What do you think?
Compost, Vermicompost and Compost Tea: Feeding the Soil on the Organic Farm
Part of the NOFA Guides series.
Information on composting techniques,
Principles and biology of composting
Temperature, aeration and moisture control
Composting methods
Materials (additives and inoculants, biodynamic preparations)
About costs (site preparation, equipment, labor and time)
What do you do with it?
Compost tea and other brewed microbial cultures
Compost and the law
With extended appendices including a recipe calculator, potting mix recipes, and a sample compost production budget sheet.
Information on composting techniques,
Principles and biology of composting
Temperature, aeration and moisture control
Composting methods
Materials (additives and inoculants, biodynamic preparations)
About costs (site preparation, equipment, labor and time)
What do you do with it?
Compost tea and other brewed microbial cultures
Compost and the law
With extended appendices including a recipe calculator, potting mix recipes, and a sample compost production budget sheet.
- GenresGardening
89 pages, Paperback
First published April 15, 2011
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 11, 2017
As a fairly new gardener, I've been exploring ways to make my gardening practices more sustainable—including producing my own seed starting mix and potting mix. Many of these mixes are built from peat moss and other materials which are harvested in communities from which these resources are removed and transported. These nutrient-rich and naturally-occurring resources often require generations to develop, but are removed at a rate which is faster than its generation—especially as gardening becomes increasingly popular of late. So, finding ways for an individual or community of gardeners to create their own seed starting and potting mixes moves us increasingly towards a more sustainable system.
In my endeavors, one of the process I've been looking into is vermicomposting, or worm composting. This process uses various species of earthworms which are especially efficient in helping to decompose organic material. The worms eat organic material, such as plants removed from the lawn or garden, fallen leaves, and kitchen scraps—be sure to leave out the dairy, meat, and fat. The waste generated by the worms (called worm "castings") as they eat these organic materials can be used as a nutrient-dense fertilizer. This method is especially useful for people who do not have access to a place to put an outdoor compost bin because the worms can do their work indoors in a ventilated container.
My interest in vermicomposting led me to the local library (shout out to local libraries--use and support them!) where I found this book. Even though vermicomposting as a topic receives only minor attention (about 4 pages), this book offers valuable and pragmatic advise and guidelines for how to generate fertilizer from organic materials, reduce waste to landfills, and help to continue building sustainable agricultural and food systems.
Although this book is really intended for farmers and larger composting facilities (especially those who wish to achieve or maintain organic certification), gardeners of all kinds can benefit from the information provided. The book offers an advocacy chapter on why composting matters, though the reader is likely already on board if it is in hand. Subsequent chapters offer basics in science related to composting, including biology, temperature, moisture, and aeration. Methodology is also explored, including what materials to use, a comparison of high vs. low temperate composting, and vermicomposting (yay!), along with strategies for diagnosing problems and solutions with which to address them. In addition, compost tea receive its own detailed chapter—with an explanation of what it is, how to make it, strategies for evaluating quality, and using and applying it in various contexts.
Two chapters examine the process through pragmatic lenses: costs of operation and legal considerations. In addition, the appendix offers a collection of recipe calculators, a budget sheet, potting mix recipes, current organic regulations for composting, and model compliance logs—all of which offer a ready-made toolkit for getting started with the process.
And then what to do when the compost is done? Tips for assessing quality, application, and purposes for application abound.
The book is beneficial for anyone interested in compositing, whether to simply understand the process, to generate fertilizer for one's own garden or farm, or to pursue composting as a lucrative business.
In my endeavors, one of the process I've been looking into is vermicomposting, or worm composting. This process uses various species of earthworms which are especially efficient in helping to decompose organic material. The worms eat organic material, such as plants removed from the lawn or garden, fallen leaves, and kitchen scraps—be sure to leave out the dairy, meat, and fat. The waste generated by the worms (called worm "castings") as they eat these organic materials can be used as a nutrient-dense fertilizer. This method is especially useful for people who do not have access to a place to put an outdoor compost bin because the worms can do their work indoors in a ventilated container.
My interest in vermicomposting led me to the local library (shout out to local libraries--use and support them!) where I found this book. Even though vermicomposting as a topic receives only minor attention (about 4 pages), this book offers valuable and pragmatic advise and guidelines for how to generate fertilizer from organic materials, reduce waste to landfills, and help to continue building sustainable agricultural and food systems.
Although this book is really intended for farmers and larger composting facilities (especially those who wish to achieve or maintain organic certification), gardeners of all kinds can benefit from the information provided. The book offers an advocacy chapter on why composting matters, though the reader is likely already on board if it is in hand. Subsequent chapters offer basics in science related to composting, including biology, temperature, moisture, and aeration. Methodology is also explored, including what materials to use, a comparison of high vs. low temperate composting, and vermicomposting (yay!), along with strategies for diagnosing problems and solutions with which to address them. In addition, compost tea receive its own detailed chapter—with an explanation of what it is, how to make it, strategies for evaluating quality, and using and applying it in various contexts.
Two chapters examine the process through pragmatic lenses: costs of operation and legal considerations. In addition, the appendix offers a collection of recipe calculators, a budget sheet, potting mix recipes, current organic regulations for composting, and model compliance logs—all of which offer a ready-made toolkit for getting started with the process.
And then what to do when the compost is done? Tips for assessing quality, application, and purposes for application abound.
The book is beneficial for anyone interested in compositing, whether to simply understand the process, to generate fertilizer for one's own garden or farm, or to pursue composting as a lucrative business.
September 8, 2012
This book had lots of information on compost for small organic farms, but it isn't useful for someone composting in their backyard
.
.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews