Stories 1 to 4 of 4  
3/8/2010
Natural Composting
Contributed by Replenishing the Earth
Did You Know That Compost Can: Suppress plant diseases and pests, basically a vaccine for the soil. Reduce or eliminate the need for chemical fertilizers. Promote higher yields of agricultural crops. Facilitate reforestation, wetlands restoration, and habitat revitalization efforts by amending contaminated, compacted, and marginal soils. Cost-effectively remediate soils contaminated by hazardous waste. Remove solids, oil, grease, and heavy metals from stormwater runoff. Capture and destroy 99.6 percent of industrial volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) in contaminated air. Provide cost savings of at least 50 percent over conventional soil, water, and air pollution remediation technologies, where applicable. Chemical Fertilizers: Synthetic chemical fertilizers, such as the N-P-K (nitrogen-phosphorous-potassium) formulations sold in garden supply stores, provide some of the nutrients plants need in an immediate-release form, but have a number of shortcomings: Because plants can only absorb a limited amount of nutrients at a time, much of these water-soluble products may be wasted and end up as runoff during rain or watering (nitrogen fertilizers are a major source of water pollution). Many chemical fertilizers provide a quick burst of nutrients, but may leave little for the plants to draw on over the course of the growing season. Because petroleum products are needed to ...
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11/13/2009
Backyard Composting
Backyard Composting Select a dry, shady spot near a water source for your compost pile or bin. Chop and shred brown and green materials into small pieces. Cover the composting area with a 6-inch layer of brown materials. Add a 3-inch layer of green materials and a little soil or finished compost. Lightly mix the two layers above. Top with a 3-inch layer of brown materials, adding water until moist. Aerate the compost pile weekly by mixing it with a pitchfork or shovel - moving dry materials from the edges into the middle of the pile. Continue until the pile does not re-heat much after turning. When the compost turns dark brown or black (one to four months) it is ready to use. Composting "One man's trash is another man's treasure" has never been more true than when you're talking compost. Composting is nature's way of recycling yard and kitchen waste. Done correctly, a compost pile creates an environment where everything from grass cuttings to coffee grounds is reconstituted into an environmentally friendly, nutrient rich fertilizer for your lawn and garden. According to St. Louis Composting, one of the largest composting facilities in Missouri, composting helps reduce the amount of ...
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9/29/2009
Greening Your Fall
As many people know, the beginning of fall was September 22nd (if you didn't, we certainly felt the weather change today in St. Louis!). The colors on the trees are already starting to change, and that also means you will eventually have leaves all over the ground. There are eco-friendly ways of clearing the leaves from your yard that will not be more of a chore than clearing leaves the good old fashioned way.One way of collecting the leaves is to rake them up into a pile next to your compose heap. They are great to mix in during the summer. If you don’t compost already, raking up leaves gives you the perfect opportunity to start. All you have to do is gather the leaves into a pile and surround it with wire fencing. You will have the perfect spot to start composting next summer. If compost isn’t your thing, then you can take your lawnmower and shred the leaves. With this you have two options. You can bag the leaves while you mow and use them to cover your garden. This will enrich the soil and can also protect your crops from winter. If you don’t want to take this ...
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9/22/2009
Black Oak Organics
Many people in the green world understand the benfits of composting. Usually composting is small scale in people’s backyards. Well, one Missouri company has taken composing to new hights. Black Oak Organics LLC was founded by Craig Post and Alan Chappell in 2005.Black Oak Organics takes the compostable trash that larger facilities do not have time to worry about, and makes compost. The clients of Black Oak range from construction companies, universities, restaurants, and grocery stores. It takes around 10 weeks and a lot of water to turn the waste into compost. Once they do though, the product is used mostly on construction sites to create better soil. This company works to keep landfills small and are excellent examples of recycling and reusing. Supporting companies like this one will allow us all to be more sustainable. In the meantime, look at your trash, can any of it be recycled or composted. If yes, hop to it.
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