Vermicompost
What specific animal produces all of our commercially available vermicompost?
Red wiggler worm
Eisenia fetida
True or false, layer hens will consistently produce about the same number of eggs throughout their lifetime
FALSE, hens reduce the number of eggs they lay each year after the get 1-3 years old. Peak laying is uually in the early years of life
What is the main difference between ambient air drying (e.g. making Hoshigaki) and using a food dehydrator?
One can be done without equipment, just environmental air flow. The other requires a specialized machine that has temperature control and a fan
Name one benefit that CHARGED biochar offers to soil:
Nutrient "battery" once charged
Increased water retention
Increased microbial activity
Increased soil permeability
pH regulation
What are the two ingredients you need to make a compost extract?
1.) Clean water (preferably rainwater, dechlorinated)
2.) High quality compost
True or false, most worm composts are very nutrient dense (N,P,K) in comparison to commercially available, conventional fertilizers
FALSE: most worm composts are less than 2-2-2 in Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potassium. It is rare that they are very nutrient dense
What are the three components of Mel's Mix?
Vermiculite/perlite
Coco coir
Compost
True or false: you should screw down the metal ring on the canning jar lid as tight as possible BEFORE placing in the hot water bath to get an air-tight seal.
FALSE
This will not let air get displaced by steam and could cause your jars to explode. this is dangerous!
What is the term for adding nutrients to biochar to prepare the char for the garden?
Charging the biochar
Name three "green" inputs for your compost pile:
Herbivore manure (cow, sheep, horse, etc.)
Coffee grounds
Vegetable scraps
Alfalfa
Spoiled grain
others
What are two foods that are to be avoided in your worm bin?
Citrus, vinegar (any acidic foods), highly salty food, meat, cat or dog feces (bad smells)
Name two reasons a gardener might build a Square Foot Garden raised bed instead of planting in conventional crop rows in their native soil.
1.) Control of the planting medium/soil contents (less pollutants, more exact nutrient control)
2.) Have a high yield in a small space
Name one way the oven set to low is different from the food dehydrator.
The oven has a much higher minimum temperature than the dehydrator
The oven is less precise in the lower end of the heating spectrum
You are more likely to burn or incompletely dehydrate foods (uneven drying) in the oven than in the dehydrator
What two general conditions (in terms of "high" or "low" temperature, oxygen) are necessary to form good quality biochar from wood?
HIGH temperature
LOW oxygen
The ratio of what two elements dictates whether or not the pile will become biologically active and hot?
The Carbon to Nitrogen ratio determines whether or not the compost pile becomes hot
Name three specific foods that are recommended to be fed to your pet worms.
Yard clippings, vegetable scraps, fruit scraps, coffee grounds, shredded paper or cardboard, finely chipped wood, finished compost, etc.
What is grit, and why do chickens need it?
Chickens lack teeth, so require grit to grind up tough seeds or vegetation they consume in their gizzards
Describe why we remove waxy skin from fruit before dehydrating
The wax in the skin prevents water from leaving the fruit and prevents it from dehydrating fully
What was the name of the buried wood permaculture installation we built at LEAF Urban Farm?
Hügelkultur
What is the difference between a compost tea and a compost extract?
Compost tea has a carbohydrate (usually sugar) food source and is brewed with an air pump over the course of a few hours to a day. It grows and multiplies microbes.
Compost extract is just water and compost which is agitated briefly (less than 30 minutes) to knock off microbes into the water and dissolve any soluble nutrients. It does not multiply your microbes
In terms of the three major lifestyles of worm which we went over in lecture (Anecic, Endogeic, Epigeic), which type is the red wiggler?
Epigeic
What is the difference between a layer chicken, a broiler chicken, and a "heritage" breed?
Layers-->egg production
Broilers--> meat production
Heritage--> historic old breed akin to an "heirloom" vegetable seed and usually multi-purpose for homesteading
Why is it important that the lids of canning jars have a vacuum seal created by the boiling water bath process?
The contents need to be separated from ambient air, which contain potentially dangerous bacteria that could grow inside the jar
Why did we use the broad fork method when visiting the Sunflower Hill community garden?
To loosen compacted soil and remove Bermuda grass in preparation for fall bulb plantings without completely destroying soil structure
What is the technical term for hot composting, and what organism causes it to get hot?
Thermophilic bacteria,
Actinobacteria
Actinomycetes