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Composting… Turning Trash to Treasure

Composting… Turning Trash to Treasure What is compost? Compost is decomposed organic materials. Compost improves our soil! Compost acts as soil “glue” holding soil particles together. Compost helps soil hold more water. Compost contains nutrients plants need. Why compost?

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Composting… Turning Trash to Treasure

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  1. Composting…Turning Trash to Treasure

  2. What is compost? Compost is decomposed organic materials.

  3. Compost improves our soil! • Compost acts as soil “glue” holding soil particles together. • Compost helps soil hold more water. • Compost contains nutrients plants need. Why compost?

  4. Compost reduces the amount of chemical fertilizers needed, thereby saving you money! • Compost reduces the amount of waste that enters our landfills! • Did you know…yard and kitchen waste make up 20 - 25% of the waste going to our landfills? Why compost?

  5. Compost bins can be built easily & inexpensively! Construct a compost bin out of wire-mesh, wooden pallets, a garbage can, or make a worm composting bin!Easy to use instruction sheets are available at your Cooperative Extension Office.Compost bins are also available for purchase and vary in size and price. Building a Compost Bin… Garbage can compost bin. Image obtained from ENRI 311: Constructing a Garbage Can Compost Bin.

  6. Ingredients: AirWater “Green” Materials “Brown” Materials Composting Recipe for Success As you build your compost pile, think of a layered cake. Alternatematerials that are “green” with materials that are “brown.” Remember your compost pile needs water and air just like you do! “Green” materials are high in nitrogen (examples include food scraps, grass clippings, and manure). “Brown” materials are high in carbon (examples include paper, sawdust, woodchips, leaves, & straw).

  7. Fruit and Vegetable ScrapsHuman Hair, Fur, & Feathers Clothes Dryer Lint Cardboard Rolls Newspaper or Shredded Paper (Avoid Colored and Shiny/Glossy Kind)Straw or HayEggshells, Coffee Grounds, & TeabagsNutshellsGrass Clippings & Yard WasteLeaves - Fresh or Dry - From Trees & ShrubsSawdust or Wood shavings (in Small Quantities) What goes into compost?

  8. No – No’s • Meat, Meat Products, Bones, or Fish • Fats, Greases, or Oils • Baked Goods - Breads, Cookies, Cakes, & Pies • Dairy Products - Milk, Yogurt, & Cheeses • Weeds that are hard to kill or that have gone to seed • Kitty Litter or Pet Waste • Yard Waste Treated with Chemicals • Black Walnut Leaves/Twigs • Coal or Charcoal Ashes • Citrus* • Onion*Meats, bones, fats, greases, oils, baked goods, & diary products can attract pests, create odor problems, and mold.*If you have a worm bin, do not add anything that would irritate your eyes, like onion or citrus, this can irritate the worms’ skin. What does NOT go into compost?

  9. Contact Ashley Osborne at ashley.osborne@uky.edu or 859-257-2505 or your local Extension office.Visit http://www.ca.uky.edu/enri/compost.php for downloadable fact sheets, interactive games, and more related to compost. For more information…

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