Are you looking for an opportunity to grow your community garden, add a component to your neighborhood project, strengthen your youth program or neighborhood outreach efforts, learn strategies to address policy challenges, market your city farm project or create value added products? Then join us in Buffalo, NY:

March 11-13, 2011

for the Growing Green Spring Urban Agriculture Training!

Registration page is here.

The Massachusetts Avenue Project’s Urban Agriculture Training features many practical, philosophical, and experiential opportunities to learn from MAP’s success with urban, youth centered agriculture.

In addition to witnessing the components of a functional urban farm first hand, such as urban fish farming, composting, and value-added food production, participants will be able to engage and observe many of the successful elements in MAP’s youth training program, Growing Green. Attending the training also means being able to hear from regional experts on food system planning and development, and network with other beginning or established urban farmers, with training at the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus Innovation Center and hands on at Growing Green’s Urban Youth Farm. Only $200, this weekend workshop includes 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, a cocktail reception, and intensive, hands-on training opportunities.

Workshops include

• Moving Local Food Policy Forward with Diane Picard, MAP’s Executive Director
• Introduction to Urban Agriculture with Jesse Meeder, MAP’s Farm Manager
• Aquaponics with Jesse Meeder
• Compost and Worms with Jesse Meeder
• Urban Chickens with Jesse Meeder
• Youth, Social Enterprises and the New Food System with Zoe Hollomon, MAP’s Markets Manager
• Messaging for Local Food with Erin Sharkey, MAP’s Creative Director
• Developing Youth-centered Programming with Erin Sharkey, MAP’s Creative Director and several youth participants from the Growing Green Program.
• With a special presentation from Samina Raja, PhD- Associate Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at the University at Buffalo entitled – Building Communities as if People Eat
• Introduction to Urban Agriculture will be offered for an additional $25 on Friday March 11 from 1-5pm

Fall is here — leaves are flying and clear plastic bags full of them are piling up at the curbs.  Some of those leaves have made their way to our compost piles, thanks to some happy volunteers raking in our neighborhood, and one of our crew members, Brandon, who filled his van full of bags and brought them for us to (re)use.  Leaves are great fuel for the compost pile — they’re an excellent source of carbon (see below) to feed your compost pile, bin, or bucket.  Having a compost pile reduces the amount of garbage you generate, and using the fallen leaves you rake helps take a bit of the burden off the street sweepers and garbage collectors, providing you with some “black gold” for your garden and good Karma for reusing your waste.  Putting compost in your garden soil improves its structure and its ability to hold water, and also provides essential nutrients and beneficial micro-organisms to the soil and the plants you grow in it.  Still not convinced that you should start your own compost pile? Wait until you see how easy it is…

Here is the new compost bin we setup at our garden to help us reuse our garden waste and the leaves we have been raking up.  The container that you use for a compost setup can be just about anything, or nothing — 5 gallon buckets, straw bales, an old garbage bin with holes drilled in the sides (for air circulation), a circular frame of “chicken wire” (welded wire), or a simple, large, static pile right on the ground.  In the picture, we used a forklift pallet and some reclaimed 2×4′s and slats to build a frame, and closed up the front with a bit of welded wire mesh.  Every container may have a slightly different process to how you compost in it, but you’ll figure it out as you go.  Compost is a great learning experience because of just that — there isn’t an absolutely “right” way to do it, but you learn ways to do it better as you go.

When choosing or building a container, important things to keep in mind are the amount of space you have to work in, the amount of materials you have to work with, air circulation, and where the container will go.  If you have, for example, a small upper apartment, you might be better off going with an indoor worm bin or a Bokashi composter. Also, the 3-bucket compost system utilizes three small containers (like 5 gallon buckets) to quickly decompose small amounts of waste at a time in a small space — and it’s especially helpful in winter.

