Sunday, March 22, 2009

Getting down and dirty with compost




We had a terrific workshop on composting on Saturday thanks to a fun and informative presentation by Amy Kessler of the Garden for the Environment. Some of you may remember Amy (also know as the "Worm Lady") from another workshop she led at the garden a few years back. Amy is a hardcore composting fanatic who broke it all down in a very engaging and often very funny presentation.

Special thanks to Brent for organizing the event, which covered the basics on backyard composting and how it helps reduce waste, builds soil, and encourages your plants to thrive. Amy demonstrated the three-bin composting system down the street at the Koshland Garden and then showed us how to use the worm compost bin at Page Street.

You may have noticed the new Compost Tumbler at the garden. It was generously donated by the Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Council after Brent applied for a grant. The Compost Tumbler will enable us to produce compost more efficiently because it makes it easier to turn the pile, which helps things break down more quickly. We'll be getting this new system up and running soon, so stay tuned for details on how to use it.

Finally, we'll be holding another compost workshop at our Spring workday, which is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, April 25. If you didn't make it to yesterday's workshop, please make sure to come to this one.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Compost workshop on Saturday, March 21: 2-4 pm

All gardeners are encouraged to come to a special workshop on composting this Saturday, March 21, from 2-4pm. The workshop will begin at Koshland Park Community Learning Garden (Page Street near the corner of Buchanan)and then continue at the Page Street Garden.

This workshop is being presented by Garden for the Environment, Page Street Community Garden, and the Hayes Valley Park Group. It's a perfect opportunity to learn the basics about composting and to jump-start your spring garden with some homemade compost! Aside from giving veggies and flowers a healthy start, composting encourages beneficial organisms in the soil and can help break the life cycle of plant pests and disease.

Join us for this fun, hands-on class teaching methods for backyard and worm composting. Come learn what you can do to improve your garden without chemical fertilizers or pesticides and prevent organic waste from ending up in the landfill! Rot on!

To pre-register, please call (415) 731-5627, or email info@gardenfortheenvironment.org