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|  Organic farming
Sustainable agriculture produces highly nutritious foods without depleting the earth’s natural resources or polluting the environment. It follows the principles of nature to develop systems for raising crops and livestock that are self-sustaining, as nature intended. It is based on ecological (natural, organic, low-input, alternative, regenerative, holistic, Biodynamic, etc...) approaches, which shares a vision of "farming with nature," promoting biodiversity, recycles plant nutrients, protects soil from erosion, conserves and protects water, uses minimum tillage, and integrates crop and livestock enterprises.
Sustainable agriculture is also the agriculture of social values, one whose success is  dependant on close knit communities that enrich life for the inhabitants while producing wholesome food for everyone.
Build Soil Structure and Fertility
• Reduce the use of synthetic fertilizers by increasing on-site nutrient cycling.
• Minimize or eliminate tillage.
• Soil is a living entity which incorporates the management of soil organisms to preserve their healthy diversity.
• Maintain ground cover by using cover crops and mulches  Manage Pests Ecologically; Use Minimal Pesticides
• Prevent pest problems by building healthy, biologically active soil through the creation of habitat for beneficial organisms, and incorporating appropriate plant cultivars.
• Restore and enhance pest–predator balances with the understanding that the mere presence of a pest does not necessarily constitute a problem.
• Positively identify the pest species and learn about its life cycle and ecology. Implement cultural practices that alter the cropping system and surrounding area to make it non-inhabitable for the pest and easier for its natural enemies.
 Why Make Compost?
Compost is one of nature's best mulches and soil amendments, and can be used in lieu of commercial fertilizers. Compost improves soil structure, texture, and aeration and increases the soil's water-holding capacity. It loosens clay soils and helps sandy soils retain water. Adding compost improves soil fertility and stimulates healthy root development in plants. The organic matter provides food for microorganisms, which keeps the soil healthy and balanced. Nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus will be produced naturally by the feeding of microorganisms.
The incredible value of this rich, dark material in improving the soil and creating a healthful environment for plants is obvious. The problem of landfill crisis makes composting even more enticing by creating alternative methods of dealing with waste. About one third of the landfills is organic waste from our yards and kitchens, exactly the type of material that can be used in composting. We can all contribute to the solution of a community problem, while at the same time enriching the soil and improving the health of the plants. Best of all, compost is free. Almost any organic material is suitable for a compost pile. The pile needs a proper ratio of carbon-rich materials, or "browns," (dried leaves, straw, and wood chips) and nitrogen-rich materials, or "greens" (grass clippings and kitchen scraps).
Mixing certain types of materials or changing the proportions can make a difference in the rate of decomposition. Achieving the best mix is more an art gained through experience than an exact science. The ideal ratio approaches 25 parts browns to 1 part greens by weight. Too much carbon will cause the pile to break down too slowly, while too much nitrogen can cause odor. The carbon provides energy for the microbes, and the nitrogen provides protein.
Leaves represent a large percentage of total yard waste. Ground down into smaller pieces, they will decompose faster. They are loaded with minerals brought up from the tree roots and are a natural source of carbon. A few leaf species such as live oak, southern magnolia, and holly trees are too tough and leathery for easy composting. Avoid all parts of the black walnut tree as they contain a plant poison that survives composting. Eucalyptus leaves can be toxic to other plants. And avoid using poison oak, poison ivy, and sumac.Making Compost
Compost can range from passive - allowing the materials to sit and rot on their own - to highly managed. Passive composting involves the least amount of time and energy. This is done by collecting organic materials in a freestanding pile. It might take a long time (a year or two), but eventually organic materials in any type of a pile will break down into finished compost. Add grass clippings, leaves, and kitchen scraps (always cover these with 8" of other material). The pile will shrink quickly as the materials compress and decompose. Wait a year or two before checking the bottom of the bin for finished compost. Continue to add greens and browns. After the first few years, most simple piles produce a few cubic feet of finished compost yearly.
Managed composting involves active participation, ranging from turning the pile occasionally to a major commitment of time and energy. If you use all the techniques of managing the pile, you can get finished compost in 3-4 weeks. The speed with which you produce finished compost will be determined by how you collect materials, whether you chop them up, how you mix them together, etc... Achieving a good balance of carbon and nitrogen is easier if you build the pile all at once. Layering is traditional, but mixing the materials works as well. Shredded organic materials heat up rapidly, decompose quickly, and produce a uniform compost. The decomposition rate increases with the size of the composting materials. If you want the pile to decay faster, chop up large fibrous materials.
You can add new materials on an ongoing basis to an already established pile. The temperature of the managed pile is important - it indicates the activity of the decomposition process. If it is warm or hot, everything is fine. If it is the same temperature as the outside air, the microbial activity has slowed down and you need to add more nitrogen (green) materials such as grass clippings, kitchen waste, or manure.
If the pile becomes too dry, the decay process will slow down. Organic waste needs water to decompose. The rule of thumb is to keep the pile as moist as a wrung-out sponge. If you're building your pile with very wet materials, mix them with dry materials as you build. If all the material is very dry, soak it with a hose as you build. Whenever you turn the pile, check it for moisture and add water as necessary. Too much water is just as detrimental as the lack of water. In a wet pile, water replaces the air, creating an anaerobic environment, slowing decomposition.
Air circulation is an important element in a compost pile. Most of the organisms that decompose organic matter are aerobic so they need air to survive. There are several ways to keep your pile breathing. Try not to use materials that are easily compacted such as ashes or sawdust, without mixing them with a coarser material first. Tree branches, ventilation tubes may be added into different parts of the pile, to be shaken occasionally, to maximize air circulation. Another way to re-oxygenate the pile is to turn the pile by hand, using a large garden fork. The simplest way is to move the material from the pile and restack it alongside. A multiple-bin system makes this efficient, in that you only handle the material once. The object is to end up with the material that was on the outside of the original pile, resting in the middle of the restacked pile. This procedure aerates the pile and will promote uniform decomposition.
Tips for better composting
1. Use kitchen scraps, which are typically high in nitrogen and helps heat up the compost pile, speeding up the composting process. Egg shells, coffee grounds, fruit and vegetable peels and scraps are all outstanding materials to add.
2. If you're composting with a compost pile, bigger is often better (no more than 3'X3"). Heat builds up with a big pile.
3. Keep the compost pile aerated! If using a tumbling composter, make sure you turn it whenever new materials are added. With a pile, or static (non-tumbling) bin, be sure to mix up the contents so that the pile gets oxygen and can break down effectively. Use a compost aerating  tool such as a pitchfork.
4. Don't allow the compost completely dry out. A compost pile needs moisture to keep the composting process active.
5. Don't keep your compost too wet so that it gets soggy and starts to stink. 6. Too much of any one material will slow down the composting process. In general, it's good to keep a mix of green and brown material. | |
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