Compost!

Compost!

Soil too sandy?  Add compost.  Soil has too much clay?  Add compost.  Plants looking weak?  Add compost.  Veggie production down?  Add compost.  Sensing the pattern? Through my research I have learned of the great power of compost but now I will try to uncover what compost really is, why it is so effective and how it is made

Compost consists of decomposed organic material.  When added to your soil it replenishes the nutrients that plants leech out such as nitrogen, carbon, phosphorus and potassium.  Compost adds structure; grounding the roots of plants and keeping the soil aerated.  Compost can be beneficial to your soil at various stages of decomposition.  At its mature state, the rich black decayed material is called humus.  Nature has its own way of creating forms of compost (leaves fall in a forest and decompose on the forest floor, giving their nutrients back to the soil) but compost creation is often a bit more structured for the backyard or urban gardener.

Ingredients:

Balance of "greens" and "browns"

The most basic garden compost is made with a balance of "green" (high in nitrogen) and "brown" (high in carbon) materials.  Here are some examples:

Greens: grass clippings, chopped green leaves, flowers, coffee grounds, kitchen scraps, manure
Browns: shredded newspaper, wood chips, dead leaves, chopped plant debris

"Green" coffee grounds

Water and Air

Keep your compost moist with frequent watering and keep the materials aerated by turning the compost and use stakes or a pitchfork to create air pockets in the pile.

How to make your own

1. Pile o' debris
As you do yard work, stack the (chopped up and disease-free) debris in a pile.  Try to keep greens/browns balanced and keep the kitchen scraps out.  Turn the debris and water the pile occasionally and cover with cloth or a tarp.  Over time the debris will break down and give you nutrient rich soil amending material. 

2. Compost Bins
 These bins are relatively easy to make out of a wooden frame with each section usually measuring 3' by 3'.  The bins either have mesh siding (as seen above) or wooden slat siding (which will keep moisture in better).  It's best to place the bins, which will remain a permanent fixture in your yard, in an area that is easily accessible. 
Add equal parts of chopped up green and brown material together in one bin (the other bins can be used for unmixed materials or mature compost storage.  Keep the mixture moist with regular watering.  The organic matter must be mixed and aerated regularly.  If done properly, the compost cage will "cook" organic material at temperatures up to 130 degrees.  After the compost remains at 130 degrees for three days, all weed seeds and pests will be killed, so you have more flexibility in the materials you can put in the mixture.

3. Plastic Tumblers
The tumblers (equipped with a side crank) make turning the compost easier.  Other than that and their slightly neater look but higher price tag, the plastic tumblers are used in the same way as the compost bins.

    

4. Food Decomposing Containers

Kitchen scraps and chopped up yard waste can be turned into black gold by letting nature take care of itself in food waste digesters.  These are semi-permanent containers that compost on the spot and then can be moved to a new location once the process is complete.  A company called Green Cone makes a plastic container that is partially buried in the ground.  You can also make your own container out of a plastic or metal trashcan.  Just drill drainage holes around the bottom, partially bury it in your yard, and make sure the lid in on securely so no critters can get in!  Unlike the compost bin and tumbler, the food decomposing containers will not reach 130 degrees so weed seeds must not be placed in these containers.

 5. Indoor Compost Cookers

There are a few indoor composters on the market such as the Nature Mill, pictured above.  All you do is add kitchen scraps to the top and the machine will heat up and turn the material, producing usable nutrient-rich compost in a matter of days.

 

 6. For those without a yard

In Seattle, you can still do your part for the environment by disposing of your kitchen scraps in a biodegradable bag (which greatly limits the odor) and then throwing this bag in your city provided food and yard waste bin.  The food and yard waste debris is picked up by Cedar Grove Composting Company where it is composted at over 165 degrees for 45 days then at 130 for another ten days, allowing locals to put even dairy and meat products (materials that have harmful bacteria when not cooked at a high enough temperature).  See Cedar Grove Composting for more details.

Vermicompost

Worm bins are another great way to compost food and yard waste.  The bins are easy to make--outdoor versions are usually made of wood and indoor bins are made out of plastic.  Fill the worm bin with moist bedding made of newspaper, cardboard and leaves.  Add soil and worms to the mix (Red Wigglers are known to be the best).   Kitchen scraps must be chopped and then buried in small clumps around the bins.  Food scraps can be added several times per week.  As the worms eat the scraps they create nutrient rich worm castings.  The vermicompost is so potent that a little goes a long way on your yard and house plants.

Resources

The Complete Compost Gardening Guide by Barbara Pleasant and Deborah L. Martin

Guardening with Ed Hume by Ed Hume

Stuart Robertson's Tips on Organic Gardening by Stuart Robertson

Your Garden Soil by Harry Maddox

Guide for building compost and vermicompost bins from Seattle Tilth:

http://www.seattletilth.org/learn/resources-1/compost

Thanks to Seattle Tilth's great demonstration garden; open to the public and filled with examples of compost!

New Zealand

Summer in New Zealand

There's no better way to break up the winter than going south (way south).  Recently I was fortunate enough to spend a few weeks in the sun, exploring Kiwi urban, rural, and back country life. 

