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Composting and watering

Amanda Christie

Education and Outreach Assistant

Garden @ Kimbourne

200 Wolverleigh Blvd, Toronto, ON

Dish With One Spoon Territory, M4C 1S2

August 27, 2020

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Composting

Benefits
How-to
Other soil amendments

Watering

Impacts
Options
Best practices

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Compost - what and why

- improves the texture of soil so that roots can go through it easier, deeper, and spread / move/ grow (it encourages a larger and deeper root system)

- increases water and moisture content because it acts like a sponge (increases water retention)

- increases positive ion activity for the transfer of nutrients (cationic exchange)

Compost is also called humus: dark, organic material that forms in soil when plant and animal matter decays.

facilitates the transfer of nutrients
prevents compaction/ allows for space in between soil particles
keeps the soil cooler
increases the development of microroganisms that help with soil health
allows for more oxygen in the soil

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Best practices...

make sure your compost has aged for long enough that it won’t have too much nitrogen which will damage plant roots
add organic material regularly (5-30%)
ideal to add in spring, between successive crops, and in fall

Carbon suppliers (browns): fall leaves, straw, hay, shredded newspaper, small amounts of sawdust, chopped corn stalks and cobs, and shredded cardboard - 3
Nitrogen suppliers (greens):grass clippings, plant trimmings, farm animal manures (but not dog or cat waste), kitchen scraps, coffee grounds, rinsed seaweed, and other plant material- 1
C:N ratio is 30:1, so try to have 3 x the carbon to nitrogen by volume
The speed at which compost decomposes depends on many factors including the materials included, season, bin, temperature, the size of the pile, contents, and whether it’s maintained (by turning and providing moisture).
https://savvygardening.com/compost-how-to-guide-based-on-science/

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Aerate/ turn your compost to allow oxygen (ideally once a week)

Water your compost to keep it moist (not soggy)

Temperature

Decomposition creates heat, so compost piles should reach 160 F for 10-15 days
You can get a compost thermometer and check temperature daily
Compost is done ‘cooking’ when the temperature has dropped and it looks and feels earthy

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Do not add...

Meat, bones, fish scraps
Perennial weeds or diseased material
Pet waste
Peels that may have pesticides (bananas, peach, orange)

https://learn.eartheasy.com/guides/composting/

Common problems and how to address them:

7 Signs Your Compost is Struggling (and What You Can Do About It)

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Marion Polk Food Share Community Garden Coordinator Handbook

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Vermicomposting

http://gardenatkimbourne.blogspot.com/2020/08/all-about-vermicomposting.html

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Depending on what your soil needs (figure this out by getting it tested every 5~ years), you can also add other soil amendments…

Garden Soil Amendments: 6 Organic Choices to Improve Your Soil

Manure
Chopped leaves or leaf mold
Kelp meal
Compost tea

Manure

Cow (common), sheep, horse (weedy), or chicken (nitrogen), rabbit
If buying in bulk from a farmer, ask about herbicide and pesticide use
Don’t use fresh manure (burning and pathogens) - let it sit 3-4 months (can buy in fall and work 2-3 inches into soil in spring)
Can buy in bags (sterile and weed-free)

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Chopped leaves/ leaf mold

Chopped leaves can be added to garden in fall, or left in garden to rot down into leaf mold (1-3 years)
Shred leaves and let sit
Can water the pile if it’s dry, or turn it to add oxygen to speed up process

Kelp meal

Washed up seaweed can be added to a compost bin or chopped up and worked into the soil in fall
Can get this from the sea or buy bags
Can be added in spring too, or put into the hole when you’re transplanting

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Compost tea

Compost tea can be added every 2 weeks - month. You can buy it in powder form from the store, or make your own. Use it immediately after brewing for best effectiveness.

https://www.almanac.com/content/how-make-compost-tea

Ingredients

1 large handful of compost

1 handful of garden soil

2 handfuls of straw

3–5 leaves from a healthy plant

1 cup fish hydrolysate (pulverized fish, available at most garden centers)

1 cup seaweed extract (available at most garden centers)

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Instructions

Put the first five ingredients ingredients into the tea bag, tie the bag tightly and submerge it in the bucket of water. Add the fish hydrolysate and seaweed extract liquids directly to the water. Place the aerator in the bucket and turn it on. Brew the tea for about 36 hours, monitoring temperature—the optimal temperature is between 68° and 72°F. Dilute it to a 3 parts tea to 1 part water ratio before spraying. Fill a backpack sprayer. Spray early in the morning or late in the evening to avoid burning leaves in the midday sun.

