Composting at the Farm Park
To keep our soil healthy and full of rich nutrients, we routinely add compost to our garden beds. Compost is decayed organic material that is applied to soil to help plants grow. It’s made up of both green and brown waste — the greens (recently clipped grass and leaves, vegetable scraps) primarily produce nitrogen and the browns (dry grass and leaves, hay, wood chips, manure) primarily produce carbon, which both enable micro-organisms to thrive in the soil and speed up the decomposition process. In turn, those organisms (like fungi, earthworms, bacteria) benefit the soil for plants by aerating it, adding micronutrients, and improving water retention. Recommended ratios vary, but our compost pile typically has 3-parts brown material to 1-part green material.
If you’re interested in donating kitchen scraps to the Farm Park for our compost piles, please contact Madison (madison@riograndefarmpark.org) to learn more about what/ what not to donate and when/ how often donations should be dropped off during the growing season. Typically, we do not accept scraps from high-acidity foods (ex: citrus, garlic, onion) or animal/ dairy products (ex: bones, cheese, rotten meat).
*Please note that because of SLV temperatures, we do not accept compost donations over the winter. Check back in the spring when our program is up and running!
egg shells,
coffee grounds,
food scraps,
banana peels,
rotten produce,
tea bags,
egg shells, coffee grounds, food scraps, banana peels, rotten produce, tea bags,
It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3 . . .
Active Input
Add new organic material to the first bin until it is full — our staff members try to keep a greens to browns ratio of roughly 1:3.
2. Active Composting
Once the first bin is full, turn materials to the second bin to begin the active composting phase — the pile will heat up quite a bit once decomposition begins.
3. Curing
When the material from the second bin is mostly broken down, transfer it to the third bin to cure. Finished compost is ready when it is dark, earthy, and no longer recognizable as the original materials.
Earthworms are extremely beneficial to the health of our soil at the Farm Park! We have four bins of them located in the greenhouse, which eventually get moved into garden beds and rows. The worms improve soil structure and water retention, quicken the composting process turning and aerating the soil, recycle nutrients for plants to use, and break down environmental pollutants in the earth.
