Tired of Raking Leaves in the Rain? Let Them Rot!
The Newberg Graphic, November 9, 2005
It's that time of year again, the leaves are changing and the trick or treaters have had their fill. What to do with piles of leaves and rotting jack-o-lanterns? Compost them! Fall is a great time to start a compost pile in your backyard. As you clean up the yard and garden after the summer growing season, mix the "greens" and "browns" into a working compost pile. With the right ratio of nitrogen rich "greens" (grass clippings, shrub trimmings, vegetable scraps) and carbon rich "browns" (dried leaves, twigs, wood chips), you can turn yard waste into gold!
Why compost? Compost is a valuable soil amendment that returns vital nutrients to your soil and helps it retain water by improving the soil structure. This will help you conserve water, and save money, next summer. By applying compost to your garden in the fall and spring, you can avoid using expensive synthetic fertilizers and still grow a lush yard and garden.
Getting started. First, determine how much compostable material you will have and then consider how much time you want to spend with your compost pile. If you have a large yard that produces a lot of debris, you might consider a 3-pile system. By turning the piles often, you can be rewarded with rich compost in as little as 8 weeks! Turning the compost pile less frequently still makes good compost; it just takes longer to get a finished product. Smaller compost bins are available commercially or you can build your own. If you only have vegetable scraps from the kitchen, you should try worm composting. Red Wiggler worms turn your kitchen scraps into nutrient rich castings that your plants will love. Worm bins are easy to make and can even be used in apartments! Check out the book Worms Eat My Garbage by Mary Appelhof to learn more about the benefits of worm composting.
Think composting is too much work? Then stop raking too! As leaves decompose naturally at the base of your trees, they will slowly add a nutrient rich layer to the soil-without any help from you! This might be the easy way out of Fall chores but remember, a compost pile does the job a lot more quickly and keeps you in good with your neighbors!
Compost with Newberg Garbage Service. If you live in the city of Newberg or Dundee, you can participate in the curbside yard debris program. All items must be no larger than 4 inches in diameter and three feet long. Please no dirt or stumps. If you are outside the city limits, you can bring yard debris to the Newberg Transfer Site on Wynooski Road. Fee applies. All the yard debris collected is taken to a commercial compost facility that produces compost for retail sale.
Mustard Seed Farms on McKay road is accepting leaves only for composting. Drop them off at the farm unbagged and without any other kinds of yard debris mixed in. Free!
Stop by the Newberg Garbage Service office on Wynooski Road to check out the Earth Machine composter sold at cost or pick up a brochure on how to build your own.
By Martha Hovis, Recycling Coordinator
Newberg Garbage and Recycling Service
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