Compost is the product of nature’s decomposition process.  You can make it scientific or simple.  Bacteria, mold, and fungi break down waste with a little help from their friends — the worms.  As they break down the materials, it consumes oxygen, carbon and nitrogen, creating heat and releasing water.  Having a good balance of oxygen, moisture, carbon-rich and nitrogen-rich materials creates an ideal atmosphere for the beneficial bacteria and other decomposers hard at work making your compost.  Learning how to get that balance is part of the experience.  It’s not completely necessary (anything will break down over time), but it helps reduce odors, speeds up the process and makes a better product.

When you begin your pile, and while you build it, try to balance the kinds of ingredients you put into it by adding a layer of one when you add the other.  If you put a layer of kitchen scraps in your bin (primarily “greens”), put a layer of leaves or shredded paper or wood chips (“browns”) to even it out.  You can get very technical, but you don’t have to — it’s your compost pile.  Compost 101 has a good article to reference for carbon-rich and nitrogen-rich materials.  They have a very rigid, technical approach to balancing the carbon to nitrogen ratio (25:1 C:N) — which is a bit over-complicated for the beginner — but is helpful to think about.  They also have some great tips to consider as well.

There are two types of ingredients for your compost: browns and greens (or carbon-rich and nitrogen-rich).  Browns include: paper, ashes, cardboard, cornstalks, leaves, and wood chips.  Greens include: grass clippings, garden waste, coffee grounds, vegetable scraps, and weeds.  See the link above or google for a more complete list. AVOID Adding: meat scraps or bones, sawdust from treated woods, grease or fatty foods, domesticated animal feces, clippings from chemically treated lawns, etc.  Think about what you add to your pile before you add it.

Aeration and moisture are the only other elements that you may have to provide, depending on how you establish your compost system and how you maintain it.  If you purchase a bin composter, or build one from a old garbage can, you may need to turn it every now and then to give it some air.  If you build a large static pile, you may only turn it over once or twice.  If you add too much nitrogen-rich materials, you might end up with a wet, stinky mess — and too much carbon leaves your pile dry and cold.  My suggestion is to keep it simple: start small and add a little bit of brown every time you add a little green, and experiment with different kinds of compost techniques to learn how the materials work.  As your experience grows, so will your pile (and vise versa).

From the Lexington Co-op’s Annual Report:

SUSTAINABILITY

We Compost! Buffalo ReUse helped the Co-op compost 18,000 lbs of food scraps in 2010, 9% of total trash.

We get a steady supply of veggie waste from Lex CoOp for our ReDOO compost pile and now we’re getting some coffee grounds from Spot, BUT in order to keep our compost from stinking up the neighborhood we need to keep the right proportion of green and brown filtering layers. That’s where YOU come in.
If you have:

• shredded paper–please don’t bring of stacks of newspapers unless you’re volunteering to shred too–they don’t break down as quickly unshredded
  
• wood chips or sawdust (not from painted or treated wood)
• bagged lawn clippings (as long as it’s not treated with chemicals= no pesticides or weed killer or fertilizers please)

If you have material to drop off, please contact us at the office 716-885-4131 and ask for Brad or Caesandra. The first time you drop off we will show you to the pile and explain the directions and then you’ll be able to come whenever you have material to drop off.

It’s important that people do not just leave bags, pails or piles of material at the curb or in front of the piles. We do not want people to mistake the compost as a garbage heap and risk upsetting our neighborhood. We also don’t want the place to look like we’re dumping garbage around because then other people will just dump real garbage everywhere!
Until the City gets a real compost system in place, like they have in other municipalities, this can be an alternative to dumping organic material into the waste stream.  We use the material to augment the soil in the veggie gardens.

We have a compost

By the way, in the fall we’ll be needing lots of leaves…

So our adventures in the world of compost are continuing, and we have begun experimenting with “Active Compost.” Previously, we explained the process and benefits of making and using passive tea–and have since been diluting it and using it in our garden beds.

