Let's Get to Composting!

Compost is organic material that can be used to amend soil in order to help plants grow.  Through combining some of the organic waste you produce at home, and allowing it to break down over time, you can create your own compost.

Why should you start composting? 

You can use the compost you produce to supply a garden with a (free!) slow-release fertilzer, supplying essential nutrients (C,H,O,P,K,N,S,Ca,Fe,Mg,B,Mn,Cu,Zn,Mo,Ni,Cl) and eliminate the need to buy and use chemical fertilizer.

The compost you put down will encourage beneficial fungus and bacteria production.  These microorganisms will help to break down organic material and produce humus (a nutrient-rich material).  This positive feedback within the soil will make sure to keep your plants happy and healthy.

As an additional benefit, the earthy compost dirt will help your garden better retain water, meaning less watering for you.  Spreading compost in sandy soil may also help water move laterally within the compost, ensuring your plants will get some water before it runs off or percolates down. When starting a new garden, it is best to spread 3-4" over the garden area, and then til or rake the compost into the top 6" of soil matter.    

Best of all, composting will help you seriously reduce the amount of waste your household produces.  According to the EPA, compostable organic waste makes up 20-30% of what we throw away.  Less waste means less methane emissions from landfills, and a smaller carbon footprint for you.

So...what can you compost?

Compost is basically separated into two different categories--brown and green, or carbon and nitrogen:

     Greens: 

Food Scraps, Grass Clippings, Garden Clippings, Coffee Grounds

Green materials

These are the composts source of Nitrogen, other nutrients, and moisture

Browns:

Brown Leaves, Wood Chips, 
Straw, Saw Dust, Pine Needles, Newspaper, Shredded paper, Egg carton, Pet Hair, dryer lint, vacuum dirt

Brown Materials

These are the composts source of Carbon, energy, and also help absorb moisture.  They also provide structural support to a pile compost, and allow air to better flow through the pile

Ideal composting is basically a nitrification cycle taking place inside your "bin." Ideally, your carbon to nitrogen ration should be roughly 3:1 or at least 2:1. Sometimes this can be difficult to achieve, but chances are, no matter what, your stuff is going to break down over time, regardless of whether you have put together the optimal blend of carbon and nitrogen.

*** Do not ever compost any type of animal product or animal waste, citrus, ***            chemicals (herbicides, pesticides)

Now that you know what a great idea composting is, I am sure you are wondering:  how can I start my own composting project at home?

There are a lot of different ways to compost at home. Two of the most popular and easy to maintain are on the ground units, and rotating drum units

On the ground units are commonly made of wood and fairly easy to build.  The compost sits directly on the ground and decomposers from the soil below aid in decomposition.  With an on the ground composting unit, it is important to add your green material, and cover it with brown material.  The pile may also be stirred in order to aerate the compost and speed the decomposition. 

Rolling drum units can be bought from a number of retailers, or made if you have the materials and the know how.  These units are up, off the ground on either a stand or base.  They are designed to be rolled, and aerated easily.  In order to get the best results from this unit, continue to add material until the drum is full, and allow the entire drum to decompose before removing any compost.

You could also use a combination of containers--ex. tumbler to get your compost started quickly, then transfer it to a ground unit to finish once the tumbler is full, so that you can continue adding to the tumbler.

More information on composting at home can be found at: http://www2.epa.gov/recycle/composting-home
or
http://letseat.whro.org/on-your-plate/208-composting-matter-matters

    Compiled by Clint Boaz, Intern; Edited by Trista Imrich, Pearl Homes Coordinator, LRNow

Timely "Trash Talk" in the News

Just in time for this weekend's "Be Kind with Your Line" River Cleanup, the Bay Journal published an article regarding... TRASH!

Leslie Middleton talks about 3 recently released reports: Virginia's 2013 Solid Waste Report, a report from Science magazine, and a UN Environment Programme report. Each of these discuss the vast amounts of garbage and debris that we are producing (Virginia landfills received roughly 15million tons of garbage from Virginia and just over 5 million tons from other municipalities), and where the rest of the debris is ending up.

Science Magazine is concerned that the plastic debris is disappearing! We produce 300 million tons of plastic every year--.1% of that ends up washing into waterways, or 300,000 tons/yr. A recent study only accounted for around 40,000 tons of plastic in the ocean, at the most. That means 99% of the plastic debris is likely breaking down into small particles, which are, in turn, being eaten by marine animals... that's a lot of plastic in our marine animals, many of which may be harvested for food!

The last article estimates theat the financial damage of plastics to our ecosytems is around $13 billion/year.