A Brief History:

New Zealand is really a plant lover's dream.  Its flora and native fauna are unique due to its severe isolation from other land masses.  New Zealand was originally part of the super continent Gondwana, covering the southern hemisphere (in plate history, Gondwana followed the breaking up of Pangaea).  New Zealand then split from the super continent before the real Age of Mammals (explaining the lack of native mammals on the islands).  The result of this brings us a country with native flora and fauna (birds especially) that can be found nowhere else.  I can confirm that the trees look ancient and every few hundred feet I saw a plant I had never seen before (one source states that 80% of New Zealand plants are found only in New Zealand*).  I will share a few favorites, some old and familiar to me and some brand new.

 Ferns

 Button Fern

Ferns are a source of Kiwi pride.  There are over 150 native fern species and the Ponga or Silver Tree Fern is a national emblem, decaled on everything from coffee mugs to Friendrich Hundertwasser's famous flag (in new growth frond form) to the All Blacks Rugby team.

http://www.prints.co.nz/

Hundertwasser's Koru flag

Ferns, like most Kiwi plants, are evergreen.  Though ferns are common in many other places in the world, the variety found in New Zealand is remarkable.  The photo below was taken in a fern sanctuary of sorts on the Domain in Auckland.

Ponga (Silver Tree Fern)

New Zealand Flax

  

New Zealand Flax or Phormium is one of the few native New Zealand plants that made it way to the northwestern U.S. This plant is a sun-loving evergreen perennial.  In Seattle, Phormium is generally used as a feature ornamental plant, but in New Zealand, it lines the highways of Auckland and forests of flax help maintain the coast line along the eastern shores of the north island. Thus, the sharp leaves and delicate bright flowers of this plant can be seen all over the country.

Phormium plants are made of a strong material that was traditionally used for basket weaving and in textiles by the Maori people of New Zealand.  Seeds from this plant were first propagated outside of New Zealand after the explorer Captain James Cook's initial visit in the 1770s.

Pohutukawa

The name Pohutukawa is Maori in origin.  The Maori people first populated New Zealand or Aotearoa ("land of the long white cloud") around 800 CE coming primarily from the Polynesian islands.  Many native Kiwi plants have maintained their Maori names.

The Pohutukawa is nicknamed the New Zealand Christmas tree because bright red flowers emerge from the tree's dark green backdrop at the end of December (the beginning of Kiwi summer).  The evergreen tree is mostly found throughout the north island and along the coasts of both the north and south islands.

 Manuka

Manuka or Tea Tree is a small tree treasured for its distinitive honey.  The honey made from its flowers' nector is sold widely in New Zealand and consumers praise its medicinal and antibacterial qualities.  Captain Cook and his crew used to brew Manuka leaves for tea, hence the name Tea Tree.

Kauri

 

Kauri are beautiful trees that, when left to grow, develop a massive and impressive trunk.  Kauri bark was readily used for construction and its resin or gum also had many uses such as chewing, torch fuel and insect repellent.  The Kauri is the longest living tree in New Zealand (some up to 2,000 years old) and it can reach heights over 150 feet.

Totara

The picture above is of a young Totara.  This tree will go on to be about 100 feet tall.  The Maori called the Totara a chiefly tree and used its wood to build giant war canoes (sometimes cut from one log), weapons and for carvings.  It is an evergreen tree and found primarily in New Zealand forests (or "the bush" as the woods are called in N.Z.).

Cabbage Tree

The Cabbage Tree or Ti Kouka in Maori is a New Zealand favorite.  The spiky native tree is humorously compared to the Dr Seuss's creations in The Lorax.  The Cabbage Tree is ubiquitous, seen all over the country.  Traditionally the tree had many uses.  It was cultivated as a food source and in textiles.

Spinifex

Erosion along the Kiwi coastline is an ongoing battle.  Spinifex is commonly planted along the dunes (it's a native grass but its spread is manually encouraged where needed).  The root system allows this grass to stay put despite the transient sand around it. 

Urban New Zealand

After spending time in Auckland, the colonial efforts to bring familiar plants to a new colony are clear.  The British installed plants from all over its empire, greatly diversifying the Kiwi flora.  Here is a look at the lovely Prince Albert Park in downtown Auckland. 

Jacaranda, native to the Caribbean and surrounding area, in bloom

The Moreton Bay Fig tree, named for its place of origin in Australia

Red Canna Lily originating in the Americas.

Go visit

The ancient plant life makes flora exploration feel like a trip to unchartered territory.  New Zealand offers a glimpse of the co-evolution of a plant and bird life that grew to depend on each other and developed their own ecosystem.  As a self proclaimed horticulturalist it was a fantastic trip and the people are great too!

Bring this

I was fortunate enough to receive Andrew Crowe's Which Native Tree* as a gift during my visit and was so pleased with it that I bought his Which Native Forest Plant and Which Native Fern to complete the set.  Crowe's plant and tree identification process is so logical.  He begins with the leaf (using a hand drawings of multiple types of leaves) and then helps your deduce the plant you are searching for by periodically breaking plants down into subcategories (based on size and shape and so on).  They are terrific books and are small enough to tote around on your visit.