A Compost Success Story

Three things I found interesting about this article where that kids were able to create such an efficient system, also that it was so succesful but didn't require much work and that the garden has grown rapidly over the years. Two things I will look for next time i'm in the garden I will look for improvements that can be done and check to see how efficient everything is. One question I have is how can we improve our school garden?

Worm Composting

Three things I found interesting about worm composting are that compost allows us to return badly needed organic matter to the soil, also that the great advantage of worm composting is that this can be done indoors and outdoors, thus allowing year round composting and lastly, that the worms and micro-organisms will eventually convert the entire contents into rich compost. Two things I will look for next time I am in the garden is if there are in worms in the soil and what they do to the soil. One question I have is how does worm composting compare to Bokashi compost?

Leaf Mold

Three things I found interesting about this video on Leaf Mold is leaf mold takes up to a year to decompose but is an effective way to get rid of fallen leaves. Waxy leaves are not ideal to use because they take longer to decompose. Pine needles create an acid compost. Two things I will look for next time I am in the garden is for fallen leaves to use to make leaf mold and which leaves look best to use. One question I have is, how does leaf mold differ from regular organic matter compost?

Bokashi Fermentation

The three most interesting things I read on the website about Bokashi Fermentation is that Bokashi is a type of compost that is easy and odour-free and can be done with a bucket and a lid. Also, Bokashi is interesting because you can put any type of food waste in the bins. Lastly, Bokashi is intereting because Bokashi buckets have spouts at the bottom to drain the liquid that accumulates at the bottom and the liquid can be used as a plant fertilizer. Next time I am in the garden I will look for what type of composter the school has and how it compares to a Bokashi. One question I have is, which composter is the most simple to use?

General Composting Tricks For The North Shore

I found that composting is very interesting and there is a lot that I didn't know about it. First, a household can compost over 500 kg of kitchen scraps, low-quality papers and yard trimmings per year, resulting in over 100 kg of fertilizer. Almost two-thirds North Shore homes compost their organics. And compost works by bacteria which need three things; carbon and nitrogen rich material, oxygen, and moisture. One thing I will look for next time I am in the garden is how the compost improves what you're growing. One question I have is what are the cons of composting? Does compost attract rodents and pests?

Current Event: Will The Canadian Wheat Board Be Dismantled?

Three interesting things about this article are that Pierre Lemieux wants to end the Canadian Wheat Board so that western farmers along with farmers all across Canada have more freedom and can choose who they sell their product to. Also the vote showed 62% of wheat farmers and 51% of barley farmers want to maintain their ability to market their grain through the Canadian Wheat Board. Disabaling the Canadian Wheat Board will be beneficial to farmers because it will give farmers the ability to choose who they sell to and what the price will be. A question I have is why are people opposed to the Canadian Wheat Board being dismantled? How will it affect farmers across Canada and will it be more difficult for farmers in isolated areas to make their profit?

Building Up and Protecting Soil

After reading this long but very informative article, I found a lot of really interesting things. The three things that really caught my eye where that without soil, our continents would be barren wastelands because soil traps and absorbs most of the rainfall and waters plants, replenishes aquifers, lakes, rivers, and streams. Another thing is that wind and water erosion are major threats to soil because it accomodates other types of soil degradation or environmental problems. Lastly, I  found it interesting that I learned about urban erosion which is erosion to soil due to housing and construction projects that gouge the soil and strip it of it's vegetation in order to make space for buildings. This leaves the soil exposed to the elements for a long period of time which causes higher erosion rates and for the soil to be unable to absorb the water from rooftops that would usually be trapped by plants. One thing I will look for next time I am in the garden is if the soil is healthy or not. One question I have is what can you do to make sure your soil remains healthy all year long?