December 29, 2023
As composters for the Raincatcher’s Garden of Midway Hills, we are continuously looking for ingredients to make compost.
During the spring through fall, we find green grass, leaves, coffee grounds, kitchen scraps, etc. to add to our compost piles.
In November we are blessed with the remains of Halloween and Thanksgiving decorations—PUMPKINS! During bulk pick-up weeks we scrounge the neighborhoods looking for the elusive pumpkins and gourds. Rather than allowing them to rot in the dump, we chop them up and add them as the GREEN (nitrogen source)ingredient of compost. The BROWN (carbon source)ingredient of the recipe is, of course, are the dried leaves that are falling everywhere. The BLUE ingredient is water. The CLEAR ingredient is air. The last is TIME.
Result—BLACK GOLD—also known as compost.
This year we “harvested by the side of the road” six pickup loads of pumpkins, gourds, bags & bags of leaves, some grass, and even a bale of hay.
And, at our last stop—THE GREAT PUMPKIN!
As winter progresses, we will chop, grind with the mower, mix in water, turn piles as they heat up and cool down (temperatures up as high as 160°). As we turn the piles, the chunks begin to change shape and color. The unseen microbes and fungi consume and break down everything making pieces smaller and smaller, and of course,darker—hence , BLACK GOLD. This process takes time—sometimes as long as 2-4 months, depending on how energetic the humans are in turning the piles.
When we add compost to our heavy clay soil, we lighten it, allowing the plants to absorb the nutrients in the compost, allowing better drainage, thus producing more healthy plants and feeding everything.
Cindy Bicking, Dallas County Master Gardener Class of 2006
DALLAS GARDEN BUZZ 