Are There Toxins in Your Compost?

Well, this is a bit scary when you consider the compost is going into organic gardens…

As thousands of cities have begun composting yard waste and hundreds more begin collecting food scraps on a large scale, new questions are emerging about what kinds of things make their way into compost and whether any of them pose a threat to humans and the environment. Federal laws do not require compost to be screened for contaminants, of which plastic and glass are only the most visible. Random tests of compost used in organic agriculture have occasionally turned up elevated levels of lead and traces of pesticides. Last month, the US Composting Council, the industry’s trade group, warned its members to watch out for grass clippings laced with Imprelis, a new weed killer from DuPont that does not easily break down in compost piles.

http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2011/06/are-there-toxins-your-compost

Wash Your Organic Produce

Always wash your food, gross stuff happens in our food supply chain:

According to Sonya Lunder, a senior analyst with the Environmental Working Group, the answer is an unequivocal yes, for several reasons. One is what the produce industry refers to as "pesticide drift": The wind can—and frequently does—blow chemicals from nearby conventional fields onto organic crops.* Pesticide contamination can also happen in the warehouse, since many produce companies use the same facilities to process organic and conventional products. In that case, companies are supposed to use the label "organically grown" instead of "organic," which can mislead consumers. "The labels are really confusing," Lunder says. "When people say they’re transitional organic, there might be traces left in the soil. If you see no-spray, they still might be using synthetic fertilizer, for example."

http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2012/08/wash-organic-produce

Composting and Other Ways to Reducing Food Waste

How much food do you think your family throws away each year?

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Americans threw away more than 34 million tons of food in 2010. That is absolutely appalling. Food waste is the largest component of municipal solid waste. FOOD! Not paper (that was second) or plastic (disposable water bottles drive me crazy!), but food. You know, the stuff we pay to eat and then complain about how expensive it is. At the very least we can put it into the compost barrels.

Want to know how you can reduce the amount of food you toss? Here are some helpful suggestions:

1. Buy less. This is hard for me, especially at the farmer’s market, but I’m getting a lot better. I’ve found that I really didn’t understand how many carrots or tomatoes or heads of lettuce we REALLY needed in a week. Putting our family on a budget along with buying more organic produce makes me very conscious of how much we really eat. Also supporting a local CSA helps because you get a set share every week and it helps introduce you to new and interesting vegetables. And of course, never
2. Compost your kitchen scraps. We have two compost systems in our back yard and we probably need another rotating bin. If you have just a bit of space, you can turn your produce scraps, coffee grounds, egg shells, corn husks and even some paper into rich garden compost. We have been amazed at how empty our garbage bin is when we take it to the curb each week.
3. Eat your leftovers. I know, I know. Leftovers can be boring. But, with a little planning what’s made tonight can become tomorrow’s take to work lunch (Which saves more!). And sometimes the leftovers from one meal can be rolled into the next. Think spaghetti one night with a little extra pasta and fried spaghetti the next night, or beans one night and bean soup the next.
4. Freeze extra produce. Did you know you can freeze most produce whole? If you freeze tomatoes and peaches whole, they are easy to peel once they thaw. Beats blanching any day in my book.
5. Donate. Have a bunch of extra tomatoes or squash or cucumbers? Share with your neighbors! Not only will you make them extremely happy, but you’ll reduce the amount of food you’re wasting. When tomato season comes around there’s always bags of the stuff to give away!

Ok, so with this knowledge I am re-committing our family to reduce our food waste. What about you? Do you have suggestions? Share!

How To Make Cheese: Organic Farmer's Cheese

Farmers cheese is a simple, soft cheese that can be made at home in an evening. It's not a complicated recipe and homemade cheese is fresher and healthier than that made with preservatives.

