Composting Project Was Funded by the U.S
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA's) Georgia Home Composting Project was funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency July 1, 1992. The grant called for the establishment of five home composting demonstration sites and one workshop for volunteers willing to contribute forty hours training others in home composting. At the time of the grant awards, DCA funded seven local governments with EPA funds and offered three others the opportunity to apply for grants. Thus, in the Spring of 1992, ten sites will open. One workshop to train volunteers was expanded to five workshops where up to two hundred persons will be given a day-long orientation on home composting and educational techniques. DCA has contracted with the University of Georgia's Cooperative Extension Service to prepare educational materials for the sites and the workshops and to help with training at the workshops. We wish to acknowledge the contributions of persons who helped prepare the grant proposal as well as those who have supported the development, expansion and execution of DCAs Georgia Home Composting Project. Assisting DCA staff in preparation of the grant were Susan Smith of C2S2; Clark Gregory, Ph. D., Woods End Laboratories; Henry Bryant, Atlanta Clean City Commission, who also recruited the artist, Lisa South, designer of the site signs; and Don Jackson, Zoo Atlanta. Those who provided direction, resources and encouragement during the development of the project include Robin Mitchell and Richard Kashmanian, EPA; and Joe Keyser, American Horticultural Society. We wish to thank Dr. Wayne J. McLaurin and Dr. Gary L. Wade of the Horticulture Department at The University of Georgia for devoting untold hours compiling the material for the training handbook, and to Dr. Sylvia McLaurin, Carolyn Cox and Delores White for helping type and edit the material. Vendors who have provided composting bins for the demonstration sites include Envirocycle, Smith & Hawken, Health & Environmental Systems, Southern Mills, Can Do Composter, Atlantic Recycle Systems, West Bay Forest Products, Shamrock Industries, Toro, and R. P. M. Pennlngton Enterprises has generously provided a ton of Georgia produced compost to each of the sites for use in planting and for display until finished compost can be produced on site. Thanks is due to Rick Washington, Zoo Atlanta, for producing the drawing of DCA's concept of the home composting demonstration site. The staff and management of Fast Signs, Computer Images, worked patiently to produce durable signs which reflect the designs and concepts developed by DCA staff and Lisa South. We wish to express special thanks and appreciation to Lisa South. She has given freely of her talent, spending many hours creating designs for the eleven signs to be used in each site. She is a home composter and contributed her time because of her deep commitment to alternatives which are healthy for the environment. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction .............................................. i What Is Compost ...................................... i Why Compost? ....................................... iii An Age Old Practice ................................... iii Composting Is Microfarming .............................. iv . The Georgia Home Composter Training Program ............... v Chapter 1 The Decomposition Process ................................... 1 Anaerobic Decomposition ................................ 1 Aerobic Decomposition ................................. 2 Requirements For Efficient Decomposition .................... 3 Aeration/Oxygen ................................. 3 Moisture ....................................... 3 Particle Size ..................................... 3 Temperature .................................... 3 Organisms Involved .................................... 4 Chemical Decomposers ................................. 6 Bacteria ....................................... 6 Actinomycetes ................................... 7 Protozoa ....................................... 7 . Fungi ......................................... 7 Physical Decomposers .................................. 8 Mites ......................................... 8 .. Millipedes ...................................... 8 Centipedes ..................................... 8 . Sowbugs ....................................... 8 Snails and Slugs ................................. 8 Spiders ........................................ 8 . Springtails ...................................... 8 Beetles ........................................ 9 Ants .......................................... 9 . Flies .......................................... 9 Worms ........................................ 9 Earthworms ..................................... 9 . Useoflnocula ....................................... 10 . Chapter 2 Composting Fundamentals Raw Materials Quantity and Composition .................... 12 Leaf Composting ................................ 12 . Grass Clippings/Woody Materials Mixture .............. 14 Leaves/Grass/Pruning Mixture ...................... 14 Animal Manures ................................. 14 Carbon: Nitrogen Relationships ........................... 14 Blending of Materials .................................. 16 Shredding of Refuse .................................. 16 Environmental Factors ................................. 17 Moisture Content ................................ 17 Temperature ................................... 18 . Aeration/Oxygen ................................ 20 Climatic Conditions ................................... 21 Temperature ................................... 21 . Wind ......................................... 21 Rain ......................................... 21 Destruction of Harmful Elements .......................... 21 . Slug Bait ...................................... 22 Herbicides ..................................... 22 Insecticides .................................... 22 1 Fungicides ..................................... 22 Other Factors ....................................... 22 Reclamation of Nitrogen and Other Nutrients ................. 22 4 Time .............................................. 23 Unwanted Guest: The Pests of The Pile ..................... 24 Animal Pests ................................... 24 Flies and Related Pest ............................ 24 . Chapter 3 Composting Structures ..................................... 26 . Holding Units ....................................... 26 Wire Mesh Holding Units ............................... 26 Wooden Pallet Holding Unit ............................. 27 . Concrete Block Holding Unit ............................. 28 Garbage-Can Composter ............................... 28 Turning Units ....................................... 29 . Wood and Wire Turning Unit ............................ 29 Wooden Three Bin Turning Unit .......................... 31 Concrete Block Three Bin Turning Unit ..................... 32 . Barrel Composter .................................... 33 Heaps ............................................ 34 Pit Composting ...................................... 34 . Plastic Bag Composting ................................ 35 . ! Chapter 4 . Building and Maintaining A Compost Pile ...................... 36 Site of the Pile ....................................... 36 Placement of the Materials .............................. 37 Windrows. Piles and Bins ............................... 37 Adding To the Pile .................................... 38 Handling Kitchen Scraps ............................... 38 Moisture and Turning .................................. 38 Finished Compost .................................... 39 How To Build the Compost Pile .......................... 39 Chapter 5 Utilization of Compost and Other Landscape Refuse .............. 43 Compost: Black Gold For Soil ............................ 43 Avoid Using Compost Before It Is Ready .................... 43 Using Compost ...................................... 43 .. .. Mulching With Fall Leaves .............................. 44 Save Some Leaves For Cold Protection In Winter .............. 45 Grasscycling ........................................ 45 \.~ Other Uses For Grass Clippings ..................... 45 __ Chapter 6 . Answers to Commonly Asked Composting Questions ............. 46 .. Chapter 7 Guidelines For Starting A Community Composting Education Program 50 You Can Start A Home Composting Education Program ......... 50 Organization ........................................ 50 Planning ........................................... 51 Action ............................................. 51 Glossary ............................................... 59 . Appendix ............................................... 65 .. References/Resource Materials .......................... 65 Books ........................................ 65 Brochures ..................................... 65 Trade Journals ................................. 66 Slide Sets ..................................... 66 Videos .......................................67 Organizations .................................. 67 Composting and Related Equipment Manufacturers ............ 68 Chippers/Shredders .............................. 68 Barrel Composters/Tumblers ........................ 69 Holding Units ................................... 69 Mulching Mowers ................................ 70 . Selected Articles Pertaining to Composting .................. 71 Composting in Twelve Easy Steps ...................