To take our operation to the next level, we purchased a few supplies (and salvaged a few others) to begin the active tea brewing process. Here is our supply checklist:

1. A vessel to hold the tea (we used an old garbage can)
2. Garden compost
3. Aquarium air pump (ours is rated for 60 gallons)
4. Air tube for pump (10 – 15 feet is the absolute most you’ll need)
5. Air stones (to diffuse oxygen, placed at end of air tubes)
6. T shaped line splitter
7. Sugary food scraps (think rotten banana, apple core)

The supplies we needed cost about $30 new at a local pet store, but you could also find them at a garage sale, thrift store, or in your basement/attic . . . just gotta look for them.

Once you have your materials together, find yourself a good spot to brew the tea. It won’t take too long

(3-5 days), but your pump will need to be running consistently throughout the brew process, so make sure you have a safe location to plug it in if you’re doing it outdoors. We have ours working in the basement, and there is little if any odor at all.

The active compost tea is similar to passive tea in that it is a method of pulling beneficial minerals, fungi, microorganisms, etc. from compost and into water so that it can be quickly applied to and absorbed into the soil and thus, the plants in our gardens. Active tea differs in the way the beneficial microbes grow, but it’s essentially the same science project (just done a bit faster, and with slightly better results, we’re hoping). How? Why? We’re using the aquarium pump and stones to aerate the water, and some sugar from food scraps to feed the microorganisms, so that they can grow and multiply quickly (via more oxygen and food).

The only setup is the air pump system, which is very simple. This includes the pump, tubes, and air stones. Carefully cut your tube so there is 3 feet or so running from your pump out to your tea vessel. Our pump has two connections, so we cut two 3 foot pieces to reach the can.

At the end of the tubes we attached a line splitter and cut two short pieces of tube to connect the diffusers (Air Stones). Upon completing our pump system, we have a pump, two tubes running out, a splitter on each tube, and an air stone after each split. The only thing left to do is add the water and compost, and the brewing can commence. Don’t forget some food for your microbes–if you have some partially decomposed food scraps in your pile that should

work, but if you want to be safe, add an apple core or two, or perhaps a rotten banana and its peel.

We used 3 parts water to 1 part compost. First we put in the water, then we added the compost, stirred with a shovel, and finally dropped the airstones into the bucket. Every day, pull out the tubes and give the bucket a good stir.

Give your active tea about 3 days to brew, and it should be ready. Unlike the passive tea, this method doesn’t use a bag to filter the compost, so it’ll need to be screened / decanted to separate the liquid from solid. And when applying to your garden, make sure to dilute to avoid potential burning on your plants. You won’t need much more than a few tablespoons per gallon of water (preferably rain water, as chlorine, etc. in municipal water will kill your precious little microbes).

Ladies and gentlemen, the future of compost is here. The Greenspaces team at Buffalo ReUse is currently experimenting with several different methods of brewing compost tea, and will be sharing our results with you as the season goes on. The murky water that is produced from brewing this tea has the power to fertilize and improve the health of your garden’s plants, while actively deterring pests and introducing beneficial microorganisms to your soil. With a little bit of compost and a few things you would find in your shed or your garden, you can easily set up your own tank to brew your own compost tea–and watch the difference it makes for your plants.

There are several approaches that one can take to prepare compost tea:

–The most simple, straightforward form of compost tea preparation is called “Passive Brewing.” This method is somewhat archaic, and dates back centuries, but needs only a few things: A vessel to hold the water (i.e. a rain barrel), water (preferably rainwater as it does not have additives that municipal water treatment plants will add), a “tea bag” to steep the compost in the water, something to suspend it in the water, and some compost.

–Fill your “tea bag” with garden compost, suspend it so it doesn’t sit at the bottom of the barrel, and lift it or stir it once a day for aeration. Do this for 7 – 10 days. When your tea is ready, decant by pouring through cheesecloth or pantyhose (if you prefer), or just pull out your tea bags and dunk your watering can right in. And the compost can go right back in your pile when your tea is all done.

