Starting a new compost pile

Thank you to all the Kitchen Gardeners that helped turn the compost piles on Saturday, April 8th and make room for more scraps! (Marcelo, Iris, Els, Susan, Mark, and Gabriela met for the first gardening day of the season! read the blog post here).

BIG ASK AND TIP OF THE DAY:

• Please redouble your efforts to remove all stickers, rubber bands, twist ties and any other non-compostable items--as you know these will never decompose and create a problem.
• Tip: it's easy to forget removing these freaking stickers--we've all been there! A helpful tip: remove all labels BEFORE storing your produce, so you'll have to remember to do it only once!

Elisa came early and assessed the piles as usual, then guided and
helped us turn the compost.

The middle pile had been maturing for several months and the compost was ready to use (we'll tell you more about this next week). So we sifted the compost and took it to the garden where it will nourish the soil and plants as we spread it on the planting areas.

Finished Compost

 
Once the middle bin was empty, we proceeded to move the active pile (the left one) into the center. This not only created room for new scraps but also allowed us to more thoroughly mix the compost. The middle bin will be now left to mature for several months until it's well decomposed.

We found lots of worms in the compost--a sign of an active and healthy pile!

What's next:

• Elisa will stop by this Friday at 11:30 but Kitchen Gardeners will tend the pile through the gardening season on Saturday mornings between 10 AM and noon. Stop by to say hi, drop your scraps and ask any questions.
• We'll install new signs that will hopefully be more visible and provide clearer instructions.
• We'll install a trash container where you'll be able to discard any non-compostable items that sneaked in.

See you around!