mindful experiences are happening around us which we are totally unaware. "How could I have missed that!" Plus they make a great edible or compostable container for baking.
Fourth - when it becomes too much shift the focus to growing food for the soil microbes and worms. It is okay for a human not to take part of the harvest to eat first. It creates less total environmental impact than going to the store.
Fifth - squash grow a lot of greenery. I use them to fill in holes in the landscape, provide shade and wind protection for other plants, and roots break up the soil while adding organic matter. Tend to have a nontraditional approach to gardening.
Happy growing.
Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.
I've hard that the huge ones can also be dried and used
for firewood
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Stuffed monster zucchini
are every bit as tasty as stuffed acorn squash. Num num num...
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
Hear, hear, Maven
If you plant more than one be ready for a guilt trip.
How, you ask?
The damned things will grow from just the right size to enormous in a couple of days, indicating you are not tending your garden.
Sometimes I just overlook them when they are only a few inches long. I will come back in a couple of days and they are 18 inches long and 6 inches in diameter and hanging out in the pathway. They become a trip hazard.
Very prolific veggie.
I think they are best at about the size of a small cucumber. Raw, cooked, baked into bread, mixed into pica de gallo, it's all good.
And thanks for the OT Anja.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
When they get too big --
And the seeds are hard, make zucchini boats as described above. Bake seeds like pumpkin seeds or save them for planting.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
Thanks for the tip
Will have to try that.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Intro
Well, as best I can tell the Open Thread is where to intro, so just saying hello.
Good Morning TG Tarheel
Yes, the Open Thread is a perfect place to introduce yourself! Glad you did and welcome! Crazy times we are living in, eh? In my Tuesday Open Thread I try focusing on the positive, or sometimes I relate something personal going on in my life I think might interest the members here. Other times I’ll include recipes, poems, artwork, that kind of thing. But because it is an Open Thread, you are welcome to share whatever you like.
Look forward to seeing you join in the discussion in our little Tuesday morning group!
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
Howdy and good morning TG. Welcome to c99p.
be well and have a good one.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Welcome, TG Tarheel
The more the merrier.
Do you live in North Carolina?
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
@earthling1 Yes, I do. I live in
Yes, I do. I live in North Carolina.
In fact, I happen to be the first openly-trans woman in NC history to run for our state legislature.
That is what the TG in my name stands for "transgender"
Good morning Anja. We used to do tons of
composting, plus worm composting, but have cut back seriously except fot the worm compost. Our locale has greenwaste collection, which is then composted for distribution (& sale), so the disposal guilt is gone, and oour compostables that aren't worm food are somewhat minimal or else stuff that doesn't readily compost too well (orange peels, twigs, etc.) Mostly, however, it is the work required by our set-up to turn it and the fact that we never got really food temperatures for whatever reason.
Perhaps your columns and new found fascination will get we morking on it again, if so, thanks, I think (we'll see what my back says later)
be well and have a good one.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Morning EL
Since composting I have a new relationship with worms. While repotting some new plants the other day, I brought out a bag of soil I had been keeping in the tool shed, and when I dug into it and found worms I was less grossed out about that then I normally am. Now viewing it as a healthy thing for my soil and my plants, I just put them in there and gave them my best regards. Of course if I start naming them, then you’ll know I’ve gone off the deep end!
Don’t want you to pain your back, but if I’m inspiring you to compost, more the better. But if you really want to be inspired, watch Kiss the Grounds new movie.
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
I'm having the same problem, EL
Getting the internal temp up there where it destroys weed seeds and pathogens (160° I'm told) is harder than I thought.
I've tried mixing in 5 gallon buckets of coffee grounds ( grandaughter works part time at a coffee booth) for the acid. Multiple bags of manure. Green grass lawn cuttings. And all the table scraps I and my neighbors can produce. We also have a green waste pick up by the city, which I pillage on pick up day. Funny, while the homeless are picking thru the neighborhood trashcans for bottles and cans, I'm bumping elbows with them snagging the food bins.
It's all good. I bag up my cans for them.
So sad.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Temp is a real issue, since we don't add manure. Also
we have no real lawn and hence no trimmings from that. Certain leaves, like ceanothus, as well as the "needles" from some of our conifers also take forever to break down, that's possibly an adaptation for some of the natives like ceanothus, dunno.
Be well and have a good one.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
There is no "wrong" way to compost
Loved the "Kiss the Ground" film and they also have a great YouTube channel
https://www.youtube.com/user/kissthegroundca
The Earth knows how to process wastes. Sometimes it takes longer - think of a rotting pile of wood versus your "hot" composting. A largely neglected method of composting anaerobically (without oxygen) which generates methane gas for cooking or... whatever ....even a generator for electricity.
There are tons of DIY versions and even simple commercial units, some of which include a toilet. These "digesters" not only produce gas but also a high quality liquid fertilizer.
Here's a 3 min overview if anyone is interested.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0kvJmsughQ
Composting is a simple way to connect to the earth and like Anja I encourage everyone to at least recycle their kitchen wastes with a compost pile.
There's no wrong way IMO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSIIEn1abc8 (9 min)
Other than our kitchen wastes (where we use old fencing round bins with straw), we sheet compost in our garden.
https://extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening/techniques/sheet-mulching-ak...
