What do cows, bananas, leaves and newspaper have in common? I could have answered this questioned, but one item, the newspaper, would have thrown me a curve ball. The answer; however, is soil. Three years ago, I decided that I was going to take on gardening. Why not? it's relaxing and I get to eat delicious fruits and vegetables that I am proud to say I've grown. While I was happy with my results, I did not realize how much better my crops would have been if I had used richer soil. I realized this after visiting City Farm in the South Side of Providence a couple of weeks ago. I was invited there since I had just become a member of the South Side Community Land Trust(SSCLT).
While at City Farm, I noticed that their tomatoes were almost 2 feet tall, I had to ask, "how long ago did you plant them?" Come to find out, they planted the tomatoes during the same period that I planted mine, yet their plants were huge compared to mine; and get this, they use no chemicals! I on the other hand , use Miracle Grow plant food and my results can't compare considering that my plants were only two inches tall.
So where do they get the rich soil from? They make it themselves... They wave their little wand and boom, rich soil appears. Actually not, they create soil by using a method call composting, which is where you take waste that you would normally throw in the trash and place it in bin that throughout time turns into rich soil.
One of the benefits of becoming a member of the SSCLT is that you get to attend workshops that teach you how to grow your own produce while helping the environment. During my visit to City Farm I was able to get my hands on a list of the workshops that they are holding throughout the year. And there it was, the very next week, they were holding a compost workshop on Session Street over on the East Side of Providence. Great opportunity for me to learn what's involved with the process of composting.
Here we learned how "Greens" (ex. coffee grounds, grass clippings, vegetable or fruit scraps) and "Browns" (ex. straw, dry waste, shredded paper/newspaper, and fine wood chips) when combined, turn into rich soil. Also, how manure (cow manure preferably) can help you heat your compost pile. How hot? Well the combination of these items when done right create a reaction within the pile that can have the temperature rise to about 130-140 degrees (recommended temperature for composting) if not hotter.
So there you have it... I look forward to having a jungle-like garden next year as I use soil from my own compost, and hope that you start composting as well. For more information on these workshops and how you can become a member of South Side Community Land Trust, helping the environment and eating homegrown organic produce; visit: http://www.southsideclt.org
