Master Composter Program Top Weekly Takeaways - Week 1

Who doesn't like the term "Master" before any learned skill, especially when it benefits our planet? That is why I jumped on the San Diego City and Solana Center opportunity to learn and participate in a Master Composter certification program.

I've composted at home and school for years, but to say I still have a lot to learn is an understatement. This hands-on program includes five weekly meet-ups and 30 community compost-related volunteering hours.

As part of my desire to compost and make an impact, I'm also sharing my top takeaway learnings from each week. So learn along with me, and maybe we'll both start to feel less intimidated and more impactful while putting less methane into our air and recycling more beneficial nutrients into our soil.

Week 1 Juicy Composting Tidbits of Learning:

- Composting can be done in many ways, with some methods being more passive and a cooler process (temperature-wise and slower to decompose) and others aggressive and hot (temperature-wise and much faster to reach the desired result).

- There is also vermicomposting, which breaks down organic material with redworms as the catalyst and leads to nutrient-dense worm castings. (We will get into more wormy detail during Week 2's discussion.)

- Your compost pile should include a mix of Nitrogen (greens) and Carbon (browns). This ratio should be roughly 50/50 by weight or two parts brown to one part green by volume. (When in doubt, err on the side of more browns/Carbon.)

- Stinky compost is often the result of a lack of Oxygen. Decrease your smelly risks by using bulking agents, a mix of material sizes, keeping materials loose, and smaller piles.

More to come next week!