WARREN CO SWCD

conservation connection
​

  • Home
    • About
    • Contact Us
    • Board Supervisors
    • Staff
    • NRCS
    • Volunteer Opportunities
  • Events
    • EQUIPMENT NEEDS SURVEY
    • Urban Chat: Runoff Reduction Methods
    • Earth Day Tree Planting
    • Pond Clinic
    • Rain Barrel Workshop
    • Mental Health First Aid
  • Services
    • Agriculture >
      • Land Preservation
      • Cover Crops
    • GIS/Mapping
    • Property Owner Assistance >
      • Drainage, Erosion & Pond Assistance
      • Soil Testing
      • Water Testing
      • Stormwater Basin Inspections
      • Backyard Conservation >
        • Ohio Native Plants
        • Rain Gardens
        • Rain Barrels
        • Composting
      • Illicit Discharge Detection Program
  • PERMITS
    • Earth Disturbing in Warren County >
      • Earth Disturbing Permit Application
    • Floodplain Management >
      • Floodplain Determination Request Form
      • Flood Applications, Forms & Documents
  • Education
    • Education Ambassador
    • Programs >
      • Classroom Programs
      • Youth Programs
      • Community Outreach
    • Virtual Classroom
    • Program Loan Portal
    • HS Envirothon >
      • Envirothon Grant Program
    • Educator Workshops
  • Caesar Creek Collaborative
    • Meet the Collaborative
    • Our Work
  • Blogs
    • Conservation Connection
    • Education Connection
    • Development Digest
  • Camp Canopy Scholarship

5/24/2021

Composting for Building Soil Health & Growing Better Crops

2 Comments

Read Now
 
Picture
It is very rewarding to grow your own veggies and to have showy flower beds! Utilizing compost is a great way to create thriving gardens and increase the porosity of your soil and give you the gardens you have always wanted! Through composting you enhance your garden’s ability to grow healthy plants while reducing your volume of trash.
Compost strengthens the soil food web, which is made-up of microscopic bacteria and fungi, along with earthworms, insects and many other life forms. Fungi form mutually rewarding partnerships with plant roots, making it possible for vegetables to feed themselves more efficiently. The addition of composted materials also improves soil physical properties, such as tilth, infiltration, drainage and water-holding capacity.
Compost is decomposed organic matter. It can be made from leaf/grass debris, food scraps, manure from animals or other organic materials. It can be bought or you can make your own. The key is to ensure that it cannot be distinguished from what it once was! If your product still has distinguishable items (banana peels, manure clods, etc.) in it, key nutrients like nitrogen will be used to break down this material instead of being available to the plants.

For example, if large quantities of uncomposted leaves are incorporated into the soil, microbes will compete with plants' roots for soil nitrogen during leaf decomposition. This competition for nitrogen can result in nitrogen deficiency and poor plant growth. Composting breaks down organic materials into an end product that increases the availability of essential minerals, such as potassium and phosphorous, to growing plants and reduces the competition for nitrogen.

Composting at Home
Composting at home is a great way to keep food wastes (non-animal) products out of our landfills and it is fairly easy to do! You need to make sure that you have a good ratio of “greens” or nitrogen and “browns” or carbons and is much like a recipe. It is referred to as the C/N ratio.  The C/N ratio refers to the amount of carbon ( C ) and nitrogen ( N ) in materials that are added to a compost pile. The preferred C/N ratio is 25 to 30 parts carbon to 1 part nitrogen. Materials categorized as "brown," such as straw, contain more carbon than nitrogen and have higher C/N ratios than "green" materials such as fresh green grass. A compost pile will decompose faster at lower C/N ratios, with more green material, however, much of the nitrogen used by decomposers as energy will be lost more quickly and will need to be replenished. If too much brown material has been added to the pile, the pile will decompose slowly.

