Composting at Home 101

1. The
presentation
will begin shortly.
Welcome!
The voucher for the free
composter* is shown at
the end of this lecture.
1-Click on the link
2- Take the evaluation 3-
Print out or photograph
the voucher
*Miami-Dade residents only,
while supplies last

2. COMPOSTING
101
Ellen Book,
UF/IFAS Extension
Miami-Dade County
Master Gardener
Link to slide
presentation:
TINYURL.com/SoilSaving

3. Ellen Book, Branch Manager Pinecrest Branch Library
booke@mdpls.org www.mdpls.org

4. So first.
A few
features….

5. Choose your library card!
2021

17. The collection
contains:
•Over 70 magazines
•317,000 digital
audiobooks for all
ages*
•20,000 Braille Books
for all ages
MIAMI-DADE AND
MONROE
COUNTIES

18. Unable to visit the library in person due to
disabilities or caregiving? Items are mailed to
your home for free, including return postage.

25. Registration opens
Friday, 3/1/2024
mdpls.org/adultlearning

33. 7 day
check
out for
full
music
albums

35. TV SHOWS & MOVIES 3-DAY CHECKOUT

36. Acs select classes from MasterClass with your MDPLS
card!

39. Edwin Villasmil : hands-on
environmental craft programs
Wed., April 17, 2024 @4pm
What a Wonderful World

40. Edwin Villasmil : hands-on
environmental craft programs
Wed., June 12, 2024 @4pm
Plastic Soup

41. Thursday, February 29, 2024 @ 3:30pm

42. Fridays
10:30am
1st & 3rd Sat.
10:30am
HEEL 2 HEAL,
AVI THE POODLE, &
CANINE ASSISTANCE READING
ENHANCEMENT (CARE)
1st & 3rd Wed.
3-4pm

45. TERTULIA LITERARIA
Last Tuesdays, 10am – 11:30

46. FOURTH

47. A GOOD
BOOK
HYBRID
BOOKCLUB
MAR 7, 2024
@6PM

48. 2nd & 3rd
Saturdays
10:30am

49. 2nd
Saturdays
@
10:30am

51. Friendship Circle Visits
fourth Thursdays at 4:30pm

52. PFLAG
Fourth Saturdays 11am – 1pm

53. JOURNEY TO YOUR INNER
CHILD UNLOCKING MEMORIES & UNVEILING
HIDDEN RULES
First and third Fridays @ 10am-11:30am

54. How NOT to Get Hacked
Cyber Security
1st Weds. @ 6:30pm

56. Wed., March, 20, 2024
10 am – 2 pm
Telephone Pinecrest Library
305-668-4571
for an appointment or email
booke@mdpls.org
www.GatherGoGet.com

57. Starts on
Saturdays, Feb 3, 2023 – April 13, 2024

58. Tuesday, March 12, 2024
@ 9:30 am

59. BOOK FOLDING WITH AUDREY
Wednesday, March 13, 2024
4pm-5pm

60. Saturday, March 16, 2024 @ 1-2pm
Women's History Month
Bestselling Author Katherine Reay

61. Monday, March 18, 2024 @ 2pm
Zoom Bake Along :
Hamantaschen with Chef Chany

62. STORYBOARDS AROUND THE
SOCCER FIELD
Friday, March 22, 2024

63. SPEECH CONTEST
Saturday, March 23, 2024 @ 2 - 5:00PM

64. AUTHOR NIKI NASEER
Monday, March 25, 2024 @ 4:00 - 5:00PM

65. FIRST TIME HOME BUYER
HELP
Saturday, March 30, 2024 @ 2-3:30pm

66. COMPOSTING
Saturday, March 30, 2024 @ 3pm
Miami Beach Regional Library

67. Roger Hammer,
Everglades National Park
and Native Wildflower Expert
Saturday, April 13, 2024
2pm

68. Sat, April 27, 2024 @ 1:30pm-2:30pm
Mon April 29, 2024 @ 6:30-7:30pm

69. JOURNALING FOR WELLNESS
Five part series returns on
Monday 5/06/2024 @ 11am – 12:30pm

70. Pinecrest
Library’s
Quinceanera
Cake

74. Future Key
Biscayne Branch

75. Future Key
Biscayne Branch

76. COMPOSTING
101
Ellen Book,
Master Gardener
UF/IFAS Extension
Miami-Dade County
Master Gardener
Link to slide presentation:
TINYURL.com/SoilSaving

82. Institute of Food and
Agricultural Sciences - IFAS
https://sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/miami-dade/

85. Electronic Data Info System

86. Everyday Information Source

87. Everyday Information Source

88. https://tinyurl.com/MiamiVeggies

91. Was NOT me

92. Kitchen food scraps. Photo: Tia Silvasy, UF/IFAS

93. Too much
too wet
too long…
Anaerobic bacteria
kills worms
UF/IFAS

95. A Tumbler Bin Composter
UF/IFAS

100. Fill out the evaluation
at the end of the
program for a voucher
80-gallon capacity
Size:
32” diameter X 32” tall

101. Adjustable size allows you
to set it up “skinny” for low
capacity or make it large
enough to hold 246 gallons
of materials.
36.5″ in height

102. THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR FOR LOCATING
YOUR COMPOSTER IS CONVENIENCE.
What Is The Best Location For A Compost Bin In
Your Yard – Sun or Shade?

