Compost 101
What is food, plants or leaves?
Name a macroorganism that is working in our composts.
What is worms, mites, millepedes, or sowbugs, pillbugs, to name a few?
This is the only type of composting you can do indoors.
What is vermicomposting vermiculture, or worm composting?
A "brown" is a carbon that has had all of its nutrients removed from it. Name one of these sources of "browns."
What is an autumn leaf or dead plant? Leaves on the ground is acceptable.
Name a decomposer that is technically invasive and not native to the northeast?
What is the earthworm? They were introduced in the 1600's on European ships with the plants and trees that they brought.
What is prevents compostable material from going to a landfill? Also, returns nutrients directly to the soil. Lots of reasons.
Name a microorganism that is working in our composts.
What is either bacteria or fungi?
This method of composting will give you finished compost in the quickest amount of time.
What is hot composting? This means hat your compost pile gets hot and can reach temperatures above 104 F and attract heat loving decomposers.
A "green" or nitrogen-rich item is usually the focus of what we want to compost. Name a nitrogen and where you are going to collect it at your school.
What is ....? Any item in the cafeteria that is not bones, dairy, plastic or paper.
What is a landfill?
To prevent attracting carnivorous animals to our backyards, name something that you should not add to the compost.
What are bones, meat (leftover hamburger & ham & cheese sandwich,) cheese, other dairy products? Any one is correct as are other potential answers.
Name 3 of the five elements of a healthy habitat for decomposers in your compost pile.
What are oxygen, moisture, temperature, browns and greens aka carbon and nitrogen? Any words for these are acceptable.
This method requires little maintenance but is slow (12-18 months) and will not kill weed seeds.
What is slow or passive composting? Acceptable answers describe this, a neglected compost, for example.
The best way to prevent fruit flies in your compost pile is to _____your "green" food scraps.
What is freeze? Chop ups small is also acceptable.
Bones, meat, dairy, and dog waste can be composted with special attention to the process. Name the two parts to this process.
What is bury it 4 feet deep and covered with lime? it needs to be immediately covered.
Name a location where composting happens naturally.
What is anyplace where a leaf falls and is left to decay or a plant dies and is left alone? So, wood, lake, stream, forest, park, farm, etc
Turning the compost pile adds oxygen to it. This oxygen is needed by the microorganisms in the pile because there are _______ organisms.
What is aerobic?
What is a 3-bin compost system?
This ratio of carbon to nitrogen is needed for your compost pile.
What is 3 to 1? 3 parts carbon to 1 part nitrogen.
The Vermont Composting Company uses this farm critter in their commercial efforts because it turns the compost while it looks for food.
What is a chicken?
Name this "compostable" item that can not decompose in a backyard compost because it can not reach the sustained heat levels necessary for its decomposition.
What is compostable plastic? Also acceptable is naming the plastic item, cup, fork, spoon, knife. Some counties have commercial composting operations with sustained heat for efficient decomposition.
Decomposers in the compost pile are abundant. They like a specific temperature range to thrive. Name a temperature that they thrive in.
What is any temperature between 120 - 160 degrees F?
This composting method relies on large rotating drums or barrels to mix materials, helping to aerate and speed up the composting process with minimal effort.
What is tumbler composting?
This "brown" material is high in carbon and can be found in your house but be careful not to include glossy or colored varieties in your compost.
What is cardboard? Shredded paper is acceptable, too.
Archeologist are finding evidence of composting from as far back as 12,000 years ago. In what occupation are they finding this evidence?
What is farming?