The Providential Gardener

Veggie Open House this Saturday

This Saturday, August 11, from 10am to 2pm, the URI Master Gardeners are hosting a free Veggie Open House for the public at URI's East Farm on Route 138 (North Kingstown). The Program includes:

• Cooking Demos ~Emphasis on veggies/continuous demos
• Handouts: veggie recipes submitted by MGs
• Watering Demos
  • Drip irrigation techniques
  • Alternative to drip
  • Rain barrels
• Soil testing service
• Composting Demo
• No-till demo
• Ask a Master Gardener Booth
• General garden tour
• Plant-a-Row
• Possible tour of farm if there is a sizable number of interested visitors

A Post about Compost

We are lucky to have an excellent composting operation in Rhode Island, Earth Care Farm in Charlestown, and this blog post is about their compost and the upcoming soil/composting workshops at Southside Community Land Trust this Saturday (June 23, 2007) in Providence. Info is on The Providential Gardener Calendar. [Register for these two workshops.]

Plants don't really grow in "dirt." They grow in soil, which is composed of pulverized rock fragments worn down by the weather over long periods of time, clay minerals, and organic matter, which is made up of decaying plants and animals. Soil also contains water and ~ many of us wouldn't guess this ~ air.

Rhode Island soils are mostly light and sandy. For more detail about Rhode Island soil, see the Soil Survey of Rhode Island or attend Southside Community Land Trust's Workshops this Saturday. I'll dish more dirt about soil another time.

Finished, properly prepared compost is beneficial for gardens and significantly improves soil fertility. The above photo shows just one of Earth Care Farm's several huge piles of organic, nutrient-rich materials that include

• farm (and zoo) animal manure
• leaves and wood chips
• fish scraps, shell fish, and seaweed
• coffee grinds, wood ash, vegetable and flower trimmings

The addition of marine byproducts is what makes Earth Care Farm's compost outstanding. This farm's composting methods have been featured in numerous publications (Christian Science Monitor; Rodale's Organic Gardening; People, Places & Plants...). The whole composting process takes 18 months. That backhoe works many hours every day moving and rearranging the piles so that they remain aerated (and don't become smelly), and so that the organic material will continue to decompose.

You can buy a bag of this compost at some local garden centers. But usually you buy it by the cubic yard. Check the website for ordering and purchasing procedures. Also note that Earth Care Farm sells raised bed mix.

Master Composter & Recycler Program

As the Central Landfill fills up (and realize this mound can now be seen from Providence, several miles away), The Master Composter & Recycler Program is rising to the occasion. Sign up for the Spring 2007 Course. It's 6 Monday evenings, 6 pm to 8 pm, April 2 through May 7, with two Saturday sessions, to be held at the new Roger Williams Park Botanical Center in Providence.

• Learn from experienced composters
• Tour impressive composting & recycling facilities
• Make a difference in the state & in local communities

Fee is $50. Participants are expected to fulfill a 30-hour volunteer commitment to earn the title of RI Master Composter & Recycler, which involves working on projects such as educational workshops and community activities to encourage recycling and composting. Learn about:

• Benefits of composting and recycling
• The science and art of composting
• How to create a successful backyard compost operation

Contact Tara Germond at the URI College of the Environment & Life Sciences Extension & Outreach Center, 3 East Alumni Ave., Kingston, RI 02881, or by phone (401-874-4453) or email.

The Landfill Grows in Johnston

As I was returning today from a tour of the Resource Recovery Center's Central Landfill in Johnston, I circled by Prospect Terrace Park in Providence to find out if it was true that the Landfill can be seen from that overlook.

Usually you see this view of downtown buildings from the park, and never think about the landfill. But yes, if you look beyond the Providence Place Mall, you can see the 700-foot-above-sea-level heap of our state's garbage now from Providence, about 9 miles away. And from the top of the landfill, which they say is covered in Shasta daisies in summer, there's a panoramic view of most of Rhode Island, all the way down to the Newport bridge. We were also lucky enough to see one of the bald eagles and a pair of red tail hawks that have their own resource recovery program at the landfill involving small animals and other birds.

We also saw gazillions of plastic bags blowing around that crews pick up every day. If you saw this mess, you would want to stop using those plastic bags, invest in some canvas or string grocery bags, and try to reduce what you throw in the trash! Those plastic bags are definitely NOT COOL, but recycling plastic bags IS! 

Composting & Recycling

RI Resource Recovery Corporation and the University of Rhode Island Cooperative Extension Education Center have partnered to offer a five week training and outreach program for RI citizens on composting and recycling.  The goal of the program is to educate RI citizens about the importance of waste reducing practices like source reduction, composting, and recycling.  Participants of the program will be expected to deliver the messages they learn in the classroom out to surrounding RI communities.

Classes will be located at Southside Community Land Trust's Urban Edge Farm in Cranston, RI, and will begin on Monday, Sept. 25 from 6-8pm.  Classes will continue every Monday evening to October 23rd and will include two Saturday field trips (one to the state Landfill and another to Earthcare Farm). There is a volunteer commitment of 30 hours and a course fee of $50.00 to cover class material. Please let me know if you have any questions or need additional information.

Tara Germond/Program Specialist
RI Master Composter & Recycler Program
The University of Rhode Island Cooperative Extension Education Center
Phone: 401-874-4453
Fax: 401-874-2259
Email: <mailto:Tara@uri.edu>Tara@uri.edu

Composting Resources in Rhode Island

See the Earth Friendly Gardening Blog for a good article on composting.

Compost Bins on Sale!

There's a sale on compost bins ~ $25 EACH ~ at the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation at the Central Landfill this Saturday, June 24, from 8 am to 12 noon. Last chance to buy them at this price, which will increase to $45 each on July 1. Composting significantly reduces the stuff brought to the Central Landfill, and compost adds valuable nutrients to the soil, reducing the need for fertilizers. For more, see the rest of the story at RIRRC.