In order to make farmer's cheese, you will need a small amount of kitchen equipment:

• A colander
• A food thermometer
• Some cheesecloth
• A stockpot
• A large metal or ceramic bowl

Below is my recipe for how to make home cheese:

• 1 gal organic whole milk
• 1 pinch salt
• Juice of an organic lemon OR organic white vinegar (approx. 2 T)

The most important thing about making farmers cheese is to make sure your equipment is clean, dry and sterilized.. Any time you are handling dairy products, this is key to preventing unwanted contamination in the finished product. I prefer to use metal, ceramic and glass items for this reason, over plastic. Wooden spoons are okay, but a metal one is preferable for stirring.  I keep the milk fat content high because I find that makes a smoother, tastier farmers cheese, but you can also use low-fat milk if you prefer.

1. Put the milk in the stock pot with the salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, being careful not to overcook the milk and scorching it on the bottom of the pot, or it will taste burnt.
2. When it just begins to boil, go ahead and turn off the burner. It should have reached a temperature of 160F to kill all the possible bad bacteria. Use your thermometer to check.
3. Stir in the lemon juice or vinegar to curdle the milk. It make take 5-15 minutes for the process to completely break down the whey and curds in all of the milk.
4. Line a colander with cheesecloth and place over the large bowl.
5. Pour the contents of the pot through the colander/cheesecloth and let the liquid go into the bowl. The liquid contains whey which is good for you. What is left in the cheesecloth is the curd, which will form the cheese with pressure.
6. Use the cloth to strain all the last bits of whey out of the curd and to form the cheese into a soft ball shape. You can twist or compress the cloth to achieve the desired result.
7. Wrap in wax paper or store in a glass container in the refrigerator overnight. After being refrigerated, it will be firmer and easier to slice.

The cheese will be good for approximately 7 days if you want to keep it longer you’ll need to store it in the freezer.  I think one of the things that surprised me most is how much milk is required to make cheese. You might be surprised that a gallon of milk leads to such a small quantity of farmers cheese.

Earthworms!

Say hello to my little friends…

 

Seriously though, these little wrigglers can work wonders.  Adding worms to your compost pile will speed up the composting process and add extra soil nutrients (from the worm castings). Keep adding worms from your finished compost back into fresh material and you’re going to be amazed at how fast they multiply and how beautiful your compost comes out.

Compost–What’s In and What’s Out

I’ve had a Mantis twin barrel composter for several years now, before that we used a couple of old tires stacked on top of each other to form a compost bin. I’ve really enjoyed having a composter because it helps to reduce landfills and of course is “free” assuming you take care of your compost. Interestingly the EPA says something along the lines of 27% of the US waste stream consists of yard waste and food. Imagine if that went back into the soil! we would reduce our land fill consumption by one fourth and of course have vibrant, healthy soil! It is important when composting that you know what you should and should not put into your compost pile, here is partial list of “good” stuff:

• Cardboard rolls
• Clean paper
• Coffee grounds and filters
• Cotton rags
• Dryer and vacuum cleaner lint
• Eggshells
• Fireplace ashes
• Fruits and vegetables
• Grass clippings
• Hair and fur
• Hay and straw
• Houseplants
• Leaves
• Nut shells
• Sawdust
• Shredded newspaper
• Tea bags
• Wood chips
• Wool rags
• Yard trimmings

And of course, a list of what not to put into the compost pile:

• Black walnut tree leaves or twigs
  • Releases substances that might be harmful to plants
• Coal or charcoal ash
  • Might contain substances harmful to plants
• Dairy products (e.g., butter, milk, sour cream, yogurt) and eggs*
  • Create odor problems and attract pests such as rodents and flies
• Diseased or insect-ridden plants
  • Diseases or insects might survive and be transferred back to other plants
• Fats, grease, lard, or oils*
  • Create odor problems and attract pests such as rodents and flies
• Meat or fish bones and scraps*
  • Create odor problems and attract pests such as rodents and flies
• Pet wastes (e.g., dog or cat feces, soiled cat litter)*
  • Might contain parasites, bacteria, germs, pathogens, and viruses harmful to humans
• Yard trimmings treated with chemical pesticides
  • Might kill beneficial composting organisms