–We used and old burlap sack for one barrel and mesh bags from onion sets for another. The bags hold and steep the compost, making it easier to remove the solid matter after the brewing is complete. We used an old tree stake to suspend the tea bags in the water, and use them to lift the bags out when we aerate the barrels each day.

–If you use tap water or from a garden hose, make sure to let the water sit in your barrel for at least a day, to let the chlorine and other additives evaporate as much they can. As your tea brews, microorganisms and bacteria grow, and will die if chlorine is present

We are also experimenting with a newer, more intensive approach to brewing tea is called “Active Brewing.” This involves the same materials as a passive barrel, but with some added technology: electricity, an air pump, and food for the growing microorganisms. What sets an active compost tea apart from passive is the addition of oxygen and food to the mix, making a more ideal environment for those microbes to thrive. Using an air pump, you can increase oxygen in the water, and by providing a food source like molasses, kelp, or humic acid, you can greatly increase the number of beneficial organisms growing inside your barrel. And an active brew can be done over the course of 2 or 3 days, way quicker than a passive brew.

Try it out, and let us know how it works for you! There is a good amount of reliable information on the web regarding compost tea, and it can’t hurt to experiment! Good luck, and happy gardening!!!

Getting ready for Gardening

Wednesday Workdays – 2pm – 5pm @ Buffalo ReUse Gardens on Northampton Street.

Adopt a raised bed + Beautify your neighborhood + Meet people + Work in your own little garden + Grow and eat your own fresh vegetables + Improve the environment + Support our mission

Now that the snow has melted and the birds are chirping, it is time to start preparing our gardens for the fast approaching season. Raised beds in our Patchwork Garden on Northampton Street are still available for adoption, where you can have your own 4 x 8 bed to grow vegetables and flowers with the company of neighbors and friends. We are holding Garden Workdays every Wednesday from 2pm to 5pm beginning March 24th and throughout the growing season. Come together with friends and neighbors and spend some time in your garden. There will also be open workdays on Saturdays all season long, in case you can’t make it on a Wednesday to take care of the weeding or watering or other chores in your garden. The list of garden tasks is growing, and it is important to be ready for the season, so make sure you sign up to adopt a bed and head over to the gardens to get them ready for growing! If you are interested in adopting a bed or would like to get more involved with our programs, contact us at greenspaces {at} buffaloreuse(.)org

What needs to be done?

We have already begun cool season crops from seed (onions, leeks, broccoli, cabbage, collards, brussels, etc.) on our custom-built, heated germination house in the basement. This ensures that we will have enough starts to fill our gardens, share with our Patchwork Gardeners, and trade with fellow Buffalo gardeners at the upcoming seedling swaps (April 24 + May 22). Most important in preparing garden beds is ensuring a healthy place for the transplants to go–the soil. On Saturday March 27th we will be hosting a raised bed soil preparation workshop at 1pm. Here we will address amendments, fertilizers, structure, compost, and as much else we can regarding soil and preparing it for growing vegetables and flowers in raised beds like those in our Patchwork Garden. We moved this workshop to 1pm (our printed calendar said 2pm) to make room for Urban Roots’ “Urban Flocks Workshop”, being held at 2pm the same day.

Other important tasks that are on deck include:

• Building cold frames to harden-off young seedlings
• Garden cleanups (trash, debris, organic material)
• Turning and maintaining compost
• Preparing rain barrels for irrigation
• Building more raised beds
• Plotting the gardens
• Spreading mulch
• Edging sidewalks
• Starting warm-season crops from seed

Many of these tasks will be ongoing throughout the season, and we can use all of the help we can get. If you’re interested in gardening and becoming active in your neighborhood and community, this is a great place to get your hands dirty. Come adopt a raised bed, take part in our workshops, get your bed ready to put plants in it, and soon you’ll be enjoying your own freshly grown food.

While searching for more ways to turn recycled newspaper into seed-starting pots, I stumbled across an article about ways to ReUse old phone books (you can also use phone book pages to make pots for seed starting). I thought this was very interesting, especially considering our office got two of them last summer (since the building is a double), and we barely used either one. The ease with which one can search the internet for a business’s phone number has made these print directories almost obsolete.

