Compost and Bed Preparation

Compost:

Best Practices: For compost there really is no best practice. Any practice is good for composting. The different practices for composting bin compost and pile compost. Bin composting is when someone puts bio-degradable waste into a bin and let that wast decompose. Pile composting is basically where someone has a pile and they just keep adding waste to it and let that decompose.

With composting, there are good things to put in a pile, and bad things. Basically anything that is not bio-degradable you shouldn't add to you compost. Things such as metals, plastics etc.


Bed Prep:
Best Practices: With bed preparation, one of the best known practices is double digging. Double digging allows your bed to become every soft. With double digging, what you want to do is dig a trench that is about a foot deep and move what you dug up out of the way. Once you have done that you want to soften up what you have just dug. Once you have softened that up, you can put that back in the trench. Now you have fluffy soil good for planting things.

Something everyone should know about double digging is that once you have softened up an area of you bed, it is important not to step on that part at all. If you step in that, then your soil will become compressed again, and hard for anything to grow.

Rsearch and Annotations

1.

"How to Compost." How To Compost. 2006. 15 Sept. 2009 .http://www.howtocompost.org/

Compost is composed of biodegradable organic material

"Compost is simply decomposed organic material. The organic material can be plant material or animal matter. While composting may seem mysterious or complicated, it’s really a very simple and natural process that continuously occurs in nature, often without any assistance from mankind. If you’ve ever walked in the woods, you’ve experienced compost in its most natural setting. Both living plants and annual plants that die at the end of the season are consumed by animals of all sizes, from larger mammals, birds, and rodents to worms, insects, and microscopic organisms. The result of this natural cycle is compost, a combination of digested and undigested food that is left on the forest floor to create rich, usually soft, sweet-smelling soil."


2.
"Some Tips on Making Compost." Envocare. 30 Sept. 2001. 15 Sept. 2009 .http://www.envocare.co.uk/makingcompost.htm

So there are good things that we can use for compost and there are ad things. This website explains both of those.

What's Good to Compost Basically, all organic waste from your garden and kitchen. All fruit, vegetables and waste from these, flowers and leaves, tea and tea bags, coffee grounds, egg shells (preferably crushed). Weeds, grass, soft cuttings and prunings. Shredded twigs, prunings and cuttings. Waste paper including tissues, kitchen towels, newspaper, printer paper, corrugated paper/card and cardboard but not too much; it should all be torn up or crumpled and well mixed in with the rest of the compost.
		What's Bad to Compost Meat, fish, dairy produce, fat, egg, bread, cake, biscuits, pastry and things containing these; they rot and attract vermin. Nearly all cooked food, for the same reason. We think you shouldn't compost tomato plants and tops of potato plants; we understand that they can transmit disease (the actual tomatoes and potatoes are fine). Cat and dog faeces, because it could carry/transmit disease. Plastics, shiny paper and card. Coarse cuttings, prunings, stalks and twigs, as unless they are shredded they'll take too long to decompose. Big roots and roots of dandelions, ground elder, mares tail, couch grass, bindweed etc as these will re-grow. Diseased plants or leaves, like those with black spot, mildew, rust or other visible diseases. Grass cuttings, moss or other garden waste recently treated with chemicals; you should follow instructions on the packet/tin etc regarding composting following treatment. Soil. Small quantities are acceptable, and may be beneficial if well distributed, but you should shake or knock excess soil off plant roots before composting them.

3.

"PH Levels In Garden Soil." The Gardners Network. 1999. 15 Sept. 2009 .
http://www.gardenersnet.com/atoz/ph.htm

There is more to compost and soil then just watering it and letting the plants grow. The soil needs to have the perfect balance of pH levels.

"Do you give your garden as much love and attention as your neighbor, yet your garden is not as healthy and productive? Chances are, your soil pH level may be out of balance. "pH" is a measure of your soil's acidity or alkalinity. Each plant in your garden or yard, has an ideal pH range that it will thrive in. This ideal range varies from plant to plant. If your garden soil is outside of this ideal range, the vital nutrients and minerals your plants need may become "locked up" in the soil, and the roots are unable to absorb them."

"Testing your soil's pH (and nutrient levels, too) should be a routine task for gardeners. It is also a fun task if you test it yourself. Even if your garden has been productive over the years, soil testing can be beneficial. Soil ph can get out of balance for a number of reasons. Most often, using inorganic fertilizers will make your soil more acidic over time. Adding amendments to the soil can also alter your soil's pH. If you do not test your soil occasionally, you are passing by the opportunity to maximize your plants' potential in the size, health and quality of flowers, vegetables and fruits."