Trash (particularly plastic trash) is no joke! Participate in one of our cleanups (2nd Saturday of every month), or organize your own, and encourage others not to litter, or better yet, to minimize plastic trash from the beginning by refusing disposable plastic items when possible.

(Photo from Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center Washed Ashore Exhibit)

You can find the original Bay Journal article here- http://www.bayjournal.com/blog/post/three_new_reports_talk_trash

Posted by Trista Imrich, Pearl Homes Coordinator, LRNow

What is a Rain Garden? What Do they Do, and How Can I Plant One?

Rain gardens are planting beds located in areas where rainwater tends to pool as a result of topographic depression, clay rich, or compacted soils.  These gardens are planted with species that love moist to wet soils.   

Why should I build a rain garden?  Why are they so darn special?  Rain gardens function to retain harmful pollutants that would otherwise run off, or percolate down into groundwater.  At the same time, these environmental wonders help to enhance the beauty of your property, and create habitat for birds, butterflies, and other wildlife. In other words--WIN, WIN, WIN.  

Through urbanization, forest and other natural environment is removed and replaced with roads, buildings, etc.  When this happens, we disrupt natural drainage patterns by covering litter and soil that once absorbed water with impervious surface, or area that does not absorb rainwater.  

Rain gardens work to fill the gap, and provide stormwater filtering functions that are otherwise lost.

If you want to plant a rain garden on your property, how do you know where to put it?  It's pretty simple--wait for it to rain and observe the natural drainage patterns on your property.  If you see water pooling in certain areas, you can assume that area is potentially suitable for a rain garden.

Once you have a site in mind there are a few additional things to look for:

• Tree Roots – Keep your rain garden away from tree root zones, using the tree’s canopy as your boundary
• Structures – Keep your rain garden at least 10 feet from your home or any other structure on your property
• Underground Lines – Before you break ground for any reason, call Miss Utility of Virginia to mark the buried lines on your property (1-800-552-7001)
• Soil – You will want to test the soil at your proposed site for proper drainage
• Check out the Virginia Beach map with soil survey data below to get an idea of the types of soil you have on your property
• Elevation – The proposed site you are considering from your rain garden should be below the areas you wish to drain, or “treat.”  Additionally, the natural topography should direct rain toward your proposed site  

The last couple things you need to figure out are the size (surface cover), and depth of your rain garden. The size of your rain garden depends on two things: soil type, and the amount of surface area you will be draining.

In general, sites with greater amounts of impervious ground cover and slower-draining clay soils will require a larger rain gardens.  Sites with more pervious ground cover, and sandy, well-drained soil can get away with smaller gardens. 

You can use the Rainscape calculator to estimate the square footage of your rain garden, using the drainage area--rainscaping.org

The depth of your rain garden is dependent on the drainage of the site.  You need to test how fast water drains in the area you wish to build your rain garden (percolation test).  To do this, dig a hole six inches wide and 18 inches deep.  Fill the hole with water, and observe how long it takes for the water to infiltrate the soil.  If the water has not drained in 48 – 72 hours, you will need to amend your soil or choose another location for your garden.

If your soil passed the percolation test, you only need to excavate six inches for water to pool and an additional three inches for mulch.  If your soil did not pass the drainage test, you must dig a deeper rain garden.  It should be as deep as possible, not to exceed three feet. (This is in addition to the six inches for ponding and the three inches for mulch.)  Fill the hole with a blend of 50% sand, 25% leaf compost, and 25% clay free topsoil.  The excavated pit should be flat, not bowl-shaped, so it will hold more water.

If you are curious about the type of soil existing on your property take a look at the Virginia Beach map, with soil survey data at www.vbgov.com/map

In order to overlay the soil survey data:

• Click the OFF button under the environmental tab on the left hand side to turn it ON
• Click the + directly under the button that now says ON to show all environmental data
• Zoom in on the map until the x symbol beside the soils checkbox diapers
• Click the checkbox next to soils, and soils data will be overlaid onto the map
• You may now zoom into the property you want to look at and click on the area of interest
• If it is easier for you, you may at this point search by address by clicking the magnifying glass icon in the top left   
• On the left hand side click the + next to soil type and then again next to each of the soil types to get a description. 

      If you have determined that your site is appropriate for a rain garden, we recommend having a professional perform the installation. 

      You can find recommended plants here.

      Find further information and the Lynnhaven River Now Rain Garden publication here

     

      Now.... bring on the rain!
   
       Compiled by Clint Boaz, Intern; Edited by Trista Imrich, Pearl Homes Coordinator, LRNow