Acceptable items to compost:
"Green" materials
  • Fresh leaves, plant cuttings and weeds
  • Thatch
  • Grass clippings. Though they will compost, they will also benefit your lawn if left to decompose on your yard.
  • Fruit and vegetable peels and other fruit wastes
  • Manure
  • Coffee grounds and tea bags
"Brown" materials
  • Dead weeds and dry leaves
  • Clipped brush
  • Wood ash
  • Egg shells
  • Sawdust
  • Wood chips
  • Straw
 
What not to include in the pile
  • Meat
  • Bones
  • Cheese, salad dressing, oils and other fats; they can cause odors and attract animals
  • Plant material with visible signs of disease or insect infestation
  • Weeds that can easily grow from root or stem cuttings
  • Check with local and county codes as some materials such as raw animal manure may be prohibited in a compost pile
  • Human and pet waste
 
For most efficient composting, use a pile that is between 3 feet cubed and 5 feet cubed (27-125 cu. ft.). This allows the center of the pile to heat up sufficiently to break down materials.  Smaller piles can be made but will take longer to produce finished compost. Larger piles can be made by increasing the length of the pile but limiting the height and the depth to 5 feet tall by 5 feet deep; however, large piles are limited by a person’s ability to turn the materials. You may also want to have two piles, one for finished compost ready to use in the garden, and the other for unfinished compost.

For questions regarding Warren County Soil and Water Conservation District programs and/or technical assistance on water or soil questions, visit http://warrenswcd.com or call, 513-695-1337. 

Share

2 Comments
Michael link
10/8/2021 05:16:59 am

Great Article! Thank you for sharing this very informative post, and looking forward to the latest one.

Reply
Liquid Carbon for Agriculture link
10/11/2021 10:13:28 pm

"Through composting you enhance your garden’s ability to grow healthy plants while reducing your volume of trash." --- Reducing trash is one of the most rewarding benefits of composting. We also do composting at home in a container and it really does help especially my mom since she really likes planting her own veggies.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

Details

    Warren County SWCD Staff Blog

    A blog to keep you informed on all the latest news at Warren County SWCD and in the conservation world.

    Archives

    March 2023
    October 2022
    September 2022
    July 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016

    Categories

    All
    Clean Water Rule
    Compost
    Conservation
    Cover Crop
    Drain Tagging
    Earth Day
    Garden
    Great Outdoor Weekend
    Hazardous Waste Disposal
    Invasives
    Little Miami River
    Milkweed
    NACD
    Native Plants
    No-till
    OPHI
    Pollinators
    Poster Contest
    Rain Barrel
    Rain Garden
    Rain Water
    Recycling
    Reforestation
    Soil
    Soil Health
    Storm Drain
    Trees
    Water
    Wildlife
    Winter
    Women For Land Conservation

Picture

Contact:

PHONE: (513) 695 - 1337
EMAIL:   wcswcd@gmail.com
HOURS: Monday - Friday 7:30am - 4:00pm (except holidays)

Connect:

Warren County Soil & Water Conservation District Copyright © 2016
Warren SWCD Privacy Notice. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact.  Constant Contact's Privacy Notice.
  • Home
    • About
    • Contact Us
    • Board Supervisors
    • Staff
    • NRCS
    • Volunteer Opportunities
  • Events
    • EQUIPMENT NEEDS SURVEY
    • Urban Chat: Runoff Reduction Methods
    • Earth Day Tree Planting
    • Pond Clinic
    • Rain Barrel Workshop
    • Mental Health First Aid
  • Services
    • Agriculture >
      • Land Preservation
      • Cover Crops
    • GIS/Mapping
    • Property Owner Assistance >
      • Drainage, Erosion & Pond Assistance
      • Soil Testing
      • Water Testing
      • Stormwater Basin Inspections
      • Backyard Conservation >
        • Ohio Native Plants
        • Rain Gardens
        • Rain Barrels
        • Composting
      • Illicit Discharge Detection Program
  • PERMITS
    • Earth Disturbing in Warren County >
      • Earth Disturbing Permit Application
    • Floodplain Management >
      • Floodplain Determination Request Form
      • Flood Applications, Forms & Documents
  • Education
    • Education Ambassador
    • Programs >
      • Classroom Programs
      • Youth Programs
      • Community Outreach
    • Virtual Classroom
    • Program Loan Portal
    • HS Envirothon >
      • Envirothon Grant Program
    • Educator Workshops
  • Caesar Creek Collaborative
    • Meet the Collaborative
    • Our Work
  • Blogs
    • Conservation Connection
    • Education Connection
    • Development Digest
  • Camp Canopy Scholarship