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School Composting Article
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Composting Tips
from:Maybe you want to start a composting heap, but you are not sure that you know enough to do it correctly. There are so many composting tips and tricks of the trade that it is hard to know them all without a good deal of personal experience. Still, there are a multitude of composting tips that can help you get started.
A Good Combination
You need a combination of materials that include both nitrogen and carbon to make a compost heap work. This is one of the best composting tips. An example of nitrogen materials would be extraneous grass clippings while carbon materials tend to be the brown ones that traditionally go into a compost heap. If all you have is grass then it will not turn out too well.
Tear It Up
The next of the composting tips is to always tear up or even shred newspaper and other paper before including it in your compost heap. This will make the composting process go much faster than it would be if you left it in large pieces.
Unwanted Guests
Fats, animal products, and animal manure are not good additions to your compost pile. They will draw the attention of pests to your compost pile. This is the last thing you want.
Cut In Half
When you are done composting, your product will be about half of the volume of the materials that you started with. This is normal. The finished product will be much denser though. It should look very much like soil, and it should not possess any identifiable, distinct materials.
Let The Light Shine
Leaving your composting heap in a place where it will be exposed to direct sunlight will accelerate the composting process.
No Chemicals
Plants that have been exposed to chemicals such as pesticides should not be a part of your compost heap. These chemicals can be spread when you try to put the compost to use later.
The Right Temperature
Another of the best composting tips is that it happens fastest at a temperature between about 120 and 160 degrees Fahrenheit. A lower temperature may eventually accomplish the same task, but it will be a much longer process.
Another Use Of Straw
Straw can supply part of the carbon element of your compost heap. Using the right amount can help you balance the greens and browns in your compost pile.
These composting tips can help you get your composting pile working. There are a million little tricks of the trade, but these composting tips should be enough to get you started. The rest can be chalked up to experience.
School Composting Specific links
School Composting News
Baldwin second-grader takes lead in composting
Student composted uneaten food every day after school
Read more...Students spearhead lunchroom composting operation
SARANAC LAKE - Students at Petrova Elementary School have started composting food scraps that previously would have been thrown in the tras.
Read more...Making dirt Students experiment with worm composting
Photos by Amanda Huckabay Makala Nelson holds a cluster of red wiggler worms used for indoor composting.
Read more...Massabesic students take aim at school waste
Elizabeth Clock, 14, an eighth-grader at Massabesic Middle School, pours out milk accumulated from milk cartons during lunch on Monday.
Read more...DuPage eyes emergency funds for environmental group
Help is apparently on the way for SCARCE — but it’s temporary. The DuPage County Board is scheduled to vote Tuesday evening on allocating $58,500 to keep the environmental advocacy group School and Community Assistance for Recycling and Composting Education funded through Nov. 30, the end of the county’s budget year. Currently the county’s support is due to dry up June 30. The money will come ...
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