103. Sheet Composting Top-dressing on
the soil surface like a garden lasagna
right onto a future growing space.
Trench Composting - composting
directly in the soil
Cold Bin Composting Fill your
compost bin halfway with browns and
bury kitchen scraps
Bokashi Bucket anaerobic bacteria
(grass-like inoculated bran, rice, dried
leaves sprinkled over scraps). 10
days to ferment & “pickle” waste,
forming an acidic organic matter that
must be dug into the soil or added to
a compost pile.
TYPES OF COMPOSTING

105. .

107. GREENs = nitroGen
BROWNs = carBon
NitroGen = Protein
CarBon = Energy
From: https://small-farm-permaculture-and-
sustainable-living.com/how-build-compost-pile/

108. THE RECIPE

111. Can I compost this?
Material Can I Compost? Comment
Banana skins Yes
Bird cage "waste" Yes
Bone meal Yes
Bread Yes
Cereal Yes
Citrus (e.g., oranges,
grapefruit, lemons, tangerines)
Yes
Green/nitrogen - must cut in
half or quarter before
composting; mix with browns
& add 6-inch layer of browns
on top
Coffee grounds (with paper
filter)
Yes Green/nitrogen
Corn cobs Yes
Cornmeal Yes
Cottonseed meal Yes
Crop waste Yes
Egg shells Yes Adds calcium

112. Citrus
green/nitrogen
cut in half or quarter before composting
mix with browns &
add a 6-inch layer of browns on top

116. Attribution to: KidsGardening: A Kids’ Guide to Messing Around in the Dirt by Kevin Raftery

120. Photo www.bobvila.com

121. From : https://www.emnz.com/article/microbial-imbalances-in-the-soil

122. “The secret world beneath our feet is mind-blowing –
and the key to our planet’s future : Don’t dismiss soil:
its unknowable wonders could ensure the survival of our
species”
by George Monbiot in The Guardian, 5/7/2022
I

128. AS PILE TEMPERATURES  & 
TIME IS NEEDED FOR VARIOUS
MICROORGANISMS TO COLONIZE

129. Left: (1 year old) Last year’s material all garden stuff, grass & leaves,
kitchen: banana peels veg. trimmings from the pile’s top.
Middle: (2 years old) bottom of this year’s pile put into bags
Right: (3 years old) Finished product from the bags to be used in the
garden & greenhouse this year
GUESS WHERE THIS
COMPOST WAS MADE?

130. Smaller surface areas
decompose faster

132. Attribution to: KidsGardening: A Kids’ Guide to Messing Around in the Dirt by Kevin Raftery

133. Compost
bin
cutaway

134. Aeration
keeps
microbes
alive.
Anerobic
microbes
STINK!

135. Compost Crank
Compost Aerator

137. The free Earth Machine
dome compost bin
or the GeoBin
How to set it up

138. Check for moisture when
turning the compost.
The consistency should
feel like a wrung-out sponge.
UF/IFAS

139. Smaller bits
decompose
faster
BIGGER
pieces need
more time

140. Unfinished compost
may stress plants, causing
yellowing or stalling growth

141. Compost maturity test with radishes

142. Heat cooks most weeds.
For hot composting turn when pile
temperature drops below 100°F or
if the pile is more than 150°F

143. HEALTHY VEGGIES AND PLANTS
START WITH HEALTHY SOIL!
UF/IFAS Leon County Extension

144. Five “Pests”
in a Compost Pile

147. NOW LET’S TALK ABOUT…

148. Vermi-Composting Definitions
• Vermiculture – Work farming process of
culturing worms to decompose organic food
waste, turning it into nutrient rich material
• Casting – Worm waste, digested food
• Omnivores – Animals that eat plants and
animals
• Hermaphrodites – Animals with male and
female sex organs.
http://clipart-library.com/

149. Red Wigglers

150. Contains
• 5Xs the available nitrogen
• 7Xs the available potash
• 50% more calcium
than 6” of good top soil
• Water soluble nutrient immediately available for
plant intake.
Will not burn root system
unlike fresh raw manures
Red Wigglers
UF/IFAS

151. v

154. 7701 SW 76 Ave, Miami, FL 33143

155. KITCHEN SCRAP COLLECTION
FOR FERTILE EARTH WORM
FARM

158. For
Miami
Beach
residents
ONLY
email:
ViceChair@miami.SurfRider.org
For
Miami
Beach
residents
ONLY

159. LANDFILL SITES

161. Evaluation
& Voucher
This link to the
evaluation and
voucher will be
live until Monday,
02/26/24
at 8:00am.
LINK DISPLAYS AT THE END OF THE 2/24/24 LECTURE
OR

162. Miami Beach
residents ONLY
voucher
The link to the
evaluation and
voucher will be live
until Monday,
02/26/24
at 8:00am.
LINK DISPLAYS AT THE END OF THE 2/24/24 LECTURE

163. DOME COMPOSTER – AVAILABLE TO ALL
MIAMI-DADE RESIDENTS, while supplies
last
TUMBLER COMPOSTER – AVAILABLE TO MIAMI
BEACH RESIDENTS (CHOOSE EITHER DOME OR
TUMBLER )

164. In a few months a
will be emailed to you

165. Evaluation
& Voucher
Link to slide presentation:
TINYURL.com/SoilSaving
The Miami-Dade voucher will
be accepted for six months
while supplies last
The link to the evaluation that
leads to the voucher will be up
until
Monday at 8:00am.
Vasquez,Laura A
lavasquez@ufl.edu
Urban Horticulture Agent and
Master Gardener Coordinator