Want to learn about how to get started at home? Cornell has a pretty good PDF here: http://cwmi.css.cornell.edu/compostingathome.pdf

Composting–Bokashi Style

The Promises of Bokashi Composting

Bokashi composting comes from Japan. Here the staple food, rice, is grown in flooded rice paddies. Anaerobic microbes are simply not scary to the Japanese farmer. And, while it is true that certain anaerobic microbes are bad news, many others are good news. The combination of microbes, called effective microorganisms or em for short, at the heart of bokashi composting are good news indeed. Here are some advantages.

• Handles virtually all food waste - all food waste can be put in the bucket including meat and fish, bones, any leftovers from your plates, cheese and dairy, eggs and eggshells, coffee grounds and tea bags,
• Doesn't attract insects, not even fruit flies - when you first start your bokashi you may have fruit flies for a short while but they will soon be history. Why? Bokashi fermentation creates highly acidic conditions, a pH of 3.5 - 4.5. Flies simply can't survive in these acidic conditions.
• Many pathogens are eliminated - the acidity of the bokashi process is the hero here. Most pathogens we worry about can not survive the acidic conditions of the fermenting process.
• Doesn't attract rodents - rodents do not like pickled food. In fact bokashi composting is being tested in Alaska's bear country. So far it looks like bears don't go for pickled food waste either.
• Low odor - the odor associated with bokashi is a kind of sweet smell a bit like the smell of wine making. Most people won't find it too offensive.
• Doesn't produce greenhouse gases - normal composting produces CO2 and if your pile goes anaerobic, methane, a problem greenhouse gas, Bokashi, however, is a fermenting process, that doesn't produce heat or CO2. Even though it is anaerobic, the types of microbes that produce methane can not survive in the acidic conditions of the bokashi bucket.
• Process is very efficient - this process is quick. Fermentation takes one to two weeks. Once buried, most of the fermented material, with the exception of bones and very hard stems and pits, is gone within two weeks in summer weather. You can plant directly into the material two to four weeks from burying it.

The Problems with Bokashi Composting

While bokashi composting solves most kitchen compost problems it is not quite perfect. The biggest pitfall for many people is the pit - that hole you need to dig to bury the waste for part two of the process. Here are some of the problems and how you can solve them.

• The pit - part two of the process is burying the pickled waste for a time. Few people enjoy the work of digging holes and for those who have embraced the no dig approach to gardening digging holes in the garden is a big no no. Plus if you want to use the enriched matter after burial you have to dig it up to get at it. A way around this is to simply put the fermented waste into your regular compost pile or bin. It breaks down very fast in the compost and seems to enhance the regular compost process.
• The winter pit - obviously if the ground os frozen it's hard to dig a pit. You can store the stuff until you can dig your pit. It does not matter f it freezes. You can also add it to your conventional compost.
• The apartment pit - if you live in an apartment it may be tough to dig a pit anywhere ever. What then? The fermented material can be buried is a large planter. One person used a 25 gallon planter to bury the fermented material and it worked well. Another option is finding someone willing to let you dig a small pit in their garden or putting your fermented matter into their compost.
• Getting bokashi bran - you have to have the bokashi bran in order to do bokashi composting. This is fairly easy to buy on line and is simple to make if you can get a hold of the em microbes but it is necessary.
• The fermenting smell - while this odor is much less problematic than rotting waste some people do hate it. If it gets really bad it's likely that something has gone wrong - usually that you've used too little of the bran.
• The acidity - while the acidity of bokashi eliminates fruit flies, rodents, and pathogens you might be worried that it is going to make your soil acidic. Tests show that the bokashi neutralizes completely during the burial part of the process. Once neutral it also becomes a favorite food for earthworms.