The future is COMPOST!

This term the focus is all things compost, we plan to revolutionise the way composting happens at South End School. We are building a composting lab where we can perform composting experiments, monitor the rates of decomposition and the record changes in the heat of the pile over time. We have been inspired by the edible schoolyard in Berkeley California.

This short video provides an overview of Compost Row, the Edible Schoolyard Berkeley's composting system. Compost Row is a free-standing pile method consisting of layered browns and greens. For more visit the Compost Row resource on the Edible Schoolyard Network: http://bit.ly/compostrow

We are working with the teachers and students at south End school to organise the way we process and manage our green waste. We looked at a hot composting and layering technique, C is for carbon (sticks, wood chips, straw, dry leaves and dry plant material, “the browns”), N is for nitrogen (living plant matter like leaves and grasses, “the greens”), M is for manure (horse, duck, chicken manure, which are rich in microorganisms), N is for nitrogen (this time from food scraps).

We made tiny compost layers in jars and discussed possible compost additives or activators these include: some soil or compost, some worm castings and worms from the worm farm, wood ashes from the fire, lime, dolomite, used coffee grains - these activators can be sprinkled in small amounts after a green and brown layer is added.