We start with cardboard or paste board (like around a 12 pack). Cover with manure. We're fortunate to have a nearby horse farm/camp where it is $20 a pick up load. My 3 foot beds are the width of my truck so I can drive over them dolling out the manure, and then following up with a coating of straw mulch. We've been doing that for 30+ years without tilling and you can dig in the garden with your hands...rich, soft, pliable, and fertile. Old crops are cut and the roots left in the soil in our system.
Soils are individuals and you have to fine tune to your situation. Here's a link to explore your soil type.
https://websoilsurvey.sc.egov.usda.gov/App/HomePage.htm
This one might be an easier site to use.
https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/soilsurvey/soils/survey/state/
Glad you're exploring the richness of compost and our important link to soils!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
I love Kiss the Ground too!
I will definitely be watching it again, and probably be writing about it. It's about the most hopeful film I've seen about our climate crisis. Taking the problem and putting the solution in our hands where we do NOT have to wait until our government finally decides to do something. Very empowering.
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
Foolish question
Do you get fruit flies in/on your composting?
we do as we collect wastes in the kitchen
We use a large bowl with one of those self-sealing silicone thingies, and that helps. But in the summer we have them swarming around the bowl. Best trick for us is to empty regularly. Our bins are just outside the door so that makes it easier.
If you keep your bin mulched after every addition, they're not an issue outside (for us).
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Not a foolish question
Before I started composting, I was worried about the smell, ants, and other critters nibbling on it. But I've had none of that, largely attributable to the guidance I've been getting from 301 Organics.
I keep my food scraps in a large inexpensive Gladware container in my refrigerator until I'm ready to add it to my composting container (which is a 32 gallon plastic trash can with holes drilled in it). I generally add my food scraps once a week to my composting trash can, layering it with dry brown waste from the garden (leaves and cuttings), along with paper waste. And if you add the paper waste to the top, the flies won't lay eggs in it.
It's actually been kinda fascinating. I mean, I'm making soil from stuff I'd just throw out and waste!
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
I have two compost systems,
at my home, a big hopper, open top that everything goes into. The chickens (4) dig thru and process a lot. Rinds of melons, egg shells, etc. I do mix in leaves and grass clippings at times but I don't worry about the perfect green to brown ratio to get to 140 degrees.
At an organic garden I run I have a pile of 1-2 truckloads of wood chips. 2 bobcat buckets of organic cow manure, grass and leave clippings. Late summer I got an entire truck load of sweet corn that was past its sell by date. I ran it thru a wood chipper to grind it up and mixed it in.
This is my first time with a serious compost attempt. Last weekend I pulled the wood chipper out again. I mixed dry bags of leaves picked up curbside to my existing pile of wood chips, cow poo, corn, etc. I shoveled it into the chipper and blew it into a pallet container. This compost looks and feels amazing. More refined now due to the chipper. The addition of dry leaves makes it very friable and it should be an excellent top dressing for my 4/10ths of an acre attempt at gardening.
I wasn't ready to kiss this stuff, but I am excited about learning to scale up my compost efforts. Hopefully I can get another 6 loader buckets of cow poo and add 50 bags of ground leaves to get things going for next spring.
You and I
are working on the same scale.
I collect leaves from all around my suburban housing tract and haul them out to my 3 acre farm. I leave trash bags with the neighbors with big trees and they happily bag them up and leave them curbside for me. I have been forming rows of leafy compost 100 ft long and 5 ft wide that I layer up to 4 ft high.
I have a small Kabota with a bucket and I turn it every month or so or when I add other composting material.
The first batch I worked for 18 months and the this past spring made three 50 ft rows of raised beds plopped right on the ground.
Worked out great. Had a bumper crop of tomatoes, potatoes, bell pepper, green beans, and of course, zuccini.
The current compost pile (collected last fall) will be ready next spring and should expand my garden with 6 more rows.
Whoo hoo!
Have began collecting leaves and grass clippings from the neighborhood again this fall and will just keep going.
I can't stop! This is so much fun!
Have been supplying the family, friends, and neighbors with veggies and what is left over I take to the Vancouver Food Bank.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
dirt
I wallowed in it this morning when I voted. Crappy candidates, and I left about half of them blank. I guess under voting sends some message.
Cornyn was a Harris County District Judge who was horrible. Abbott won millions in his personal injury lawsuit, then proceeded to promote limiting awards for all other injured folks. Kevin Brady I know personally, so I was delighted to vote against him.
As usual, there wasn't a single person I highly regarded receiving a single vote from me. Just protest votes.
2 workers didn't wear masks. No sanitizer was provided. Masks were not required. 6 ft. apart in the line was a joke. The machines were a couple of feet apart.
The voting protocol was Republican designed.
It sure showed.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Zucchini – Dangerous
Okay, I have grown zucchini. Actually, I've come to the conclusion that no one actually "grows" the stuff. It does pretty much everything itself. For instance, here are my instructions for planting zucchini:
1) Get zucchini seeds.
2) Have ground ready.
3) Throw zucchini seeds towards area prepared.
4) RUN!!!
I've never seen anything that grows so fast and so well with so little attention as does zucchini.
HaHaHaHa!!
Well, let's say I'm forewarned, but not deterred!
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier