Composting organic wastes
School Composting
Gardening and composting go hand-in-hand, especially in school garden projects: gardening without composting only teaches half the lesson. Composting concerns the invisible half of the Wheel of Life, Nature's cycle of growth and decay. This is the vital part that happens underground, where the decay of waste gives rise to new life. Composting helps to bring the regenerative capabilities of the soil to a high peak of natural efficiency, ensuring a bountiful, beautiful and healthy garden.
Learning about soil (for more information on soils, click here)
Soil is made of air, water, minerals, and organic matter. The mineral portion is usually about half the total volume, water and air up to a quarter each, and organic matter about 5% or more. The mineral particles come in three sizes: sand, silt, and clay from largest to smallest. Sandy soil drains well and doesn't get so muddy or sticky when it's wet, but is usually not very fertile because sand contains no plant nutrients. Silt particles may hold water longer and often contain more organic materials. Tiny clay particles are much more complex than sand or silt: clay particles are tiny lattices made up of plates that can hold large amounts of plant nutrients. Clay soil can be heavy and sticky, with bad drainage, but it depends on the overall soil condition: well-maintained and composted clay soil is very fertile and not difficult to work. Most soils are "loams", a mixture of sand, silt and clay. Soil textures range from: sand, loamy sand, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam, silty loam, silt, silty clay loam, clay loam, clay. More important than the specific type of soil is the organic matter content of the soil, composed of decaying and decayed plant matter (humus) and living creatures. This is where the billions of soil microorganisms live and do their work, and if they're happy, it's a good soil, regardless of how much clay or sand it has.
http://journeytoforever.org/edu_compost.html
http://www.greencalgary.org/images/uploads/File/SchoolWideCompost_GC.pdf
Gardening and composting go hand-in-hand, especially in school garden projects: gardening without composting only teaches half the lesson. Composting concerns the invisible half of the Wheel of Life, Nature's cycle of growth and decay. This is the vital part that happens underground, where the decay of waste gives rise to new life. Composting helps to bring the regenerative capabilities of the soil to a high peak of natural efficiency, ensuring a bountiful, beautiful and healthy garden.
Learning about soil (for more information on soils, click here)
Soil is made of air, water, minerals, and organic matter. The mineral portion is usually about half the total volume, water and air up to a quarter each, and organic matter about 5% or more. The mineral particles come in three sizes: sand, silt, and clay from largest to smallest. Sandy soil drains well and doesn't get so muddy or sticky when it's wet, but is usually not very fertile because sand contains no plant nutrients. Silt particles may hold water longer and often contain more organic materials. Tiny clay particles are much more complex than sand or silt: clay particles are tiny lattices made up of plates that can hold large amounts of plant nutrients. Clay soil can be heavy and sticky, with bad drainage, but it depends on the overall soil condition: well-maintained and composted clay soil is very fertile and not difficult to work. Most soils are "loams", a mixture of sand, silt and clay. Soil textures range from: sand, loamy sand, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam, silty loam, silt, silty clay loam, clay loam, clay. More important than the specific type of soil is the organic matter content of the soil, composed of decaying and decayed plant matter (humus) and living creatures. This is where the billions of soil microorganisms live and do their work, and if they're happy, it's a good soil, regardless of how much clay or sand it has.
http://journeytoforever.org/edu_compost.html
http://www.greencalgary.org/images/uploads/File/SchoolWideCompost_GC.pdf
Building your own school composter
There are generally two types of composters
There are generally two types of composters