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https://learn.eartheasy.com/guides/composting/

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Watering

If a plant’s soil has too much water, the roots can rot, and the plant can’t get enough oxygen from the soil. If there is not enough water for a plant, the nutrients it needs cannot travel through the plant.

Water helps a plant by transporting important nutrients through the plant. Nutrients are drawn from the soil and used by the plant. Without enough water in the cells, the plants droop, so water helps a plant to stand. Water carries the dissolved sugar and other nutrients through the plant. So without the proper balance of water, the plant not only is malnourished, but it is also physically weak and cannot support its own weight.

What does water do for a plant in other ways? It helps the plant maintain the proper temperature as water evaporates. When the moisture evaporates from the surface area, it causes the plant to draw more water up through the roots, to replace what was lost, helping to provide a circulatory system.

Read more at Gardening Know How: How Does Water Affect Plant Growth? https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/special/children/how-does-water-affect-plant-growth.htm

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Options

Hand watering
Sprinkler system
Drip irrigation
Rain barrels
Clay pot watering
Swales
Rain gardens

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Rain barrels and clay pot watering

https://trca.ca/news/set-up-rain-barrels-harvest-rainwater/

The use of rain barrels, installed at the bottom of a downspout, is the most common form of rainwater harvesting. The rain barrel collects rainwater that flows off your roof, storing it for later use. Pick your barrel, choose your location, connect it, and direct the overflow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSsr6wlbMTk&list=PLDSOKzaT4AFsd6lO4NZ2lw_CyrE3cZu_W&index=12

Clay pot watering: Get hold of an ordinary 25 cm (10 inch) terracotta pot. Plug the hole with a wine cork. Bury it almost up to its neck in the soil but not too deep so that soil falls into the pot. Fill it with water. Add a terracotta lid.

Plant seedlings or sow seeds 18 inches around the base of the pot. Water will slowly seep out through the clay wall of the pot, directly irrigating the soil around the pot. As the roots grow they will wrap themselves around the pot. The plants takes up almost all the water, and because the water source is now in the ground, evaporation is almost nil.

Keep the pot filled up and you will provide a steady source of irrigation when your plants need it.

https://www.permaculture.co.uk/readers-solutions/clay-pot-irrigation-simple-adaptation-ancient-technique

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Swales and rain gardens

A permaculture swale is a technique that captures water in the landscape in a trench for passive irrigation and for slowing runoff.

Swales:

Mitigate stormwater runoff.
Are an easier way to catch rain than using a tank or barrel.
Are more efficient than tanks or barrels.
Build self-sustaining ecosystems.

https://www.tenthacrefarm.com/permaculture-swale/#:~:text=A%20permaculture%20swale%20is%20a,irrigation%20and%20for%20slowing%20runoff.&text=For%20many%20gardeners%20and%20farmers,quality%20at%20the%20same%20time.

A rain garden is a garden of native shrubs, perennials, and flowers planted in a small depression, which is generally formed on a natural slope. It is designed to temporarily hold and soak in rain water runoff that flows from roofs, driveways, patios or lawns. Rain gardens collect rainwater runoff, allowing the water to be filtered by vegetation and percolate into the soil recharging groundwater aquifers. These processes filter out pollutants.

https://www.groundwater.org/action/home/raingardens.html#:~:text=A%20rain%20garden%20is%20a,%2C%20driveways%2C%20patios%20or%20lawns.

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Best practices

Water early in the morning when the soil is coolest (it’ll evaporate less)
Water more on hot and/or windy days
Water less frequently and more deeply (4-6 inches)
Water close to the base of the plant
Water more during the plant’s early growth phase
Mulch
Know your plants and soil, and design your garden accordingly (plant according to watering needs)
Collect and recycle water

https://www.westcoastseeds.com/blogs/garden-wisdom/good-watering-practice