Regenerative agriculture has become a buzzword in the food production industry. While sharing the goal of sustainability, the concept of permaculture is more expansive. Permaculture encompasses developing sustainable systems where humans collaborate with natural processes to minimize waste, integrating practices such as regenerative farming or composting.
Permaculture extends beyond soil health to include elements like rainwater harvesting and animal husbandry, whereas regenerative agriculture primarily centers on the revitalization of depleted soil and minimizing the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. All are admirable gardening goals.
Regardless of the gardening method used—whether it involves containers, raised beds, or direct planting—maintaining healthy soil is crucial, particularly after cultivating nutrient-demanding crops, which we call heavy-feeders.
Within the Growing Dome greenhouse environment, we recommend at least annual soil testing. Amending the soil, companion planting, crop rotation, and cover crops are all techniques used to rebuild soil vitality.
Let’s delve into the permaculture practice of composting as an accessible and economical method for enhancing soil fertility and reducing waste. Composting offers a closed-loop system where organic materials are decomposed and transformed into a nutrient-rich resource that can be used to regenerate the soil, minimizing the need for additional soil conditioners and diverting organic waste from landfills.
Types of Composting
Aerobic
The composting technique most backyard gardeners are familiar with is an aerobic form of composting. Aerobic means that it occurs where oxygen is readily available. Bacteria and microorganisms break down the materials through the process of aerobic digestion, producing heat and carbon dioxide. This can be done in piles or bins.
Using a tumbler can make it easier to turn the pile, which aerates and mixes the composting materials, speeding up the process. Otherwise, you must manually turn the pile to provide the oxygen the microorganisms require. Many bins and tumblers are made so that finished compost separates itself from the larger scraps that are continuing to decompose.
Vermicomposting
Vermicomposting utilizes earthworms to break down organic material and has the added benefit of turning that material into worm castings. Worm castings help increase the soil’s capacity to retain water and nutrients. Vermicomposting systems can stand alone, or the container can be set into your garden beds, so free-range worms can move out of the container, aerate your soil, and distribute nutrients.
Anaerobic
Anaerobic composting, where there is a lack of oxygen in the environment, is more often associated with industrial composting techniques. A few anaerobic methods available to home gardeners are trench and Bokashi composting.
Bokashi Composting
Bokashi composting uses bacteria found in a special type of bran to ferment food scraps in an air-tight container. One of the advantages is that it breaks down the materials faster than traditional composting, making it ready for use in about a month. The finished product may be considered too acidic for your plants, and it is recommended to be added to a traditional compost bin or to use the trench method to complete its decomposition.
Trench Composting
Trench composting is a very simple technique: dig a hole, fill it with kitchen scraps, and cover the hole. Worms and microbes in the soil do the work. It is much slower than aerobic composting. This could be tricky in the Growing Dome greenhouse, as it is a mostly closed ecosystem that only contains what you have added to it. If you don’t have good soil to begin with and no worms or other decomposers, the scraps you add may never break down completely.
Moisture plays a big role in composting as well, and it may require more water to break down the materials than the surrounding plants require, meaning oversaturated soil that can breed fungus and mold. By burying the scraps, it does suppress odors, but it also may attract pests like rolly-pollies and fungus gnats.
Basics of Composting
There are a few key ingredients required for successful composting. Assuming you are going with a traditional aerobic method, a mixture of air, moisture, greens, and browns is needed. What we mean by greens and browns are nitrogen and carbon-rich materials.
Nitrogen-rich greens are items such as grass clippings and most kitchen scraps, including eggshells and coffee grounds. Carbon-rich browns could be dry leaves, wood chips, or even paper products. It is usually recommended to have 3-4 parts browns to 1 part greens.
Layer these items in a pile or container, starting with the browns. The browns will always introduce the element of air to the pile, while greens usually provide a lot of moisture. If your compost seems too dry, you should water it like you would a garden bed. Turning the pile to allow more air into it will also speed up the process.
See the full Compost Basics Infographic (PDF) from UF/IFAS.
Pros and Cons of Composting
Properly maintained compost should not smell or attract pests, but this can be tricky and is a concern when composting. Where we live in Colorado, attracting bears is another potential problem for composting bins. And if you live in an area with a cold winter climate, decomposition in your compost bin will slow significantly or stop altogether during the winter months.
Composting does require time and space. You will need somewhere to collect your kitchen scraps. There are many countertop containers available that have a carbon filter in the top for conveniently storing food waste until you can add it to your compost pile or bin. You will also want to have a supply of browns, like shredded paper or wood chips, on hand for adding to the compost pile.
On the upside, there are numerous benefits to composting. You are reducing waste and diverting items from landfills that, in that anaerobic environment, would produce methane. We all produce waste, and when you compost, you are converting those items you would normally throw away into a nutrient-rich resource that can be added to your garden beds to support soil health and plant vigor. Your plants and soil require replenishment. What if you could produce your own compost at a minimum cost and not have to rely on outside sources or chemical fertilizers? From trash to treasure.
Composting Services
Many municipalities offer curbside composting services. In New York City, it is now mandatory for citizens to separate their compostable items from their regular trash, or they will face a fine. Here in Pagosa Country, we have a regional composting service available from Table to Farm Compost in La Plata County. People can sign up for a pick-up service, or there is a collection bin at our transfer station. A perk as a member is a portion of finished compost and discounts on bulk purchases.
Last fall, we were assessing our capacity to compost at our Growing Spaces campus. We have composted on-site before and faced the challenges of balancing the pile for optimal conditions and attracting unwanted wildlife. We’re a small gardening team, so we were excited to partner with Table to Farm to take out the extra work and concern. We can also seasonally generate a lot of waste as we pull out the end-of-season plants, and we require large amounts of finished compost to amend our beds in six sizes of Growing Domes.
Another advantage of our partnership with Table to Farm is that we can now offer bulk compost for sale directly to you. You’ll need to call ahead to schedule pick-up. We typically sell by the bucket load, approximately 1 cubic yard for $150, so you will need a pick-up truck or trailer. If you require a smaller amount, we can work with you on that as well. Just give us a call.
How to Use Compost
Compost is easy to use. You can directly add it to potting mixes, top dress your plants, or use it as a mulch. This spring, besides the required amendments we knew we needed from our soil test results, we added at least 3-4” to the top of all of our beds and planted directly into it.
You can also steep compost tea and water into your beds and containers. Compost tea can stretch your compost if you only have a small amount, and it is more readily absorbed and utilized by plants.
As our soil expert, Bart Eller of Paonia Soil Co, has mentioned, too much of a good thing (compost) can result in poor results like potassium toxicity with repeated and exclusive use. That’s why we always recommend soil testing seasonally, and encourage the use of natural amendments and soil conditioners like Paonia Soil’s Lawngevity to help acidify and restore balance to your overall soil health.
In conclusion, composting is a valuable permaculture practice that transforms organic waste into a nutrient-rich resource for regenerating soil. Success depends on balancing air, moisture, greens (nitrogen-rich materials), and browns (carbon-rich materials).
While composting has challenges such as odor and pests, its benefits, including waste reduction, carbon sequestration, and soil improvement, are significant. Services like municipal curbside composting and regional programs offer convenience. Do you compost, or are you looking to get started?