Less than 16% of Americans recycle their old phone books. Become one to recycle! You can also call your local phone company and see if they have an opt-out program. OR, here are some ways to REUSE:

1. Make a booster seat for your child. Most of us probably remember sitting on a phone book to reach the dining room table better. Go a step further and cover the phone book with some cotton batting and a fabric remnant to make it even more comfortable.
2. Use them, sheet by sheet, as an alternative to paper towels. Clean windows and mirrors.
3. Next time your kid needs to papier mache something, use pages from your old phonebooks.
4. Crumple the pages into balls to use as packaging filler for delicate objects.
5. Shred the pages up and COMPOST them!!
6. Use one as a kneeling pad for when you’re working in the garden.
7. Use stacks of the pages (10 pages thick or so) to kill the grass where you want a new garden bed. Simply lay the stacks of pages over the grass (overlapping them a bit), wet them down, and cover them with mulch, shredded leaves, or straw. In a few weeks, the grass will be dead and you have a new garden bed!

The UB Green Team is continuing its climate talks, a dialogue on contemporary and local environmental issues. The Spring 2010 series will introduce the campus community to issues such as waste reduction, community gardens and sustainable transportation. All of the Climate Talks begin at 7pm in the Allen Hall Theatre on the UB South Campus, across from Walgreens on Main Street

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2009 7pm Allen Hall Theatre, South Campus: Less is More: Promoting Recycling and Waste Reduction in Western New York

We hope to see you there!!!

Over the last year and a half, ReUse has participated in the discussion of diverting organic debris from the landfill. Landfills are really no place for vegetable waste and there are programs across the country which send that material to compost facilities and make much better use of it.  Composting also means JOBS! Buffalonians, you need to start asking for a compost facility; we need to start moving toward a lifestyle which supports the reuse of food waste and decreases the amount of non-degradable food packaging waste.
For our part, ReUse has started composting on a small scale–(we call it ReDOO)–at least as much as our neighbors will allow at this point. If you patronize Amy’s Place or Lexington Co-op you are helping build up our community gardens by contributing to the compost pile. Please tell them thank you from us the next time you go there for a salad or an omelette! Twice a week we receive or pickup the veggie waste, eggshells and coffee grounds and add it to your leaves, lawn clippings and shredded paper. We hope to add more diners and compost heaps on various gardens throughout Buffalo over the summer.
In the meantime, take advantage of the opportunity to educate yourself a little more about the movement toward a more sustainable WNY.
Gary Feinland announces a Free EPA WEBINAR SERIES: Food Waste Reduction and Management.
Food waste is the third largest stream of waste in the U.S. after paper and yard waste. The social, economic, and environmental impacts of food waste are enormous, including increased generation of greenhouse gas, negative impacts on sanitation and health, and the loss of potential improvements in soil health and food production.

To help address these impacts, EPA Region 2 is partnering with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Solid Waste Resource Renewal Group at Rutgers University to offer a series of webinars designed to provide education on the best avenues and methods of food waste management.

Generators of food waste, government representatives, and public stakeholders are encouraged to participate.

February 23, 1:00 – 2:30 pm (EST)
Overview of Food Waste, Climate Change Connection, and Waste Audits

March 10, 1:00 – 2:30 pm (EST)
Separation and Collection of Food Waste

March 17, 1:00 – 2:30 pm (EST)
Waste Reduction through Reuse

March 31, 1:00 – 2:30 pm (EST)
Composting and End-of-Life Management

April 7, 1:00 – 2:30 pm (EST)
Putting the Pieces Together and EPA Tools

For registration and information please visit www.trainex.org/FoodWaste

Gary Feinland
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Bureau of Solid Waste, Reduction and Recycling
625 Broadway
Albany, NY 12233-7253
518-402-8705
www.nyrecycles.org