GEMS to the Compost Rescue

Two very enterprising and hard-working GEMS (Garden Enhancement Mentors), Marsha Waite of the Daylily Garden and Consuelo  Montoya of the Native Gardens, along with students Joe Ulloa and David Gremmels, conceived a plan for bringing back a functioning compost area to the Demonstration Gardens.

The last time we had a working compost area was in 2019. MG Scott Goode and a crew of students invested in a new “cold compost” area (chopped up plant debris placed in a trench and covered with a tarp to decompose over time), along with a tool shed and shade area.

Then 2020 came, and with it Covid, so everything came to a standstill. When gardeners were able to return to the grounds, the “compost crew” did not. Without an actual area for a compost pile and a GEM to manage it, we were told to haul our garden debris out to the fields and spread it out for the flail mower to go over.

As the years went by, the cold compost area became covered in weeds.  Shade cloth hung in shreds from metal framing, rats took over the tool shed, and the area looked messy and abandoned. Fast forward to Alec Levin becoming Director of SOREC and wanting a “better aesthetic look” for the property. This was our hint to get it cleaned up!

Over the last three years we have accomplished that, starting with Doug Kirby, Sean Cawley and Jake Hayman the farm manager.  They managed to lift the tool shed off its pier blocks and move it to a better area than the field. The GEC (Garden Enhancement Committee), which had taken over weed whacking the area, removed the tarps and buried irrigation tubing. GEMS Sharon Maurin and Becky Belau, with their helper John McCole, moved the shade cover framework into their Propagation Nursery to be re-homed.

This year, the Gardens and Grounds WG had decided to get Green Bins from Rogue Disposal so our aging GEMS would not have to trek through the bumpy, hole-ridden field to the compost pile, which was now all the way in the NW corner by the vegetable garden. This was helpful, but the bins filled up quickly with spring cleanup. As they were only emptied once every two weeks, unfortunately we again had to take loads to the fields.

This prompted the energetic Marsha, Consuela, Joe, and David to build two new compost bins from scratch! Situated behind the tool shed, located off the north path behind Extension, they constructed a double bin out of pallets, spare 2 by 4s, and wire. The plan was to make compost mulch, speeding up production by using the chipper shredder once a month to break down the debris. Also a learning opportunity, we can now teach how to compost, which has not been part of the MG curriculum for a long time.

Many thanks to the driven and compassionate people who contributed to this composting project. They did an amazing job!  Please take the time to check it out.  It even has a happy little rock flower design set in concrete. Why?  Because compost makes flowers, worms, and gardeners happy!