Episode 106: Composting-From Grand Scale to Your Backyard
Composting: From Grand Scale to Your Back Yard
Cedar Grove is the largest composting facility of its kind in the world
In this episode we find Patti and Joe crossing the country joining Nathan in Seattle, Washington to put you in touch with one of the greatest soil amendments nature has to offer: Compost.
Joe gets the grand, behind the scenes tour of the largest composting facility of it’s kind in the world. Cedar Grove Composting has had its roots in the waste management industry since 1938. The family owned business is now home to 250 employees whose job it is to convert mountains of grass, leaves, trimmings, yard waste, food waste, and wood waste into nutrient-rich finished compost made available to the public in a variety of ways. They have perfected the magical process of transforming matter that would simply clog landfills, straining the environment and turning it instead into gardeners’ best friend.
But you don’t need mountains of waste to enrich the soil in your own landscape. Joe and Nathan meet up with Patti at Seattle Tilth for a lesson on just how easy it is to compost at home. This nationally recognized organization educates anyone willing to learn about proper gardening techniques and seeks to inspire people to garden organically and preserve our natural resources.
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- Seattle Tilth offers classes and information for every level of gardening interest
There are classes for adults and children, workshops, demonstration gardens and the popular Master Composter/Soil Builder program. Master Composters develop the skills to bring their expertise to the community as a key part of Seattle’s waste reduction and recycling efforts.
When your soil is healthy so then is the bounty from it. Chef Nathan showcases a popular root crop, beets, where he roasts them to perfection in an easy to make recipe you’ll want to try at home.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Thank you. I appreciate you allowing myself and others to review your show. I will continue to watch on the tv, as well as internet. Keep it GREEN!
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Wonderful show! Great info, but unfortunatley this company has added a HORRIBLE smell to our neighborhood and is lowering the value of our homes because of it….. wish there was a way to correct this!
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Oh NO Rose! This is a good news / bad news comment. We’re really glad to hear you like the show but so sorry to hear the composting matter is creating quite the stench around the hood. I hope there is some way to resolve that problem and I’m sure it’s not an easy answer. In the mean time, I guess you’ll have to stay inside and watch more of our episodes. Thanks again for the comment and I really do hope the smell problem gets resolved!
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Thanks for the tips on composting. I have never composted and am thinking of starting. I wasn’t really sure what to do, but the Seattle Tilth segment helped, as well as articles on the website. Thank you so much for what you all are doing.
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Great site, hope you can help me.
I have a 8′ by 8′ wire fenced area where I am trying to compost oak leaves and grass clippings. Added top soil and cut up veg.waste but it is not breaking down a year later. Seems to have decent air flow and gets rained on??
Any help will be appreciated. Have thought of buying earth worms?
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