Composting in Ventura

Since the beginning of the year I've been building compost piles at several gardens, some private and some public.  Each pile, or "engine" is creating good earth for feeding spring plantings.  Built with what is available onsite, with a mixture of greens and browns, it's amazing what can be done with just a rake and a shovel.  Closing the loop is not complicated, its practical.

Here are a few pictures of the compost piles at Cornucopia Gardens and Color Gardens.  The first is the largest, measuring 4 feet wide by 30 feet long by 3 feet high.  Layered with mulch, green cuttings from the gardens, and semi-composted dirt, this pile will provide good compost in April.

It took me about 5 hours to build, and all the materials were readily available onsite.  Hopefully this is the first of many compost piles to built at the Cornucopia Garden.  The garden also is home to a compost education area that serves to educate the community on good gardening practices.  I'll be holding a teach-in there on April 6th.

The Color Garden composting area is   starting to yield some good earth too. This pile is 4 feet by 3 feet by 3 feet, just big enough to heat up in the middle and create good humus.

There are a few other small piles placed throughout the gardening area, and soon I'll start a vermi-composting area.  The Color Garden is an excellent location to outreach since it is right in downtown Ventura.

On other related topics, I'm helping to create a seed sharing program at the Ventura library.  And the Bell Arts Sustainability Program is well on its way to becoming another great community outreach program on the avenue.  Gardens are a great reason for people to come together.  See you soon.