Senior Project Entry

All of these topics are very good, but there are only a few topics that I am quite interested in. One of them is water. As we all know only 1 percent of water is commercially available for consumption. We not only need to be mindful of how we use our water, but how we can get more of it.

I have an idea for a senior project that has two parts. Part one is just a whole section on how we can reduce our water use and how to be mindful. Now part two includes how we can get more drinkable water. What I consider to do (even though this might not be physically possible) is to collect all of the fresh water that's melting from ice caps and things like that and just harvest it. Just think, if we are able to do that, then not only will we have more available water to drink, but we also won"t have to worry about the world flooding from global warming. So that idea works on both ends.

I think another very important topic is energy because like we were discussing in class on Friday, there is only so much energy left in the world that's available to us. The big question is where will we turn for energy once fossil fuels run out(of course we don't have to worry about that in our current generation, but to take inconsideration future generations.)? One of the only ways I know to fix this is to start turning to other types of fuel now.

This leads into another idea for my senior project where somehow I can get a petition signed to lower the cost of alternative fuels and energy.

These are just some ideas I am working on.

Plant Research

Plants for the garden:

Squash, Broccoli, Cabbage

Top 2:

Squash, Broccoli

Squash

So I really want to plant a squash in our class’s community garden. Squash is a vegetable best eaten at the mature fruit stage. The best time to grow squash is during warm frost-free seasons; preferably around spring to mid-summer. Since San Diego is so warm, I figured we could grow them during winter anyways since our weather is our warm now as it is. Squash takes about ten to fourteen days to germinate. The only preparation is to stick the seed in some warm soil and water. Like I mentioned earlier, squash is extremely hard to grow in cold weather. It takes squash about forty or fifty days until it reaches full maturity. I think this will work out for our garden because if we plant my squash seeds at around early October, that should leave quite some time for the squash to grow. We can then harvest them well after the 40-50 day period just in time to enjoy them at our exhibition. Squash needs about two too two and a half feet spacing between seeds. Squash needs very rich soil because they are food hogs. The soil needs to be well drained and the squash also need to be fertilized. They need to be watered regularly. It is important to just keep the soil moist not wet. Squash prefers soil that is slightly acidic, with a Ph level of about 6. About N-P-K ratios: the preferred ratios are 10-20-10 or 5-20-20. Squash should be water regularly. It is good to water them about three times per week. It is also good to water them at the roots. Drip irrigation is most likely the best way to water them. dress with the granular type. An interesting fact about Squash: The English word "squash" derives from askutasquash which literally means “green thing eaten raw”

Broccoli

Broccoli is the second plant that I would like grow in our garden. Broccoli is a member of the cabbage family Brassicaceae. Broccoli is best grown in the spring and fall seasons. Broccoli just like squash is grown by seed. Broccoli usually takes about ten days to germinate. Depending on the variation of squash, it generally takes about 50-60 days for the broccoli to go from seed to harvest I think this time frame might be able to work for the semester. Like I mentioned for the squash, if I am able to plant the broccoli seeds in early October ( Within the first week hopefully) then they should ready to harvest by early December since 60 days is about 2 months approximately. About spacing; broccoli seeds should be planted about a quarter inch In the soil and about a foot and a half to two feet apart from each other. Broccoli needs cool soil which a preferable Ph level of six. Good NPK levels for broccoli are 50, 75, and 100%. Broccoli should be watered at the roots. The best way is to use a drip irrigation system to water them. Broccoli shouldn’t be watered all the time, but it should maintain good moisture. An interesting fact about broccoli: Broccoli comes from the Latin word brachium which means branch or arm.

Links

http://urbanext.illinois.edu/veggies/ssquash1.html

http://www.gardenersnet.com/vegetable/squash.htm

http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/M1258.html

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Growing-Vegetables-740/Butternut-Squash-13.htm

http://www.texasgardener.com/pastissues/janfeb04/squash.html

http://www.bellybytes.com/foodfacts/squash_facts.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broccoli

http://www.essortment.com/hobbies/tipsgrowingbro_spcy.htm

http://www.biocontrols.com/aero95.htm

http://urbanext.illinois.edu/veggies/broccoli1.html

http://www.gardenguides.com/plants/info/Vegetables/broccoli.asp

http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a903691522~db=all~jumptype=rss

http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/factsheet/HG_Garden_2005-01.pdf