September-October 2010


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Make your own cheap dirt

By Patricia Jaggasar-Clement

As I tried to understand how a bag of soil, no bigger than a 25lb sack of flour, could cost $35, it hit me that this was not dirt cheap, this was Mr Dirt! The high cost of soil in a garden shop on a busy highway in East Trinidad is a symptom of a problem that is global in scope.

The theme of World Food Day: “United Against Hunger” (October 16) indicates that food production is on the international agenda. One way to manage sustainable food production is for people to grow some of their own food. However, the high cost of soil and other agricultural inputs can make the cost of producing food at home prohibitive. The UWI Environmental Committee has embarked on a small scale composting project to assist persons to produce some of their own “cheap dirt.”

With its roots in the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture (ICTA), it seems natural for the St Augustine Campus to respond to the challenges of the agricultural sector in the region through research and development. The Environmental Committee’s composting project aims to encourage persons to use their compostable waste to create nutrient rich soil.

I am part of a sub-committee with Dr Christopher Starr, Dr Gaius Eudoxie and we are coordinating the Committee’s efforts in this area. We are creating a home composting kit that comprises a small bucket with a secure cover and a handle for the kitchen counter; a large barrel with a cover for the outdoors; and a small shovel for scooping the compost from a window in the barrel.

About Composting

  • Composting is a natural process that transforms organic material (such as fruit and vegetable waste from the kitchen) into a dark rich soil that can be used for planting.
  • Material that can be composted: vegetable peelings, fruit skins, tea bags, egg shells (wash shells before putting into bin), bread, leaves, lawn clippings
  • Do Not compost: Meat, oil or fats, diseased plants, pet manure, milk, cheese, bones

Getting started
(based on home composting experience of Environmental Committee members)

  • You need a small bucket or plastic container (2 to 4 litres) with a lid. This container can be kept on the kitchen counter or below the sink. Place all vegetable peelings and waste in the container and keep securely covered. You may also place egg shells, tea bags, leaves in the container. Remember; do not put oils, fats or meat in your compost container. Material from the kitchen container can be emptied into a larger container every 2-3 days.
  • You need a larger container (perhaps a barrel) with a secure cover. The container should have holes at the bottom for drainage and a space for access to the composted soil.
  • Concrete wash sinks make ideal compost bins. You will need to cover the top securely. Soil can be scooped from under the bin.
  • A compost pile can be started in a partially shaded area in your yard. Piles can get very hot so be sure to avoid placing a pile against a wooden structure. Open composts need wetting and turning.
  • To avoid odour and insects, especially in open piles, you may cover fresh kitchen scraps with dried leaves and grass clippings.

For further tips on composting, email the UWI Environmental Committee at Environment.Committee@sta.uwi.edu.